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Science7 Jun 2024

Prevalence of iron deficiency using 3 definitions among women in the US and Canada

About The Study: Three definitions of iron deficiency were associated with significantly different prevalence of iron deficiency in women, regardless of self-reported age, pregnancy, or race and ethnicity. Using higher serum ferritin thresholds to define iron deficiency could lead to diagnosis and treatment of more women with iron deficiency and greater reduction of related morbidity. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, James C. Barton, M.D., email bartonjames336@gmail.com. To access the embargoed study: ...

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Medicine7 Jun 2024

Bariatric metabolic surgery vs glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists and mortality

About The Study: Bariatric metabolic surgery was associated with greater reduced mortality compared with first-generation glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) among individuals with a diabetes duration of 10 years or less, mediated via greater weight loss in this cohort study. No differences in the risk for mortality were observed between the treatment modalities among individuals with a longer duration of diabetes, nor in the occurrence of nonfatal major adverse cardiovascular events among all patients. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, ...

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Science7 Jun 2024

Primary cilia restrict autoinflammation by mediating PD-L1 expression

Ciliopathies are multisystem disorders characterized by the dysfunction of motile and/or non-motile cilia, which show common clinical manifestations of ciliopathies include retinal degeneration, mental retardation, renal abnormality, obesity, and skeletal dysplasia. Fibrosis of vital organs, characterized by the extensive deposition of extracellular matrix components, represents another complication frequently observed in patients and animal models of ciliopathies. However, the precise mechanism that connects ciliary defects to fibrosis remains largely elusive. The recent study led by Dr. Min Liu (Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem) and Dr. Yunfan Yang (Shandong University) showed ...

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Earth Science7 Jun 2024

Roots of resistance: unveiling the soil-saving secrets of grafting

Grafting, an age-old horticultural technique, has been revealed as a powerful tool against soil-borne diseases like crown gall. New research uncovers how the composition of root exudates changes when plants are grafted onto resistant rootstocks, creating a defensive mechanism that reduces the prevalence of pathogenic Agrobacterium. Crown gall disease, a destructive plant ailment caused by Agrobacterium, has long plagued agriculture, leading to significant crop losses. Traditional control methods have proven inadequate, highlighting an urgent need for innovative solutions. Given the pervasive impact of this disease and the limitations ...

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Medicine7 Jun 2024

Insilico Medicine Founder and CEO Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD talks about AI and robotics in healthcare breakthroughs in following conferences

Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, founder and co-CEO of Insilico Medicine (“Insilico”), a clinical-stage generative artificial intelligence (AI)-driven drug discovery company, will be attending a series of meetings in the following week, where he will be discussing bioscience innovations powered by AI and robotics. More information about the events is listed as follows: [1] London Tech Week 2024 Fireside Chat: The Forefront of AI Innovation in Health Tech Time: Monday, 10th June 15:55 - 16:15 (UK time) Location: London Olympia, Main Stage London Tech Week is the global tech ecosystem aiming to accelerate the infinite cycle of tech innovation, which brings together the innovators ...

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Science7 Jun 2024

New: Classification Criteria for Hand OA

Hand osteoarthritis mainly affects the distal interphalangeal, proximal interphalangeal, and thumb base joints,1 leading to joint pain, aching, and stiffness. Criteria developed by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) in 1990 are useful, but they cannot distinguish between interphalangeal or thumb base disease, and this is important since these two phenotypes may require different treatment strategies. To address this, EULAR and a team of leading experts in the field set out to develop new classification criteria sets that include radiographic features. Early phases of the project used observational data to identify self-reported, ...

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Physics7 Jun 2024

Perturbations simplify the study of “super photons”

Thousands of particles of light can merge into a type of “super photon” under suitable conditions. Physicists call such a state a photon Bose-Einstein condensate. Researchers at the University of Bonn have now shown that this exotic quantum state obeys a fundamental theorem of physics. This finding now allows one to measure properties of photon Bose-Einstein condensates which are usually difficult to access. The study has been published in the journal Nature Communications. If many atoms are cooled to a very low temperature confined in a small volume, they can become indistinguishable and behave like a single “super particle.” Physicists also call this ...

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Science7 Jun 2024

Decoding salvia miltiorrhiza: a molecular approach to boosting bioactive compounds

Salvia miltiorrhiza, known as Danshen, is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine for treating cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and Alzheimer's disease. The medicinal properties of Danshen are primarily attributed to its two major bioactive compounds: tanshinones and phenolic acids. Despite their importance, the genetic and regulatory mechanisms underlying their biosynthesis remain poorly understood. Based on these challenges, there is a pressing need for in-depth research to uncover the molecular pathways involved in the production of these ...

