Secret-shopper-style study shows online birth control prescription overall safe, efficient

Web-based and digital-app services that offer oral contraception appear to be overall safe and efficient, according to the findings of a secret-shopper-style study conducted by researchers at Harvard Medical School and UC Davis that analyzed the birth control prescription services of nine U.S. vendors.

New insights into the healing capacity of the heart

A group of researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, the Texas Heart Institute and the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston reveals today in the journal Genes & Development new insights into the recently discovered healing capacity of the heart involving the Hippo cellular pathway. The group previously reported that inactivating the Hippo pathway in the adult murine heart promoted cardiac muscle regeneration after injury, opening the possibility of developing promising heart failure therapies.

Study assesses asthma treatment options in African American children and adults

A new study of African Americans with poorly controlled asthma, found differences in patients' responses to commonly used treatments. Contrary to what researchers had expected, almost half of young children in the study responded differently than older children and adults, and than white children in prior studies.

Found: three black holes on collision course

Astronomers have spotted three giant black holes within a titanic collision of three galaxies. Several observatories, including the Chandra X-ray Observatory and other NASA space telescopes, captured the unusual system.

Boeing settles 1st Lion Air cases with MAX families, $1.2 mn per victim: source

Boeing has reached settlements with 11 families of victims from October's Lion Air crash, the first agreements following two deadly crashes that killed 346 people, a plaintiffs attorney said Wednesday.

Rhode Island is latest state to bar flavored vape products

Rhode Island became the latest state to restrict e-cigarettes Wednesday when Gov. Gina Raimondo signed an executive order banning the sale of flavored vaping products.

A mouse or an elephant: what species fights infection more effectively?

What species is better at fighting an infection, a mouse or an elephant? Body size is one of the most noticeable differences among species, but relationships between immune defenses and body size have largely been unstudied.

Minnesota moves to get more electric vehicles on roads

Minnesota will require car manufacturers to sell more electric vehicles in the state starting in the 2023 model year, Gov. Tim Walz said Wednesday, a move meant to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while defying the Trump administration's efforts to revoke California's clean air and fuel economy standards for cars and trucks.

Does migraine leave your head spinning? Noninvasive treatment shows early promise

There may be some good news for people with vestibular migraine, a type of migraine that causes vertigo and dizziness with or without headache pain. A small, preliminary study suggests that non-invasive nerve stimulation may show promise as a treatment for vestibular migraine attacks, a condition for which there are currently no approved treatments. The study is published in the September 25, 2019, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Emergency vaccination for deadly DR Congo measles outbreak: UN

The UN health agency on Wednesday said it would carry out an emergency vaccination campaign in six DR Congo provinces to counter an outbreak of measles that has killed 3,600 since the start of the year.

US appeals court to decide fight over jaguar habitat

It will be up to a federal appeals court to decide whether tens of thousands of acres in New Mexico should be reserved as critical habitat for the endangered jaguar.

Prediction system significantly increases palliative care consults

Palliative Connect, a trigger system developed at Penn Medicine and powered by predictive analytics, was found to be effective at increasing palliative care consultations for seriously ill patients, according to a new study from researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. After the system was implemented, palliative care consultation increased by 74 percent. The study was published this month in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Fear not a factor in gun ownership: research

Are gun owners more or less afraid than people who do not own guns? A new study from researchers at Florida State University and the University of Arizona hopes to add some empirical data to the conversation after finding that gun owners tend to report less fear than non-gun owners.

AI helps scientists predict depression outcomes

The psychiatry field has long sought answers to explain why antidepressants help only some people.

Scientists solve mystery underlying heart toxicity caused by diabetes drugs

Like catching two fish with one worm, treating two problems with a single drug is efficient, but exceedingly difficult. In particular, for new diabetes medications, in which one drug aims to tackle two major complications of diabetes—the excess of both lipids and glucose in the blood—the therapeutic benefits, while great, frequently are accompanied by dangerous toxic effects to the heart.

NASA visualization shows a black hole's warped world

This new visualization of a black hole illustrates how its gravity distorts our view, warping its surroundings as if seen in a carnival mirror. The visualization simulates the appearance of a black hole where infalling matter has collected into a thin, hot structure called an accretion disk. The black hole's extreme gravity skews light emitted by different regions of the disk, producing the misshapen appearance.

Researchers developing new 'DNA stitch' to treat muscular dystrophy

A new therapeutic being tested by University of Alberta researchers is showing early promise as a more effective treatment that could help nearly half of patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

Resistance to immune checkpoint blocker drug linked to metabolic imbalance

A metabolic imbalance in some cancer patients following treatment with a checkpoint inhibitor drug, nivolumab, is associated with resistance to the immunotherapy agent and shorter survival, report scientists from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, in collaborative work with the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.

Climate change could cause drought in wheat-growing areas: study

In a new study, researchers found that unless steps are taken to mitigate climate change, up to 60 percent of current wheat-growing areas worldwide could see simultaneous, severe and prolonged droughts by the end of the century. Wheat is the world's largest rain-fed crop in terms of harvested area and supplies about 20 percent of all calories consumed by humans.

