Chestnut Hill, Mass. (03/05/2024) – Boston College researchers used a mild charge of electricity to precisely modify proteins, a new tool that can be used to develop novel biotherapeutics and protein-based research tools, the team reported recently in the journal Nature Chemistry. The team, led by BC professors of chemistry Abhishek Chatterjee and Eranthie Weerapana, developed and optimized a novel electrochemical protein labeling reaction called "eCLIC", that enables precise modification of site-specifically incorporated 5-hydroxytryptophan (5HTP) residues on many different proteins including full-length therapeutic antibodies. “We used this strategy to generate ...

There are plenty of reasons to worry about the quality of contemporary Canadian journalism, beyond shrinking newsrooms and attention spans. Once considered a vital pillar of a healthy democracy, the country’s biggest newspapers have been embracing the type of content critics refer to as “infotainment,” which uses entertainment-style methods to communicate politically relevant information. In a new paper published in the Canadian Journal of Political Science, PhD candidate Robert Marinov examines, measures and evaluates the scope and nature ...

AMES, Iowa – At a Biotechnology Council event a few years ago, Nicole Valenzuela’s ears perked up when she heard what a group of researchers in Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine had in the works: a method for creating a lab-grown, simplified mimic of dog intestines. “I told them, ‘Oh! I want to do that but with turtles. Is it doable?” said Nicole Valenzuela, professor of ecology, evolution and organismal biology at Iowa State. It is indeed doable, new research from a team led by Valenzuela shows. The three-dimensional clusters ...

Parkinson’s disease patients who experience freezing of gait (a sudden inability to initiate or continue movement, often resulting in a fall) wake up several times during the night, feel sleepy during the day, and have REM sleep behavior disorder. Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep plays a role in the maintenance of many cognitive processes.  These are key findings of a study supported by FAPESP and conducted by researchers at São Paulo State University (UNESP) in Brazil and Grenoble Alps University (UGA) in France. An article on the study is published in ...

PITTSBURGH, March 5, 2024 -- Results of the third and final cohort of the DELIVER (MTN-042) Phase IIIb study found no safety concerns with use of the monthly dapivirine vaginal ring beginning during the second trimester of pregnancy and up to the time of delivery, researchers reported today at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2024) in Denver. With this latest data, the researchers believe there is now sufficient evidence that the dapivirine ring is safe to use ...

TORONTO, March 5, 2024 – Will ice floating in the Arctic Ocean move faster or slower over the coming decades? The answer to this question will tell us whether marine transportation can be expected to get more or less hazardous. It might also have important implications for the rate of ice cover loss, which is hugely consequential for Northern Indigenous communities, ecosystems, and the global climate system.   While observational data suggest the trend has been towards faster sea ice speeds, ...

The Lundbeck Foundation has announced the recipients of The Brain Prize 2024, the world’s largest award for outstanding contributions to neuroscience. This year’s award recognizes the pioneering work of three leading neuroscientists – Professor Larry Abbott at Columbia University (USA), Professor Terrence Sejnowski at the Salk Institute (USA), and Professor Haim Sompolinsky at Harvard University (USA) and the Hebrew University (Israel). Theoretical and computational neuroscience permeates neuroscience today ...

WASHINGTON — Researchers have developed a new catheter-based device that combines two powerful optical techniques to image the dangerous plaques that can build up inside the arteries that supply blood to the heart. By providing new details about plaque, the device could help clinicians and researchers improve treatments for preventing heart attacks and strokes. Atherosclerosis occurs when fats, cholesterol and other substances accumulate on the artery walls, which can cause these vessels to become thick ...

(Boston)—Each year, approximately 2,000 people die annually of gallbladder cancer (GBC) in the U.S., with only one in five cases diagnosed at an early stage. With GBC rated as the first biliary tract cancer and the 17th most deadly cancer worldwide, pressing attention for proper management of disease must be addressed. For patients diagnosed, surgery is the most promising curative treatment. While there has been increasing adoption of minimally invasive surgical techniques in gastrointestinal malignancies, including utilization of laparoscopic ...

AMHERT, Mass.– Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently combined satellite data, field observations and sophisticated numerical modeling to paint a picture of how 22.45 million square kilometers of the Arctic will change over the next 80 years. As expected, the overall region will be warmer and wetter, but the details—up to 25% more runoff, 30% more subsurface runoff and a progressively drier southern Arctic, provides one of the clearest views yet of how the landscape will respond to climate change. The results were published in the journal The Cryosphere. The Arctic is defined ...

(Boston)—Nearly all cervical cancers are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). New evidence has led to dramatic changes in cervical cancer screening recommendations over the past 20 years. In 2020, the American Cancer Society (ACS) released updated guidelines for cervical cancer screening. The main changes to current practices were to initiate screening at age 25 instead of age 21 and to screen using primary HPV testing rather than cytology (PAP test) alone or in combination with HPV testing. Since adoption of guidelines often occurs slowly, understanding clinician attitudes is important ...

The Arctic could see summer days with practically no sea ice as early as the next couple of years, according to a new study out of the University of Colorado Boulder.    The findings, published March 5 in the journal Nature Reviews Earth ­­& Environment, suggest that the first ice-free day in the Arctic could occur over 10 years earlier than previous projections, which focused on when the region would be ice-free for a month or more. The trend remains consistent under all future emission scenarios.   By ...

