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Environment12 Mar 2024

Scientists identify biodiversity conservation gaps in Madagascar

Despite the importance of biodiversity and the urgency to conserve it, assessing what aspect of biodiversity requires the highest priority has proven complex, especially when conservation resources are limited. A new study published in Current Biology sheds light on this question. Prof. CHEN Zhiduan's team from the Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IBCAS) and international collaborators have identified the spatial heterogeneity of biodiversity hotspots and endemism centers. With ...

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Science12 Mar 2024

Sting operation out of gas

Kyoto, Japan -- Cells possess an innate immune system that defends against invasive pathogens such as bacteria and viruses. Previous studies have mapped out the cytoplasmic cGAS-STING pathway in the cytoplasm, known for responding to foreign nucleic acids, such as double-stranded DNA. Micronuclei -- or MN, abnormal intracellular structures containing the cell's DNA -- have also been suspected of triggering the pathway. However, no conclusive evidence exists of pathway activation by MN-induced cyclic GMP-AMP synthase, or cGAS. Now, Kyoto University and the AIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology, or IFOM, have ...

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Science12 Mar 2024

Have metalenses expanded their reach into the ultraviolet region?

Ultraviolet rays find diverse applications in medical and healthcare, serving purposes such as disinfection, sterilization, and therapy. They are also used in the semiconductor industry for creating microcircuits and patterns. A metalens fabrication process, developed by a team of researchers at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), enables control over the optical properties of these UV rays. This innovation has garnered significant attention across industries, sparking interest in potential advancements. A collaborative research team, comprising Professor Junsuk Rho from the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Department of Chemical Engineering ...

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Medicine12 Mar 2024

Key protein linked to immune disorders

A new study highlights a potential therapeutic target for immune-related disorders, such as multiple sclerosis and asthma. A new study has shed light on the importance of the protein STAP-1 in activating certain immune cells. Understanding the role of STAP-1 in these cells could give researchers a better glimpse into immune-related disorders and ways to treat them. The researchers found that STAP-1 plays an important role in the activation of T cells, which are white blood cells that play a critical role in defending the body against infections and maintaining overall health. T cells are adept at recognizing foreign molecules that ...

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Medicine12 Mar 2024

COVID-19 had greater impact on life expectancy than previously known, but child mortality rates continued to decline during the pandemic

**Embargo: 23:30 UK, 7:30 p.m. ET March 11, 2024** ***Please note the unusual embargo time for the United States due to daylight savings time*** Global Burden of Disease COVID-19 had greater impact on life expectancy than previously known, but child mortality rates continued to decline during the pandemic A new study published in The Lancet reveals never-before-seen details about staggeringly high mortality from the COVID-19 pandemic within and across countries. Places such as Mexico City, Peru, and Bolivia had some of the largest drops in life expectancy from 2019 to 2021. The research, which presents updated ...

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Engineering12 Mar 2024

NSF CAREER Grant awarded to Dr. Jordon Gilmore Associate Professor of Bioengineering Clemson University

Congratulations to Dr. Jordon Gilmore for receiving the prestigious NSF CAREER Award! The project is titled: "A Multi-phase Biosensing Approach towards Point-of-Care Evaluation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Virulence in Infected Chronic Wounds". The project is in perfect alignment with the ADAPT in SC NSF Award. Dr. Gilmore is a co-leader of the the Explainable AI-Enabled Biomedical Devices for Diagnostics and Planning Applications, and the leader of the Broadening Participation and Diversity project areas of ADAPT in SC. In addition, he serves as a member of the ...

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Technology12 Mar 2024

How do neural networks learn? A mathematical formula explains how they detect relevant patterns

Neural networks have been powering breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, including the large language models that are now being used in a wide range of applications, from finance, to human resources to healthcare. But these networks remain a black box whose inner workings engineers and scientists struggle to understand. Now, a team led by data and computer scientists at the University of California San Diego has given neural networks the equivalent of an X-ray to uncover how they actually learn. The researchers found that a formula used in statistical analysis provides a streamlined mathematical description of how neural networks, such as GPT-2, a precursor ...

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Medicine12 Mar 2024

Vaccine monitoring crucial as SARS-CoV-2 variants continue to evolve

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute and the National Institute for Health and Care Research Biomedical Research Centre at UCLH have highlighted the importance of continued surveillance of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants and vaccine performance as the virus continues to evolve. Published today as a research letter in The Lancet, their study compared the newer monovalent COVID vaccine, which specifically targets the XBB variant of Omicron (as recommended by the World Health Organisation), with older bivalent vaccines containing a mix of an Omicron variant and the original strain of COVID-19, which ...