Better than earth? Are there superhabitable worlds in the Milky Way?

I've said many times in the past that the Earth is the best planet in the universe. No matter where we go, we'll never find a planet that's a better home to Earth life than Earth. Of course, that's because we, and all other Earth life evolved in this environment. Evolution adapted us to this planet, and it's unlikely we could ever find another planet this good for us.

* This article was originally published here

Shoe-mounted laser to 'unfreeze' people with Parkinson's scoops €1 million prize

A shoe-mounted laser beam that helps people with Parkinson's disease 'unfreeze' by shining a green line in front of their feet has been awarded the EU's €1 million Horizon Prize for Social Innovation.

California ballot proposal would tighten data privacy rules

A San Francisco developer who pressured California lawmakers into enacting the nation's most sweeping data privacy act is pushing a ballot measure to expand the law.

Race against time to finish Brazil's particle accelerator

Brazilian scientists are racing against time to finish building a particle accelerator the size of the Maracana football stadium before government funds run out or it is superseded by rival technology.

Germany's climate-stressed trees face 'catastrophe' as bugs attack

Germany's forests have long been treasured by its people, so the country has reacted with alarm and dismay as a beetle infestation has turned climate-stressed woodlands into brown ecological graveyards.

Swedish climate activist Thunberg wins 'Alternative Nobel'

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg is among four people named Wednesday as the winners of a Right Livelihood Award, also known as the "Alternative Nobel."

Beijing opens glitzy airport ahead of China's 70th anniversary

A futuristic new airport in Beijing, which is expected to become one of the busiest in the world, was opened by President Xi Jinping on Wednesday.

Caribbean gets smart to cope with hurricanes

After monster Hurricane Irma annihilated the farm sector of Barbuda in 2017, growers got smart: among other changes, they moved their crops to higher ground.

Facebook exempts political speech from fact-checking

Facebook will not fact-check the statements politicians post to the site, the social network announced Tuesday ahead of the US 2020 elections, even as it works to discredit false information meant to manipulate public opinion.

Officials: 75,000 vaping cartridges seized in Anoka County

Law enforcement officials say they've seized 75,000 vaping cartridges in Anoka County.

'Blue finance' hopes to put oceans on a sustainable path

The world's oceans are set to become an increasingly vital resource for helping the planet cope with soaring population growth, but officials are only beginning to craft regulatory frameworks that would ensure "blue financing" goes where it's needed most.

Greta Thunberg's 'How dare you?' a major moment for climate movement

Her imperious "How dare you?" to world leaders at the UN cemented Swedish teen Greta Thunberg's role as her generation's leading spokeswoman on climate change, the culmination of a year of dogged relentlessness, say those who know her.

California ramps up efforts to combat invasive swamp rodents

One of the most recent threats to California's environment has webbed feet, white whiskers, shaggy fur and orange buck teeth that could be mistaken for carrots.

Vox Media and owner of 'New York' magazine to merge

Vox Media announced a merger agreement Tuesday with New York Media, home of the prestigious "New York" magazine and a series of other titles.

Tropical fish swim into Europe's waters as common species head north

Cod, sole and plaice might be regulars on European dinner tables but as climate change heats the oceans common species are heading to cooler northern waters—with profound potential consequences for fish stocks and consumers.

First systematic review and meta-analysis suggests AI may be as effective as health professionals at diagnosing disease

Artificial intelligence (AI) appears to detect diseases from medical imaging with similar levels of accuracy as health-care professionals, according to the first systematic review and meta-analysis, synthesising all the available evidence from the scientific literature published in The Lancet Digital Health journal.

Bats use private and social information as they hunt

In the arms race between predators and prey, each evolves more and more sophisticated ways of catching or escaping from the other. Rachel Page, staff scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and Ximena Bernal, associate professor at Purdue University, review in Functional Ecology how bats use both private and social information to attack their prey.

Sexual trauma common in postmenopausal women veterans

Thanks to increased media attention, sexual assaults occurring in the military are finally getting the attention they deserve. However, most reports involve reproductive-aged women Veterans from recent service eras. A new study confirms the problem has a long history with assaults linked to numerous mental and physical problems. Study results will be presented during The North American Menopause Society (NAMS) Annual Meeting in Chicago, September 25 to 28, 2019.

Bird droppings defy expectations

For every question about bird poop, uric acid appears to be the answer.

Scientists identify benefits, challenges to using film in public health research

The research community is increasingly recognizing video as more than just a medium to disseminate scientific findings after a study's conclusion. A powerful tool, film can engage study participants and become an integral part of the scientific process, when deployed thoughtfully.

Studies link air pollution to mental health issues in children

Three new studies by scientists at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Cincinnati, highlight the relationship between air pollution and mental health in children.

Private boats in the Mediterranean have extremely high potential to spread alien species

This is the first study in the Mediterranean to combine boat and marina sampling data with crew surveys to better understand the role these boats play in spreading alien species. The researchers from the University of Pavia, Italy found that boats traveling to new marinas were likely to be transporting alien species in the biofouling: living growth on submerged areas of the vessel.