Latest News Releases 12 May

A University of Washington study of adult smokers finds that those who switch to vaping some or all of the time may adopt other healthy behaviors.

Cedars-Sinai researchers are the first to report evidence validating the benefits of using medication for opioid use disorder during pregnancy. Brain imaging revealed significant improvements in brain function after treatment.

A new analysis of the emergency physician resident workforce in Annals of Emergency Medicine finds that while the number of residency programs is increasing, new residency programs are disproportionately located in urban areas in states with existing programs, rather than rural communities with limited access to emergency care.

The results of the Research Excellence Framework 2022 have been announced. 99% of Cambridge’s overall submissions within the Physics and Astronomy Unit of Assessment have been rated as ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’, demonstrating the major impact that researchers in our departments are making every day. The Times Higher Education’s rankings placed Cambridge at #2 for Physics and Astronomy in REF 2021 as measured by “research power”. Further, the Departments have scored 1st in the UK for Impact, which has been a consistent theme over many years with its strong concern for real world value over a whole variety of activities. This is showcased by the REF which recognises its major societal value for the UK. Nine of our impact case studies were awarded, eight 4* and one 3* grade, putting us at the top of the table for the importance of our research outside of academia, in delivering technology and societal impact. One particular strong Impact has been the book “Sustainable energy – without the hot air” which has opened up the science and influenced UK climate policy.

The cnidocytes – or stinging cells – that are characteristic of sea anemones, hydrae, corals and jellyfish, and make us careful of our feet while wading in the ocean, are also an excellent model for understanding the emergence of new cell types, according to new Cornell research.

A team of researchers from Simon Fraser University have returned to the scene of a massive 2018 landslide as part of a project aimed at preventing future extinction-level events. On Nov. 1, 2018, the Big Bar landslide in British Columbia blocked the Fraser River, prevented salmon from getting back to their spawning grounds in the Upper Fraser Basin and threatened the future of the species. Remediation efforts are still ongoing, but researchers led by SFU are back at Big Bar to map the effects of the slide. Their work is part of a larger project aimed at assessing and mitigating the risk of landslides to critically important salmon in the Fraser River.

A new study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and the Robert Butler Columbia Aging Center and Université Paris-Dauphine – PSL, found that having three or more versus two children has a negative effect on late-life cognition. The results further indicated that this effect was strongest in Northern Europe, where higher fertility decreases financial resources but does not improve social resources in this region. This is the first to study the causal effect of high fertility on late-life cognition. Until now fertility has not received much attention as a potential predictor of late-life cognition compared with other factors, such as education or occupation.