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Medicine12 Mar 2024

Q&A: How Instagram influencers profit from anti-vaccine misinformation

While Instagram might have a reputation for superficiality — a realm of exquisitely filtered images — it is now eclipsing other social media as a news source. The platform is increasingly filled with information, some of it pernicious and distributed via influencers. Researchers at the University of Washington studied three prominent Instagram influencers spreading anti-vaccine misinformation as a route to profit. Each account occupies what lead author Rachel E. Moran, a UW senior research scientist at the Center for an Informed Public (CIP) and staff researcher in the ...

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Medicine12 Mar 2024

Nancy Brown recognized as one of Modern Healthcare’s ‘Top Women Leaders’

DALLAS, March 11, 2024 — Nancy Brown, Chief Executive Officer of the American Heart Association, a global force for healthier lives for all and celebrating one hundred years of lifesaving service, has been recognized by Modern Healthcare as one of the Top Women Leaders for 2024. The publication’s recognition program acknowledges and honors women executives from all sectors of the healthcare industry for their contributions to care delivery improvement, health equity, policy and gender equity in healthcare leadership. Since 2008, Brown has served as CEO of the Association, which is celebrating its 100th birthday in 2024. Awardees were selected based ...

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Science12 Mar 2024

India's water problems set to get worse as the world warms

Winter storms that provide crucial snow and rainfall to northern India are arriving significantly later in the year compared to 70 years ago, a new study has found, exacerbating the risk of catastrophic flooding while also reducing vital water supplies for millions of Indians. The cyclonic storms, known as western disturbances, typically bring heavy snow to the Himalayas from December to March. This snowpack slowly melts in spring, providing a steady supply of irrigation water for wheat and other crops downstream. The study, published today (Tuesday, 12 March 2024), in the journal Weather and ...

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Medicine11 Mar 2024

GPS nanoparticle platform precisely delivers therapeutic payload to cancer cells

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A newly developed “GPS nanoparticle” injected intravenously can home in on cancer cells to deliver a genetic punch to the protein implicated in tumor growth and spread, according to researchers from Penn State. They tested their approach in human cell lines and in mice to effectively knock down a cancer-causing gene, reporting that the technique may potentially offer a more precise and effective treatment for notoriously hard-to-treat basal-like breast cancers. They published their work today (March 11) in ACS Nano. They also filed a provisional application to patent the technology ...

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Medicine11 Mar 2024

New method for triggering and imaging seizures can help guide epilepsy surgery

Researchers have developed a new method for triggering and imaging seizures in epilepsy patients, offering physicians the ability to collect real-time data to tailor epilepsy surgery. In contrast to previous practice, where physicians from neurology and nuclear medicine had to wait for hours to days in hopes of capturing the onset of a seizure, the new method is convenient, spares resources, and is clinically feasible. This research was published in the March issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine. People with epilepsy and seizures who do not respond to medication are often helped by brain surgery. The goal ...

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Physics11 Mar 2024

Giving particle detectors a boost

Device could help facilitate the operation of new particle colliders, such as the Electron-Ion Collider. In particle colliders that reveal the hidden secrets of the tiniest constituents of our universe, minute particles leave behind extremely faint electrical traces when they are generated in enormous collisions. Some detectors in these facilities use superconductivity — a phenomenon in which electricity is carried with zero resistance at low temperatures — to function. For scientists to more accurately observe the behavior of these particles, these weak electrical signals, or currents, need ...

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Science11 Mar 2024

Aging at AACR Annual Meeting 2024

BUFFALO, NY- March 11, 2024 – Impact Journals publishes scholarly journals in the biomedical sciences with a focus on all areas of cancer and aging research. Aging is one of the most prominent journals published by Impact Journals. Impact Journals will be participating as an exhibitor at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2024 from April 5-10 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. This year, the AACR meeting theme is “Inspiring Science • Fueling ...

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Science11 Mar 2024

Oncotarget at AACR Annual Meeting 2024

BUFFALO, NY- March 11, 2024 – Impact Journals publishes scholarly journals in the biomedical sciences with a focus on all areas of cancer and aging research. Oncotarget is one of the most prominent journals published by Impact Journals. Impact Journals will be participating as an exhibitor at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2024 from April 5-10 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. This year, the AACR meeting theme is “Inspiring Science • Fueling Progress • Revolutionizing Care.” Visit booth #4159 at the AACR Annual Meeting 2024 to connect with members of ...

