Culture
Conceiving within a year of stillbirth is common and is not associated with increased risk of stillbirth, preterm birth, or small-for-gestational-age birth in the following pregnancy, compared with an interpregnancy interval of at least two years.
The results are from the first large-scale observational study to investigate the interval between stillbirth and subsequent pregnancy, including almost 14,500 births in women from Australia, Finland and Norway who had a stillbirth in their previous pregnancy. The findings are published in The Lancet.
New research from the NIHR Guy's and St Thomas' Biomedical Research Centre has found a way to predict rejection of a kidney transplant before it happens, by monitoring the immune system of transplant patients.
The researchers have found that a signature combination of seven immune genes in blood samples can predict rejection earlier than current techniques. Monitoring these markers in transplant patients with regular blood tests could help doctors intervene before any damage to the organ occurs, and improve outcomes for patients.
A meta-analysis of multiple studies into the genetic background of Tourette's syndrome (TS) - a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by chronic involuntary motor and vocal tics - finds that variants in hundreds of genes, working in combination, contribute to the development of the syndrome and suggests that Tourette's is part of a continuous spectrum of tic disorders, ranging from mild, sometimes transient tics to severe cases that can include psychiatric symptoms.
WASHINGTON -- Climate change plus population growth are setting the stage for water shortages in parts of the U.S. long before the end of the century, according to a new study in the AGU journal Earth's Future.
Even efforts to use water more efficiently in municipal and industrial sectors won't be enough to stave off shortages, say the authors of the new study. The results suggest that reductions in agricultural water use will probably play the biggest role in limiting future water shortages.
The oldest distinguishing feature between humans and our ape cousins is our ability to walk on two legs - a trait known as bipedalism. Among mammals, only humans and our ancestors perform this atypical balancing act. New research led by a Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine professor of anatomy provides evidence for greater reliance on terrestrial bipedalism by a human ancestor than previously suggested in the ancient fossil record.
Blocking two molecular pathways that send signals inside cancer cells could stave off esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), the most common esophageal malignancy in the United States, according to new research out of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Researchers identified the pathways using advanced computational and genetic analyses of tumor biopsies from EAC patients. They found 80 percent of tumors had unusually active genes related to two specific pathways, and that exposing the cells to pathway inhibitors stymied EAC tumor growth in mice.
The Transcendental Meditation® technique helped to reduce "compassion fatigue" and burnout in a group of 27 nurses while also improving resilience according to a study published today in Journal for Nurses in Professional Development.
Standardized assessments showed a significant improvement after four months of practice.
Family businesses looking to the next generation to take over need to prepare themselves for unexpected events - such as Brexit - according to researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA).
Rather than trying to protect firms from the outside world and excluding non-family members from taking up senior roles, modern family businesses should open themselves up to collaboration and external expertise.
A new survey of GPs has revealed that over 40% intend to leave general practice within the next five years, an increase of nearly a third since 2014.
The survey of 929 GPs conducted by the University of Warwick has revealed that recent national NHS initiatives are failing to address unmanageable workloads for GPs and left them unconvinced that the NHS can respond to the increasing challenges facing general practice.
Results from a pioneering clinical trials programme that delivered an experimental treatment directly to the brain offer hope that it may be possible to restore the cells damaged in Parkinson's.
Amsterdam, NL, February 27, 2019 - A pioneering clinical trials program that delivered an experimental treatment directly to the brain offers hope that it may be possible to restore the cells damaged in Parkinson's disease. The study investigated whether boosting the levels of a naturally-occurring growth factor, Glial Cell Line Derived Neurotrophic Factor (GDNF), can regenerate dying dopamine brain cells in patients with Parkinson's and reverse their condition, something no existing treatment can do.
Teen-agers and young adults who intentionally hurt themselves engage in such behavior based, in part, on how they experience pain and their emotional distress, according to a Rutgers study.
The study, which examines physical pain in non-suicidal self-injuries, appeared online ahead of in print in the March 2019 issue of the journal Clinical Psychological Science.
The popular view that music enhances creativity has been challenged by researchers who say it has the opposite effect.
Psychologists from the University of Central Lancashire, University of Gävle in Sweden and Lancaster University investigated the impact of background music on performance by presenting people with verbal insight problems that are believed to tap creativity.
They found that background music "significantly impaired" people's ability to complete tasks testing verbal creativity - but there was no effect for background library noise.
Aerial migration is the fastest, yet most energetically demanding way of seasonal movements between habitats. A new study led by scientists at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) investigated the energy requirements and travel speeds of migrating Nathusius' bats (Pipistrellus nathusii).
A team of biologists has uncovered a mechanism that determines faithful inheritance of short chromosomes during the reproductive process. The discovery, reported in the journal Nature Communications, elucidates a key aspect of inheritance--deviation from which can lead to infertility, miscarriages, or birth defects such as Down syndrome.
The research centers on how short chromosomes can secure a genetic exchange. Genetic exchanges are critical for chromosome inheritance, but are in limited supply.