A new theory proposes that epigenetic modification plays a key role in the development of endometriosis, a chronic disease affecting 1 in 10 women. The research suggests that alterations in the epigenetic landscape, rather than genetic mutations, contribute to the disease's progression.
Researchers at Northwestern University discovered that infants can use known verbs to learn new nouns by paying attention to how words are used in sentences. This suggests that word learning occurs naturally and can be facilitated by everyday conversations.
A Northwestern University-designed intravaginal ring provides both antiretroviral drug and contraceptive protection for months, addressing a significant need in women's reproductive health. The device, known as the tenofovir levonorgestrel IVR, has been engineered to deliver controlled doses of these medications over an extended period.
A new Northwestern University study finds that excessive sitting time is a major risk factor for disability in people over 60. Sedentary behavior is almost as strong a risk factor as lack of moderate exercise.
Geophysicist Seth Stein warns that humans are often outsmarted by nature during disasters, causing unnecessary damage despite expensive mitigation measures. Stein advocates for a thoughtful approach to disaster preparedness, integrating science, economics, and policy formulation to make informed decisions.
Professor Daniel K. Mroczek has discovered that certain personality traits are associated with better physical and mental health outcomes throughout life. His research suggests that many adults remain fit and engaged until late in life, maintaining fulfilling social relationships.
Professor Haoqi Zhang's crowd-supported systems solve complex problems like custom trip planning and academic conference organization. His research integrates community process, intelligent user interfaces and crowdsourced input to create efficient solutions.
Recent research in biological anthropology explores how global environmental variations shape human health and biology. The studies examine the effects of diet, energy dynamics, and chronic inflammation on human reproduction, nutrition, and disease prevalence.
Joan Chiao's research investigates how cultural factors influence basic psychological and neural processes underlying social behavior and emotion processing. The study focuses on the physiological and cultural foundations of traits such as empathy and altruism, shedding light on their role in shaping human social interactions.
Robert Gordon's research focuses on the causes of long-term unemployment and declining labor-force participation, with implications for future economic growth. He will critically evaluate the impact of technological progress on employment and consider policy strategies to mitigate its effects.
Researchers developed robotic fish inspired by the weakly electric black ghost knifefish to study fragile coral reefs and investigate sunken ships. The technology improves underwater vehicles' agility, allowing them to navigate complex geometries in murky waters.
Northwestern University's International Institute for Nanotechnology is a hub for interdisciplinary research, attracting over 190 faculty researchers from diverse fields. The institute has enabled the development of transformative nanotechnologies, including nanomedicine and energy solutions.
Druckman and co-authors theorize that politicization generates anxiety, leading to a status quo bias among citizens. This results in obstacles for new scientific innovations entering the marketplace. The findings will be presented at an AAAS symposium titled 'Using Social Science to Change Decisions and Improve Health Outcomes'.
A mathematical model simulates and optimizes donor kidney distribution to ease regional inequities and potentially save hundreds of lives. The model identifies areas for policy changes, including sharing within states and transplanting lower-quality kidneys.
A novel one-hour intervention that raises awareness of social class shapes the college experience significantly reduces the academic achievement gap between first-generation and continuing-generation students. The difference-education intervention improves first-generation students' psychological adjustment, grade point averages, and c...
The Northwestern University/Art Institute of Chicago Center for Scientific Studies in the Arts (NU-ACCESS) has established new conservation science collaborations with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Smart Museum at the University of Chicago. Scientists have used surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy to identify organic colorant...
Research from Northwestern University finds that today's best marriages excel when spouses invest time and energy to meet each other's psychological needs for personal growth. However, the majority of marriages are struggling due to a mismatch between what Americans expect from their marriage and the resources they invest in it.
Researchers have identified carmine lake, a light-sensitive red pigment, used by Renoir in his painting 'Madame Léon Clapisson.' The study also sheds light on Winslow Homer's watercolor and Mary Cassatt's pastel, providing new insights into the techniques of these artistic masters.
A new imaging technique can diagnose aortic disease and predict potential complications in patients with bicuspid aortic valve. Blood flow changes were found to be driven by specific types of abnormal aortic valves, and the study demonstrated a direct association between blood flow patterns and aortic diseases.
Researchers found that water molecules in carbon nanotubes don't flow continuously but instead move intermittently, resulting in surprisingly high flow rates. This phenomenon resolves a long-standing issue in fluid dynamics and has potential industrial applications for desalination and other uses.
A study by Northwestern University found that memory edits the past with present experiences, reframing events to create a story fitting the current world. The hippocampus plays a key role in this process, acting as a film editor and special effects team.
A large national study found that elevated blood pressure as young as age 18 is a warning sign of cardiovascular disease developing later in life. The study identified distinct blood pressure patterns from ages 18 to 55 that reveal people at high risk for calcification of coronary arteries, a marker for heart disease.
A study by Northwestern University found that doctors who use electronic health records in the exam room spend about a third of their visits looking at computers, leading to missed nonverbal cues. The study suggests that interactive screen sharing could improve doctor-patient interaction and contribute to better-designed technology.
Three students from Northwestern University created a device using pencil traces on paper to measure strain, while also detecting hazardous chemical vapors. The technology uses the conductive properties of graphene, which is shed when drawing on paper, to create a rudimentary electrode.
Researchers have developed a microparticle therapy that targets inflammatory cells causing damage after a heart attack, reducing lesion size by 50%. The therapy has potential to transform treatment of cardiovascular disease and could be translated for clinical use within two years.
