Ilima Loomis
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Writer! Author of 'OHANA MEANS FAMILY and ECLIPSE CHASER. she/her
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Articles by Ilima Loomis
Researchers Test a New Way To Find Pancreatic Cancer Before It’s Too Late
A new blood test showed promise for spotting early pancreatic abnormalities that are often difficult to detect. Credit: Shutterstock An experimental blood test could help detect early pancreatic cancer and precancerous changes, guiding decisions about further testing. People at high risk of pancreatic cancer are often monitored with imaging and other tests that can be invasive, expensive, and limited in their ability to catch the disease early.
Researchers teach AI to spot cancer risk by squeezing individual breast cells
Researchers at UC Berkeley and City of Hope, a cancer research and treatment organization, have created a novel microfluidic platform that can assess women’s breast cancer risk at the cellular level. The first-of-its-kind platform squeezes individual breast epithelial cells, creating a taxing environment to measure how they deform, recover and behave under stress, according to a new study published today in Lancet’s eBioMedicine.
Yong-Hui Jiang: Unlocking Genetic Mysteries to Treat Brain Disorders
As a young doctor at a pediatric hospital in Shanghai, Yong-Hui Jiang, MD, PhD, looked into the faces of parents and saw desperation. Working in a clinic for children born with Down syndrome and significant cognitive delay, Jiang could do little more than tell parents what they already knew. Family after family asked him the same questions: Why couldn’t their child speak? What had caused the cognitive delay of their child’s Down syndrome? How could they be cured?
UChicago scientists discover gene mutation linked to deafness - and identify possible treatments
Mutations in a gene known as CPD play a crucial role in a rare form of congenital hearing loss, an international team of researchers has discovered. Scientists from the University of Chicago, the University of Miami, and several institutions in Turkiye published their findings in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, showing that the mechanism by which the gene, typically associated with altering proteins, affects the inner ear as well.
Volcanoes and how they erupt
Some 640,000 years ago, a massive eruption rocked the land that, today, is Yellowstone National Park. The eruption spewed ash across much of the area that’s now the United States. It ejected 6,000 times the volume of the deadly 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption in Washington. And it created a crater that is 45 kilometers wide (28 miles) and 85 kilometers (53 miles) long. Free educator resources are available for this article. Register to access: Client key* E-mail Address* Already Registered?
Wild medicine! An orangutan treated his wound with a local plant
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For the first time, an orangutan has been seen doctoring a wound. Scientists describe it as the first evidence of a wild animal caring for a wound using a natural substance that’s known to aid healing. Researchers shared their discovery May 2 in Scientific Reports. The team had been studying great apes in Indonesia’s Gunung Leuser National Park. Some 150 orangs live in its Suaq Balimbing research area. Scientists have been studying these animals since 1994.
By Darren Incorvaia Verified, Susan Milius Verified, Ilima Loomis Verified, Sharon Oosthoek Verified
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Science News Explores
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How Can I Manage Chronic Pain with MS? A Q&A with Dr. Kratz
This article is part of a Q&A series in which a healthcare professional in our community answers your frequently asked questions. Many people living with multiple sclerosis (MS) experience chronic pain, particularly a type known as neuropathic pain, which occurs with malfunction of or damage to the nervous system.
How Can I Manage Chronic Pain with MS? A Q&A with Dr. Kratz
By Ilima Loomis July 08, 2024 This article is part of a Q&A series in which a healthcare professional in our community answers your frequently asked questions. Many people living with multiple sclerosis (MS) experience chronic pain, particularly a type known as neuropathic pain, which occurs with malfunction of or damage to the nervous system.
7 Great Eclipse Books to Inspire, Delight, and Prepare You for April 8
On April 8, when the skies darken across a ribbon of North America and our Moon swallows our day star during a total solar eclipse, look up. Definitely look up. (Wearing appropriate safety glasses, of course.) But until then, feel free to bury your nose in these brilliant reads about our closest celestial companion, that lump of rock in the sky that influences our world and inspires our art. And if you run out of time before the big day to finish all of these wonder-filled books, have no fear.
