Newswise: Latest News

One Small Incision, Four Procedures: New Robotic Approach Combines Breast Cancer Treatment, Reconstruction, Biopsy, and Nerve Preservation in One Surgery

MedStar Health — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 11:05:10 EST

One incision. One surgery. A new robotic nipple-sparing mastectomy at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital combines breast cancer treatment, reconstruction, biopsy, and nerve preservation, all in a single procedure.

Coffee Isn't a Cure: Survey Data Highlight Risks of Drowsy Driving

American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 11:00:04 EST

Nearly half of Americans (41%) say they have felt so sleepy while driving that it affected their ability to drive safely, with many of those trying to stay awake and alert by drinking coffee or a caffeinated beverage (65%), opening a window (59%), or turning up the volume on the radio (52%).

New Policy Could Save More Lives by Prioritizing Heart Transplant Candidates Based on Medical Urgency, Not Treatment Choices

University of Chicago Medical Center — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 11:00:00 EST

A new scoring system that prioritizes patients by lab-based, objective measures did a better job than the current system at identifying patients most in need of transplant.

Psilocybin Providers Follow Safety Guidelines, Study Finds

Washington University in St. Louis — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 11:00:00 EST

WashU researchers found that Oregon's licensed psilocybin centers consistently followed recommended safety practices for screening clients, though steep operating and licensing costs strain both the centers and people seeking care.

Raymond Douglas, MD, PhD, Unveils Research on Six-Week Teprotumumab Dosing to Help Protect Hearing

Dr. Raymond Douglas, MD, PhD — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 10:50:24 EST

Raymond Douglas, MD, PhD, a lead scientist behind the first FDA-approved treatment for thyroid eye disease (TED) and a 2026 ASOPRS Outstanding Contribution Award recipient, presented research at the American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ASOPRS) 57th Annual Fall Scientific Symposium pointing to a new dosing approach for the patients most at risk of hearing side effects. The study found that spacing teprotumumab infusions six weeks apart, rather than the standard three, may protect hearing in TED patients who already have hearing loss, without giving up the benefits of treatment. The symposium took place October 8-9, 2026, at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans.

Real-Time GNSS Products Lag Post-Processed Solutions as Accuracy Demands Tighten

Chinese Academy of Sciences — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 10:40:57 EST

A new study compares archived real-time and post-processed precise satellite products for multi-constellation, multi-frequency precise point positioning with ambiguity resolution (PPP-AR). Using a common processing framework, researchers evaluated single-, dual-, and triple-constellation solutions with dual- and triple-frequency observations. Real-time streams achieved moderate centimeter-level positioning when corrections were continuously available, but the gap to post-processed products widened under stricter accuracy targets. Multi-GNSS integration reduced sensitivity to product quality, whereas single-constellation PPP-AR remained strongly dependent on overall product accuracy. The results help users assess the performance of real-time precise products for high-precision positioning and understand the remaining advantages of final products in post-processed applications.

Building resilient coastal communities: FAMU-FSU College of Engineering professor honored by National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine

Florida State University — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 10:40:56 EST

Associate Professor Nasrin Alamdari received the Gulf Research Program Early-Career Research Fellowship from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

FSU Computer Scientist Appointed National Science Foundation Program Director

Florida State University — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 10:35:15 EST

A Florida State University researcher is helping guide national research priorities in artificial intelligence, advanced computing and data systems in his new role as a program director within the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure at the National Science Foundation (NSF). Professor of Computer Science Weikuan Yu will serve as an NSF program director for at least one year starting in Fall 2026.

Protein Puts Brakes on Intestinal Inflammation, UTSW Study Finds

UT Southwestern Medical Center — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 10:35:11 EST

A preclinical study by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center has discovered how a protein called ZBTB44 helps prevent excessive immune activity that can cause inflammation in the colon, the main section of the large intestine. The findings, published in Nature Immunology, may help explain how immune responses go awry in a range of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.

