University of Utah bioengineering researchers have discovered that damage to collagen, the main building block of all human tissue, can occur much earlier at a molecular level from too much physical stress. This could be helpful for some who want to know earlier if they are developing diseases such as arthritis or for athletes whose bodies are taking a toll.
With just an inexpensive micro-thin surgical needle and laser light, University of Utah engineers have discovered a minimally invasive, inexpensive way to take high-resolution pictures of an animal brain, a process that also could lead to a much less invasive method for humans.
University of Utah engineers have discovered a new material made from a combination of the chemical elements calcium, cobalt and terbium that can create an efficient, inexpensive and bio-friendly material that can generate electricity through a thermoelectric process involving heat and cold air.
Ablation procedures restore a regular heartbeat in patients who have a dangerous, abnormal heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation. But it doesn’t always work. Now, a new study suggests that certain molecules are associated with the recurrence of erratic heartbeats in some patients after ablation therapy.
Researchers are revisiting their views on the relative dangers soft and hard atherosclerotic plaque deposits pose to heart health. Findings of a new study by researchers at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute may be a “game-changer” for determining who’s at risk of a heart attack, they say.
Combining two independent, scientifically-proven risk measurements allows physicians to better predict an atrial fibrillation patient’s risk of stroke or death. The tools also help determine the need for blood thinners in treatment, according to new research from researchers at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Salt Lake City.
Findings from a large, community-based study show that antithrombotic therapy doesn’t decrease low-risk atrial fibrillation patients’ risk of suffering a stroke within five years. In fact, researchers found that low-risk patients fared better without any antithrombotic therapy.
A new study by researchers at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Salt Lake City finds that combining information from routine blood tests and age of primary care patients can create a score that measures future risk of chronic disease.
New research suggests that GlycA, a newly identified blood marker, and C-reactive protein both independently predict major adverse cardiac events, including heart failure and death. Patients who have high levels of both biomarkers are at especially high risk.
Two screening tests often used to try to predict which pregnant women are likely to deliver prematurely aren’t effective in low-risk women, according to a national collaborative study of more than 10,000 women, led by clinician-researchers at University of Utah Health Sciences and Intermountain Healthcare. Researchers found that neither transvaginal cervical measurement or fetal fibronectin tests, used separately or together, adequately predicts preterm birth. The findings are published in March 14 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Researchers led by University of Utah bioengineering assistant professor Robby Bowles have discovered a way to curb chronic pain by modulating genes that reduce tissue- and cell-damaging inflammation.
Depression is the strongest predictor of death in the first decade following a diagnosis of coronary heart disease, according to a new study by researchers at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Salt Lake City.
Surgeons at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City use 3D technology, including glasses-free 3D monitors in the operating room, to care for patient with unusual kidney anatomy.
During the past decade, the gut has experienced a renaissance as investigations focus on the role of the microbiome on human health. While most studies have focused on bacteria, the dominant microbial inhabitants in the gut, scientists at University of Utah Health Sciences used mouse studies to show the role of yeast in aggravating the symptoms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Their work suggests that allopurinol, a generic drug already on the market, could offer some relief.
Carbon emissions to the atmosphere from streams and rivers are expected to increase as warmer water temperatures stimulate faster rates of organic matter breakdown. But a new study led by University of Utah researcher Jennifer J. Follstad Shah, in collaboration with a team of 15 scientists in the U.S. and Europe, suggests these decay rates may not increase as much as expected. In fact, the study indicates average breakdown rates may increase 5 percent to 21 percent with a 1 degree to 4-degree Celsius rise in water temperature — half as much as the 10 percent to 45 percent increase predicted by metabolic theory.
It has long been thought that each copy of our DNA instructions - one inherited from mom and one from dad - is treated the same. A new study from scientists at the University of Utah School of Medicine shows that it is not uncommon for cells in the brain to preferentially activate one copy over the other. The finding breaks basic tenants of classic genetics and suggests new ways in which genetic mutations might cause brain disorders.
University of Utah and University of Michigan chemists, participating in a U.S. Department of Energy consortium, predict a better future for these types of batteries, called redox flow batteries. Using a predictive model of molecules and their properties, the team has developed a charge-storing molecule around 1,000 times more stable than current compounds.
A tiny snail may offer an alternative to opioids for pain relief. Scientists at the University of Utah have found a compound that blocks pain by targeting a pathway not associated with opioids. Research in rodents indicates that the benefits continue long after the compound have cleared the body.
Mary Elizabeth Hartnett, MD, and colleagues at the John A. Moran Center and Department of Pediatrics at the University of Utah and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, were looking for a way to tease apart the effects of preeclampsia on the risk of developing retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), an eye disease found in premature infants. Their results, and the model they developed, were published February 14, 2017, in Scientific Reports.
Research published today in Nature from scientists at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah shows how epithelial cells naturally turn over, maintaining constant numbers between cell division and cell death.
Walking on our heels, a feature that separates great apes, including humans, from other primates, confers advantages in fighting, according to a new University of Utah study published today in Biology Open. Although moving from the balls of the feet is important for quickness, standing with heels planted allows more swinging force, according to study lead author and biologist David Carrier, suggesting that aggression may have played a part in shaping our stance.
The University of Utah announced the Consortium for Dark Sky Studies, the first academic center in the world dedicated to discovering, developing, communicating and applying knowledge of the quality of the night skies. The consortium will research light pollution and the public health, economic and environmental impacts of the disappearing dark.
