Latest Brown University Stories
Brown University A new study published online in the journal Human Reproduction finds that the greater the inconsistency in the length of sperm, particularly in the tail (flagellum), the lower the concentration of sperm that can swim well. The finding offers fertility clinicians a potential new marker for fertility trouble that might trace back to how a patient’s sperm are being made. Perhaps variety is the very spice of life, but as a matter of producing human life, it could be the...
Brown University Because of a Medicare policy that prevents simultaneous reimbursement for skilled nursing and hospice care, many families cannot choose hospice for loved ones who reside in nursing homes. The result, new research shows, is that residents with advanced dementia who have Medicare skilled nursing home care without any hospice care have a far greater likelihood of dying in the hospital and receiving aggressive treatments such as feeding tubes or physical therapy within weeks...
There's a new contender in the race to find an inexpensive alternative to platinum catalysts for use in hydrogen fuel cells. Brown University chemist Shouheng Sun and his students have developed a new material — a graphene sheet covered by cobalt and cobalt-oxide nanoparticles — that can catalyze the oxygen reduction reaction nearly as well as platinum does and is substantially more durable. The new material "has the best reduction performance of any nonplatinum catalyst," said...
In a new study, psychologists at Brown University and the University of Colorado found that while some people require a detailed explanation of how a product works before they’ll be willing to pay more, others became less willing to pay when confronted with that additional detail. A simple, standard test predicted the desire for detail — who wants more, who wants less. A study published online in the Journal of Consumer Research finds that people can differ widely on the level of...
PROVIDENCE, R.I., Sept. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Board certified dermatologist Dr. Antonio P. Cruz of University Dermatology and SKINPros, LLC, affiliated with Alpert Medical School at Brown University in Providence, is pleased to announce that the advanced radiofrequency skin tightening treatment Pelleve® is now available to his patients as a treatment option to address the aging process. The Pelleve Wrinkle Reduction System softens wrinkles on the face by slowly heating the...
Medicare has covered treatment for anyone with end-stage renal disease since 1972. The coverage is very expensive and the program has struggled since for 40 years to contain costs without compromising quality. In a new paper that chronicles that history, the authors argue that Medicare’s latest attempt – bundled payments and pay-for-performance – could become a broader model for the program if it succeeds. Amid a presidential campaign and facing the “fiscal cliff,” Americans hear...
Thin, conductive films are useful in displays and solar cells. A new solution-based chemistry developed at Brown University for making indium tin oxide films could allow engineers to employ a much simpler and cheaper manufacturing process. In a touch-screen display or a solar panel, any conductive overlay had better be clear. Engineers employ transparent thin films of indium tin oxide (ITO) for the job, but a high-tech material’s properties are only half its resume. They must also be as...
A new analysis of factors that predict basal cell carcinoma recurrence in high-risk people finds that for many people it’s more of a chronic disease. High sun exposure before the age of 30 was a major predictor, as was a history of eczema. In the powerful sunlight of July, newly published results from a large study of people at high risk for basal cell carcinoma support the emerging view of the nation’s most common cancer as a chronic ailment that often repeatedly afflicts older people...
By looking at signature chemical differences in the DNA of various immune cells called leukocytes, scientists have developed a way to determine their relative abundance in blood samples. The relative abundance turns out to correlate with specific cancers and other diseases, making the technique, described in two recent papers, potentially valuable not only for research but also for diagnostics and treatment monitoring. When a person is sick, there is a tell-tale sign in their blood: a...
Surgeons given their own view of a laparoscopic task, rather than a shared one, can work more efficiently and accurately, a small new study suggests. Findings from “proof of concept” experiments appear in the Journal of Laparoendoscopic and Advanced Surgical Techniques. What makes laparoscopic surgery “minimally invasive” — instruments enter the patient through narrow tubes — also makes it visually constraining. As they work on different tasks, surgeons all see the same view....
