Knowledge of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) disease and RSV vaccine eligibility is low among hospitalized older adults, according to a study published online April 1 in JAMA Network Open.
Firings at federal health agencies decimate offices that release public records
Public access to government records that document the handling of illnesses, faulty products, and safety lapses at health facilities will slow after mass firings at the federal Department of Health and Human Services swept out staff members responsible for releasing records, according to transparency advocates and health experts.
Study links frailty to five-year mortality rate among older women with breast cancer
A new study links changes in frailty, a measure of decreased physiological capacity that leads to fatigue, slow walking, muscle weakness, physical inactivity, and weight loss, to five-year survival rates in older women with breast cancer. These findings suggest that managing frailty during chemotherapy could improve outcomes.
Researchers reveal new molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying pulmonary organogenesis
A research team led by the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has constructed a comprehensive spatiotemporal atlas of developing mouse lungs, revealing new molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying pulmonary organogenesis.
Childhood experiences shape the brain’s white matter with cognitive effects seen years later, study shows
Mass General Brigham investigators have linked difficult early life experiences with reduced quality and quantity of the white matter communication highways throughout the adolescent brain. This reduced connectivity is also associated with lower performance on cognitive tasks. However, certain social resiliency factors like neighborhood cohesion and positive parenting may have a protective effect.
Twins grow more slowly in early pregnancy than previously thought
Twins—smaller at birth, on average, than singletons—start out smaller in pregnancy than was previously known, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The ultrasound study revealed that twins have less fat tissue and less muscle mass than singletons beginning at 15 weeks of pregnancy. If results are confirmed by additional research, the findings could provide information to guide physicians in monitoring and managing twin pregnancies.
AI optimizes antibodies to tackle evolving SARS-CoV-2 variants
Researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), in collaboration with other leading institutions, have successfully used an AI-driven platform to preemptively optimize an antibody to neutralize a broad diversity of SARS-CoV-2 variants.
Test predicts which patients with prostate cancer most likely to develop long-term side effects from radiation therapy
Investigators at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have validated a test that can accurately predict which patients with prostate cancer are at higher risk of developing long-lasting urinary side effects after receiving radiation therapy.
VR system developed to simulate environments for early detection of autism
A team from the Human-Tech Institute-Universitat Politècnica de València has developed a new system for the early detection of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) using virtual reality and artificial intelligence. The system has achieved an accuracy of over 85%, thus surpassing traditional methods of detecting autism in early childhood, which are usually based on psychological tests and interviews carried out manually. The results of the work of the UPV team have been published in the Expert Systems with Applications journal.
Gene discovery reveals potential for growing new heart arteries
Most people have right-dominant hearts—which to a doctor or a researcher means they have an artery that extends from the right side of their hearts to supply oxygenated blood to the back side. For some people, this artery, called the posterior descending artery, comes from the left side or from both directions. A study has found that the gene CXCL12 is connected to this artery’s formation and that its directional pattern is set very early in human development.