Thursday 24 October 2019

Heightened risk of adverse financial changes before Alzheimer's diagnosis

Prior to an Alzheimer's diagnosis, a person in the early stages of the disease faces a heightened risk of adverse financial outcomes—a likely consequence of compromised decision making when managing money, in addition to exploitation and fraud by others.

Study highlights power of family resilience to protect children from bullying

Studies show that children exposed to childhood trauma known as adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are at increased risk of being bullied or bullying others. New research being presented at the American American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) 2019 National Conference & Exhibition suggests that family resilience—the ability to work together to overcome problems, for example—reduces this risk.

Informal sharing of breast milk gains popularity among women, despite safety risks

Women who are unable to produce enough breast milk for their children are increasingly turning to "mother-to-mother" informal milk-sharing, a potentially unsafe practice that is discouraged by the pediatric medical community, according to new research being presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) 2019 National Conference & Exhibition.

Study shows trampoline injuries have increased over the past decade

Between 2008 and 2017, the incidence of trampoline-related fractures increased by an average of 3.85% in the U.S., and the driver behind those increases are trampoline injuries outside of the home at places of recreation or sport , according to new research being presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) 2019 National Conference & Exhibition.

Skiing, snowboarding injuries more serious—skull and face fractures—in younger children

Winter sports like skiing and snowboarding are a great way to keep kids active in the winter, but they are also linked to injuries and for younger children those injuries are more likely to involve fractures to the head or face, according to new research being presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) 2019 National Conference & Exhibition.

Injuries related to lawn mowers affect young children in rural areas most severely

Each year, more than 9,000 children in the United States are treated in emergency departments for lawn mower-related injuries. New research being presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) 2019 National Conference & Exhibition in New Orleans found that these injuries are more frequent and severe in rural areas, affecting younger children than in urban regions.

Children's race may play role in treatment for acute gastroenteritis in emergency departments

New research being presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics 2019 National Conference & Exhibition suggests that the treatment children receive in U.S. emergency departments for acute gastroenteritis with dehydration, a common childhood illness, may differ based on their race.

Years of education may impact drinking behavior and risk of alcohol dependence

Higher educational attainment—spending more years in education—may impact people's drinking behaviour and reduce their risk of alcohol dependence, according to a study published in Molecular Psychiatry.

Most prescribed blood pressure drugs may be less effective than others

A new multinational study shows that the most popular first-line treatment for hypertension is less effective and has more side effects than an alternative that's prescribed much less often.

New research shows lower rates of cancer screening in women with diabetes

Cancer screening rates are up to a quarter lower in women with diabetes, varying by type of cancer, and putting them at risk of poorer cancer outcomes, concludes new research in Diabetologia.

Fungi could reduce reliance on fertilizers

Introducing fungi to wheat boosted their uptake of key nutrients and could lead to new, 'climate smart' varieties of crops, according to a new study.

Magnets sustainably separate mixtures of rare earth metals

A new study describes a novel approach for purifying rare earth metals, crucial components of technology that require environmentally-damaging mining procedures. By relying on the metal's magnetic fields during the crystallization process, researchers were able to efficiently and selectively separate mixtures of rare earth metals.

Bio-inspired nano-catalyst guides chiral reactions

Many medicines are twisted molecules with two mirror image versions, but the body uses only one. Inspired by photosynthetic bacteria, a team at the University of Michigan built a catalyst that guides chemical reactions toward the right version of twisted molecules. It could lead to more efficient production of some medicines.

Eager to leave scandal, Nissan shows off smooth-driving tech

An electric car with smooth four-wheel drive and a virtual friend for the coming age of automated driving are among the technology in development from Nissan.

Zuckerberg defends Facebook's currency plans before Congress

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg endured hours of prickly questioning from lawmakers Wednesday as he defended the company's new globally ambitious project to create a digital currency while also dealing with widening scrutiny from U.S. regulators.

RIT researchers win first place in eye-tracking challenge by Facebook Research

A team of Rochester Institute of Technology researchers took the top prize in an international competition held by Facebook Research to develop more effective eye-tracking solutions. The team, led by three Ph.D. students from the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science, won first place in the OpenEDS Challenge focused on semantic segmentation.

Food markets near Ethiopia's poor provide fewer choices at high price, impacting child health

The rural poor in Ethiopia tend to live near lower-quality markets that sell fewer food groups at high prices, adversely impacting the health of children in these communities, a new study from researchers at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has found. The findings, drawn from data from rural Ethiopia, mark the first attempt to examine how rural markets vary in their diversity, competitiveness, frequency, and food affordability, and how these characteristics are associated with children's diets.

Gut instincts: Researchers discover first clues on how gut health influences brain health

New cellular and molecular processes underlying communication between gut microbes and brain cells have been described for the first time by scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell's Ithaca campus.

Consensus report shows burnout prevalent in health care community

Clinician burnout is affecting between one-third and one-half of all of U.S. nurses and physicians, and 45 to 60% of medical students and residents, according to a National Academy of Medicine (NAM) report released today.

Chemicals in consumer products during early pregnancy related to lower IQ

Exposure during the first trimester of pregnancy to mixtures of suspected endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in consumer products is related to lower IQ in children by age 7, according to a study by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Karlstad University, Sweden, published in Environment International in October. This study is among the first to look at prenatal suspected endocrine-disrupting chemical mixtures in relation to neurodevelopment.

Ending HIV will require optimizing treatment and prevention tools, say NIH experts

Optimal implementation of existing HIV prevention and treatment tools and continued development of new interventions are essential to ending the HIV pandemic, National Institutes of Health experts write in a commentary Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Sentinel lymph node biopsy has no benefits for stage zero breast cancer

Older women with a very early, non-invasive breast cancer known as ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) gain no long-term benefit from undergoing a sentinel lymph node biopsy to see if the cancer has spread, new research by the Yale School of Public Health has found.

Researchers find risk factors for unemployment with multiple sclerosis vary by age

A recent study by Kessler Foundation researchers explored numerous factors that contribute to the high unemployment rate among individuals of different ages with multiple sclerosis (MS). This is the first investigation to consider age within the context of disease- and person-specific factors affecting employment in MS. The article, "Unemployment in multiple sclerosis across the ages: How factors of unemployment differ among the decades of life," was epublished on September 14, 2019 by the Journal of Health Psychology.

A tale of two cities: Impact of reducing teens' access to flavored tobacco products

Restricting youth access to flavored tobacco products holds the promise of reducing their overall tobacco use, according to a new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Newly discovered protein is the permit to the powerhouse of cells

Aging, and the mechanics behind it, remains one of the most closely guarded secrets of life.

New intervention may help ease young children's biases against gender-nonconforming peers

Worldwide, gender nonconformity is on the rise. Children who don't conform to their birth sex are often perceived less positively, which may harm their well-being. A new study of Chinese kindergarten- and elementary-school-age children looked at the development of biases against gender-nonconforming peers and tested an intervention to modify their biases. The study found that although children were indeed less positive toward gender-nonconforming peers than toward gender-conforming peers, showing children certain examples of gender-nonconforming peers reduced bias against them. These findings can inform efforts to reduce bias against gender nonconformity.