Latest news with #research
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Can India and Asia seize ‘historic opportunity' as US appeal for foreign students wanes?
Advertisement International students have been facing deportations for taking part in political protests to trivial offences such as traffic violations, dimming the allure of the American dream. Cuts to federal research grants have also driven students and academics to seek opportunities abroad. Other countries such as France and Canada have jumped into the fray to bring top academic talent from America to their shores – similar to how global companies compete to bring aboard highly-skilled professionals to give them an edge. For Asian countries such as India, which have struggled for decades to staunch the flow of top scientific and technological talent to America and other western nations, the churn in America's educational and research institutions, represents a historic opportunity. 'The US has long led the world in higher education and public research funding. It is now destroying one of its greatest strengths,' said Naushad Forbes, chairman of the non-profit Ananta Aspen Centre, describing the worsening conditions as one of the most significant acts of self harm in history. India's potential lies in harnessing its demographic dividend from the world's largest young population. Photo: Shutterstock India has the student and faculty talent available. 'We have to take advantage of the situation,' Forbes said, underscoring that intensive efforts are needed in research and development by tapping into academic talent offers the potential to leapfrog in economic growth.
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Huge heart attack risk linked to dirty habit that thousands of Australians are doing daily
A new study suggests that regularly smoking cannabis or consuming edibles may increase the risk of heart attack. The team from the University of California San Francisco who made the find warns it is 'more evidence cannabis use is not benign.' In the new study, researchers found people who smoked marijuana or took edibles at least three times a week had damage to their blood vessels, which are vital for delivering oxygen and nutrients from the heart to every organ and tissue. Their blood vessels worked half as well compared to those who never used cannabis. This causes blood vessels to constrict, raising the risk of blood clots, which can lead to coronary artery disease, heart attacks and stroke. While recent studies have linked cannabis smoking to heart disease, the new report is one of the first to show heart damage from edibles containing THC, the psychoactive component of cannabis. Matthew Springer, study co-author and professor of medicine at UCSF, told CNN: 'We're looking at a window in the future, showing the early changes that may explain why smoking marijuana has been linked to later heart disease.' The warning comes as the number of Australians using cannabis continues to rise. Daily cannabis use in Australia increased from 14 per cent in 2019 to 18 per cent in 2022–2023, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Among Australians who used cannabis in the past 12 months, the largest proportion - 32 per cent - used it only once or twice a year, while approximately one in seven - or 14 per cent - used it every day. Cannabis continues to be the most widely used illicit drug in Australia, with 11.5% of people reporting recent use in 2022–2023. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) causes one in every four deaths in Australia. In 2021, it was the underlying cause of 42,700 deaths, representing 25 per cent of all deaths that year, according tho the heart foundation. On average, one Australian dies from CVD every 12 minutes, which amounts to 118 deaths each day.
