Eurekalert

Despite increased use of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in psychiatry, the rates at which patients respond to the therapy and experience remission of often-disabling symptoms have been modest at best. Now, a team of University of South Florida psychiatrists and biomedical engineers applied an emerging functional neuroimaging technology, known as diffuse optical tomography (DOT), to better understand how rTMS works so they can begin to improve the brain stimulation procedure's effectiveness in treating depression.

Studying protein changes in the kidneys as we age, as well as the transcription of genes into proteins, helps provide a full picture of the age-related processes that take place in these organs.

Researchers have found that people who live beyond 105 years tend to have a unique genetic background that makes their bodies more efficient at repairing DNA, according to a study published today in eLife.

Over the years, physicians and historians have attributed Shackleton's failing health during his Antarctic expeditions to scurvy or a congenital heart defect. By studying other explorers and learning they had symptoms comparable to those of Shackleton, researchers concluded that beriberi provided a sound scientific and medical explanation for the famed explorer's health struggles.

Giant vortices of floating plastic trash in the world's oceans with sometimes devastating consequences for their inhabitants - the sobering legacy of our modern lifestyle. Weathering and degradation processes produce countless tiny particles that can now be detected in virtually all ecosystems. But how dangerous are the smallest of them, so-called nanoplastics?

Researchers have identified more than 250 "severity associated" proteins in the worst cases of COVID-19. These findings could help researchers identify the mechanisms that cause severe COVID-19.

A new study published in JAMA Network Open by Dr. Benjamin Rome and colleagues in the Brigham's Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics finds that more than half of patients may experience increases in out-of-pocket spending when drug prices increase.

The decision to prevent breast cancer through a risk-reducing mastectomy is based on a woman's lifetime risk of the disease as well as on quality-of-life issues. The dialogue should include consideration of nonsurgical options such as screening and medications, according to a new article in JAMA, coauthored by a surgical oncologist from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

Scientists from Texas A&M have developed an extension to an ordinary cellphone that makes it capable of detecting chemicals, drugs, biological molecules, and pathogens. The development is based on fluorescence spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy and uses the high-quality cameras found in modern cellphones. An inexpensive diode laser is used as a light source, oriented at right angles to the line connecting the sample and the camera. The advance is reported in Reviews of Scientific Instruments.

There has been an increase in the number of people over 65 who have needed spinal fusion surgery, and many have focused on trying to create a biomimetic scaffold that induces vascularization. In Applied Physics Reviews, researchers present a solution to address the challenge: They designed a microchannel scaffold made of a collagen and hydroxyapitite combination, with each strut consisting of micrometer-scaled microchannels. The microchannels have induced growth of blood vessels in a mouse model.

In a new study from the Department of Anesthesiology and Center for Consciousness Science at Michigan Medicine, researchers identify a key area in the cortex that appears to be the gate of conscious awareness.

What The Study Did: This survey study estimated change in the percentage of adolescents in the United States who reported at least one diagnosed concussion during their lifetime.

If a respiratory droplet from a person infected with COVID-19 lands on a surface, it becomes a possible source of disease spread, because while 99.9% of the droplet's liquid content evaporates within minutes, a residual thin film that allows the virus to survive can be left behind. In Physics of Fluids, researchers explore how the evaporation rate of residual thin films can be accelerated by tuning surfaces' wettability and creating geometric microtextures on them.

Researchers have identified a set of genes, called clock genes, that control circadian rhythms. But a more complicated gene network than previously known appears related to these rhythms. In Applied Physics Reviews, scientists detail a statistical model they are using to help identify the genes involved in this network. With help from other disciplines, they hope to fully understand how these genes work together to make different people more productive at different times of day.

A new study published in Medical Care Research and Review found that the Affordable Care Act, which expanded Medicaid programs to cover people previously uninsured, provided a financial boost to hospitals. The study is the first to investigate the effects of Medicaid expansion by comparing estimates using data from both the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

In a study proving feasibility, researchers at Duke Health showed that their testing technology can accurately distinguish between a viral and a bacterial infection for respiratory illness - a critical difference that determines whether antibiotics are warranted. And, importantly, the test provided results in under an hour.

A new study suggests that over the past 30 years, there has been little to no increase in the association between adolescents' technology engagement and mental health problems. The study also urges more transparent collaborations between academia and industry.

Hypertension is a common health problem worldwide, but the cost of antihypertensive drugs can be a major barrier to treatment in low- and middle-income areas. One solution could be generic drugs, as opposed to brand-name ones, if only the debate on their efficacy is settled. In a paper recently published in Chinese Medical Journal, researchers report evidence from a longitudinal study that generic antihypertensives could be just as suitable as brand-name drugs.

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) developed a breakthrough in energy-efficient phototransistors. Such devices could eventually help computers process visual information more like the human brain and be used as sensors in things like self-driving vehicles.

A new map of the Schrodinger basin of the moon could help guide future exploration missions. The map project was supported by NASA and created by a team of researchers including a University of Arkansas graduate student.