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Medicine7 Jun 2024

Digital babies created to improve infant healthcare

Researchers at University of Galway have created digital babies to better understand infants’ health in their critical first 180 days of life. The team created 360 advanced computer models that simulate the unique metabolic processes of each baby. The digital babies are the first sex-specific computational whole-body models representing newborn and infant metabolism with 26 organs, six cell types, and more than 80,000 metabolic reactions. Real-life data from 10,000 newborns, including sex, birth weight and metabolite concentrations, enabled the creation and validation ...

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Medicine7 Jun 2024

Lavender's secret: genetic regulator boosts plant health and fragrance output

A groundbreaking study has identified a gene that plays a dual role in enhancing both the aromatic compounds and disease resistance in lavender plants. The research uncovers how the LaMYC7 gene positively regulates the biosynthesis of linalool and caryophyllene, key for lavender's scent and its resistance to common plant pathogens. Plants face various environmental pressures, including biotic stressors like pathogens and abiotic stressors such as extreme temperatures. Among biotic stressors, Pseudomonas syringae significantly threatens plant health worldwide. Terpenoids, including linalool and caryophyllene, play crucial roles in plant ...

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Medicine7 Jun 2024

How $4 billion funded the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic response

New University of Virginia School of Medicine research is shedding light on how federal funding helped scientists understand the COVID-19 virus, develop new treatments and deploy lifesaving vaccines in record time. The UVA Health researchers used advanced “machine learning” – a form of artificial intelligence – to analyze the thousands of scientific publications that resulted from the National Institutes of Health’s deployment of more than $4 billion to combat the pandemic. This analysis allowed the researchers to categorize the types ...

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Science7 Jun 2024

Advances in omics research of rosaceae

A research team has provided a comprehensive overview of the applications of omics technologies in Rosaceae plants. The study highlights significant advancements in genome sequencing, transcriptome, proteomics, and metabolomics, shedding light on the genetic regulatory mechanisms underlying crucial traits such as flower color, fragrance, stress tolerance, and fruit quality. This research is invaluable for molecular breeding and improving economic traits in Rosaceae plants, potentially leading to the rapid cultivation of new varieties and germplasm. The Rosaceae family, with its diverse species and economic importance, is a focus ...

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Medicine7 Jun 2024

Basic research: Inhibition of epigenetic control enzymes in immune cells as a potential new starting point in cancer immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is one of the pillars in the fight against cancer and aims to enable the body's own immune system to fight a tumor. A recent study now shows that removing certain enzymes that regulate epigenetic processes from the so-called dentritic cells of the immune system influences their development and thus improves anti-tumor immunity. This finding could lead to new therapeutic strategies in immunotherapy. The study by Cristiano De Sá Fernandes from Maria Sibilia's research group at the Center for Cancer Research and the Comprehensive Cancer Center of MedUni Vienna and Vienna General Hospital was recently published in Cell Reports. Cancer cells are the body's ...

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Environment7 Jun 2024

Tracking greenhouse gas emissions in Chinese value chains with an interprovincial input–output model

China’s economy has shifted from a stage of high growth to a stage of high-quality development, and the establishment of a dual-carbon target requires profound changes in the industrial structure and energy systems, as well as finding the right direction and pathway for industrial adjustment. While the potential for technological emission reduction continues to be released, the main factor affecting China’s carbon emissions is the speed and intensity of economic transformation and industrial restructuring. A research team of Dr. GU Alun from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, recently analyzed the correlations ...

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Space7 Jun 2024

Earth and space share the same turbulence

Fukuoka, Japan—In a paper published in Geophysical Research Letters, researchers have discovered that the turbulence in the thermosphere exhibits the same physical laws as the wind in the lower atmosphere. Furthermore, wind in the thermosphere predominantly rotates in a cyclonic direction, in that it rotates counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. The findings reveal a new unified principle for the Earth’s varied environmental systems and can potentially improve future forecasting of both earth and space weather. One time or another we’ve tuned in to see the latest weather forecast, and while ...

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Technology7 Jun 2024

With programmable pixels, novel sensor improves imaging of neural activity

Neurons communicate electrically so to understand how they produce brain functions such as memory, neuroscientists must track how their voltage changes—sometimes subtly—on the timescale of milliseconds. In a new paper in Nature Communications, MIT researchers describe a novel image sensor with the capability to substantially increase that ability. The invention led by Jie Zhang, a postdoctoral scholar in The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory lab of Sherman Fairchild Professor Matt ...

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Environment7 Jun 2024

Frozen? Let it melt with efficient new deicer friendly to the environment

The dangers of frozen roads, airplane engines, and runways are well known, but the use of commercial products often means short-term safety over long-term environmental degradation. Seeking a better product, Osaka Metropolitan University researchers have developed a deicing mixture offering higher performance than deicers on the market while also having less impact on the environment. The team, made up of graduate student Kai Ito, Assistant Professor Arisa Fukatsu, Associate Professor Kenji Okada, and Professor Masahide Takahashi of the Graduate School of Engineering, used machine learning to analyze ice melting mechanisms of aqueous solutions of 21 salts and 16 organic ...