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Medicine11 Mar 2024

Analysis reveals long-term impact of calcium and vitamin D supplements on health in postmenopausal women

Embargoed for release until 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday 11 March 2024 Annals of Internal Medicine Tip Sheet @Annalsofim Below please find summaries of new articles that will be published in the next issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. The summaries are not intended to substitute for the full articles as a source of information. This information is under strict embargo and by taking it into possession, media representatives are committing to the terms of the embargo not only on their own behalf, but also ...

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Technology11 Mar 2024

Design rules and synthesis of quantum memory candidates

In the quest to develop quantum computers and networks, there are many components that are fundamentally different than those used today. Like a modern computer, each of these components has different constraints. However, it is currently unclear what materials can be used to construct those components for the transmission and storage of quantum information. In new research published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign materials science & engineering professor Daniel Shoemaker and graduate student Zachary Riedel ...

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Medicine11 Mar 2024

BIDMC-led trial leads to FDA approval of coronary drug-coated balloons

BOSTON – In the largest randomized clinical trial and first of its kind to date in the United States, a team led by investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) assessed the efficacy and safety of using a drug-coated balloon in patients undergoing coronary angioplasty. In an original investigation presented at the Cardiology Research Technology conference in Washington, D.C. and published simultaneously in JAMA, the team reports that patients treated with a balloon coated with paclitaxel, a drug to prevent restenosis, experienced lower rates of failure compared with patients treated with an uncoated balloon. The findings of the trial—which ...

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Medicine11 Mar 2024

This protein pic could help develop new cancer treatments

Some cancerous tumors hijack proteins that act as “brakes” on our immune system and use them to form a sort of shield against immune recognition. Immunotherapy treatments have been created that turn off these “brakes” and allow our body to attack foreign-looking cancer cells. To further advance such treatments, researchers at Stanford University and New York University have published a new structure of one of these brake proteins, LAG-3. Their work contains key details of the molecule’s structure, as well as information about how the LAG-3 protein functions. Although over a dozen immunotherapies targeting LAG-3 are in development, and one is already FDA approved, ...

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Medicine11 Mar 2024

Mathematicians use AI to identify emerging COVID-19 variants

Scientists at The Universities of Manchester and Oxford have developed an AI framework that can identify and track new and concerning COVID-19 variants and could help with other infections in the future. The framework combines dimension reduction techniques and a new explainable clustering algorithm called CLASSIX, developed by mathematicians at The University of Manchester. This enables the quick identification of groups of viral genomes that might present a risk in the future from huge volumes of data. The study, presented this week ...

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Science11 Mar 2024

Cicadas’ unique urination unlocks new understanding of fluid dynamics

Cicadas are the soundtrack of summer, but their pee is more special than their music. Rather than sprinkling droplets, they emit jets of urine from their small frames. For years, Georgia Tech researchers have wanted to understand the cicada’s unique urination. Saad Bhamla, an assistant professor in the School of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, and his research group hoped for an opportunity to study a cicada’s fluid excretion. However, while cicadas are easily heard, they hide in trees, making them hard to observe. As such, seeing a cicada pee is an event. Bhamla’s team had only watched the process on YouTube. Then, ...

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Science11 Mar 2024

New research sets trap for potentially deadly sandfly

Scientists have discovered the specific enzyme that a species of sandfly uses to produce a pheromone attractant, which could lead to the creation of targeted traps to control them and reduce the spread of the potentially fatal disease, Leishmaniasis. The team from the University of Nottingham’s School of Chemistry analysed the genome of the Lutzomyia longipalpis, a species of sandfly native to Brazil and South America that can spread a disease called Leishmaniasis. The study identified the enzyme, called a Terpene Synthase that is responsible ...

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Technology11 Mar 2024

A new sensor detects harmful “forever chemicals” in drinking water

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- MIT chemists have designed a sensor that detects tiny quantities of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — chemicals found in food packaging, nonstick cookware, and many other consumer products. These compounds, also known as “forever chemicals” because they do not break down naturally, have been linked to a variety of harmful health effects, including cancer, reproductive problems, and disruption of the immune and endocrine systems. Using the new sensor technology, the researchers showed that they could detect PFAS levels as low as 200 parts per trillion in a water sample. The device they designed could offer a way ...

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Technology11 Mar 2024

Robotic interface masters a soft touch

The perception of softness can be taken for granted, but it plays a crucial role in many actions and interactions – from judging the ripeness of an avocado to conducting a medical exam, or holding the hand of a loved one. But understanding and reproducing softness perception is challenging, because it involves so many sensory and cognitive processes. Robotics researchers have tried to address this challenge with haptic devices, but previous attempts have not distinguished between two primary elements of softness perception: cutaneous cues (sensory feedback ...

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