New research from Oregon Health & Science University for the first time reveals the function of a little-understood junction between cells in the brain that could have important treatment implications for conditions ranging from multiple sclerosis to Alzheimer’s disease, to a type of brain cancer known as glioma. The study published today in the journal Nature Neuroscience. Neuroscientists focused on the junction, or synapse, connecting neurons to a non-neuronal cell, known as oligodendrocyte precursor cells, or OPCs. OPCs can differentiate into oligodendrocytes, which produce a sheath around nerves known as myelin. Myelin is ...

NEW YORK, January 12, 2024 — Proteins do the heavy lifting of performing biochemical functions in our bodies by binding to metabolites or other proteins to complete tasks. To do this successfully, protein molecules often shape-shift to allow specific binding interactions that are needed to perform complex, precise chemical processes.    A better understanding of the shapes proteins take on would give researchers important insight into stopping or treating diseases, but current methods for revealing these dynamic, three-dimensional forms offer scientists limited information. To address this knowledge ...

An international scientific team made up of more than 40 authors from seven different countries, led by the researcher at the University of Malaga Juan Pascual Anaya, has managed to sequence the first genome of the myxini –also known as ‘hagfish’–, the only large group of vertebrates for which there was no reference genome of any of its species yet. This finding, published in the scientific journal ‘Nature Ecology & Evolution’, has allowed deciphering the evolutionary history of genome duplications –number of times a ...

In a study published online in Cell Reports, DU Jiulin’s group at the Institute of Neuroscience, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the collaborators, created a zebrafish model for in vivo labeling of brain pericytes and systematically explored the developmental dynamics of brain pericytes during the early embryonic stage. The researchers revealed the promoting effect of blood flow on the proliferation of pericytes after ingress into the brain and showed that this process ...

Soil aciditification is widely occurring in diverse terrestrial ecosystems and soil microbial communities have been reported to be highly sensitive to changes in soil pH. Soil microbes could regulate their physiological conditions to make them survive under the aciditifying conditions. This study demonstrates that ten Bacillus strains are able to regulate the antioxidative system differently in response to the decreasing environmental pH condition, and therefore have different acid tolerance capacity. The researchers’ ...

Researchers from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have developed a sensor array design technology inspired by the human auditory system. By mimicking the human ear's ability to distinguish sounds through tonotopy, this innovative sensor array approach could optimize the application of sensor arrays in fields such as robotics, aviation, healthcare, and industrial machinery. Traditional sensor arrays face challenges such as complex wiring, limited reconfigurability, and low damage resistance. The design developed by the HKUST team, led by Associate Professor YANG Zhengbao from the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace ...

In recent history, built environment practices have accepted a paradigm which underlines the land’s static quality, prioritizes immediate utility, and consequently adopts design processes that inevitably accelerate assimilation. With the capitalist propensity to obtain control and enhance efficiency, those processes nevertheless privilege certain cultures while rejecting other forms of knowledge or living specific to the land. The design discourse, confronted with the rising pressure of global climate challenges and environmental inequity, suggests a ...

When pathogens attack the body, the innate immune system goes to work protecting against the invading disease. The innate immune system is the first line of defense. It detects precisely what the virus or bacteria is and then activates the proteins that fight the pathogens. Wanting to better understand how the body’s innate immune system works, a team of scientists undertook a study of STING, a protein that plays a vital role in innate immunity. The team provides quantitative results, showing how STING, an acronym for stimulator of interferon genes, works in innate immune signaling.  Their work is published in the journal Nature Communications on Jan ...

Petaluma, CA--Newly published research by Petaluma-based non-profit, Point Blue Conservation Science, shows how Adélie penguins within the Ross Sea, Antarctica use sea ice in their annual migrations. The results were published in the journal Ecology, a publication of the Ecological Society of America.  Adélie penguins, though flightless, can undertake extraordinary migrations like their flying relatives, traveling thousands of kilometers out to sea from their on-land breeding colonies in Antarctica, tracking daylight and food during the long Antarctic winter. Many other species are known to use wind ...

For the first time, researchers have analysed the impact of antibiotic use on the rise of treatment-resistant bacteria over the last 20 years in the UK and Norway. They show that while the increase in drug use has amplified the spread of superbugs, it is not the only driver. Researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the University of Oslo, the University of Cambridge, and collaborators, conducted a high-resolution genetic comparison of bacteria. They compared over 700 new blood samples with nearly 5,000 ...

(MEMPHIS, Tenn. – January 11, 2024) Data from the St. Jude lifetime cohort study (St. Jude LIFE) revealed that two common biomarkers of cardiac function and damage could better predict cardiomyopathy within five years than routine clinical evaluations in high-risk, asymptomatic childhood cancer survivors. Early detection through screening using these two biomarkers may lead to earlier treatment to prevent and protect against further heart damage. The findings were published today in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.    Cardiomyopathy is often asymptomatic at onset and thus “invisible” to routine clinical evaluations. St. Jude ...

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania have discovered key insights into the molecular basis of skin color variations among African populations. Their findings, published in Nature Genetics, broaden the understanding of human evolution and the genetics underpinning contemporary human skin color diversity. “Despite the abundant genetic diversity within African populations, they have been historically underrepresented in genetic studies,” says senior author Sarah Tishkoff, a Penn Integrates ...