How having a good relationship with your doctor can benefit your long-term health
Along with staying physically active and eating a healthy diet, there’s something else you can do to take care of your health: establish a strong, long-term relationship with your primary care physician. Having a doctor who knows you can make a big difference in the quality of your care, said UChicago Medicine Medical Group family medicine physician Paulo Aranas, MD*.
The Center for Surgical Health puts surgical care within reach
By Ilima Loomis Carrie Morales, MD, was a second-year medical student at the Perelman School of Medicine (PSOM) when she and then-general surgery resident Matthew Goldshore, MD,PhD, MPH, noticed a serious disparity in patients’ ability to access surgical care. Patients without insurance, for example, had limited ability to see surgeons for treatable problems until their condition became urgent or life-threatening.
UChicago Medicine doctors diagnose Indiana woman's rare autoimmune disease, reverse a rapid decline in her health
For months, Carla Hawkins felt her health slowly decline. Fatigue and weakness made daily tasks more and more difficult. The Indiana woman, 59, was unable to keep up with her fast-paced career in customer service. As time passed, she lost the ability to lift her arms over her shoulders or even open a bottle of water. Swallowing food became hard, and she quickly began to lose weight. Finally, in May 2017, she could no longer deny the truth. Something was very wrong.
Skipping stone physics could aid net-tangled whales and more
aluminum: A metallic element, the third most abundant in Earth’s crust. It is light and soft, and used in many items from bicycles to spacecraft. angle: The space (usually measured in degrees) between two intersecting lines or surfaces at or close to the point where they meet. angler: A term for someone who fishes for food, usually for personal consumption, not on an industrial scale. application: A particular use or function of something.
Four researchers on Earth are spending a year on ‘Mars’
3-D printing: A means of producing physical items — including toys, foods and even body parts — using a machine that takes instructions from a computer program. That program tells the machine how and where to lay down successive layers of some raw material (the “ink”) to create a three-dimensional object. air pressure: The force exerted by the weight of air molecules. analog: Something that resembles, stands in for, or is similar to another thing.
Crops are being engineered to thrive in our changing climate
algae: Single-celled organisms, once considered plants (they aren’t). As aquatic organisms, they grow in water. Like green plants, they depend on sunlight to make their food. Arabidopsis thaliana: A weedy mustard plant frequently used to study the growth and behavior of plants. It is so commonly used by plant scientists that it has come to be called the “lab rat” of green-plant studies. bacteria: (singular: bacterium) Single-celled organisms.
This electronic bandage sterilizes wounds with flashes of light
antibacterial: Having properties that tend to destroy or limit the growth or reproduction of bacteria. antibiotic: A germ-killing substance, usually prescribed as a medicine (or sometimes as a feed additive to promote the growth of livestock). It does not work against viruses. application: A particular use or function of something. bacteria: (singular: bacterium) Single-celled organisms.
A volcanic eruption sparked the highest lightning ever seen
Power Words More About Power Words air pressure: The force exerted by the weight of air molecules. ash: (in geology) Small, lightweight fragments of rock and glass spewed by volcanic eruptions. cloud: A plume of molecules or particles, such as water droplets, that move under the action of an outside force, such as wind, radiation or water currents. (in atmospheric science) A mass of airborne water droplets and ice crystals that travel as a plume, usually high in Earth’s atmosphere.
Stone Walls and Historical Harbors Are Unexpected Havens of Biodiversity | Hakai Magazine
Article body copy Divers and scientists who visit shipwrecks know these sunken sites are often teeming with life, as historical wrecks provide habitat for a wide variety of marine animals. Now, new research shows that old harbor infrastructure and sea walls offer a similar boost to biodiversity. Researchers in the United Kingdom found that many kinds of wildlife make their homes in and around the nooks and crannies of stone walls—sometimes with even more diversity than on natural shorelines.
The Problem with Boating’s High-Fiberglass Diet
quagmire n. 1 an awkward, complex, or hazardous situation. 2 the situation the Canadian government currently finds itself in. On June 22, the Canadian government passed Bill C-18, the Online News Act, with the intention of boosting journalism in the country. The act would require big tech companies that generate ad revenue while sharing links to stories from Canadian news outlets, including Hakai Magazine, to compensate those publications.
