A distinctive inflammatory signature found in a genetic form of ALS

Researchers find an increase in inflammatory molecules in serum and cerebrospinal fluid of C90RF72 patients, informing future anti-inflammatory therapies

2021-06-16

(Press-News.org) PHILADELPHIA - Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that strikes nearly 5,000 people in the U.S. every year. About 10% of ALS cases are inherited or familial, often caused by an error in the C9orf72 gene. Compared to sporadic or non-familial ALS, C90rf72 patients are considered to have a more aggressive disease course. Evidence points to the immune system in disease progression in C90rf72 patients, but we know little of what players are involved. New research from the Jefferson Weinberg ALS Center identified an increased inflammatory signal in C90rf72 patients compared to other ALS patients, pointing to immune characteristics that distinguish this subgroup of ALS patients and informing potential anti-inflammatory therapies. The study was published in karuna.meda@jefferson.edu

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Machine learning can now reduce worry about nanoparticles in food

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While crop yield has achieved a substantial boost from nanotechnology in recent years, alarms over the health risks posed by nanoparticles within fresh produce and grains have also increased. In particular, nanoparticles entering the soil through irrigation, fertilizers and other sources have raised concerns about whether plants absorb these minute particles enough to cause toxicity. In a new study published online in the journal END ...

When small epigenomic signals matter

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Although each organism has a unique genome, a single gene sequence, each individual has many epigenomes. An epigenome consists of chemical compounds and proteins that can bind to DNA and regulate gene action, either by activating or deactivating them or producing organ- or tissue-specific proteins. As it is a highly dynamic material, it can provide a large amount of information to shed light on the evolution of the various tissues and organs that make up the body. Now, a team from the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE), a joint centre of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and Pompeu Fabra University, has carried out the largest study to date on the regulatory ...

Sticky transparent wall coating can capture aerosols and droplets from the air

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By repurposing common ingredients in hair conditioner, scientists have designed an inexpensive, transparent coating that can turn surfaces like windows and ceilings into glue pads to trap airborne aerosol droplets. This new strategy is described June 16 in the journal Chem. "Facing a pandemic, we need to proactively leverage all of the different layers of defense mechanisms, including the physical barriers," says corresponding author Jiaxing Huang, a professor of materials science and engineering at Northwestern University. "After all, these viruses must travel through physical space before reaching and eventually infecting people." The ...

When testing Einstein's theory of general relativity, small modeling errors add up fast

2021-06-16

Small modeling errors may accumulate faster than previously expected when physicists combine multiple gravitational wave events (such as colliding black holes) to test Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity, suggest researchers at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. The findings, published June 16 in the journal iScience, suggest that catalogs with as few as 10 to 30 events with a signal-to-background noise ratio of 20 (which is typical for events used in this type of test) could provide misleading deviations from general relativity, erroneously pointing to new physics where none exists. Because this is close to the size of current catalogs used to assess Einstein's ...

Researchers find human infant brains, bodies are active during new sleep stage

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Human babies do even more than we thought while sleeping. A new study from University of Iowa researchers provides further insights into the coordination that takes place between infants' brains and bodies as they sleep. The Iowa researchers have for years studied infants' twitching movements during REM sleep and how those twitches contribute to babies' ability to coordinate their bodily movements. In this study, the scientists report that beginning around three months of age, infants see a pronounced increase in twitching during a second major stage of sleep, called quiet sleep. "This was completely surprising and, for all we know, ...

Mystery solved: Dust cloud led to Betelgeuse's 'Great Dimming'

2021-06-16

When Betelgeuse, a bright orange star in the constellation of Orion, lost more than two-thirds of its brightness in late 2019 and early 2020, astronomers were puzzled. What could cause such an abrupt dimming? Now, in a new paper published Wednesday in Nature, an international team of astronomers reveal two never-before-seen images of the mysterious darkening --and an explanation. The dimming was caused by a dusty veil shading the star, which resulted from a drop in temperature on Betelgeuse's stellar surface. Led by Miguel Montargès at the Observatoire de Paris, the new images were taken in January and March of 2020 using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope. Combined with images previously taken in ...

Correlated errors in quantum computers emphasize need for design changes

2021-06-16

EMBARGOED UNTIL 11 A.M. ET WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16, 2021 MADISON, Wis. -- Quantum computers could outperform classical computers at many tasks, but only if the errors that are an inevitable part of computational tasks are isolated rather than widespread events. Now, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have found evidence that errors are correlated across an entire superconducting quantum computing chip -- highlighting a problem that must be acknowledged and addressed in the quest for fault-tolerant quantum computers. The researchers report their findings in a study published June 16 in the journal Nature, Importantly, their work also points to mitigation strategies. "I think people have been approaching the problem of error correction in an overly optimistic ...

Researchers translate a bird's brain activity into song

2021-06-16

It is possible to re-create a bird's song by reading only its brain activity, shows a first proof-of-concept study from the University of California San Diego. The researchers were able to reproduce the songbird's complex vocalizations down to the pitch, volume and timbre of the original. Published June 16 in Current Biology, the study lays the foundation for building vocal prostheses for individuals who have lost the ability to speak. "The current state of the art in communication prosthetics is implantable devices that allow you to generate textual output, writing up to 20 words per minute," said senior author Timothy Gentner, a professor of psychology and neurobiology ...

Mystery of Betelgeuse's dip in brightness solved

2021-06-16

When Betelgeuse, a bright orange star in the constellation of Orion, became visibly darker in late 2019 and early 2020, the astronomy community was puzzled. A team of astronomers have now published new images of the star's surface, taken using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (ESO's VLT), that clearly show how its brightness changed. The new research reveals that the star was partially concealed by a cloud of dust, a discovery that solves the mystery of the "Great Dimming" of Betelgeuse. Betelgeuse's dip in brightness -- a change noticeable even to the ...

Association of cannabis use during adolescence with neurodevelopment

2021-06-16

What The Study Did: Researchers examined to what extent cannabis use is associated with thickness in brain areas measured by magnetic resonance imaging in a study of adolescents. Authors: Matthew D. Albaugh, Ph.D., of the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine in Burlington, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.1258) Editor's Note: The article includes conflict of interest and funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support. INFORMATION: Media advisory: The ...

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