Culture
Being born early (before 37 weeks' gestation) is associated with a higher risk of hospital admission throughout childhood than being born at full term (40 weeks' gestation), finds a study published by The BMJ today.
Although the risk declined as the children grew up, particularly after age 2, an excess risk remained up to age 10, even for children born at 38 and 39 weeks' gestation, representing many potentially vulnerable children, say the researchers.
Aim to exceed weekly recommended physical activity level to offset health harms of prolonged sitting
New additional research shows that increasing physical activity can counter early death risk linked to long periods of sedentary time
The health harms associated with prolonged sitting can be offset by exceeding weekly recommended physical activity levels, says the World Health Organization (WHO) in new global guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour [1], published in a special dedicated issue of the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
But all physical activity counts and is good for long term health, say the new guidelines.
NEW YORK, NY (Nov. 25, 2020)--Decades before the first symptoms of Alzheimer's appear, the brain's neurons start secreting tau proteins, one of the first changes known to occur in the course of the disease.
High levels of secreted forms of tau--which can be detected in spinal fluid and, as recently reported, in blood--are known to be the most reliable predictor of who will eventually develop Alzheimer's disease.
But a critical question about tau has remained unanswered: Why are neurons secreting tau in Alzheimer's disease?
The water-to-land transition is one of the most important and inspiring major transitions in vertebrate evolution. And the question of how and when tetrapods transitioned from water to land has long been a source of wonder and scientific debate.
A phase 1 trial involving 12 children with relapsed neuroblastoma - a hard-to-treat pediatric cancer - shows that anticancer CAR T cells displayed signs of efficacy against these tumors while avoiding damage to nerve tissue. The results suggest that CAR T cells should be further evaluated as treatments for neuroblastoma and other solid tumors, which have typically been difficult to target with T cell therapies. CAR T cells are immune cells from patients that have been engineered to hunt down cancer cells, and have shown great promise against blood cancers such as leukemia.
Pointing toward a much-needed future reservoir of freshwater for the island of Hawai'i in the face of climate-driven drought, electromagnetic images of the island have revealed multilayered basalt, ash and soil formations that serve as a previously unknown conduit to move freshwater offshore to the submarine flank of the island. According to the study by Eric Attias and colleagues, these freshwater-saturated layers may extend as much as 4 kilometers offshore. Attias et al.
Research indicates that starting school later in the morning yields health and academic benefits for high schoolers, whose natural body clock tends toward late-to-bed, late-to-rise habits. While parents raise concerns about drowsy driving, irritation and impaired school performance, a new study led by researchers at UC San Francisco suggests another reason to push back the start time.
Among patients reporting to hospital emergency departments (EDs) with suspected COVID-19 infection, important differences in symptoms and outcome exist based on age, sex and ethnicity, according to a new study published this week in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Steve Goodacre of the University of Sheffield, UK, and colleagues.
An international research collaboration, including scientists from the University of Adelaide's Waite Research Institute, has unlocked new genetic variation in wheat and barley - a major boost for the global effort in breeding higher-yielding wheat and barley varieties.
A variety of bread wheat that flourishes across Switzerland would remain just a poorly growing grass in India. This ability to adapt to regional climate conditions and environmental factors makes bread wheat the most commonly grown crop around the world. Its cultivation dates back around 8,000 years. Over time, more than 560,000 different varieties have developed. Seeds of each variety are stored in international seed vaults. Until now, however, the genetic factors responsible for the diversity and adaptability of wheat were largely unknown.
Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have shown that fruit flies that spent several weeks on the International Space Station (ISS)--about half of their lives--experienced profound structural and biochemical changes to their hearts.
It's hard to overstate how much of a game-changer it was when vertebrates first rose up from the waters and moved onshore about 390 million years ago. That transition led to the rise of the dinosaurs and all the land animals that exist today.
Research based on 5425 citizens' responses to a questionnaire survey has illuminated that obesity causes are linked to various factors in addition to the individual's current socioeconomic circumstances, including childhood experiences, particularly those of abuse. The study was carried out by Project Professor TAMORI Yoshikazu (Division of Creative Health Promotion) et al.'s research group at the Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine.
A research team from RUDN University developed an algorithm to help large groups of people make optimal decisions in a short time. They confirmed the efficiency of their model using the example of the market at which the outbreak of COVID-19 began. The model helped the administration and sellers agree on closing the market and reach a consensus about the sums of compensations in just three steps. An article about the algorithm was published in the Information Sciences journal.
A study published recently in the journal Review of Financial Studies by the researchers Javier Gil-Bazo, Sergio Mayordomo and Peter Hoffmann, shows clear evidence that in Spain, bank-affiliated funds provided funding support to their parent company via purchases of bonds in the primary market during the last crisis (2008-2012).
Cost-benefit calculation by conglomerates