Shrimpers Get Paid to Clear 'Ghost Fishing' Crab Traps From Mississippi Waters
This story originally appeared in Hakai Magazine. Crab traps work a bit like Roach Motels: crabs crawl in, but they don’t crawl out. That’s good news for crab fishers’ chances of pulling in a good catch, but when traps get lost at sea, they become a menace to all sorts of animals. With no one there to retrieve them, the traps continue to fish, says Ryan Bradley, head of the Mississippi Commercial Fisheries United, a nonprofit fishermen’s organization. “Marine life gets into the trap.
OHANA MEANS FAMILY by Ilima Loomis Read by Hokuao Pellegrino Lois Leinani Whitney Ilima Loomis Note
by Ilima Loomis | Read by Hokuao Pellegrino, Lois Leinani Whitney, Ilima Loomis [Note] Children Ages 4-6 10 mins. Unabridged © 2020 Love for the traditions and culture of the Hawaiian people is evident in this audiobook, which includes the voices of three narrators from the Aloha State. Traditional music, sound effects of laughter and lapping waves, and Hawaiian words transport listeners to the countryside as a family prepares the poi for a traditional farm-to-table luau.
The Pioneering Project Paying for Ghost Fishing Gear Original
This article is from Hakai Magazine, an online publication about science and society in coastal ecosystems. Read more stories like this at hakaimagazine.com. Crab traps work a bit like Roach Motels: crabs crawl in, but they don’t crawl out. That’s good news for crab fishers’ chances of pulling in a good catch, but when traps get lost at sea, they become a menace to all sorts of animals.
Wanted: Lost Crab Traps. Reward: $5 | Hakai Magazine
Article body copy Crab traps work a bit like Roach Motels: crabs crawl in, but they don’t crawl out. That’s good news for crab fishers’ chances of pulling in a good catch, but when traps get lost at sea, they become a menace to all sorts of animals. With no one there to retrieve them, the traps continue to fish, says Ryan Bradley, head of the Mississippi Commercial Fisheries United, a nonprofit fishermen’s organization. “Marine life gets into the trap.
Top Library Resources for Celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
The rich cultural heritage of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) dates back thousands of years. Both groups have shaped the history of the United States and have had their lives dramatically influenced by moments in its history.
Sleeping glass frogs go into stealth mode by hiding red blood cells
anesthesia: A medical treatment that causes a numbing or loss of physical feeling. Doctors can induce anesthesia in one area of the body (local anesthesia) or they can offer general anesthesia, where a patient temporarily loses consciousness. behavior: The way something, often a person or other organism, acts towards others, or conducts itself. biologist: A scientist involved in the study of living things.
Planets like Star Wars’ Tatooine could be fit for life
SEATTLE, Wash. — Luke Skywalker’s home planet in Star Wars is the stuff of science fiction. Called Tatooine, the planet orbits two stars. A new study suggests similar planets might be the best focus in the search for places that can host life outside our solar system. Many suns come in pairs called binary stars. Lots of these should have planets orbiting them. That means there could be more planets orbiting around binary stars than around lone stars like our sun.
Shaping Policy to Measure and Improve Equity in Health Care
By Ilima Loomis Between 2017 and 2023, the number of Penn Medicine patients who identify as non-binary increased from 14 to more than 4,000. The reason? Providers simply started asking patients about their gender identity. These patients had always been cared for in the system, of course; Penn just worked to add a non-binary gender option to the electronic medical records software.
Torn muscle? Send in the gut microbes for rapid repair
By Ilima Loomis HMS Communications/The Harvard Gazette The human immune system is incredibly versatile. Among its most skilled multitaskers are T cells, known for their role in everything from fighting infection to reining in inflammation to killing nascent tumors. Now, in a surprising new discovery, Harvard Medical School researchers have found that a class of regulatory T cells (Tregs) made in the gut play a role in repairing injured muscles and mending damaged livers.
Gut microbes found to help mend damaged muscles in mice
The human immune system is incredibly versatile. Among its most skilled multitaskers are T cells, known for their role in everything from fighting infection to reining in inflammation to killing nascent tumors. Now, in a surprising new discovery, Harvard Medical School researchers have found that a class of regulatory T cells (Tregs) made in the gut play a role in repairing injured muscles and mending damaged livers.
