Systems Biology Ireland (SBI) at University College Dublin (UCD) and The Quantitative Biosciences Institute (QBI) at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and) have announced the 2024 winners of the joint Research Fellowship Awards (RFAs).  The Research Fellowship Awards aim to support collaborative high quality and ground -breaking research proposals from QBI-UCSF and UCD in the areas of network biology and drug/drug target discovery.  The winning projects for 2024 are:  “Overcoming Resistance to HER2-Targeted Therapies in Breast Cancer,” ...

Laura Soucek, an ICREA Research Professor, Director of VHIO’s Experimental Therapeutics Program,  and Head of our Models of Cancer Therapies Group, has received a European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant to maximize the use of the first clinically viable MYC inhibitor. This ERC funding program is amongst the EU’s most prestigious and competitive, providing leading senior researchers with the opportunity to pursue ambitious, curiosity-driven projects that could lead to major scientific breakthroughs. The new grants, worth in total nearly €652 million, are part of the EU’s Horizon Europe programme. ...

A drug approved to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension may be effective at managing hypertension and end-organ damage in patients with sickle cell disease, according to a new study published in Lancet Haematology. An early phase randomized clinical trial involving 130 patients with sickle cell disease found that the drug, called riociguat, was found to be safe to use and well tolerated in these patients and significantly improved their blood pressure. Preliminary efficacy data suggested the medication might improve heart function. An estimated 100,000 Americans ...

B-Cubed’s Hackathon – “Hacking Biodiversity Data Cubes for Policy” – concluded successfully on 5 April in Brussels. The event marked a significant milestone in the use of data cubes for enhancing biodiversity data analysis and policy-making. Over four days, participants from diverse backgrounds collaborated to explore innovative solutions aimed at standardising and improving the accessibility of biodiversity data. The event began with a foundational presentation on data cubes by Andrew Rodrigues ...

Rutgers Health researchers have found that hypertensive disorders in pregnancy are strongly associated with fatal cardiovascular disease for up to a year after birth. Among the hypertensive disorders that cause dangerously high blood pressure during pregnancy — chronic hypertension, gestational hypertension, preeclampsia without severe features, preeclampsia with severe features, superimposed preeclampsia and eclampsia — all but gestational diabetes were associated with a doubling in the risk of fatal cardiovascular disease compared to women with normal blood pressure. Eclampsia, a condition whereby hypertensive ...

Severe sepsis from bacterial or viral infections can be life-threatening and even people recovering from severe sepsis may experience long-lasting effects on the immune system, making them more susceptible to recurrent infections. The causes for this sepsis-induced immune suppression are not well understood and lack an effective treatment. To better understand the cause, Katherine MacNamara and colleagues from Albany Medical College, USA, analyzed the blood stem cells of mice with prior sepsis and their results were recently published in the journal Stem Cell Reports. During ...

Concurrent occurrences of heatwaves and extreme short-term sea level rises at the same coastal locations significantly increased between 1998 and 2017 when compared to the preceding twenty years, reports a study published in Communications Earth & Environment. The study also suggests that these events may be five times more likely to occur between 2025 and 2049 under a modelled high emissions scenario. A so-called ‘concurrent heatwave and extreme sea level’ (CHWESL) event is when a heatwave and an extreme short-term sea level rise occur at the same coastal location over the same time period. Although they ...

About The Study: The results of this study suggest that young breast cancer survivors without a germline pathogenic variant have a low risk of developing a second primary breast cancer in the first 10 years after diagnosis. Findings from germline genetic testing may inform treatment decision-making and follow-up care considerations in this population.  Authors: Kristen D. Brantley, Ph.D., M.P.H., of the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, is the corresponding author.  To access ...

About The Study: In this study that included 1,470 adults with chronic low back pain, physician empathy was associated with better outcomes over 12 months. Greater efforts to cultivate and improve physician empathy appear warranted.  Authors: John C. Licciardone, D.O., M.S., M.B.A., of the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth, is the corresponding author.  To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/  (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.6026) Editor’s ...

Parasites thought only to infect tropical coral reefs have been discovered in a large variety of creatures in cold marine ecosystems along the Northeast Pacific, according to new research from University of British Columbia botanists. The finding, published today in Current Biology, greatly expands the range of corallicolids, suggesting the parasites infect a range of organisms related to coral, like sea anemones and other cold-water marine invertebrates, around the world.  “This highlights significant blind spots in our strategies designed to sample microbial biodiversity,” says University of British Columbia biodiversity researcher Dr. Patrick Keeling, senior author on the ...

Researchers from Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) have developed a murine model for a highly progressive disease called “anti-MDA5 antibody-positive dermatomyositis”, providing insights into underlying biological mechanisms and aiding treatment Tokyo, Japan – Some diseases involve autoimmune reactions, when the body begins to attack its own cells and proteins. The biological mechanisms underlying these diseases are often unknown, making treatment challenging. Now, a group at TMDU has created a murine model for a disease ...

Researchers have unveiled a microfluidic device that significantly improves the separation of tumor cells and clusters from malignant effusions. This novel technology promises to advance the diagnosis and treatment monitoring of cancer by enabling the high-throughput, continuous-flow ternary separation of single tumor cells, tumor cell clusters, and white blood cells (WBCs) from clinical pleural or abdominal effusions. Understanding the nature of malignant effusions, teeming with tumor cells and clusters, is critical in comprehending the breadth of cancer's impact. The significant role of tumor clusters, with their heightened potential ...

PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA [April 11, 2024] — The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®)—an alliance of leading cancer centers—hosted more than 1,700 oncology professionals during the NCCN 2024 Annual Conference on April 5-7. The yearly meeting includes opportunities for care providers to interact with world-renowned specialists on the latest evidence-based expert consensus recommendations for delivering high quality, patient-centered cancer care. Sessions focused on practical applications for improving care at every level, including clinical and administrative ...

Plants can be temperamental. Even weeds along the side of highways or pushing their way up in the cracks of concrete sidewalks can get stressed out by dehydration, cold, excess salt and more. Researchers at Hiroshima University have identified 14 genes that thale cress — a plant commonly used in genetic investigations since its genome is well documented — express more when responding to five specific stressors, as well as eight genes that the plant suppresses. They published their results on March 22 in Frontiers in Plant Science.  “Abiotic stresses — as opposed to biotic stresses like pests or disease — such as drought, salinity and cold negatively ...

Thiazolidinediones (TZDs) are a class of drug that can be used to treat type 2 diabetes by reversing insulin resistance, one of the main hallmarks of the disease. While TZDs were extremely popular in the 1990’s and early 2000’s, they have fallen out of use among physicians in recent decades because they were discovered to cause unwanted side effects, including weight gain and excess fluid accumulation in body tissues. Now, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine are ...

As artificial intelligence is inevitably woven into the workplace, teams of humans will increasingly collaborate with robots on complex design problems, such as those in the auto, aviation, and space industries. “Right now, design is mainly done by humans, and it’s based on their expertise and intuitive decision-making, which is learned over time,” says A. Emrah Bayrak, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering and mechanics in Lehigh University’s P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science. “Usually, ...

OAK BROOK, Ill. – A new study showed that a non-invasive imaging test can help identify patients with coronary artery blockage or narrowing who need a revascularization procedure. The findings were published as a Special Report in Radiology: Cardiothoracic Imaging, a journal of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). Doctors use coronary CT angiography (CTA) to diagnose narrowed or blocked arteries in the heart. A CTA exam receives a score from mild (0-1) to moderate (2-3) to severe (4-5). Patients ...

Many people are familiar with the principle of electronic excitation from their physics lessons: electrons in atoms or molecules absorb energy, typically from light, and rise to a higher energy level. This can have various consequences – in photovoltaic technology, the phenomenon ensures that electricity can be generated from sunlight. Measuring electronic excitation according to scientific standards and investigating how excited electrons influence each other is a real challenge: “Electronic excitation and the subsequent processes take place extremely quickly, many things happen simultaneously“, explains Tobias Brixner, Chair of Physical Chemistry ...

The maritime profession is among the world’s oldest professions, and today’s shipping is based on long and proud traditions. Professional pride and commitment are often deeply ingrained in seafarers, and for many, the job is more of a way of life. New technologies will bring about major changes in the work of bridge officers, who have the ultimate responsibility on board Norwegian vessels. Strong doubts about safety “Bridge officers rely on automated systems that are already found on board, such as advanced autopilot systems. However, there is strong scepticism, almost mistrust, that increased automation and autonomous ...

People who use willpower to overcome temptations and achieve their goals are perceived as more trustworthy than those who use strategies that involve external incentives or deterrents – such as swear jars or internet-blocking apps – according to research published by the American Psychological Association. “The knowledge that people can use external commitment strategies to overcome self-control problems has existed in some form for thousands of years. Since at least the time of Homer and Odysseus, the focus has primarily been on the efficacy of these strategies for the person choosing to engage ...

CLEVELAND—A recent study by Case Western Reserve University used national data from U.S. military veterans with diabetes to validate and modify a widely accepted model used to predict the risk of heart failure in diabetic patients. The model, called the WATCH-DM score, is used to predict the likelihood of heart failure in diabetes patients within five years. But because it overlooks the influence of social determinants of health‚ such as housing, food and a patient’s neighborhood, the researchers used a social deprivation index (SDI), a multi-component summary score, to adjust the WATCH-DM score.  The SDI, introduced by the Robert ...

​​​​​​RESTON, Va. — A new set of maps that document the movements of ungulates was published today in the fourth volume of the Ungulate Migrations of the Western United States. The maps in this collaborative U.S. Geological Survey report series reveal the migration routes and critical ranges used by ungulates, or hooved mammals, in the western U.S., furthering scientists’ understanding of the geography of big game migrations. The new volume, “Ungulate Migrations of the Western United States: Volume 4,” documents 33 mule deer, ...

Can Jos Malda crack the code of cartilage?  In our aging society, healing joint problems is becoming increasingly important. To do this, cartilage damage must become repairable. But so far it has proven impossible to recreate the intricate internal structure of cartilage. Professor Jos Malda has now received an ERC Advanced grant of €2.5 million to crack that code.  Bringing biology and technology together   Throughout his career, Jos Malda has been concerned with the interface between biology and technology. It took him from studying Bioprocess Engineering in Wageningen to ...

A recent Mayo Clinic study published in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association investigated lucid episodes in people living with later stages of dementia, providing insights into how these occurrences reveal themselves. The findings showed that 75% of people having lucid episodes were reported to have Alzheimer’s Disease as opposed to other forms of dementia. Researchers define lucid episodes as unexpected, spontaneous, meaningful and relevant communication from a ...

11 April, Prague, Czech Republic—Glen Kelley’s journey as a heart transplant recipient came full circle today in Prague, as he addressed attendees of the Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT), including members of his own care teams. As a high school senior outside of Peoria, Illinois, Kelley was diagnosed with stage-4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma and underwent eight months of chemotherapy and radiation. After 10 months in remission, the ...