Out of 206 fourth-grade students, 19 met criteria for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. This was found in a pilot study conducted at the University of Gothenburg. The results indicate that birth defects caused by alcohol consumption during pregnancy may be as common in Sweden as in several other European countries. The study ran at six schools in western Sweden and constituted an add-on to the regular health check-up for all fourth-grade students. The participants underwent a physical examination, review of…

More than two-fifths of Oregon community pharmacies require a prescription to purchase syringes, even though they can be sold over the counter, creating an access barrier that could exacerbate the spread of bloodborne diseases like hepatitis C. Oregon State University researchers conducted a telephone survey of more than 400 pharmacies in Oregon and learned that 43% of them were unwilling to sell a 10-pack of syringes to someone without a prescription. The scientists say the study was the largest to…

From seat cushions to mattresses to insulation, foam is everywhere — even if we don’t always see it. Now, researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas have fused chemistry with technology to create a 3D-printed foam that is more durable and more recyclable than the polymer foam found in many everyday products. The research, which appears in the March 1 print edition of RSC Applied Polymers, a journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry, focused on creating a sturdy but lightweight foam…

A collaboration between chemical engineers and animal scientists has created a system for recovering valuable industrial chemicals from animal waste, representing a major step towards circularity and environmental sustainability. Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a nanofiltration system for separating volatile fatty acids (VFAs) – organic molecules that are critical in fine chemical production across many sectors – from cattle manure fermented in bioreactors. Thanks to the incorporation of selective ion-exchange membranes into an electrochemical separation system,…

Designed by University of Missouri researchers, the device includes AI technology to detect potential heart problems with over 90% accuracy, making it a promising tool for at-home monitoring When we move, it’s harder for existing wearable devices to accurately track our heart activity. But University of Missouri researchers found that a starfish’s five-arm shape helps solve this problem. Inspired by how a starfish flips itself over — shrinking one of its arms and using the others in a coordinated motion…

Findings show that radiation-induced chemistry may mitigate metal alloy corrosion in nuclear reactors cooled by molten salts High temperatures and ionizing radiation create extremely corrosive environments inside a nuclear reactor. To design long-lasting reactors, scientists must understand how radiation-induced chemical reactions impact structural materials. Chemists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and Idaho National Laboratory recently performed experiments showing that radiation-induced reactions may help mitigate the corrosion of reactor metals in a new type of reactor…

A pan-Canadian team has developed a new way to quickly find personalized treatments for young cancer patients, by growing their tumours in chicken eggs and analyzing their proteins. The team, led by researchers from the University of British Columbia and BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, is the first in Canada to combine these two techniques to identify and test a drug for a young patient’s tumour in time for their treatment. Their success in finding a new drug for the…

Mpox has the potential to become a significant global health threat if taken too lightly, according to scientists at the University of Surrey. In a letter published in Nature Medicine, researchers highlight how mpox – traditionally spread from animals to humans – is now showing clear signs of sustained human-to-human transmission. Mpox is a viral infection caused by a virus that belongs to the same family as smallpox. The virus can cause a painful rash, fever, and swollen glands and,…

A new Intermountain Health study finds that peripheral artery disease, a condition that affects more than 10 million Americans over the age of 40, is often underdiagnosed and undertreated, with fewer women getting guideline-directed medical therapy than men. As a result, combined with this highly debilitating disease, patients with peripheral artery disease have a more than 50 percent chance of dying from the condition. Peripheral artery disease affects nearly 10 percent of the US population. It occurs when the arteries…

Could help determine which patients are likely to benefit from new Alzheimer’s drugs A newly developed blood test for Alzheimer’s disease not only aids in the diagnosis of the neurodegenerative condition but also indicates how far it has progressed, according to a study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Lund University in Sweden. Several blood tests for Alzheimer’s disease are already clinically available, including two based on technology licensed from WashU. Such tests help…

Life’s essential functions are powered by a set of compounds called metabolites, which are involved in every natural process including producing energy, regulating cell activity and keeping the body’s systems in balance. Tracking these molecules offers a window into the onset and status of many diseases, overall health, response to treatment and the intricate workings of biological systems. However, today’s metabolite sensing methods fall short. Most rely on resource-intensive lab tests that give only brief snapshots from isolated samples. The…

Their discoveries can potentially revolutionize stomach cancer therapy by unveiling new targets for precision diagnostics and treatment A team of Singapore scientists has made a significant discovery in understanding stomach cancer, a disease that remains one of the deadliest cancers worldwide. By using advanced mapping technologies, they created a detailed “atlas” of stomach tumours, revealing hidden patterns in how cancer cells behave, evolve and interact with their environment. These insights could lead to more precise, targeted treatments that improve survival…

Research hints at calcium’s potential role in enforcing a specific molecular handedness among primitive polyesters and early biomolecules A new study led by researchers at the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) at Institute of Science Tokyo has uncovered a surprising role for calcium in shaping life’s earliest molecular structures. Their findings suggest that calcium ions can selectively influence how primitive polymers form, shedding light on a long-standing mystery: how life’s molecules came to prefer a single “handedness” (chirality). Like our left…

A drug typically prescribed for arthritis halts brain-damaging seizures in mice that have a condition like epilepsy, according to researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The drug, called tofacitinib, also restores short-term and working memory lost to epilepsy in the mice and reduces inflammation in the brain caused by the disease. If the drug proves viable for human patients, it would be the first to provide lasting relief from seizures even after they stopped taking it. “It ticks all the…

Scientists have for the first time filmed the real-time growth and contraction of Palladium nanoparticles, opening new avenues for utilising and recycling precious metal catalysts. Researchers at the University of Nottingham’s School of Chemistry used transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to observe the complete lifecycle of palladium nanoparticles in a liquid environment, from nucleation through growth to dissolution, with the entire cycle repeating multiple times. This study has been published today in Nanoscale. One of the most important applications of metal nanoparticles is…

New technology promises to make minimally invasive surgery simpler, safer, and more precise Researchers from NYU Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Microfluidics and Microdevices Laboratory (AMMLab) have developed an innovative sensing system that restores the missing tactile feedback in minimally invasive surgery (MIS), enhancing precision, ease of use, and safety. The new “off-the-jaw” system integrates force and angle sensors into the handle of laparoscopic tools, providing surgeons with real-time measurements of grasping forces and insights into tissue stiffness and thickness. Minimally invasive…