In a breakthrough experiment, fusion gave off more energy than it used
Scientists have finally managed to bottle the sun. Nuclear fusion powers stars, including our sun. To do it, lightweight atoms fuse together to form heavier elements. They release energy in the process. To make them fuse, high temperatures and pressures must squeeze atoms together. Intense gravity does much of this work inside stars. But fusion is very difficult to achieve on Earth. Until now, fusing atoms in the lab has always eaten up more energy than it gave off.
How gut microbes help mend damaged muscles
The human immune system is incredibly versatile. Among its most skilled multitaskers are T cells, known for their role in everything from fighting infection to reining in inflammation to killing nascent tumors. Now, in a surprising new discovery, Harvard Medical School researchers have found that a class of regulatory T cells (Tregs) made in the gut play a role in repairing injured muscles and mending damaged livers.
How Gut Microbes Help Mend Damaged Muscles
Research shows gut microbes fuel production of immune cells that are called into action to heal muscle injury By ILIMA LOOMIS March 1, 2023 Research 6 min read Image: Zbynek Pospisil/iStock/Getty Images Plus The human immune system is incredibly versatile. Among its most skilled multitaskers are T cells, known for their role in everything from fighting infection to reining in inflammation to killing nascent tumors.
Scientists Say: Seismology
Seismology (noun, “Size-MAW-luh-jee”) Seismology is a type of Earth science. It studies the origins and movements of seismic waves, or vibrations in the ground. Some seismic waves are generated in natural events. Earthquakes, for instance. Volcanoes are also a source. But seismic waves come from human activities, too — such as mining or weapons explosions. Seismic waves hold clues about the events that caused them.
Scientists Say: Fusion
Fusion (noun, “FYEW-zhun”) Fusion occurs when pairs of atomic nuclei slam into each other and meld, or fuse, together. This process leads to new atoms of a different element and releases lots of energy. Fusion is the physical reaction that powers the sun and other stars. Fusing atoms requires squeezing them together under immense heat and pressure. Inside stars, these conditions fuse hydrogen atoms into helium atoms.
InSight Archives - Eos
Posted inNews The impact sent surface waves rippling over the Martian surface all the way to NASA’s InSight lander, giving scientists a rare view of the planet’s outer layer. Posted inResearch Spotlights by Seismic signals detected by the InSight lander show that the planet’s lower mantle may be less homogenous than previous models have suggested.
Scientists Say: Mean, median and mode Original
Mean (noun, “MEEN”), Median (noun, “MEE-dee-in”) and Mode (noun, “MOHD”) Mean, median and mode are three different ways to describe the central value, or measurement, in a set of data. Knowing the central or typical value in a dataset can help reveal trends in the data as well as outliers. For instance, say you want to know how many pencils a person typically carries in their backpack. So, you ask each of your classmates how many pencils they have in their backpacks.
A shape-shifting robotic tooth-cleaner might one day brush for you
Someday, you may no longer need to brush and floss by hand. Instead, a swarm of billions of nanoparticles could automatically do all that work for you. The nanoparticles are very tiny, metallic balls. Magnets make them move. If you set up a magnet in just the right way, says Ed Steager, “You can arrange them into any shape you want.” Why not a shape-shifting, tooth-cleaning robot? Steager is an engineer at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) in Philadelphia.
One 2022 tsunami may have been as tall as the Statue of Liberty
In January, an underwater volcano in the South Pacific underwent an epic eruption. The event packed as much power as a nuclear bomb. It also generated tsunamis around the world. Now it seems that some of those waves may have started out as a single mound of water about as high as the Statue of Liberty! That’s not all. New research also shows the eruption triggered a huge shock wave in the atmosphere. That pulse spawned a second set of especially fast-moving tsunamis.
Some scientists want serious research into UFOs. Here’s why
Throughout history, people have spotted mysterious effects or objects in the sky. Some have claimed such “unidentified flying objects,” or UFOs, are alien spaceships. Others have shown that many UFOs have earthly explanations. Some could be aircraft, for example, or atmospheric phenomena. But not all of these mystery effects have been explained. That’s why the U.S. government takes them seriously. And some researchers think the scientific community should, too.
