Results from a study in Malawi showed that chewing gum containing xylitol, a naturally occurring alcohol sugar, was associated with a 24% reduction in preterm birth. The findings were published today in Med (a Cell Press journal). Researchers found that the group of pregnant individuals randomized to receive chewing gum also saw a 30% drop in low-birthweight babies, when compared with the control group which did not receive xylitol gum, noted lead author Dr. Greg Valentine, associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

A small clinical trial shows promising results for patients with triple-negative breast cancer who received an investigational vaccine designed to prevent recurrence of tumors. Conducted at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis with a therapy designed by WashU Medicine researchers, the trial is the first to report results for this type of vaccine -- known as a neoantigen DNA vaccine -- for breast cancer patients.

The election is over, but conversations surrounding the outcome are sure to continue for weeks to come. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, knowing how to engage with friends and family members with differing political views may help keep tempers at bay - and relationships intact. Virginia Tech expert Todd Schenk shared his advice for how to keep the peace.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a new commission on cutting government spending and regulation. ...

According to the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, hateful and violent rhetoric in support of president-elect Donald Trump appeared online on fringe platforms within moments of Trump's... ...

ARRIVE Together of Middlesex County, NJ, run by University Behavioral Health Care (UBHC) at Rutgers Health, has expanded its partnerships to include the East Brunswick, South River and Cranbury police departments, making New Jersey the first state in the nation to have a statewide law enforcement and mental health alternative response program.

Discover the unique Gemini and Libra compatibility! Dive into how these air signs balance each other in love, friendship, and communication. Are they the perfect match?

Discover Taurus and Aquarius compatibility in love, friendship, and more. Uncover their unique strengths, challenges, and potential for a balanced relationship

The figure of Saint Michael, or Michael the Archangel, is one of the most powerful and revered beings in religious history. Known as the protector of the faithful and a warrior against evil, Archangel Michael is venerated across Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

The nation of Mexico is home 130 million people across 31 states (Mexico City is a separate entity but not a state in itself, similar to Washington, D.C. in the United States). Unfortunately due to a variety of factors, Mexican cities are often host to a violent crimes including homicide. Here, we'll detail the most dangerous cities in Mexico and give some info about their history.

[Politics] :
President Yoon Suk Yeol said his first official trip to Latin America carries great significance for the expansion of South Korea’s vision as a “global pivotal state” toward the Latin American region. The president, who is set to depart for Peru and Brazil to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic ...

[more...]

[Politics] :
The Supreme Court has upheld a suspended prison term for former Rep. Youn Mee-hyang, who was convicted of embezzling donations to an advocacy group for South Korean victims of sexual slavery during World War II. On Thursday the top court upheld the 18-month sentence, suspended for three years, after ...

[more...]

[International] :
China has named Dai Bing, deputy chief of its permanent mission to the United Nations, as the new ambassador to South Korea. According to diplomatic sources on Thursday, Beijing nominated the UN mission deputy to succeed former Ambassador Xing Haiming, who left the post vacant in July.  Dai’s career ...

[more...]

[Domestic] :
A group representing families of South Koreans abducted by North Korea plans to launch leaflets toward North Korea from waters off the coast of Goseong, Gangwon Province. The group made the announcement Thursday, having called off plans to launch leaflets last month due to opposition from local ...

[more...]

[Politics] :
A court review is underway for pretrial detention warrants for four people suspected of involvement in election nomination meddling involving first lady Kim Keon-hee, as well as illegal polling. The Changwon District Court started the warrant hearings Thursday afternoon for power broker Myung Tae-kyun, ...

[more...]

[Politics] :
Anchor: The annual state-administered College Scholastic Aptitude Test took place Thursday. This year, around 522-thousand people registered to take the exam at one-thousand-282 locations across the country. That includes a record number of retakers, after the quota increased for medical school ...

[more...]

[Politics] :
A court has ordered a fine of one-point-five million won, or around one-thousand-100 U.S. dollars, for the wife of main opposition Democratic Party(DP) leader Lee Jae-myung upon convicting her of violating the election law during the 2022 presidential primaries. In its ruling on Thursday, the Suwon ...

[more...]

[Politics] :
The special counsel bill mandating an investigation for first lady Kim Keon-hee has passed in the National Assembly. The main opposition Democratic Party introduced the bill, its third attempt following presidential vetoes for previous bills, and all 191 lawmakers present voted in its favor in a plenary ...

[more...]