Jane Austen Still Gets Us, According to Literary Scholar

Virginia Tech — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 10:30:36 EST

Jane Austen is having a moment. Nearly 210 years after her death, two classic tales by the iconic English author are being reimagined for the screen. "Sense and Sensibility," starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esme Creed-Miles, will be released in theaters Oct. 16, while "Pride and Prejudice," starring Emma Corrin and Jack Lowden, will premiere on Netflix this December.

New Species of Jurassic Crocodile Had Unusually Slender Teeth

University of Portsmouth — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 10:30:17 EST

A new species of ancient crocodile relative that lived around 170 million years ago has been discovered by scientists at the University of Portsmouth and Hassan II University of Casablanca, Morocco.

Five New Startups Join Argonne's Entrepreneurship Program

Argonne National Laboratory — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 10:30:10 EST

Chain Reaction Innovations at Argonne National Laboratory announces five new innovators who will join its 10th cohort. These entrepreneurs have been awarded two-year fellowships to advance their energy and science technologies.

Advisory: CU Boulder to reveal first 5 Big Ideas on Oct. 15

University of Colorado Boulder — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 10:25:34 EST

What happens when a major public research university asks its community to imagine the next 150 years? The University of Colorado Boulder is about to find out.

Choline Supplementation in Young Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Has Durable Developmental Benefits, with Gains Evident Five Years Later, Study Suggests

Research Society on Alcohol — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 10:00:00 EST

Children impacted by prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) experience long-lasting cognitive gains after treatment with supplemental choline, an essential nutrient, a new study suggests. The findings point to a potentially scalable intervention for neurodevelopmental differences that currently have few treatment options. Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is an umbrella term for several diagnoses, affecting 1-5% of the global population, that can involve physical, cognitive, and behavioral deficits and challenges. Choline supplementation has been shown to positively impact brain development in animal models of PAE. Prenatal choline supplementation during human pregnancies involving alcohol exposure has also shown benefits. While randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of FASD treatments have been scarce, researchers at the University of Minnesota previously conducted three such studies involving choline supplementation in young children. For the new study in Alcohol: Clinical & Experimental

Changes in Marital Status May Heighten Vulnerability for Alcohol-Related Problems

Research Society on Alcohol — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 10:00:00 EST

People who have experienced mixed marital transitions or who have never been married may be more likely to have alcohol-related problems than people with stable marital status. According to a study published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research, people in early midlife who have experienced mixed marital transitions and individualsremaining never married into late life are particularly vulnerable to alcohol use problems. The study highlights the connections between romantic relationships and alcohol use, and the need for further evaluation of interventions tailored to age, sex, and life stage to reduce the risk of problematic alcohol use for people going through marital transitions.

Novel Study Explores How Different Types of Genetic Risk Impact the Manifestation of Alcohol Use Disorder

Research Society on Alcohol — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 10:00:00 EST

There are multiple types of genetic influence that impact the severity and presentation of alcohol use disorder (AUD). This is according to what may be the first study examining the joint effects of three types of genetic liability on alcohol outcomes. About half the risk for AUD is known to be genetically inherited. Some genetic influences manifest as struggles with self-regulation, such as childhood conduct problems and risk-taking ("externalizing" behaviors). Other genetic vulnerabilities show up as tendencies toward depression and negative affect ("internalizing" behaviors), while a third group of genetic influences is alcohol-specific (e.g., affecting how alcohol is metabolized). Large studies mapping relevant genetic variants are enabling polygenic scoring (PGS) that captures individuals' overall genetic susceptibility to AUD. The study in Alcohol: Clinical & Experimental Research explored how genetic factors underlying externalizing, internalizing, and alcohol-specific effects j

Study Examines Long-term Mental Health and Alcohol Use Trajectories following Disasters

Research Society on Alcohol — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 10:00:00 EST

A study of people who had been exposed to a disaster found different long-term patterns of alcohol use and mental health that were interrelated and influenced by individual differences and the type of disaster they experienced. The study, published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research, calls attention to the long-term mental and behavioral health challenges of people who have experienced disasters and the need for interventions tailored to their particular mental health profiles in order to prevent problem drinking.

