Cell division is fundamental to life, enabling growth, reproduction, and survival across all organisms, from single-celled bacteria to complex multicellular animals. While animals and fungi share a common eukaryotic ancestry, their mechanisms of cell division, particularly mitosis, have diverged significantly, raising intriguing evolutionary questions. Animals typically undergo open mitosis, where the nuclear envelope disassembles during cell division, while fungi exhibit closed mitosis, maintaining an intact nuclear envelope. The evolutionary reasons behind these divergent strategies ...

The inflorescence architecture of crop plants like barley is predominantly regulated by meristem activity and fate, which play a critical role in determining the number of floral structures for grain production. Spikelets are the basic reproductive unit of grass inflorescences. The identity and determinacy of many grass meristems are partially determined by a group of genes expressed specifically at organ boundaries, which can form local signalling centres that regulate adjacent meristem fate and activity. These genes are critical for establishing and ...

According to a study published in Current Biology on May 22, the genetic components of the ancient populations in the western Tibetan Plateau are closest to ancient populations in the southern Tibetan Plateau, and their major genetic components have been maintained over the past 3,500 years. In addition, these ancient populations in the western Tibetan Plateau had complex and frequent interactions with ancient populations inside and outside the plateau. The study was conducted by Prof. FU Qiaomei's team from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology ...

Cell division is one of the most fundamental processes of life. From bacteria to blue whales, every living being on Earth relies on cell division for growth, reproduction, and species survival. Yet, there is remarkable diversity in the way different organisms carry out this universal process. A new study from EMBL Heidelberg’s Dey group and their collaborators, recently published in Nature, explores how different modes of cell division evolved in close relatives of fungi and animals, demonstrating, for the first time, the link between an organism’s ...

Researchers from Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) and Osaka University find that a newly developed modified sugar increases the efficacy and safety of antisense oligonucleotides designed to treat central nervous system disease   Tokyo, Japan – Diseases that affect the brain and spinal cord can be particularly devastating, and finding new and more effective ways to treat these conditions is an important goal for researchers and clinicians alike. Now, a research group from Japan reports that slightly modifying an existing treatment for central nervous system (CNS) disease dramatically increases its ...

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a prevalent form of cancer, profoundly influences the progression and prognosis of the disease through immune response mechanisms. The tumor microenvironment plays a pivotal role in fostering immune suppression and maintaining self-tolerance, which are crucial in developing and refining immunotherapy approaches. In our comprehensive review, we initially delve into the characteristics of the tumor microenvironment in HCC, elucidating the predominant immunosuppressive mechanisms at play and the biomarkers pivotal for tracking the disease progression and therapeutic ...

Boulder, Colo., USA: Chevron, a leading energy corporation committed to supporting educational initiatives in the geosciences, has announced a partnership with the Geological Society of America (GSA) to provide field trip grants, beginning with the organization’s annual meeting, GSA Connects 2024. This year’s meeting will take place in Anaheim, California, USA, 22–25 September. The GSA/Chevron Field Trip Grant aims to support students or early career professionals in attending field trips during GSA Connects. GSA’s field trips provide valuable hands-on learning experiences, networking opportunities, ...

Since cannabidiol (CBD), the non-intoxicating component of cannabis, was legalized in the United States by the 2018 Farm Bill, products containing the compound have flooded the consumer health sector. While there is a single FDA-approved medication containing CBD which can be used to treat rare forms of epilepsy, evidence for the efficacy of commercial CBD products, which generally contain low doses of CBD, is limited. However, this has not stopped their widespread and growing use. Now, a new study published in Cannabis ...

No parent wants to risk their child having a serious infection, least of all while still in the womb, but did you know that the immune response to a viral infection during pregnancy could also affect the development of the unborn offspring? Scientists from Harvard University in Cambridge, USA, have shown that immune reactions in pregnant mice are detected by a specific type of brain cell in the developing embryo and alter how genes are regulated in the brain – a change that persists in juvenile mice. Published today in the journal Development, this study provides ...