About The Study: In this study involving 247,000 UK residents, habitual short sleep duration was associated with increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. This association persisted even among participants who maintained a healthy diet. To validate these findings, further longitudinal studies are needed, incorporating repeated measures of sleep (including objective assessments) and dietary habits. Authors: Christian Benedict, Ph.D., of Uppsala University in Uppsala, Sweden, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/  (doi: ...

About The Study: In this multiyear cross-sectional study of a representative sample of young children in the U.S., the increased prevalence of high screen time in 2020 returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2021; however, it remained elevated in children living in poverty. Two hours or more of daily screen time was associated with lower psychological well-being among preschool-aged children. Authors: Soyang Kwon, Ph.D., of Northwestern University in Chicago, is the corresponding author. To access the ...

Adults who sleep only three to five hours a day are at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. This is demonstrated in a new study from Uppsala University, published in JAMA Network Open. It also shows that chronic sleep deprivation cannot be compensated by healthy eating alone.      “I generally recommend prioritising sleep, although I understand it’s not always possible, especially as a parent of four teenagers,” says Christian Benedict, Associate Professor and sleep researcher at the Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences at Uppsala University and leading researcher behind the study. He and a team of researchers have examined the link between type 2 ...

A novel screening system developed at Kyoto University enables researchers to investigate sperm cell development and health at the molecular level. The new approach, published in Cell Genomics, promises breakthroughs in male contraception and infertility treatments.  The study, led by Professor Jun Suzuki of the Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS), addresses a critical gap by directly targeting genes within testicular cells inside living organisms. Utilizing a genetic tool called CRISPR, which can ...

Scientists have unveiled a groundbreaking sensor that can wirelessly detect chemical warfare agents, marking a significant leap in public safety technology. This innovative device, capable of identifying substances like dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP), offers a new level of efficiency and reliability in monitoring and responding to chemical threats, without the need for direct power sources or physical connections. The urgent need for advanced detection of chemical warfare agents (CWAs) to ensure global security has led to the development of a novel gas sensor. This sensor is distinguished ...

Sometimes the solution to a problem can be as simple as changing the way the components are structured   Researchers have proposed a reconfiguration of zinc anodes, a component of renewable energy sources, to help improve the battery and reduce the reliance society has on fossil fuels. The potential that different configurations of a zinc anode can have could reduce costs and side reactions while increasing the safety of the rechargeable zinc metal battery (RZMB) and, of course, improve its “green” rating.    The results were published in Energy Materials and Devices ...

A research team has successfully synthesized a metal nanocluster and determined its crystal structure. Their study provides experimental evidence for understanding and designing nanoclusters with specific properties at the atomic level. Metal nanoclusters have wide-ranging applications in the biomedical field.   Their work is published in the journal Polyoxometalates on February 6, 2024.   Scientists have shown interest in ligand-protected atomically precise metal nanoclusters because they have definite atomic structures and exceptional ...

Liver cancer, unfortunately, is the sixth most common cancer and the third most frequent cause of cancer-related death globally. However, its distribution and causes vary greatly across different regions. While areas like Eastern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa see the most cases, the reasons behind them differ significantly. In high-income countries, liver cancer has been on the decline thanks to widespread newborn hepatitis B vaccination and antiviral drugs. Meanwhile, low-income countries witness a worrying rise, ...

Sprinting “like a jet plane taking off” will help produce Premier League star strikers of tomorrow, new research has revealed.   A University of Essex study of Tottenham Hotspur’s academy has shown that just a few words can instantly boost sprinting speed by 3 per cent over 20 metres.    It would normally take weeks of targeted training to achieve such a large increase.  These short bursts of acceleration are largely seen in goal-scoring situations and could be the difference in beating a defender and finding the net.  Dr Jason Moran, from the School of Sport, Rehabilitation and Exercise Sciences, discovered simple analogies increased ...

OAK BROOK, Ill. – Coronary artery calcium scoring with CT can identify symptomatic patients with a very low risk of heart attacks or strokes, according to a new study published today in Radiology, a journal of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). Researchers said the findings may one day help some patients with stable chest pain avoid invasive coronary angiography. Coronary artery calcium scoring with CT was developed to noninvasively measure the amount of calcium in the arteries of the heart. Higher scores are linked with atherosclerosis, a buildup of plaque in the arteries. A score of 1 to 399, for instance, suggests a moderate amount of plaque, while 400 ...

Haim Sompolinsky, Professor in Residence in Harvard’s Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Department of Physics, has received the Brain Prize for his pioneering contributions to computational and theoretical neuroscience. Considered the world’s most prestigious prize for neuroscience research, the Brain Prize 2024 is shared by Sompolinsky, Larry Abbott of Columbia University, and Terrence Sejnowski of the Salk Institute. All three scientists have helped uncover key principles governing the brain’s structure, ...

Although several studies have linked smoking during pregnancy with neurodevelopmental disorders, the results of behavioral experiments in mice prenatally exposed to nicotine have been inconsistent. In a recent study, scientists from Japan developed a deep learning-based framework to automatically observe and classify mice behavior in such experiments, producing more accurate and unbiased results. They show that prenatal exposure to nicotine could increase the risk of autism spectrum- and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorders in newborns. The fact that smoking is a risk factor for several diseases, including cancer, stroke, and diabetes, has been known for approximately ...

Which natural products are helping solve biotech challenges? How can enzymes supercharge biodegradation for a greener tomorrow? What role does RNA play in cancer and other diseases? You’ll find the answers to these questions and more at Discover BMB, the annual meeting of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, to be held March 23–26 in San Antonio. Secure your front-row seat to cutting-edge findings, approaches and technologies in the biological sciences by registering for a complimentary ...