A relatively small intervention could have a huge impact on a damaging condition that stalks children in the developing world. A new Stanford-led study shows that adding zinc to farmland soil can help prevent childhood stunting, a condition due to chronic undernutrition that is associated with poor brain development and long-lasting harmful consequences, such as reduced school performance and increased disease risks. The paper, published Aug. 21 in Scientific Reports is the first large-scale study to examine the association between children’s nutritional status or health outcomes and soil mineral availability in India, ...

“NeXT Dx incorporates a range of features and comprehensive genome variant detection methods that lead to improved disease management and possible enhanced clinical utility.”  BUFFALO, NY- August 30, 2023 – A new research paper was published in Oncotarget's Volume 14 on August 30, 2023, entitled, “Analytic validation of NeXT Dx™, a comprehensive genomic profiling assay.” In this new research paper, researchers Juan-Sebastian Saldivar, Jason Harris, Erin Ayash, Manqing Hong, Prateek Tandon, Saloni Sinha, Patricia Miranda Hebron, Erin E. Houghton, ...

Blake Meyers, a principal investigator at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and a professor of plant sciences from the University of Missouri - Columbia, has been named the new director and Novozymes Chair in Genomics at the UC Davis Genome Center. Meyers, who studies plant RNA biology, bioinformatics and functional genomics, will step into the role on March 1. A member of the National Academy of Sciences, Meyers succeeds the center’s founding director Richard Michelmore, a distinguished professor in the departments of Plant Sciences, Molecular and Cellular Biology, and Medical Microbiology and Immunology. Roots ...

NASA uses the International Space Station — a football field-sized spacecraft orbiting Earth — to learn more about living and working in space. For over 20 years, the space station has provided a unique platform for investigation and research in areas like biology, technology, agriculture, and more. It serves as a home for astronauts conducting experiments, including advancing NASA’s space communications capabilities.  In 2023, NASA is sending a technology demonstration known as the Integrated LCRD Low Earth Orbit User ...

A new study by researchers from Mass General Brigham further illustrates that when it comes to risk of Alzheimer’s disease, even genetically determined forms of the disease, genetics is only one piece of the puzzle. Researchers investigated the influence of genetics and educational attainment on cognitive decline by studying data from 675 people who carry a mutation that predisposes them to early onset Alzheimer’s disease. Carriers of this mutation—known as PSEN1 E280A—have a median age of 49 for onset of dementia. The team found that among ...

LAWRENCE, KANSAS — A new virtual institute established at the University of Kansas School of Engineering will train the next generation of military and civilian leaders to better combat the growing threat of cyberattacks and protect the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS). KU received a two-year, $1.5 million grant from the Department of Defense to establish the program, known as the Virtual Institutes for Cyber and Electromagnetic Spectrum Research and Employ, or VICEROY, Virtual Institute. The grant is overseen by the Griffiss Institute, which is a nonprofit talent ...

Writing is an age-old cultural technique. Thousands of years ago, humans were already carving signs and symbols into stone slabs. Scripts have become far more sophisticated since then but one aspect remains the same: Whether the writer is using cuneiform or a modern alphabet, a solid substrate, such as clay or paper, is required to fix the written structures in place. However, researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), TU Darmstadt, and Wuhan University asked themselves how to write in a bulk fluid like water without fixing substrates. The concept would not be unlike the way aircraft leave three-dimensional vapor trails behind them when they ...

About one in every five people carries a version of a gene that, although largely unsung, appears to confer protection against both Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, Stanford Medicine investigators and their colleagues have learned. These lucky people may someday benefit all the more from a vaccine that could slow or stall the progression of these two most common neurodegenerative conditions. An analysis of medical and genetic data from hundreds of thousands of people of diverse ancestries from several continents has revealed ...

First-time fathers seem to experience a steeper decline in relationship satisfaction in the first two years post-partum than second-time fathers, who appear to recover lost relationship satisfaction by the time their second child is 14 months old, according to a study published August 30, 2023 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Judith T. Mack and Lena Brunke from Technische Universität Dresden, Germany, and colleagues. Having a strong primary relationship can help couples more successfully weather potentially-challenging transitions like the birth of a child. Most research on ...

Detailed analysis of two Late Bronze Age urn burials uncovers animal bones and jewelry amidst the cremated remains of a woman and child, and reveals insights into prehistoric funerary rites ### Article URL:  https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0289140 Article Title: More than urns: A multi-method pipeline for analyzing cremation burials Author Countries: Austria, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Belgium Funding: This study was funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) in the framework of the project ‘Unlocking the secrets ...

DURHAM, N.C. – A man-made antibody successfully prevented organ rejection when tested in primates that had undergone a kidney transplant, Duke Health researchers report.   The finding clears the way for the new monoclonal antibody to move forward in human clinical trials. Results of the study appear online Aug. 30 in the journal Science Translational Medicine.   “Current medications to prevent organ rejection are good overall, but they have a lot of side effects,” said lead author Imran J. Anwar, M.D., a surgical research fellow ...

DURHAM, N.C. – Researchers have developed a blood test that detects Parkinson’s disease, potentially establishing a way to help diagnose the condition before nervous system damage worsens.   A new blood-based diagnostic test would be a major advancement for Parkinson’s disease, which afflicts 10 million people worldwide and is the second-most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s. Led by a team of Duke Health neuroscientists, the study appears Aug. 30 in the journal Science Translational Medicine.   “Currently, Parkinson’s disease is diagnosed largely based on clinical symptoms after significant neurological damage has ...