Many countries around the world are considering revising cannabis policies. A new study by a researcher at Carnegie Mellon University assessed cannabis use in the United States between 1979 and 2022, finding that a growing share of cannabis consumers report daily or near-daily use and that their numbers now exceed those of daily and near-daily alcohol drinkers. The study concludes that long-term trends in cannabis use parallel corresponding changes in policy over the same period. The study appears in Addiction. “The data come from survey self-reports, but the enormous changes in ...

New York, NY – The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR), a national non-profit organization whose mission is to support and advance healthy aging through biomedical research, is pleased to recognize the exemplary contributions of Bérénice Benayoun, PhD, to the field of aging research through the 2024 Vincent Cristofalo Rising Star Award in Aging Research.  This award is named in honor of the late Dr. Cristofalo, who dedicated his career to aging research and encouraged young scientists to investigate important issues in the biology of aging. Established in 2008, the award ...

A research team has demonstrated for the first time a proof-of-concept tandem solar cell using antimony selenide as the bottom cell material and a wide-bandgap organic–inorganic hybrid perovskite material as the top cell material. The device achieved a power conversion efficiency of over 20 percent. This study shows that antimony selenide has great potential for bottom cell applications.   The research is published in the journal Energy Materials and Devices on March 4, 2024.   Photovoltaic technology, that harnesses sunlight and converts it into electricity, is popular because it provides a clean, renewable energy source. Scientists ...

This study is led by Professor Yan Wang (School of Pharmacy, Second Military Medical University (Naval Medical University), Shanghai, China). Her team found that the lack of MIR1 gene, which encodes mitochondrial phosphate carrier, can lead to severe virulence defects in Candida albicans.   In the Caenorhabditis elegans candidiasis model, the survival rate of the wild-type strain infected group dropped to about 20% at 120 h, while the survival rate of the mir1Δ/Δ-infected group remained about 90% at 120 h. Similar results were obtained in the murine model. None of the mice infected with mir1Δ/Δ mutant died during 21 days of ...

Spontaneous coagulation casting (SCC), a new type of colloidal forming process, has garnered significant attention since 2011 due to various advantages of a high bulk density and non-toxicity, as well as the ability to achieve dispersion and coagulation with very low additions (< 1 wt%) of copolymers of isobutylene and maleic anhydride (PIBM). Further research has revealed that the green bodies formed by this method are brittle, and the smaller the powder particle size used the more brittle the green bodies are. This paper reports ...

Background and Aims Olaparib is a selective poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor. However, its clinical application is hindered by low solubility and undesired pharmacokinetic profiles (e.g., relatively short circulation). Therefore, the present study aims to exploit polymeric micelles as a safe solubilizer and nanocarrier of olaparib, in order to improve its solubility and pharmacokinetics.   Methods Poly (ε-caprolactone)-co-poly (benzyl 5-methyl-2-oxo-1,3-dioxane-5-carboxylate), i.e., benzyl-functionalized trimethylene carbonate)-b-poly (ethylene glycol) (P(CL-co-TMC-Bz)-PEG), was synthesized by ring-opening polymerization, ...

Background and Aims Clinical unmet need in managing nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a common liver disorder affecting 25–30% of American adults is to develop noninvasive and robust biomarkers.   Methods We re-measured liver AC by placing a region of interest (ROI, 3 cm tall and 3 cm wide) at 4.5 cm, 6 cm, and 7.5 cm from the skin and a large ROI (6.0 cm tall and 7.3 cm wide) on pre-recorded ATI images from 117 participants screened for NAFLD. The difference in AC value at variable ROI depths was tested using one-way ANOVA (analysis of variance). Diagnostic ...

