Culture
PRINCETON, N.J.--As the planet continues to warm, people living in the world's most vulnerable regions -- like arid or low-lying nations -- must contend with the decision to stay in a place where livability is decreasing or leave for countries with more stable climate and economic conditions.
Fewer college-age Americans drink alcohol, compared to nearly 20 years ago, according to a new study.
Between 2002 and 2018, the number of adults aged 18-22 in the U.S. who abstained from alcohol increased from 20% to 28% for those in college and from about 24% to 30% for those not in school, say researchers at the University of Michigan and Texas State University. And alcohol abuse among both groups decreased by roughly half.
However, the study found that the number of young adults using marijuana, as well as co-using alcohol and marijuana, has increased.
In first-of-their-kind observations in the human brain, an international team of researchers has revealed two well-known neurochemicals -- dopamine and serotonin -- are at work at sub-second speeds to shape how people perceive the world and take action based on their perception.
The discovery shows researchers can continually and simultaneously measure the activity of both dopamine and serotonin -- whose receptor and uptake sites are therapeutic targets for disorders ranging from depression to Parkinson's disease -- in the human brain.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.--A treatment that uses immune system T cells, combined with an immune-boosting drug packaged in an injectable gel, was found to preserve the vision of mice implanted with tissue from a human eye cancer known as retinoblastoma. The cancer is treatable in early stages but can still lead to the loss of vision in about 5% of cases.
The research findings from scientists at the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center were published is Nature Cancer on Oct. 12, 2020.
To calculate the true value of a forest, we need to know how people benefit from it, according to new research published in Nature Sustainability. A healthy forest holds a treasure trove of benefits for people -- it can filter water for downstream communities, supply timber for building, and provide a place for people to connect with nature. But a forest -- or any other ecosystem -- won't necessarily provide the same things to everyone.
What The Article Says: This devastating pandemic has affected nearly every aspect of daily life. While nations struggle to manage the initial waves of the death and disruption associated with the pandemic, accumulating evidence indicates another "second wave" is building: rising rates of mental health and substance use disorders.
Authors: Charles R. Marmar, M.D., of the NYU Langone Medical Center in New York, is the corresponding author.
What The Study Did: This study updates a previous report of the estimated number of excess deaths in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic through August 1 and describes causes of those deaths and relationships with lifting of coronavirus restrictions.
Authors: Steven H. Woolf, M.D., MP.H., of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine in Richmond, is the corresponding author.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
What The Study Did: COVID-19 deaths and excess all-cause mortality in the U.S. are compared with 18 countries with diverse COVID-19 responses in this study.
Authors: Ezekiel J. Emanuel, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, is the corresponding author.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi:10.1001/jama.2020.20717)
What The Article Says: This Viewpoint aggregates mortality, morbidity, mental health conditions, and direct economic losses to estimate the total cost of the pandemic in the U.S. on the optimistic assumption that it will be substantially contained by the fall of 2021.
Authors: David M. Cutler, Ph.D., of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is the corresponding author.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
What The Article Says: Ways the COVID-19 pandemic has compounded existing health, human rights and economic disparities in communities of color are discussed in this Viewpoint, which also proposes a program of restorative justice in response, comprising investments in education and housing, reforms in lending practices and criminal justice, and more.
Authors: Lisa A. Cooper, M.D., M.P.H., the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity in Baltimore, is the corresponding author.
Japan -- Researchers in Japan demonstrated for the first time the 'spinal motor module hypothesis' in the primate arm, opening a new pathway for recovery after disease or injury.
Tokyo, Japan - Researchers at the Institute of Industrial Science at The University of Tokyo sifted through experimental data to probe the possibility that supercooled water has a liquid-to-liquid phase transition between disordered and tetrahedrally structured forms. They found evidence of a critical point based on the cooperative formation of tetrahedra, and show its minor role in water's anomalies. This work shows that water's special qualities--which are essential for life--originate predominantly from the two-state feature.
The professional perception of vitamin D as a medicine, rather than as a key nutrient, is constraining practice and jeopardising the health of elderly care home residents in England, conclude researchers in the journal BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health.
At a time when the vulnerability of elderly care home residents is under the spotlight because of the impact of COVID-19, an urgent review is needed of the nutritional guidelines and regulations around the use of the vitamin, they argue.
What The Study Did: The risk of mother-to-newborn transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection was examined in this study.
Authors: Cynthia Gyamfi-Bannerman, M.D., M.Sc., and Melissa S. Stockwell, M.D., M.P.H., of the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York, are the corresponding authors.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.4298)
Exploration of new leukemia antigens and construction of appropriate delivery systems using FDA-approved material are important strategies for developing leukemia vaccines for clinic use.
Researchers from the Institute of Process Engineering (IPE) of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Zhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University have developed a new type of precise therapeutic vaccine against leukemia. It utilizes self-healing polylactic acid microcapsules for co-encapsulating a new epitope peptide and PD-1 antibody.