When is a child an adult?

When does childhood end? That's the question international researchers are asking as they chart age cut-offs for paediatric services around the world.

Evidence underpinning approval of new cancer drugs raises questions

Around half of trials that supported new cancer drug approvals in Europe between 2014 and 2016 were judged to be at high risk of bias, which indicates that treatment effects might have been exaggerated, concludes a study published by The BMJ today.

Indonesian haze closes schools, sparks fears for Singapore F1

Toxic haze from Indonesian forest fires closed thousands of schools across the country and in neighbouring Malaysia Wednesday, while air quality worsened in Singapore just days before the city's Formula One motor race.

Facebook auto-generating pages for Islamic State, al-Qaida

In the face of criticism that Facebook is not doing enough to combat extremist messaging, the company likes to say that its automated systems remove the vast majority of prohibited content glorifying the Islamic State group and al-Qaida before it's reported.

Number of abortions in US falls to lowest since 1973

The number and rate of abortions across the United States have plunged to their lowest levels since the procedure became legal nationwide in 1973, according to new figures released Wednesday.

The long road to clean energy

The vital transition to a zero-carbon economy is likely to be a long and rocky road. So-called green energy is booming, but not fast enough to curb climate change, which is accelerating at an alarming pace as oil, gas and coal consumption soar.

Health fears prompt Swiss 5G revolt

Switzerland was among the first countries to begin deploying 5G, but health fears over radiation from the antennas that carry the next-generation mobile technology have sparked a nationwide revolt.

Study finds manufacturing, driving and cleaning jobs linked to the highest risk of developing type 2 diabetes

Professional drivers, manufacturing workers and cleaners have a threefold increased risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) compared with university teachers and physiotherapists, according to a new study presented at this year's Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) and published in Diabetologia (the journal of EASD).

Deprivation associated with increased risk of death following hospital admission with type 2 diabetes

New research presented at this year's Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Barcelona, Spain (16-20 Sept) shows that where you live has an impact on how likely you are to die for patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), and how likely you are to be readmitted to hospital for patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) following hospital discharge. The study is by Dr. Tim Robbins, Institute of Digital Healthcare, WMG, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK, and colleagues from both the University of Warwick and University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust, UK.

Early signs of adult diabetes are visible in children as young as 8 years old

Early signs of adulthood type 2 diabetes can be seen in children as young as 8 years old, decades before it is likely to be diagnosed, according to a new genetic study being presented at this year's European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Annual Meeting in Barcelona, Spain (16-20 September).

Study stresses the importance of staying physically active and the negative effects of even short-term inactivity

A new study presented at this year's Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Barcelona, Spain (16-20 September) highlights the negative health effects of even short periods of physical inactivity and stresses the importance of staying physically active.

Fruit flies' microbiomes shape their evolution

The expression "you are what you eat" has taken on new meaning. In an experiment in fruit flies, or Drosophila melanogaster, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have found that adding different species of microbes to the flies' food caused populations to diverge genetically, racking up significant genomic changes in just five generations.

Researchers develop thermo-responsive protein hydrogel

Imagine a perfectly biocompatible, protein-based drug delivery system durable enough to survive in the body for more than two weeks and capable of providing sustained medication release. An interdisciplinary research team led by Jin Kim Montclare, a professor of biomolecular and chemical engineering at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, has created the first protein-engineered hydrogel that meets those criteria, advancing an area of biochemistry critical to not only to the future of drug delivery, but tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

Brain imaging shows how nonverbal children with autism have slower response to sounds

Even though nonverbal or minimally verbal people who have autism spectrum disorder (ASD) make up between 25 and 30 percent of the total autistic population, almost no studies have been done focusing on this group and their particular needs.

Stabilizing neuronal branching for healthy brain circuitry

Neurons form circuits in our brain by creating tree-like branches to connect with each other. Newly forming branches rely on the stability of microtubules, a railway-like system important for the transport of materials in cells. The mechanisms that regulate the stability of microtubules in branches are largely unknown. New research from the Vickie & Jack Farber Institute for Neuroscience—Jefferson Health has identified a key molecule that stabilizes microtubules and reinforces new neuronal branches.

NASA's Terra Satellite sees the birth of Tropical Storm Imelda

NASA's Terra satellite passed over the western Gulf of Mexico during the early afternoon of Sept. 17 and captured a visible image of the newly formed Tropical Depression 11.

Immigrants who committed felonies less likely than nonimmigrants to commit another felony

Prior research has shown that immigrants have lower rates of offending, arrest, and incarceration than nonimmigrants. However, that work hasn't examined whether this holds true for recidivism. A new study compared recidivism rates of foreign-born and native-born individuals formerly incarcerated for felonies and released from prisons in Florida. It found that immigrants are significantly less likely to reoffend by committing another felony than their nonimmigrant peers.

March of the multiple penguin genomes

The Penguin Genome Consortium sequences all living penguin species genomes to understand the evolution of life on the ice

Quarter of teachers in England report 60-hour working week

One in four teachers work more than 60 hours a week and many work in the evenings, despite successive government promises to reduce their hours, according to a new UCL-led study.

Microbiome may be involved in mechanisms related to muscle strength in older adults

A novel new study suggests that the gut microbiome has a role in mechanisms related to muscle strength in older adults. The work, led by researchers at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts, is available as a pre-proof in advance of print in Experimental Gerontology.

Electronic nose can sniff out which lung cancer patients will respond to immunotherapy

An electronic nose that detects chemicals in the breath of lung cancer patients can identify with 85% accuracy those who will or will not respond to immunotherapy, according to new research published in the leading cancer journal Annals of Oncology today.

Radiation may lower potential for side effects of CAR T therapy in non-hodgkin's lymphoma

Treating non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) patients with radiation therapy as an additional treatment while they wait for their CAR T cells to be manufactured may reduce the risk of CAR T therapy side effects once it is administered, according to a new study from researchers in the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania. The study found patients who received radiation 30 days or fewer before their CAR T infusion did not experience serious cytokine release syndrome (CRS) or neurotoxicity, the two most common side effects of the gene therapy. Michael LaRiviere, MD, a resident in Radiation Oncology in Penn's Perelman School of Medicine, will present the findings today at the American Society for Radiation Oncology Annual Meeting in Chicago (Abstract #135).

Fast MRIs offer alternative to CT scans for pediatric head injuries: study

Researchers from the University of Colorado School of Medicine have released a study that shows that a new imaging method "fast MRI" is effective in identifying traumatic brain injuries in children, and can avoid exposure to ionizing radiation and anesthesia.

Study questions routine sleep studies to evaluate snoring in children

Pediatricians routinely advise parents of children who snore regularly and have sleepiness, fatigue or other symptoms consistent with sleep disordered breathing, to get a sleep study; this can help determine whether their child has obstructive sleep apnea, which is often treated with surgery to remove the tonsils and adenoids (adenotonsillectomy). Often pediatricians make surgery recommendations based on the results of this sleep study.