The marriage rate in the U.S. continues to decline and the view that marriage entails a “lack of freedom” is becoming more entrenched, particularly among younger men, according to researchers Nicholas H. Wolfinger and W. Bradford Wilcox.
Evolution is often thought of as a gradual remodeling of the genome, the genetic blueprints for building an organism. But in some instance it might be more appropriate to call it an overhaul. Over the past 100 million years, the human lineage has lost one-fifth of its DNA, while an even greater amount was added, report scientists at the University of Utah School of Medicine. Until now, the extent to which our genome has expanded and contracted had been underappreciated.
Over the past two decades there has been a sharp rise in the number and severity of infections caused by the bacteria Clostridium difficile often shortened to C. diff now the most common hospital acquired infection in the United States. But a new study suggests that the most routinely prescribed antibiotic is not the best treatment for severe cases. Scientists at the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System and University of Utah School of Medicine report that patients with a severe C. diff infection (CDI) were less likely to die when treated with the antibiotic vancomycin compared to the standard treatment of metronidazole.
University of Utah chemists publish a new method for ammonia production, using enzymes derived from nature, that generates ammonia at room temperature. As a bonus, the reaction generates a small electrical current.
This study’s findings show there was a 75 percent reduction in suicide attempts among participants who engaged in crisis response planning versus a contract for safety. Crisis response planning also was associated with a significantly faster decline in suicidal thoughts and fewer inpatient hospitalization days.
Once breast cancer spreads through the body, it can degrade a patient’s healthy bones, causing numerous problems. Scientists at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah have identified a new way that bones get destroyed through cancer. And they’ve also learned how to block that destruction with a new drug. Initial tests with patients show promising results.
University of Utah engineers have created “smart glasses” with liquid-based lenses that can automatically adjust the focus on what a person is seeing, whether it is far away or close up.
In “The Power of Community Action: Anti-Payday Loan Ordinances in Three Metropolitan Areas,” researchers Robert N. Mayer and Nathalie Martin document how local communities positively organize to control payday lending in their jurisdictions and thereby create important legal change.
The study, published Jan. 24, 2017, in Pediatrics, is the first to assess how implementation of a state-wide screening can pick up hearing loss in infants due to congenital cytomegalovirus.
As many as three out of four surgery patients could be receiving anti-clotting medications that they do not need, according to a study led by investigators at the University of Utah School of Medicine. The research, to be published in Annals of Surgery, challenges standard of care guidelines specifying that all general surgery patients receive anticoagulants.
A team including University of Utah mathematician Kenneth Golden has determined how Arctic melt ponds form, solving a paradoxical mystery of how a pool of water actually sits atop highly porous ice.
As commuters shimmy past large, lumbering trucks on the road, they may glance over and wonder, “How safe is that driver next to me?” If the truck driver is in poor health, the answer could be: Not very. Commercial truck drivers with three or more medical conditions double to quadruple their chance for being in a crash than healthier drivers, reports a new study led by investigators at the University of Utah School of Medicine.
Investigators at the University of Utah have identified distinct differences in the hearts of advanced heart failure patients who have defied the odds and showed signs of recovery from the disease. Published online in the journal Circulation, the new findings could help clinicians identify the best candidates for cardiac recovery therapies.
New research from scientists at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah uncovered distinct types of tumors within small cell lung cancer that look and act differently from one another. Scientists also identified a targeted drug combination that worked well with one specific tumor type. The study was published today in Cancer Cell. The findings suggest small cell lung cancer should not be treated as a uniform disease.
Conrad Anker was featured in the 2015 Sundance film, “Meru,” which chronicles his attempt to lead the first team to summit the notoriously difficult Shark’s Fin on Mount Meru in northern India. Anker was a founding member of The North Face Climbing Team and began his relationship with the outdoor company as a retail employee while he was a student at the University of Utah. He graduated in 1988 with a degree in recreation and leisure.
The University of Utah joins the Reducing Embodied-Energy and Decreasing Emissions (REMADE) Institute, a national coalition that aims to drive down the cost of technologies essential to reuse, recycle and remanufacture metals and other materials.
Can a failing heart recover? For many years, the answer to that question was unequivocally “No.” But as the University of Utah School of Medicine’s annual Utah Cardiac Recovery Symposium (U-CARS) will explore on Jan. 12-13, advances in treating heart failure are giving physicians, surgeons and researchers reason to hope the deadly disease might one day be defeated. Watch the symposium live online at http://www.kaltura.com/tiny/guvl3
University of Utah atmospheric scientist Gannet Hallar and colleagues find a correlation between the severity of drought in the Intermountain West and the summertime air quality, particularly the concentration of aerosol particles, in remote mountain wilderness regions.
After all the lifting, hauling and wrapping, worn out gift givers may blame the season’s physical strain for any shoulder soreness they are feeling. It turns out there could be another reason. A new study led by investigators at the University of Utah School of Medicine finds that individuals with symptoms that put them at increased risk for heart disease could be more likely to have shoulder problems, including joint pain and rotator cuff injury.
The study is the first to draw a link between RBC size and microscopic traces of blood vessels and bone cells inside bones. They found that extinct mammal and bird relatives had smaller RBCs and were likely better athletes than earlier terrestrial vertebrates. The timing of RBC-size reduction coincided with Earth's greatest mass extinction 252 mya.
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