Leveraging the power of AI and machine learning technologies, researchers developed a more effective model for predicting how patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer will respond to chemotherapy. The model harnesses whole-slide tumor imaging data and gene expression analyses in a way that outperforms previous models using a single data type.
ScienceDaily
A genetic tree as a movie: Moving beyond the still portrait of ancestry
Researchers have created a way to see your family tree as a movie rather than a still portrait by tracing where your ancestors moved across the globe over time. The statistical method can also be used to model disease spread and studying how animals move through geographic regions.
Melting ice, more rain drive Southern Ocean cooling
Researchers found increased meltwater and rain explain 60% of a decades-long mismatch between predicted and observed temperatures in the ocean around Antarctica.
Long COVID patients feel pressure to prove their illness is real, study finds
People living with Long COVID often feel dismissed, disbelieved and unsupported by their healthcare providers, according to a new study.
We must not ignore eugenics in our genetics curriculum, says professor
To encourage scientists to speak up when people misuse science to serve political agendas, biology professor Mark Peifer of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill argues that eugenics should be included in college genetics curriculums.
Earliest days of Earth’s formation
New research sheds light on the earliest days of the earth’s formation and potentially calls into question some earlier assumptions in planetary science about the early years of rocky planets. Establishing a direct link between the Earth’s interior dynamics occurring within the first 100 million years of its history and its present-day structure, the work is one of the first in the field to combine fluid mechanics with chemistry to better understand the Earth’s early evolution.
A cleaner future for tires: Scientists pioneer chemical process to repurpose rubber waste
Every year, millions of tires end up in landfills, creating an environmental crisis with far-reaching consequences. In the United States alone, over 274 million tires were scrapped in 2021, with nearly a fifth of them being discarded into landfills. A study has now pioneered a technique for breaking down this rubber waste and transforming it into valuable precursors for epoxy resins. This technique offers an innovative and sustainable alternative to traditional recycling methods while significantly reducing rubber waste in landfills.
Children of moms who smoked or were obese are more likely to become obese adults
A study finds that factors beyond a person’s control, like socioeconomic status and whether their mom smoked or was obese, can influence whether they are overweight or obese as teenagers or adults.
mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines train the ‘long-term memory’ of the immune system
Researchers have discovered that mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines have a persistent effect on the innate immune system. These mechanisms may help the human body to better protect itself against potential future infections.
Repetitive behaviors and special interests are more indicative of an autism diagnosis than a lack of social skills
People with autism are typically diagnosed by clinical observation and assessment. To deconstruct the clinical decision process, which is often subjective and difficult to describe, researchers used a large language model (LLM) to synthesize the behaviors and observations that are most indicative of an autism diagnosis. Their results show that repetitive behaviors, special interests, and perception-based behaviors are most associated with an autism diagnosis. These findings have potential to improve diagnostic guidelines for autism by decreasing the focus on social factors — which the established guidelines in the DSM-5 focus on but the model did not classify among the most relevant in diagnosing autism.