Earth
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Pennsylvania have developed a unique technique that uses stem cells and flexible implantable bone-stabilizing plates to help speed the healing of large breaks or defects.
The technique allows the stem cells applied to break sites to experience some mechanical stress, as they do in developing embryos. These forces may help encourage stem cells to differentiate into cartilage and bone, as well as encourage other cells in the bone to regenerate.
Plate tectonics is a key geological process on Earth, shaping its surface, and making it unique among the planets in the Solar System. Yet, how plate tectonics emerged and which factors controlled its evolution remains controversial. Now, Stephan V. Sobolev from the German Research Centre for Geosciences GFZ and the University of Potsdam and Michael Brown from the University of Maryland take a new approach to solving this riddle.
The three classic physical states - solid, liquid and gaseous - can be observed in any normal kitchen, for example when you bring an ice cube to the boil. But if you heat material even further, so that the atoms of a substance collide and the electrons separate from them, then another state is reached: plasma. More than 99 per cent of material in space is present in this form, inside stars for instance. It is therefore no wonder that physicists are keen to study such material.
An ample buffet of freshwater food, brought on by climate change, is altering the life history of one of the world's most important salmon species.
LOWELL, Mass. - The risk of heart disease and death increases with the number of eggs an individual consumes, according to a UMass Lowell nutrition expert who has studied the issue.
By adding one more layer of atoms to already infinitesimal semiconductors, a next-level generation of electrical devices becomes possible. This work to build better and faster electronics is well underway, but little was known about how to test the ingredients of these devices to ensure performance. Now, researchers from the Nagoya Institute of Technology (NITech) in Japan have developed a method to make sure the connections between the two-dimensional layer of atoms and the semiconductors are as perfect as possible.
WASHINGTON -- When it comes to buying probiotics, many product labels do not give consumers enough information to make an informed decision, according to a research team led by Georgetown University Medical Center.
"Smart glass," an energy-efficiency product found in newer windows of cars, buildings and airplanes, slowly changes between transparent and tinted at the flip of a switch.
"Slowly" is the operative word; typical smart glass takes several minutes to reach its darkened state, and many cycles between light and dark tend to degrade the tinting quality over time. Colorado State University chemists have devised a potentially major improvement to both the speed and durability of smart glass by providing a better understanding of how the glass works at the nanoscale.
Preschool children with community-acquired pneumonia often receive unnecessary tests and treatment at outpatient clinics and emergency departments, according to a nationally representative study led by Todd Florin, MD, MSCE, from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. While most cases of community-acquired pneumonia in young children are caused by viruses, for which antibiotics provide no benefit, antibiotics were prescribed in nearly 74 percent of outpatient visits.
YANGON, Myanmar (June 4, 2019) - Frogs need elephants. That's what a new WCS-led study says that looked at the role of water-filled elephant tracks in providing predator-free breeding grounds and pathways connecting frog populations.
Key points:
Faecal transplants from young mice replenishes the gut microbiome and boosts the gut immune system in older mice.
The study demonstrates that the decline in the gut immune response due to age is not irreversible and that it can be boosted in older individuals.
The gut microbiome could be a target for the treatment of a range of age-associated symptoms to facilitate healthy ageing.
Hartford, CT - Weight-based victimization among sexual and gender minority youth is associated with increased odds of alcohol use, binge drinking, marijuana use, and cigarette use, reports a new study from researchers at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity and the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Connecticut, in collaboration with the Human Rights Campaign.
Patient-reported outcome (PRO) data indicates that partial breast irradiation (PBI) is more convenient than whole breast irradiation (WBI) for women with breast cancer who do not receive adjuvant chemotherapy. These participants on the NRG Oncology clinical trial NSABP B-39/RTOG 0413 also experienced less post-treatment fatigue and slightly poorer cosmesis at 36 months following treatment, whereas cosmesis was equivalent at 36 months in women who received chemotherapy and PBI or WBI.
Countries' essential medicines lists vary from one another and from the World Health Organization's (WHO) model list, pointing to a potential need for greater care in selecting medicines that best meet the health care priorities of a population, suggests a study led by Toronto's St. Michael's Hospital.
Published in the World Health Organization Bulletin, the research analyzes 137 countries that use essential medicines lists to inform government and health-care institutions in determining which medicines to fund, stock, prescribe and dispense.
Survey finds 20.5% of doctors are aware of whether feedback has been left by patients about them
GPs view online feedback as mostly negative, although previous research shows it tends towards the positive
Majority of doctors did not encourage patients to leave feedback
Researchers led by University of Warwick argue ratings and feedback websites would be easiest ways to source patient feedback
Around one in five doctors are aware of patient feedback about themselves on review and ratings websites, according to a new survey of health professionals.