[Inter-Korea] :
People who suffer damages as a result of North Korea’s trash balloon campaign will eventually be eligible for government compensation. The National Assembly passed an amendment to the Framework Act on Civil Defense during a plenary session Thursday, allowing the government to provide compensation for ...

[more...]

[Economy] :
Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok said Thursday that the government will take “active measures” in the event of excessive volatility in the foreign exchange market, as the South Korean won weakened past the psychological threshold of 14-hundred won against the U.S. dollar. The minister made the “verbal ...

[more...]

How can Scotland re-establish its building stone industry?  British Geological Survey

The title compound, C14H8Cl2F3NO, was synthesized by the condensation between trifluoromethylaniline and dichlorosalicylaldehyde by nucleophilic addition, forming a hemiaminal, followed by a dehydration to generate an imine. The compound crystallizes in an orthorhombic Pbca (Z = 8) space group with a dihedral angle of 44.70 (5)° between the two aromatic rings. In the crystal, the molecules pack together to form a zigzag pattern along the c axis.

Binary chalcogen halogen EX4 species represent intriguing systems in terms of chemical bonding theories, such as hypervalency and stereoactivity of lone electron pairs. Instead of a simple molecular EX4 structure, selenium tetrachloride forms an ionic pair, Cl3Se+Cl−, that assembles into a tetrameric (SeCl4)4 structure, namely, tetra-μ3-chlorido-dodecachloridotetraselenium. This article describes the charge–density analysis of the tetrameric molecule of β-SeCl4 based on the aspherical model obtained from Hirshfeld Atom Refinement of the tetrameric molecule and of an explicit cluster of 15 tetramers that simulates the crystal packing. Deformation density, electron localization function (ELF) and Quantum Theory of Atoms in Molecules (QTAIM) were used to evaluate the bonding situation, the electron-density distribution around the Se atom and the interaction energy of the tetramer.

4 awesome discoveries you probably didn't hear about this week -- Episode 31

Image modeling for biomedical organs

FIS has announced a partnership with

Volt Lithium Corp. (VLT:TSV; VLTLF:US; I2D:FSE) says it has significantly improved the operating capacity of its next-generation Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technology for processing oilfield brines in Texas' Delaware Basin. Read why one analyst predicts more steady increases.

AI-enabled global payment network Klarna has announced that it...

European mobile payment solutions BANCOMAT,

FX Back Office (FXBO) has partnered with

Multinational payment card services corporation

Mastercard has introduced Biz360, a digital platform...

MoonPay, a crypto payments...

Investment funds managed by Morgan Stanley Expansion...

Camera brings unseen world to light

New way to 'see' objects accelerates the future of self-driving cars

4 awesome discoveries you probably didn't hear about this week -- Episode 32

New sensors to monitor storm surge on bridges

For the first time, Uber will guarantee drivers an hourly wage of $20 an hour in Los Angeles, or $26 during peak times.; Credit: David Ramos/Getty Images

To keep demand high during the slower winter months, the ridesharing service, Uber, has cut fares by 20 percent in 48 markets – including Los Angeles and Orange County.

The company says a trip from West Hollywood to downtown will now be around nine dollars, instead of $11.

When Uber lowered prices in the past to muscle out competitors like Lyft and taxi services, passengers loved it but drivers have complained it puts an unfair squeeze on them, complaining their already low take went even lower.

Uber stresses the fact cutting fares actually helps drivers because they get more business. In a blog post, the company points to data from Chicago where fares dropped 23 percent last month compared to December 2013 while drivers' income increased by 12 percent.

But drivers have been skeptical whether volume can make up for the price drop. The company's claim that New York city drivers earn a median of $90,766 a year has been refuted. Slate talked to New York UberX driver Jesus Garay in October:

“They say it doesn’t hurt the pocket of the drivers,” Garay says of the 20 percent fare cuts. “It does. Because it’s impossible with those numbers to be in business.”

The way drivers see it, ride volume can only increase so much in response to lower prices. Garay says that on average, a ride takes him 20 minutes from start to finish: five minutes to reach the pickup location, five to wait for the customer, and 10 to drive to the destination. For a trip of that length, Garay says he’ll make $10 or $11. “So if you’re busy, you’re going to make three rides in an hour,” he explains. 

Newly flush with a $40 billion valuation, Uber is now willing to put its money where its mouth is; For the first time, Uber will guarantee its partners – as it calls them -  an hourly wage of $20 an hour in Los Angeles, or $26 during peak times. (The guarantee comes with a few conditions: Drivers have to accept 90% of trips, average at least one trip per hour, and be online for 50 minutes of every hour worked)

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.