Researchers have discovered intricate neural networks in zebrafish that could help explain how humans developed limb control. The study found separate circuits for controlling the left and right sides of the body, which may be a precursor to human arm and leg movements.
New measurements of mass reveal that planets smaller than Neptune have low density due to extensive gas coverage, while larger ones have higher density. This suggests these planets formed quickly after their star's birth, contrasting with Earth's late formation.
Researchers challenge conventional wisdom that super-Earths are waterworlds, proposing they can have exposed continents and an Earth-like climate. The model suggests most tectonically active super-Earths store water in the mantle, enabling a stable climate.
A new Northwestern Medicine study reveals that leading National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers do not consistently identify and inform patients about their fertility risks or refer them to specialists. Fertility navigators are crucial in bridging the gap between oncology and fertility, but only a third of thes...
Researchers at Northwestern University found that heavy marijuana users had abnormal changes in their brain structures related to working memory, performing poorly on memory tasks. The study suggests that chronic marijuana use may contribute to changes in brain structure associated with schizophrenia and potentially impair motivation.
A new mathematical theory helps reconstruct outbreak origins with higher confidence and forecasts epidemic-spreading speed. The approach uses effective distances computed from air transportation network traffic intensities to visualize geographic spread of past diseases.
The development of UV photodetectors has been driven by numerous applications in the defense, commercial, and scientific arenas. The researchers have brought this AlxGa1-xN-based device closer to reality by developing a compact photodetector with the world's highest quantum efficiency.
A Northwestern University study found that individuals with high self-monitoring and diverse social networks are more likely to strongly experience face threats on Facebook. People who felt they had a high level of Facebook skills reported experiencing these kinds of threats less severely.
A Northwestern University research team successfully built near-perfect single crystals out of nanoparticles and DNA, transforming disordered materials into orderly crystal structures. The technique, developed by Chad Mirkin and Monica Olvera de la Cruz, holds promise for novel technologies and new industries.
A collaborative study between researchers at Northwestern University and Microsoft Research found that Asian and Hispanic parents are significantly more likely to be concerned about all online safety-related issues. In contrast, white parents exhibit the lowest levels of concern across various online safety issues.
Northwestern University researchers have developed a new technique to profile enzyme activities in cell lysate, providing a fast, low-cost, and label-free method for studying post-transcriptional processes. By using peptide arrays and SAMDI mass spectrometry, the researchers were able to identify patterns of enzyme activities and shed ...
Researchers at Northwestern University have successfully tested a nontoxic therapy that suppresses Lupus in blood samples of people with the autoimmune disease. The study found that the peptides can block and reduce autoantibody production to almost baseline levels, showing potential as a vaccine-like therapy.
Northwestern University researchers found that brain activity can predict individual differences in reading comprehension, with nearly 90% accuracy. They used EEG to measure brainwaves and compared the results between ordered and scrambled story texts.
A new algorithm developed at Northwestern University can accurately track physical activity no matter where a patient carries their phone. The study's findings are crucial for improving the health of patients with Parkinson's disease, who may carry their phones in different locations throughout the day.
A new Northwestern University study reveals that physiological changes during pregnancy reduce the effects of commonly used bipolar medications, making women more vulnerable to recurring episodes. Women with bipolar disorder may require higher doses to stay well during pregnancy.
A Northwestern University research team has developed a drug that silences a critical gene in glioblastoma, increasing survival rates by nearly 20% and reducing tumor size. The novel therapeutic uses nanotechnology to target the gene, which plays a key role in therapy resistance.
Research at Northwestern University finds that adolescents from lower maternal educational backgrounds have noisier neural activity, erratic responses to speech sounds, and poorer reading performance. The study suggests that poverty can shape the brain's representation of auditory information.
Researchers have verified the classical Landau-Squire theory in a nanoscale fluid jet, measuring flow rates of tens of pico liters per second. The findings suggest that the Navier-Stokes equations hold true at molecular scales, with potential applications in ultra-low-volume injectors and microfluidic logic circuits.
A Northwestern University study analyzed data from over 400,000 runners in 10 large 10km road racing events. The top groups of men and women appear to be getting faster, with more sub-hour finishers among women. An increasing percentage of finishers are completing races in more than one hour.
A new Northwestern University study tracked the auditory system's response to highly complex auditory-visual stimuli like music and moving images. The research shows that the left auditory cortex specializes in processing precise timing for sounds and applies this ability to encode auditory-visual synchrony, but only in certain situati...
Researchers at Northwestern University have created a p-n heterojunction diode using molybdenum disulfide and carbon nanotubes, allowing for electronically tunable device characteristics. The device has also shown ultrafast photodetection capabilities with a sensitive response to light.
Chemist Elad Harel at Northwestern University has been awarded a Packard Fellowship to develop optical analogs of MRI technology for studying protein misfolding. Misfolding is linked to diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and diabetes.
Scientists have discovered a critical clue about why some people can control HIV without taking antiviral drugs. These 'controllers' have an extra helping of the immune protein APOBEC3G, which blocks HIV from spreading within the body.
A Northwestern University study found that the amount of eye contact a doctor makes is the most important factor in patient perception of empathy. Patients also gave doctors higher scores when they engaged in social touches like handshakes or pats on the back, but excessive touches decreased empathy.
Researchers at Northwestern University have developed a compact, room-temperature terahertz source with an output power of 215 microwatts, paving the way for applications in homeland security, medical imaging and space research. The device, similar to a laser diode, operates at high power without cryogenic cooling.