Search Medical Journals & Research Articles

New building blocks of cell communication: How an invisible 'cap' could control electrical synapses

When two cells "talk" to each other, they often do so through tiny channels called electrical synapses. Unlike chemical synapses, these so-called gap junctions enable the direct exchange of information between two cells, for example in the form of ions. Without them, our hearts could not beat in sync, and nerve cells could not fire in rhythm. But what exactly happens during this form of cell communication?

Simple gel jelly beads on liquid surface reveal secrets of slow earthquakes

Slow earthquakes have been discovered to exhibit anomalously slow, long-lasting and small slips, adjacent to regular earthquakes where we sometimes feel catastrophic vibration. However, no one knows the reason why slow earthquakes show such strange characteristics. In a study published in the journal Nature Communications, researchers at The University of Osaka succeeded in experimentally reproducing the multiple features of slow earthquakes in the lab and suggested the grain-scale origin of them based on their direct observations.

Priming for planned sex increases desire, frequency in parents with young children

Between the lack of sleep and free time, physical, hormonal and relationship changes, and juggling work and other life commitments, many couples find their sex lives take a hit in the transition to parenthood. Continuing through the early years of child rearing, this can have a negative impact on the overall relationship. While spontaneous sex is put on a pedestal in Western society, a new study led by researchers at York University's Faculty of Health found that encouraging couples with young children to plan sex led to increased desire and frequency.

Argon ion treatment increases carbon nanowall electrode capacitance fivefold

Researchers from Skoltech, MIPT, and the RAS Institute of Nanotechnology of Microelectronics have achieved a five-fold increase in the capacitance of carbon nanowalls, a material used in the electrodes of supercapacitors. These are auxiliary energy storage devices used in conjunction with conventional accumulators in electric cars, trains, port cranes, and other systems.

Computational framework streamlines therapeutic RNA nanocarrier design

A research team led by professor Olivia Merkel, Chair of Drug Delivery at LMU and co-spokesperson of the Cluster for Nucleic Acid Therapeutics Munich (CNATM) has developed the first integrated platform that combines molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and machine learning (ML) to identify new polymeric materials for therapeutic RNA delivery.

Water retention on Earth-like planets around variable stars

What can star variability—changes in a star's brightness over time—teach astronomers about exoplanet habitability? This is what a recent study accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal hopes to address as a team of scientists investigated the interaction between a star's activity and exoplanetary atmospheres. This study, available on the arXiv preprint server, has the potential to help astronomers better understand how star variability plays a role in finding habitable exoplanets, specifically around stars that are different from our sun.

Why researchers are studying lipid levels in chimpanzee blood

If you've had an annual checkup recently, your doctor probably ran a blood test to look at things such as your cholesterol levels. Researchers are also interested in the levels of cholesterol and other lipids in the blood of chimpanzees. This is largely to help zoos and other institutions take care of human-managed chimpanzee populations—but it may also (someday) help us understand more about cardiovascular health in humans.

Adolescent Mental Health Theme Issue

In early 2023, we launched an ongoing theme issue in JAMA Pediatrics focused on adolescent mental health. The impetus for this theme issue was driven by the rise in adolescent mental health issues and heightened concerns following the COVID-19 pandemic contributing to worsened adolescent mental health. We called out the need for studies focused on adolescent mental health, as well as factors associated with better mental health, such as physical health, positive family relationships, and social support.

Measuring Nurses’ Subjective Workload in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

In this issue of JAMA Pediatrics, Tubbs-Cooley and colleagues describe findings from their prospective study of the association between workload and missed care among 247 nurses across 11 364 shifts in 10 neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Replicating their prior single-center study, the researchers collected shift-level workload data for nurse participants, operationalized the following 3 ways: (1) number of assigned patients (verified with administrative data); (2) infant acuity scores for those patients (from the electronic health record [EHR]); and (3) subjective workload measured using 4 items from the NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX). Nurse participants completed the NASA-TLX and missed care measures near the end of each shift. The researchers found that nurses who reported higher subjective workload had significantly higher odds of reporting missed care across all 17 items on the missed care questionnaire in both individual and joint models. Both higher patient to nurse ratios and infant acuity scores were associated with significantly higher odds of missed care for fewer than a quarter of items in joint models.

Blood Tests for Alzheimer Disease—When the Holy Grail Is Found

In this issue of JAMA Neurology, Malek-Ahmadi and colleagues present a meta-analysis of 17 studies, conducted over just the last 5 years, of the ability of plasma phosphorylated tau 217 (p-tau217) to distinguish groups of individuals without cognitive impairment who test positive on traditional Alzheimer disease (AD) biomarkers from those who test negative. They conclude that plasma p-tau217 is a powerful tool to differentiate these groups, with consistent high effect sizes and areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve.

Expanding the Evidence on Late Preterm Steroids to Twin Pregnancies

Nearly 60% of all preterm births in the United States occur in the late preterm period, defined as a birth after 34 weeks but before 37 weeks of gestation. In 2022, nearly 280 000 pregnant individuals and their neonates experienced a late preterm birth. While neonates born in this period generally have fewer complications of prematurity than those born before 34 weeks, many will require admission to an intensive or intermediate care unit before they are ready for discharge, and respiratory complications, including respiratory distress syndrome, remain a significant source of neonatal morbidity.

Women’s Health and Artificial Intelligence

Innovative approaches and tools are essential to address and narrow the women’s health gap, whereby women spend 25% more of their lives in poor health compared to men. Artificial intelligence (AI), if implemented thoughtfully and equitably, could unlock a more precise understanding of women’s health. This potential is rooted in AI’s ability to uncover patterns in data that may have eluded clinical observation or pathophysiologic understanding to date.

Benefiting Us All—Population-Level Impact of the HPV Vaccine

Worldwide in 2019, human papillomaviruses (HPV) caused approximately 620 000 new cancer cases in women and 70 000 new cancer cases in men. In unvaccinated populations before implementation of the HPV vaccine, more than 80% of sexually active people acquired HPV during their lifetime. Those at the highest risk for HPV-related cancers are people with weakened immune systems, multiple sex partners, and those who smoke tobacco. For the past 17 years, the HPV vaccine has been administered to more than 59 million women. For individuals receiving the vaccine, population-level studies have demonstrated that it has an excellent safety record and strong efficacy in the prevention of HPV infection, precancer lesions, and cervical cancer.

Simple Solutions for Complex Problems

Food insecurity remains a consistent challenge to many individuals, particularly those in low-income households. In addition to directly compromising nutrition, food insecurity can also portend poor outcomes for chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes, among others. To mitigate the deleterious effects of food insecurity, multiple intervention approaches, ranging from patient education to actual delivery of meals, have been previously tested.

Levosimendan and Weaning From VA-ECMO

Venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) is increasingly used to treat patients with cardiogenic shock, a life-threatening condition with persistently high mortality rates. However, patients receiving VA-ECMO are at risk of major complications, including acute limb ischemia, infection, bleeding, thromboembolic events, and stroke; thus, it would be advantageous if a therapy allowed more rapid weaning and liberation from the VA-ECMO circuit.