The surface protein of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), known as the spike protein, is critical for infecting host cells. The spike protein facilitates the infection process by binding to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors on the surface of airway epithelial cells, initiating the virus entry into the cells. By engineering an ACE2 receptor to increase the affinity to the spike protein, researchers demonstrated a novel method to neutralize the virus effectively. The engineered ACE2 (3N39v4-Fc) acts as a decoy by binding to the viral spike protein, thus preventing the binding of viruses to the ACE2 receptor on the cell surface. ...

New Curtin research into injuries sustained by trail users has found mountain biking is not the dangerous, injury-plagued sport reserved for thrill-seekers that it is often perceived to be and that the health benefits outweigh the risks. Researchers analysed data from dozens of studies across the world, including Australia, encompassing 220,935 injured mountain bikers and 17,757 injured hikers. The study aimed to pinpoint the injury types and affected body areas in order to gain insights into the medical treatment of such cases. Lead author PhD candidate Paul Braybrook, from Curtin’s School of Nursing, said mountain bikers were primarily injured on their upper limbs, ...

The same neurons that help bats navigate through space may also help them navigate collective social environments, finds a new study published today in the journal Nature. Many mammals — including bats and humans — are believed to navigate with the help of a brain structure called the hippocampus, which encodes a mental “map” of familiar surroundings. For example, as you walk around your neighborhood or commute to work, individual “place” neurons in the hippocampus fire to indicate where you are. In the new study, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, used wireless neural ...

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. and WINNIPEG, Manitoba – IHT Group, a division of Decisive Dividend Corp. (TSXV: DE) based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, is bringing patented cooling pad technology for hogs to the North American market in spring 2024. The pads are 2-foot-by-4-foot aluminum tread plates on top of copper pipes that circulate water. Sensors in the pads determine if the hog is too hot and circulate new water to keep the pad cool. The technology was designed by researchers in Purdue University’s Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering and Department of Animal Sciences. Heat harms hogs Record heat across North America ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — When an immunocompromised person’s system begins to recover and produce more white blood cells, it’s usually a good thing – unless they develop a potentially deadly inflammatory condition. New research from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has found that the pulmonary distress often associated with the condition is caused not by damage to the lungs, but by newly populated T-cells infiltrating the brain.  Knowing this mechanism of action can help researchers and ...

Venice, Italy – The International Society of Microbiota (ISM) is pleased to announce the upcoming symposium on probiotics and microbiota supplements. The symposium will take place on October 17, 2023, in Venice, Italy, one day prior to the 10th World Congress on Targeting Microbiota 2023. About ISM 2023 Symposium: The symposium will focus on the strain specificity of probiotics and microbiota supplements and their clinical applications for disease management. It will also elaborate on the use and mode of action of postbiotics and metabolites like the SCFA butyrate. Speakers will present the latest research on the use of probiotics to treat a variety ...

[Boston, MA, USA—August 30, 2023]   Each year, the American Meteorological Society recognizes outstanding individuals and organizations in the weather, water, and climate community through its Awards and Honors program. The organization is proud to announce its 2024 recipients, who will receive their award or honor at the 104th AMS Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, 28 January–1 February, 2024. “Working across a wide range of sciences and services, the members of our community are vital to upholding safety and quality of life in the United States and across ...

While self-driving vehicles (SDVs) are being hailed as a solution for safer, more efficient roads, new research suggests British Columbians are not quite ready to embrace self-driving cars wholeheartedly – and will need a period of gradual transition before adoption. The study, conducted by the Research on Active Transportation Lab (REACT) at the University of British Columbia, reveals mixed perceptions of automated vehicles, particularly their effects on pedestrian comfort and safety. Do self-driving cars feel safe? Four out of 10 participants (41 per cent) thought that pedestrians faced reduced safety and comfort levels ...

HOUSTON ― The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights showcases the latest breakthroughs in cancer care, research and prevention. These advances are made possible through seamless collaboration between MD Anderson’s world-leading clinicians and scientists, bringing discoveries from the lab to the clinic and back. Recent developments include a novel computational tool to detect single base pair DNA changes in single-cell sequencing data, a potential target to treat hypertension caused by drugs commonly used in organ transplants, further insights into the steps involved in ...

Research conducted at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health detected significant levels of metals in the blood and urine among marijuana users, concluding that marijuana may be an important and under-recognized source of lead and cadmium exposure. This is among the first studies to report biomarker metal levels among marijuana users and most likely the largest study to date, that links self-reported marijuana use to internal measures of metal exposure, rather than just ...

Researchers led by Hiroshi Ohno at the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences (IMS) in Japan have discovered a type of gut bacteria that might help improve insulin resistance, and thus protect against the development of obesity and type-2 diabetes. The study, published August 30 in the scientific journal Nature, involved genetic and metabolic analysis of human fecal microbiomes and then corroborating experiments in obese mice. Insulin is a hormone released by the pancreas in response to blood sugar. Normally, it helps get the sugar ...

Francis Crick Institute press release Under strict embargo: 16:00hrs BST 30 August 2023 Peer reviewed Experimental study Cells Researchers identify stem cells in the thymus for the first time Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have identified stem cells in the human thymus for the first time. These cells represent a potential new target to understand immune diseases and cancer and how to boost the immune system. The thymus is a gland located in the front part of the chest, the place where thymocytes (the cells in the thymus) mature into T ...

UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 16:00 BST / 11:00 ET WEDNESDAY 30 AUGUST 2023 Researchers have developed a miniature battery that could be used to power tiny devices integrated into human tissues. The design uses an ionic gradient across a chain of droplets – inspired by how electric eels generate electricity. The device was able to regulate the biological activity of human neurons. This could open the way to the development of tiny bio-integrated devices, with a range of applications in biology and medicine. University of Oxford researchers have made a significant step towards realising miniature ...