Inside the secret lives of synchronous fireflies

During typical summers in the southeastern U.S., streams of visitors travel to Great Smoky Mountains National Park to witness one of nature's most spectacular displays of light: thousands of male fireflies, all flashing together in near-perfect harmony.

COVID-19 opens a partisan gap on voting by mail

Before the pandemic, there wasn't any difference in the rates at which Democratic and Republican voters actually cast their ballots by mail or in-person. That may change now.

Researchers combine CAT scans and advanced computing to fight wildfires

As wildfires rage across much of the American West, researchers at Stanford have used CAT scanners, the same instruments used in medicine to peer inside the human body, to understand the process of smoldering—the state of burning without flame that often leads to fire. They then folded this deeper understanding of burning into computer models to predict where wildfires might strike next. These models could help firefighters allocate precious resources, reduce the loss of property and help save lives, the researchers say.

Psychologists investigate COVID-19's mental toll on teenagers

The COVID-19 crisis has taken a psychological toll on people of all ages, but one group especially affected is teenagers. School closures and enforced social distancing have cut off many teens from major means of psychological support, putting them at higher risk of developing anxiety and depression.

Researchers find news coverage in Chicago disproportionately devalues Black and Hispanic lives

The recent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery added new momentum to the Black Lives Matter social movement in the United States. But Stanford researchers have found that local news media have not treated Black and Hispanic lives as equal in value to white lives in stories.

Greater father involvement in infant parenting is beneficial for paternal mental health

A father's involvement in the parenting of an infant is associated to a lower risk of experiencing paternal depressive symptoms during the first year of the child's life, according to a study published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Psychiatry. The investigators in the larger study conducted home interviews with 881 low-income ethnically and racially diverse fathers from 5 different sites in the US, one month after the birth of a child and controlling for social and demographic variables, they examined the three parenting indicators: father time spent with the infant, parenting self-efficacy and material support for the infant. They also assessed paternal depressive symptoms at regular intervals (1, 6 and 12 months after birth) using the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale.

Having high cholesterol levels early in life leads to heart problems by middle age

Having elevated cholesterol during the teens or early twenties increases a person's risk of having a heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular event during middle age. That is the finding a new landmark study led by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM). This increased risk persists even in those who were able to get their cholesterol levels down to a healthy level before reaching their late thirties. The research makes a strong case for doctors to intervene early to treat high levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the so-called "bad" type of cholesterol, the study authors contend. It also provides guidance for future intervention studies aimed at stemming the worldwide epidemic of heart disease and stroke.

Chromium steel was first made in ancient Persia

Chromium steel—similar to what we know today as tool steel—was first made in Persia, nearly a millennium earlier than experts previously thought, according to a new study led by UCL researchers.

Researchers develop COVID-19 mortality prediction model

Given the toll that the COVID-19 pandemic has taken on people's health and lives worldwide, it is crucial to be able to accurately predict patients' outcomes, including their chances of mortality from the disease. Using the largest clinical dataset to date, and a systematical machine learning framework, the research team at Mount Sinai identified an accurate and parsimonious prediction model of COVID-19 mortality.

Study finds lung transplant patients not given antifungal preventive drugs have higher risk of death

Antifungal preventive medications reduce mortality risk by half in the first year following lung transplantation, according to Mayo Clinic research involving 667 patients who received lung transplants from 2005 to 2018.

Jaws of death: Paleontologist renames giant, prehistoric marine lizard

Some 92 to 66 million years ago, as the age of dinosaurs waned, giant marine lizards called mosasaurs roamed an ocean that covered North America from Utah to Missouri and Texas to the Yukon. The air-breathing predators were streamlined swimmers that devoured almost everything in their path, including fish, turtles, clams and even smaller mosasaurs.

Study shows light therapy is safe and may benefit patients with TBI

Light therapy is safe and has measurable effects in the brain, according to a pioneering study by researchers from the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Senior investigators Rajiv Gupta, MD, Ph.D., director of the Ultra-High Resolution Volume CT Lab at MGH and Benjamin Vakoc, Ph.D., at the Wellman Center led the study, which was supported by a grant from the Department of Defense (DOD) and published in JAMA Network Open September 14th.

Neurological consequences of COVID-19: The 'Silent Wave'

Is the world prepared a wave of neurological consequences that may be on its way as a result of COVID-19? This question is at the forefront of research underway at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health. A team of neuroscientists and clinicians are examining the potential link between COVID-19 and increased risk of Parkinson's disease, and measures to get ahead of the curve.

What have we learned from COVID-19 in persons with type 1 diabetes?

While diabetes is established as a risk factor for severe SARS-CoV2 infection several important specific aspects need to be considered for people with type 1 diabetes. In contrast to older persons with diabetes, children, adolescents and young adults with type 1 diabetes are not at risk for unfavourable outcomes.

COVID-19 and type 2 diabetes: do shared pathways have therapeutic implications?

During a special COVID-19 session at this year's online Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), Prof. Daniel J. Drucker (Lunenfeld Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mt. Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada) will present a new review the latest clinical findings linking diabetes to risk of infection and differential outcomes in people with COVID-19 infection.

COVID-19 and diabetes: what is the evidence?

In the COVID-19 special session taking place at the online Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), Prof. Juliana Chan, (The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong, China) will present a new review of the evidence on the devastating impact COVID-19 is having on people with diabetes.

Patients with type 1 diabetes that have adapted to remote medical appointments would continue this post COVID-19

A survey of more than 7,000 patients with type 1 diabetes from 89 countries, presented at this year's online Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) shows that three quarters of patients who have adapted to telemedicine appointments would consider continung the use of online or telephone appointments with their doctors, as has been happening during the COVID-19 pandemic, after the pandemic ends. The study is by Dr. Sam Scott and Prof Christoph Stettler, University of Bern, Switzerland, and colleagues, and will be published in the journal Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism.

Analysis reveals heart-related side effects of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine

As the antimalarial drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine have drawn attention as potential therapies for COVID-19 and are being widely used off-label, it's now more important than ever to have a thorough assessment of the safety of these medications. A recent analysis published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology provides new insights.

Control of blood sugar levels improved among people with type 1 diabetes who stopped working during lockdown

New research presented at this year's annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) shows that among people with type 1 diabetes who stopped working in the COVID-19 lockdown, blood sugar levels improved during the first week of lockdown despite having reduced opportunities for exercise and heightened psychological stress. The study was undertaken by Dr. Federico Boscari and colleagues at the Department of Medicine, University of Padova, Italy.

Risk of death may increase for successive generations of immigrants with type 2 diabetes

A 10-year nationwide study investigating survival rates in all people with type 2 diabetes in Sweden, to be published in Diabetologia, finds that non-Western immigrants experienced a higher risk of death with each generation born in the country.

People with 'silent' COVID-19 have as much coronavirus as those with symptoms

People with 'silent' COVID-19 infection have as much coronavirus in their noses and throats as those with symptoms, reveals research published online in the journal Thorax.

Genetic analysis links obesity to higher rheumatoid arthritis risk

An analysis of genetic data collected from more than 850,000 individuals of European ancestry has found a link between obesity-related genes and rheumatoid arthritis.

Prior abortion does not negatively affect feelings of parental competence

A recent study found that a prior induced abortion did not negatively impact a woman's psychological well-being or her thoughts about her competence as a parent when she later became a mother.