A new study – published in the Human-Animal Interactions journal – reveals that cows who are cuddled as therapy animals showed a strong preference for interactions with women when compared to men. In turn, the research, which opens a new era on whether some therapies may be initially stronger based upon gender and not procedure, highlighted that the women also reported greater attachment behaviours towards the steers. Dr Katherine Compitus, Clinical Assistant Professor at New York University, and Dr Sonya Bierbower, Associate Professor at United States Military Academy West Point, conducted the research using the ...

I’m not touching you! When another person’s finger hovers over your skin, you may get the sense that they’re touching you, feeling not necessarily contact, but their proximity. Similarly, researchers reporting in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces have designed a soft, flexible film that senses the presence of nearby objects without physically touching them. The study features the new sensor technology to detect eyelash proximity in blink-tracking glasses. Noncontact sensors can identify or measure an object without directly touching it. Examples of these devices include ...

Discoveries and progress in materials science often lay the foundation for technological breakthroughs that reshape many industrial and commercial fields, including medicine, consumer electronics, and energy generation, to name a few. Yet, the development of experimental techniques crucially underpins the exploration of new materials, paving the way for groundbreaking discoveries. These techniques allow scientists to delve into a material’s chemical and physical properties, unlocking insights essential for realizing their potential applications. In a recent study ...

Toronto, ON, May 22, 2024 – A new study published in the journal Psychological Medicine estimates that teens using cannabis are at 11 times higher risk of developing a psychotic disorder compared to teens not using cannabis.   This finding suggests that the association between cannabis and psychotic disorders may be stronger than indicated by previous research, which has relied largely on older data when cannabis was less potent than today. For context, the average THC potency of cannabis in Canada has increased from roughly 1% in 1980 to 20% in 2018.  Researchers from the University of Toronto, the Centre for Addiction and Mental ...

Background and objectives Patients with newly diagnosed prostate cancer (PCA) face the critical decision of whether to undergo treatment with curative intent (TCI, surgery or radiation) or conservative treatment on the background of a cancer where the potential for over-treatment and under-treatment is real. This study aimed to investigate the influence of cancer- and patient-related factors on the initial treatment decision for men with a new diagnosis of PCA and to evaluate treatment decisions against relevant guidelines.   Methods This study undertook a retrospective ...

Background and objectives Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a cost-efficient technique for the management of thyroid nodules. Changes in the World Health Organization classification of thyroid tumors can influence reliability of cytology. The 2023 Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology has adapted cytological nomenclature to these changes. The aim of this paper was to review the management of atypia of undetermined significance (AUS) in our institution. https://www.xiahepublishing.com/2771-165X/JCTP-2023-00062   Methods Retrospective review of thyroid FNAC diagnosed with AUS in a single hospital between 2014 and 2022. We analyzed the management ...

As much as 70% of California was covered by wildfire smoke during parts of 2020 and 2021, according to a study from the University of California, Davis. The study, published today in the journal Communications: Earth & Environment, combined lake-based sensors with satellite imagery to find that maximum smoke cover has increased by about 116,000 square miles since 2006. The study measured lake responses to wildfire smoke in 2018, 2020 and 2021 — the three largest fire seasons on record in California. It found the lakes were exposed ...

Embargoed for release: Wednesday, May 22, 2024, 5:00 AM ET Key points: In a large, multinational investigation of the link between extreme temperatures and stroke mortality, researchers found that of every 1,000 ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke deaths, about 11 were attributable to extreme cold and hot days. The study also found that low-income countries bore a higher burden of heat-related hemorrhagic stroke mortality than high-income countries. The researchers foresee an increase in fatal strokes, as well as a widening disparity ...

Osaka, Japan – Part of what makes us human is our ability to think about people, places, or events that aren’t currently present—but we still don’t know exactly how our brains do this. Now, researchers from Osaka University have identified a specific kind of brain activity linked with these kinds of thoughts, such as when we daydream or let our minds wander. When we think about things that aren’t actually happening, like when we daydream, the brain is essentially making up information rather than receiving and ...