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Science News Archive February 2019 - Page 18


Page 18 of 40

AASM publishes clinical practice guideline on use of PAP therapy for sleep apnea

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine published a clinical practice guideline for the use of positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy to treat obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in adults. The guideline provides nine recommendations, including the use of PAP therapy as a first-line treatment for OSA in adults with excessive sleepiness.

SourceAmerican Academy of Sleep Medicine·JournalJournal of Clinical Sleep Medicine·DateFeb 18, 2019

As citizen scientists, farmers can make important contributions to climate adaptation

A new study by Bioversity International shows that crowdsourced citizen science can improve and accelerate crop variety recommendations, enabling farmers to adapt to climate change. The approach, called tricot, uses farmer-generated data to generate recommendations that are representative of local conditions.

SourceBioversity International·JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences·DateFeb 18, 2019

Research finds ethnoracial differences in Alzheimer's disease

A study of 1,625 brain tissue samples found Hispanic-American patients with Alzheimer's disease lived an average of 12 years from symptom onset, compared to 9 and 8 years for non-Hispanic whites and African-Americans. The research also identified subtle differences in the severity of Alzheimer's-related protein clumps among ethnoracial...

Researchers find febrile infants may not need painful tests, antibiotics, hospitalizations

Researchers developed a new protocol to identify febrile infants under 60 days old who are at low risk of serious bacterial infections. The study showed that using simple laboratory tests, such as urinalysis and blood cell count, can confidently exclude these cases, reducing unnecessary invasive procedures and hospitalizations.

SourceUniversity of California - Davis Health·JournalJAMA Pediatrics·DateFeb 18, 2019

Machine learning unlocks plants' secrets

Researchers at Michigan State University used machine learning to sort through tens of thousands of plant genes and identify those responsible for producing specialized metabolites. This breakthrough could lead to improved plants, plant-based pharmaceuticals, and environmentally safe pesticides.

SourceMichigan State University·JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences·DateFeb 18, 2019

CNIC researchers identify a very early marker of cardiac damage triggered by cancer treatment

Researchers at CNIC identified a very early marker of cardiac damage in patients undergoing anthracycline therapy, allowing for early diagnosis and potential prevention of irreversible damage. The discovery has implications for patient prognosis and may lead to new therapies based on mitochondrial transplantation.

SourceCentro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III (F.S.P.)·JournalJournal of the American College of Cardiology·DateFeb 18, 2019

How our plants have turned into thieves to survive

Scientists discovered grasses are genetically modifying themselves by taking genes from neighbors, gaining a competitive advantage and breaking the rules of evolution. This process, called lateral gene transfer, allows them to adapt to their environment without millions of years of natural selection.

SourceUniversity of Sheffield·JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences·DateFeb 18, 2019

Kaden Hazzard wins NSF CAREER Award

Rice University physicist Kaden Hazzard has won a National Science Foundation CAREER Award to create algorithms that aim to advance the creation of novel quantum matter. He will investigate new ways to simulate states of matter at extreme cold temperatures, as close as possible to absolute zero.

Climate change makes summer weather stormier yet more stagnant

A new MIT study finds that climate change is shifting the energy in the atmosphere, leading to stronger thunderstorms and more stagnant conditions. Rising global temperatures are redistributed, with more energy available for local convective processes like thunderstorms and less for larger, milder extratropical cyclones.

SourceMassachusetts Institute of Technology·JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences·DateFeb 18, 2019

From sea to lab

Scientists have introduced a new efficient synthetic route for marine antitumor agents trabectedin and lurbinectedin. The synthesis consists of 26 individual steps and uses a light-controlled activation mechanism to produce the complex drugs in sufficient quantities.

SourceWiley·JournalAngewandte Chemie International Edition·DateFeb 18, 2019

Predicting climate change

The Crowther Lab's research uses global datasets to understand the global forest system and identify regions of high priority for biodiversity conservation. They find that warming soil will lead to increased carbon emissions, particularly in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions, threatening climate change mitigation efforts.