Living With Ringing in Your Ears? Updated Guideline Supports a Personalized, Evidence-Based Approach to Tinnitus

American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 09:30:41 EST

The American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) today published the Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG): Tinnitus Update in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. More than 50 million people in the United States have reported experiencing tinnitus, and for some it brings significant anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and difficulty functioning. Yet the care patients receive varies widely, both in the treatments offered and in how closely clinicians follow published guidelines.

Expert explains how monsters like Dracula went from scary to sympathetic

Virginia Tech — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 09:15:08 EST

When it comes to horror and especially when it comes to Halloween, pop culture celebrates fictional monsters. The eponymous villain of Bram Stoker's Victorian-era novel "Dracula" might be the best-known example, with thousands of trick-or-treaters and party-goers certain to dress up as some variation of that character for All Hallows' Eve.

Aggregated Visual Constraints Sharpen Visual-Inertial Navigation Startup

Chinese Academy of Sciences — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 09:05:02 EST

A new decoupled initialization framework, Aggregated Visual Constraints for decoupled initialization in visual-inertial navigation (AVC-Init), tackles a key challenge in visual-inertial odometry (VIO): reliable startup with short observation windows and noisy visual measurements.The method compresses feature-based geometric constraints into compact coplanarity-based aggregated visual constraints (AVC), estimates gyroscope bias from long-baseline keyframe pairs, and recovers velocity and gravity through global-position constraints. A landmark-free visual-inertial epipolar adjustment (VI-EA) stage then refines the states, followed by depth-weighted multi-view triangulation to recover landmarks. By avoiding high-dimensional 3D landmark variables during joint refinement, the approach aims to improve initialization success, accuracy, and efficiency for visual-inertial navigation systems.

Coupling Habitat Suitability and Human Pressure Unlocks China's Blue Carbon Future

Chinese Academy of Sciences — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 08:30:25 EST

Coastal blue carbon ecosystems--mangroves, salt marshes, and seagrasses--store carbon and protect shorelines, but conservation often lags behind rapid coastal change. This study introduces a dual-constraint spatial planning framework that couples habitat suitability with land-sea anthropogenic pressures to identify where these ecosystems can persist, expand, or be restored. Applying it across China's 18,000-km coastline, researchers integrated 60 environmental variables and 13 pressure indicators to map potential suitable distribution areas and optimize protection priorities. The framework reveals a proactive blue carbon expansion capacity 7 to 24 times larger than current extents. It also shows that existing reserves cover only about 20% of high-priority zones, leaving most target areas dependent on active restoration.

Houston Methodist Researchers Receive NIH Grant to Investigate the Brain's Role in Common Urinary Disorder

Houston Methodist — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 08:25:57 EST

Houston Methodist researchers have been awarded a five-year, $3.28 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study how the brain controls bladder storage and emptying in people with underactive bladder, a condition that can make urination difficult or impossible and leave patients with few effective treatment options.

Cambios en el ADN en la enfermedad de Alzheimer: Experta explica que significan para pacientes y familias

Mayo Clinic — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 08:00:26 EST

Los cientificos saben que la edad es el mayor factor de riesgo de la enfermedad de Alzheimer, pero el envejecimiento por si solo no explica por que algunas personas desarrollan la afeccion mientras que otras no. La genetica, los factores del estilo de vida y las influencias ambientales tambien parecen desempenar un rol.

Alteracoes no DNA da doenca de Alzheimer: Especialista explica o que elas significam para os pacientes e familiares

Mayo Clinic — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 08:00:15 EST

Os cientistas sabem que a idade e o maior fator de risco para a doenca de Alzheimer, mas o envelhecimento por si so nao explica por que algumas pessoas desenvolvem a doenca enquanto outras nao. A genetica, fatores de estilo de vida e influencias ambientais tambem parecem desempenhar um papel na doenca.

DNA Changes in Alzheimer's Disease: Expert Explains What They Mean to Patients, Families

Mayo Clinic — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 08:00:06 EST

Scientists know that age is the greatest risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, but aging alone doesn't explain why some people develop the condition while others do not. Genetics, lifestyle factors and environmental influences also appear to play a role.