Connecting Research and Experts with Journalists

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Among 88,183 U.S. high school students, marijuana use declined from 23.1% in 2011 to 15.8% in 2021, with first-time use before age 13 dropping from 8.1% to 4.9%. In 2021, use was highest among 12th graders (22.4%) and 11th graders (18.7%). Notably, girls (17.8%) surpassed boys (13.6%) in reported use in 2021, reversing past trends. While Asian, Hispanic, and white adolescents saw declines, Black adolescents had a higher usage rate of 20.5% in 2021, indicating ongoing racial disparities.

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A new international trial is investigating the efficacy and safety of gene therapy in patients with Hurler syndrome and will compare results of gene therapy against BMT which is the current standard of care. UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals are among three sites in the U.S. and seven in the world now enrolling patients for the clinical trial.

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PNNL researchers are developing a new approach to explore the higher-dimensional shape of cyber systems to identify signatures of adversarial attacks.

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Researchers at UCLA Health have found that a person's risk of developing psychotic-like experiences may be influenced by both childhood attention problems and their genetic makeup.

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In dementia diseases such as Alzheimer's, incorrectly folded proteins accumulate in the brain. Empa researchers have now resolved a particularly active species of protein fibrils with unprecedented precision. The formation of potentially toxic molecules on the surface of protein fibrils was studied from early to late stages spanning over a period of hours.

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The research team of Dr. Byeongjin Park and Dr. Sang Bok Lee at the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS), has developed the world's first ultra-thin film composite material capable of absorbing over 99% of electromagnetic waves from various frequency bands (such as 5G/6G, WiFi, and autonomous driving radar) using a single material.

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Adults aged 35 to 60 are drinking at unprecedented rates, with those who binge drank in high school reporting more past 30-day high-risk drinking in midlife. And this link may be especially strong for women, according to a study just published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research Health. These trends are particularly concerning as health conditions, and biological processes common with aging put adults in midlife at greater health risk from alcohol use.

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IgA nephropathy is an autoimmune kidney disease, and complement, a component of the innate immune system, plays a role in the condition’s pathogenesis. Investigators have developed and tested a novel gene therapy that enters kidney cells and enables them to block complement activation. The research will be presented at ASN Kidney Week 2024 October 23– 27.

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Chronic active antibody-mediated rejection (caAMR) is a common cause of allograft loss after transplantation, with no approved therapies. Clazakizumab, a monoclonal antibody that targets the inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6), stabilized kidney transplant recipients’ kidney function in a phase 2 trial. Investigators now have data from a phase 3 trial with clazakizumab. The findings from the Phase 3 IMAGINE trial, the largest placebo-controlled study in kidney transplant recipients with caAMR, will be presented at ASN Kidney Week 2024 October 23– 27.

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For kidney transplant recipients experiencing antibody-mediated rejection, the current standard of care involves removing donor-specific antibodies (DSAs) through plasmapheresis (PLEX)—a procedure that removes antibodies from the plasma portion of the blood. Results from a recent clinical trial reveal that an investigational drug called imlifidase, which cleaves and inactivates the type of antibodies that include DSAs, is more effective than PLEX. The research will be presented at ASN Kidney Week 2024 October 23–27.