A British Parliamentary committee says many people with autism or learning disabilities are being detained in “horrific” conditions and is calling for an overhaul of the system intended to evaluate their treatment. The Joint Committee on Human Rights said in a report issued Friday that it heard “grim” evidence about…
Potential target for cardiac fibrosis treatment
A research team led by scientists from the Consortium for Fibrosis Research & Translation (CFReT) at the University of Colorado School of Medicine has identified a potential target for treating heart failure related to fibrosis. Fibrosis is a wound-healing response after tissue injury or stress. Cardiac fibrosis can cause abnormal…
Patients diagnosed with cancer after skipping appointment more likely to die within a year
Cancer patients who miss an urgent referral appointment for their symptoms are 12% more likely to die within 12 months of diagnosis, a major new study has found. The study, funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research, showed that male patients and those under 30 or over 85 years of age are…
Animal model proteins important in study of human disease
Heart disease remains the most common cause of death in the western world, and cardiac defects are the most prevalent form of birth defect in the United States and Europe. Yet little is known about the proteins and cellular pathways that lead to the formation of the human heart or…
Victorian child hearing-loss databank to go global: A unique databank that profiles children with hearing loss will help researchers globally understand why some children adapt and thrive, while others struggle
A unique Victorian databank that profiles children with hearing loss will help researchers globally understand why some children adapt and thrive, while others struggle. The Victorian Childhood Hearing Impairment Longitudinal Databank, which has collected information for eight years, is featured in the latest International Journal of Epidemiology. Its data shows…
New type of visual filter discovered in an unlikely place
A University of Minnesota-led research team recently discovered a new way animals can modify their vision. Crystal-like structures in the photoreceptors of larval mantis shrimp simultaneously reflect and transmit light onto light sensitive cells. This newly described structure resembles how a human-made optical device, known as Fiber Bragg Grating, works….
Depression, anxiety linked to opioid use and reduced survival in women with breast cancer
Elderly women battling breast cancer who have anxiety, depression or other mental health conditions are more likely to use opioids and more likely to die, a new study led by the University of Virginia School of Medicine suggests. The findings should encourage doctors to better manage mental health in patients…
Binge drinking may be more damaging to women: Female rats more susceptible to liver injury after three binge drinking episodes
Alcohol consumption is a major cause of chronic liver disease in the United States, and binge drinking is emerging as a significant contributor to liver injury. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in six U.S. adults binge drink four times per month. In a recently published…
Wireless sensors that stick to the skin to track our health
We tend to take our skin’s protective function for granted, ignoring its other roles in signaling subtleties like a fluttering heart or a flush of embarrassment. Now, Stanford engineers have developed a way to detect physiological signals emanating from the skin with sensors that stick like band-aids and beam wireless…
Single enzyme helps drive inflammation in mice, provides target for new sepsis drugs
Sepsis occurs when the body goes overboard in its attempt to fight off an infection. Immune cells rush in, overreact and wreak havoc on tissues and organs, often resulting in organ failure and death. Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine recently found that removing the enzyme…
From Japanese basket weaving art to nanotechnology with ion beams: Ultradense arrays of magnetic quanta in high-temperature superconductors
The properties of high-temperature superconductors can be tailored by the introduction of artificial defects. An international research team around physicist Wolfgang Lang at the University of Vienna has succeeded in producing the world’s densest complex nano arrays for anchoring flux quanta, the fluxons. This was achieved by irradiating the superconductor…