OCT News and Research

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Air pollution control devices save lives and cut health costs

A new commentary found that power plants' use of these devices saved up to 9,100 lives and up to $100 billion in health costs in 2023.

25 Oct 2024

Evaluating the effectiveness of GAAD for early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma

Early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is crucial for improving survival in patients with chronic hepatitis.

25 Oct 2024

Advanced fibrosis linked to liver complications in biopsy-proven MASLD

Data regarding risk factors and long-term outcomes of U.S. patients with biopsy-proven metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) are limited.

25 Oct 2024

UCLA researchers identify key protein in heart healing after attack

UCLA scientists have identified the protein GPNMB as a critical regulator in the heart's healing process after a heart attack.

25 Oct 2024

Tertiary lymphoid structures linked to improved outcomes in liver cancer patients

A newly described stage of a lymph node-like structure seen in liver tumors after presurgical immunotherapy may be vital to successfully treating patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, according to a study by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.

25 Oct 2024

Unraveling the survival strategies of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in lung infections

Imagine trying to settle into a new home while constantly being attacked. That's what the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa faces when it infects the lungs, and it can't both spread and protect itself from antibiotics at the same time.

25 Oct 2024

Common plastic ingredient causes breaks in DNA strands and chromosome errors

A new study conducted in roundworms finds that a common plastic ingredient causes breaks in DNA strands, resulting in egg cells with the wrong number of chromosomes.

25 Oct 2024

ClinGen publishes data on over 2700 genes relevant to genetic diseases

The Clinical Genome Resource (ClinGen), a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded resource that works to define the clinical relevance of genes and variants, has published data on more than 2,700 genes curated for relevance to genetic diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disease and neurodevelopmental disorders.

25 Oct 2024

Study reveals resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to common cleaning agents

A new study reveals widespread resistance of a major bacterial pathogen to the active ingredients in cleaning agents commonly used in hospitals and homes.

25 Oct 2024

Review highlights advances in flexible optoelectronics for cardiac healthcare

A review paper by scientists at Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences summarized the progress of biointegrated flexible and stretchable optoelectronics for wearable and implantable cardiac healthcare.

25 Oct 2024

Climate change impacts pollen patterns and allergy sensitization in Chicago

People have heard for years that climate change is having a significant impact on plant vegetation patterns and influencing how pollen and mold produce.

25 Oct 2024

Single treatment with CRISPR gene editing therapy offers hope for hereditary angioedema patients

A single treatment with, a CRISPR-Cas9 based gene editing therapy, is enough to replace the daily medication of patients with hereditary angioedema (HAE), a condition characterized by severe, painful and sudden onset of swelling, sometimes resulting in death.

25 Oct 2024

FUSE: Revolutionizing the analysis of gene mutations

Our study introduces a new tool called FUSE (Functional Substitution Estimation) that helps scientists better understand how changes in genes affect proteins.

25 Oct 2024

Exclusive: Emails reveal how health departments struggle to track human cases of bird flu

Bird flu cases have more than doubled in the country within a few weeks, but researchers can't determine why the spike is happening because surveillance for human infections has been patchy for seven months.

25 Oct 2024

Study finds minority patients less likely to refuse vaccines

Throughout the Covid pandemic, media widely reported that Black patients were more likely than White patients to refuse vaccines, including the influenza and Covid vaccines.

24 Oct 2024

Daily pistachio consumption linked to improved eye health

A new study from researchers at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University has found that consuming pistachios daily may significantly improve eye health by increasing macular pigment optical density (MPOD), due to the plant pigment lutein, a key factor in protecting the eyes from blue (visible) light and age-related damage.

24 Oct 2024

Research highlights importance of quality improvement programs in stroke care

New research published this month shows the key role quality improvement programs play in ensuring hospitals can adequately fight one of the biggest public health threats facing our country: stroke.

24 Oct 2024

Key mutations discovered in cancer cells linked to WRN inhibitor resistance

Researchers have discovered key mutations in certain cancer cells that make them resistant to WRN inhibitors, a new class of anti-cancer drugs.

24 Oct 2024

Antibiotic for liver disease linked to emergence of antimicrobial resistant superbug

An international team of researchers has found that an antibiotic commonly prescribed for patients with liver disease, called rifaximin, has led to the global emergence of an almost untreatable form of the antimicrobial resistant superbug vancomycin-resistant enterococcus faecium (VRE), which frequently causes serious infections in hospitalized patients.

24 Oct 2024

Gene named after Irish folklore may aid recovery from nerve injuries

The key to recovering from traumatic nerve injuries, like those sustained in motor vehicle accidents or gunshot wounds, may be a gene named for the land of everlasting youth in Irish folklore.

24 Oct 2024