CTV News
7 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
‘A powerhouse': Innovation Saskatchewan unveils new research strategy
Innovation Saskatchewan is charting a new path towards economic prosperity in Saskatchewan. 'We're going to show that great ideas grow here in Saskatchewan and will for decades to come,' Warren Kaeding, the minister responsible for Innovation Saskatchewan, said Thursday. The crown corporation tasked with fueling innovators and supporting Saskatchewan's tech sector and research community released a new research strategy and brand update it hopes will position the province as a global leader in research and innovation for years to come. The plan focuses on four key sectors and three pillars to make it happen. Life sciences, mining and critical minerals, energy and agriculture are the stated priorities as the strategy looks to invent, commercialize and connect to see Saskatchewan be home to the next scientific or technological breakthrough. Parts of the strategy will also bring improvements to two crucial tools prospective researchers and startups will look to access. The Innovation Science Fund will get an annual increase of $2.4 million, which nearly doubles its funding to $5.2 million. The Saskatchewan Technology Startup Incentive (STSI), a highly competitive tech-targeted tax credit which provides a non-refundable 45 per cent tax credit, will now include life sciences startups. Steven Siciliano is the CEO and co-founder of homegrown startup LiORA, which manufactures 'AI-driven' soil and groundwater sensor to monitor and manage soil conditions. He says anything to improve conditions for startups, who often face a bleak outlook, is critical. 'As a startup founder, I want more [venture capitalists] competing to invest in our company,' he said. 'Ninety-five per cent of startups won't make their next funding, typically.' Siciliano says not only creating an environment where venture capitalists want to invest is crucial, but also getting Innovation Saskatchewan leading a strategy to be a point of contact for startups looking to navigate the business model will help the next potential LiORA from failing. 'Startups exist in a unique business space where they invest in hard problems... and that requires an enormous amount of capital before cashflow comes in,' he said. 'It is absolutely essential.' Siciliano says the typical startup founder isn't what you're picturing, and without the necessary systems in place, they might not realize their dream. 'Those accelerators and incubators allow people of all ages to dream because the best founders are not a17-year-old whiz kid. What they are is they're in their 40s to 50s,' he said. Another part of Thursday's announcement was bringing all facets of Innovation Saskatchewan under one line of branding. Innovation Saskatchewan is no more. Its name has been replaced with Innovation Saskatchewan Research and Technology Park Saskatoon and Innovation Saskatchewan Research and Technology Park Regina. 'This change and this new brand really provides that cohesiveness that we can now take out and provide a really strong signal to the world that we are an innovation powerhouse,' CEO Kari Harvey said. Kaeding wasn't shy about what these organizational changes could mean for the economy of Saskatchewan, and the ideas that could benefit the world. 'It is my belief that Saskatchewan's research strategy will help cultivate these ideas so they become the next lifesaving vaccine, the next sustainable energy solution, or the next climate resistant problem that is going to transform our province and make the world that much better,' Kaeding said.
RNZ News
7 hours ago
- Health
- RNZ News
Study finds link between low Vitamin D in babies
Babies born with low vitamin D levels are more likely to develop mental disorders like ADHD, schizophrenia, and autism later in life, according to a new study from the University of Queensland. Researchers analysed data from over 71,000 people, many of whom had a mental health disorder diagnosed during childhood and early adulthood. Professor John McGrath from UQ's Queensland Brain Institute led the study and says they found evidence that people with lower vitamin D concentration as a baby had an increased risk of schizophrenia, ASD and ADHD. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
National Post
7 hours ago
- Health
- National Post
Yes, social media could be making your kids depressed, study finds
Article content Any potential link between social media use and kids' mental health often comes down to a what-came-first conundrum: does more time glued to TikTok, Snapchat or Instagram make youth more depressed, or are distressed kids just more likely to spend more time on social media? Article content Article content A new study suggests it's the former, not the latter, at play. Article content Researchers who followed nearly 12,000 children found the more time nine- and 10-year-olds spend engaged with social media, the more depressive symptoms they have a year or two years later. Article content Kids' social media use soared, on average, from seven to 73 minutes per day, over the three years of the study, and their depressive symptoms rose by 35 per cent, according to the paper, published in JAMA Network Open. Article content Article content 'These findings provide evidence that social media may be contributing to the development of depressive symptoms.' Article content It's not clear why. However, adolescence can make for a 'critical period of vulnerability during which social media exposure may have lasting implications for mental health,' the researchers wrote. Article content Article content 'As a father of two young kids, I know that simply telling children to 'get off your phone' doesn't really work,' Nagata said. Article content Article content 'Parents can lead by example with open, nonjudgmental questions about screen use,' he said. 'Setting screen-free times for the whole family, such as during meals or before bed, can help build healthier habits for everyone, including adults.' Article content The researchers used data from an ongoing study spanning 21 sites, the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, the biggest longitudinal study — meaning it's following young people over multiple time points — of adolescent health, brain and cognitive development in the U.S. The study recruited children aged nine to 10 from October 2016 to October 2018, and followed them through 2022, when they were 12 to 13.