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Medicine7 Jun 2024

Aging speeds up and lifetime becomes shorter in animals whose cells ‘believe’ to have too many nutrients, despite following a normal diet

Cells are signalled to have nutrients in excess, and this leads to malfunction and inflammation in organs such as the pancreas, the liver and the kidneys. The finding, by CNIO researchers, are published in Nature Aging. It suggests that an intervention on the inflammation alone can relieve symptoms and increase survival. The research has been conducted on animal models, but comparing their molecular processes with blood samples from people in their seventies indicates that they can be extrapolated to human aging. The reality of a population who is ageing at an accelerated rate makes it a priority to understand what happens in the body over time, ...

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Medicine7 Jun 2024

Transfer RNAs at the heart of therapeutic resistance

An international research team led by scientists from the University of Liège has discovered an interesting new therapeutic target for the treatment of melanoma resistant to targeted therapies. Inhibition of the VARS enzyme could prevent this therapeutic resistance by resensitising tumours resistant to these targeted therapies. Melanoma is one of the most serious and aggressive forms of skin cancer. When diagnosed early, melanoma is surgically removed. However, once metastases (i.e. secondary distant tumours) have developed, ...

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Medicine7 Jun 2024

Brain circuits underlying learning from negative experiences

‘I’m not gonna do this again’, we often say when faced with negative feedback, adverse effects, or disappointing outcomes. Thus, we attempt to learn from such negative experiences. This principle is also a cornerstone of our education system: failing an exam ought to encourage students to do better next time. How does the brain achieve this type of learning? Positive and negative reinforcement appear as two sides of the same coin in parts of the brain’s valuation system. Notably, some neurons that release the neuromodulator ‘dopamine’ represent outcomes better vs. worse ...

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Medicine7 Jun 2024

What’s going on in our brains when we plan?

In pausing to think before making an important decision, we may imagine the potential outcomes of different choices we could make. While this “mental simulation” is central to how we plan and make decisions in everyday life, how the brain works to accomplish this is not well understood. An international team of scientists has now uncovered neural mechanisms used in planning. Its results, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, suggest that an interplay between the brain’s prefrontal cortex and hippocampus allows us to imagine future outcomes in order to guide our decisions. “The prefrontal cortex acts as a ‘simulator,’ ...

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Medicine7 Jun 2024

Robotic device restores wavelike muscular function involved in processes like digestion, aiding patients with compromised organs

A team of Vanderbilt researchers has developed a wirelessly activated device that mimics the wavelike muscular function in the esophagus and small intestine responsible for transporting food and viscous fluids for digestion. The soft-robotic prototype, which is driven by strong magnets controlled by a wearable external actuator, can aid patients suffering from blockages caused by tumors or those requiring stents. For example, traditional esophageal stents are metal tubes used in patients with esophageal cancer, mostly in an aging population. These patients risk food being blocked from entering the stomach, potentially ...

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Energy7 Jun 2024

DOE announces new decadal fusion energy strategy

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today marked the two-year anniversary of the Biden-Harris Administration's launch of the U.S. Bold Decadal Vision for Commercial Fusion Energy with the release of the DOE Fusion Energy Strategy 2024 and an event at the White House co-hosted by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. At the inaugural event where the Bold Decadal Vision was unveiled, DOE launched a Department-wide initiative to develop a strategy for accelerating the viability of commercial fusion energy in partnership with the private sector. The newly released DOE Fusion Energy ...

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Medicine7 Jun 2024

Study identifies potential pathway to reducing breast cancer brain metastases

A study led by researchers from the University of Arizona Cancer Center at UArizona Health Sciences identified a biological mechanism that could lead to more effective treatments for breast cancer that has metastasized to the brain. By studying the metabolic differences between primary breast cancer cells and those that metastasize to the brain, they determined that autophagy was significantly upregulated in brain metastases. Autophagy is a cellular recycling process that cancer cells can use to stay alive when faced with stressful conditions such as those triggered by anticancer drugs. “The prognosis for individuals with ...

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Medicine7 Jun 2024

How does oxygen depletion disrupt memory formation in the brain?

When we learn something new, our brain cells (neurons) communicate with each other through electrical and chemical signals. If the same group of neurons communicate together often, the connections between them get stronger. This process helps our brains learn and remember things and is known as long-term potentiation or LTP. Another type of LTP occurs when the brain is deprived of oxygen temporarily – anoxia-induced long-term potentiationor aLTP. aLTP blocks the former process, thereby impairing learning and ...

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