Some scientists want serious research into UFOs. Here’s why
Throughout history, people have spotted mysterious effects or objects in the sky. Some have claimed such “unidentified flying objects,” or UFOs, are alien spaceships. Others have shown that many UFOs have earthly explanations. Some could be aircraft, for example, or atmospheric phenomena. But not all of these mystery effects have been explained. That’s why the U.S. government takes them seriously. And some researchers think the scientific community should, too.
‘Mystery monkey’ could mean its parent’s species may be in trouble
A puzzling primate might be the offspring of two distantly related species. And this monkey business is worrying scientists. Six years ago, tour guide Brenden Miles was traveling down the Kinabatangan River. He was on the Southeast Asian island of Borneo. This was in an area that’s part of Malaysia. Suddenly, he spotted an odd-looking primate. He snapped a few photos and looked at them later. “At first, I thought it could be a morph of the silvered leaf monkey,” Miles says.
More Than Marsquakes: InSight Yielded Magnetism, Weather Discoveries
When NASA announced in May that the InSight Mars lander was shutting down after a 4-year mission studying the planet’s crust, mantle, and core, headlines focused on the robot’s landmark discoveries about seismic activity and marsquakes. But although they’ve received less attention, a secondary set of observations is also leading to important discoveries about the Red Planet’s weather and environment, including the first measurements of magnetism taken from Mars’s surface.
Loss of Ocean Memory Has Implications from Forecasting to Conservation
“Ocean memory,” or the persistence of sea surface temperature anomalies, is a key factor in forecasting major climate events. Now, a new study explains how climate change will cause this memory to get shorter, leading to faster changes and reduced warning for events like marine heat waves and extreme rainfall. The research links this loss of ocean memory to a thinning of the mixed-layer depth, a layer of water near the surface characterized by uniform density and stability.
Never underestimate a western banded gecko. These small lizards don’t look like they’d win in a fight. But new videos reveal how these unassuming creatures make a meal out of venomous scorpions. Researchers shared footage of the showdowns in the March Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. To take down scorpions, western banded geckos (Coleonyx variegatus) fight dirty. One of these lizards will bite a scorpion, then thrash its head and upper body back and forth.
Some of the sun’s iconic coronal loops may be ghostly illusions
Hot strands of plasma arch out from the sun’s surface. These iconic features are known as coronal loops. But many of the loops we see might not actually be there, scientists now report. Some, they say, might be an illusion created by dense “wrinkles” in a curtain of plasma known as the coronal veil. They base this idea on unexpected structures that emerged in computer models. Those computer programs were designed to simulate the sun’s atmosphere — including its outermost region, the corona.
Bubbles could help remove trash from rivers
The creek behind Dakota Perry’s house in Mobile, Ala., is often littered with trash. While spending time there with her dad, the high school sophomore would notice plastic bags, bottles and cups strewn across the water and collecting along the shoreline. But where some might opt for a community trash pick-up, Dakota wondered if there wasn’t a better way. The teen debuted her solution to the pollution this week at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF).
Bubbles could help remove trash from rivers
ATLANTA, Ga. — The creek behind Dakota Perry’s house in Mobile, Ala., is often littered with trash. While spending time there with her dad, the high school sophomore would notice plastic bags, bottles and cups strewn across the water and collecting along the shoreline. But where some might opt for a community trash pick-up, Dakota wondered if there wasn’t a better way. The teen debuted her solution to the pollution this week at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF).
Study of LSD microdosing doesn't show a therapeutic effect
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Proponents of LSD "microdosing"—taking small amounts of the drug at regular intervals—claim it can improve mood and cognitive function. But new research by the University of Chicago has not found evidence to support those claims. Harriet de Wit, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience at UChicago, noted that the study doesn't disprove microdosing's possible benefits, and that more investigation is needed.
Study of LSD microdosing doesn't show a therapeutic effect
Proponents of LSD “microdosing” -- taking small amounts of the drug at regular intervals -- claim it can improve mood and cognitive function. But new research by the University of Chicago has not found evidence to support those claims. Harriet de Wit, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience at UChicago, noted that the study doesn’t disprove microdosing’s possible benefits, and that more investigation is needed. The study does show that taking small doses of LSD is safe.
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