Media contacts: Jillian McKoy, jpmckoy@bu.edu Michael Saunders, msaunder@bu.edu ## BOSTON, MA – January 11, 2024 marks the 22nd anniversary of the opening of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, a facility shrouded in controversy and synonymous with indefinite detention and alleged human rights abuses. Established in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, Guantanamo has held hundreds of individuals suspected of terrorism, many without charge or trial, and under conditions widely condemned by international human rights organizations. A Legacy of Controversy: Indefinite Detention: Over ...

The University of California, Davis, is leading the establishment of a new Integrative Center for Alternative Meat and Protein, or iCAMP. The center will work toward large-scale commercialization and technological advancement of alternative proteins, including cultivated meat (from animal cells grown in large fermentors), plant- and fungal-based foods, and innovative hybrids that combine conventional meat products with alternative proteins. Bringing together leading researchers and academic institutions, industry ...

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) — The sun has just set on a quiet mudflat in Australia’s Northern Territory; it’ll set again in another 19 hours. A young moon looms large over the desolate landscape. No animals scurry in the waning light. No leaves rustle in the breeze. No lichens encrust the exposed rock. The only hint of life is some scum in a few puddles and ponds. And among it lives a diverse microbial community of our ancient ancestors. In a new account of exquisitely preserved microfossils, researchers at UC Santa Barbara and McGill University revealed that eukaryotic organisms had already evolved into a diverse array ...

EL PASO, Texas (Jan. 11, 2024) – Researchers at The University of Texas at El Paso have identified a novel pharmaceutical compound that successfully kills leukemia and lymphoma cancer cells, potentially paving the way for new forms of therapy. Renato Aguilera, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, is the principal investigator on the project that identified the promising compound, called thiophene F-8. His team’s findings were recently published in the research journal PLOS One. “The main ...

TUCSON, Ariz., January 11, 2024 — Critical Path Institute (C-Path) today announced the launch of a task force focused on accelerating drug development for mitochondrial and inherited metabolic diseases. The task force will lay the groundwork for specific solutions, offering valuable insights that aim to contribute to regulatory decision-making. C-Path’s demonstrated expertise will be leveraged to ensure success, specifically its track record in generating tangible solutions that have accelerated drug development in rare and pediatric ...

The world is filled with a myriad of sounds and vibrations—the gentle tones of a piano drifting down the hall, the relaxing purr of a cat laying on your chest, the annoying hum of the office lights. Imagine being able to selectively tune out noises of a certain frequency. Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have synthesized polymer networks with two distinct architectures and crosslink points capable of dynamically exchanging polymer strands to understand how the network connectivity and bond exchange mechanisms govern the overall damping behavior of the network. The incorporation of dynamic bonds into the polymer network demonstrates ...

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Building off the previous month’s survey, the December 2023 Consumer Food Insights Report digs deeper into the relationships between food-date labels and the decision to discard food. The report also explores generational differences in food behaviors and reviews 2023 trends for out-of-stock items and common foods that people reported limiting in their diets over the year. The survey-based report out of Purdue University’s Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability assesses food spending, consumer satisfaction and values, support ...

HOUSTON, January 10, 2024 – Mike Norvell, head coach at Florida State University, was named college football Coach of the Year at the American Heart Association’s Paul “Bear” Bryant Awards, presented by Marathon Oil. The 38th annual awards program benefits the American Heart Association, the world’s leading voluntary health organization devoted to a world of longer, healthier lives for all. In his fourth season as the head coach at Florida State, Norvell led the Seminoles to a 13-1 overall record and an 8-0 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Norvell was previously honored as the ACC Coach of the Year and was ...

Wastewater surveillance is a potent tool in understanding COVID-19 transmission within school settings, according to a ground-breaking study led by epidemiologist David Larsen from Syracuse University. The research team’s work that was published recently in PLOS Global Public Health establishes the pivotal role of wastewater analysis in managing the public health response to COVID-19 at schools. The study focused on a middle and high school campus in Jefferson County, New York, serving 600 students and compared results from wastewater surveillance to COVID-19 case trends. The surveillance ...

New UC Davis research shows that men with an FMR1 premutation who experienced reduced executive function were at higher likelihood of developing fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS). FXTAS is a progressive genetic condition that causes movement issues and cognitive decline. These findings, published in the journal Movement Disorders, could help clinicians determine which premutation carriers will eventually develop FXTAS. “There's converging evidence that the premutation is affecting certain circuits in the brain ...

Human activity, from burning fossil fuels and fireplaces to the contaminated dust produced by mining, alters Earth’s atmosphere in countless ways. Records of these impacts over time are preserved in everlasting polar ice that serves as a sort of time capsule, allowing scientists and historians to link Earth’s history with that of human societies. In a new study, ice cores from Antartica show that lead and other toxic heavy metals linked to mining activities polluted the Southern Hemisphere as early as the 13th century.  “Seeing evidence that early Andean ...

    Images     An insight into preventing perovskite semiconductors from degrading quickly, discovered at the University of Michigan, could help enable solar cells estimated to be two to four times cheaper than today's thin-film solar panels.    Perovskites may also be combined with the silicon-based semiconductors that are prevalent in today's solar panels to create "tandem" solar cells that could surpass the maximum theoretical efficiency of silicon solar cells.   "Silicon solar cells are great because they are very efficient and can last for a very long time, but the high efficiency comes with a high cost," ...

Sharks have persisted as powerful ocean predators for more than 400 million years. They survived five mass extinctions, diversifying into an amazing variety of forms and lifestyles. But this ancient lineage is now among the world's most threatened species groups due to overexploitation in poorly regulated fisheries and the proliferation of wasteful finning practices. Governments around the world have introduced a host of regulations aimed at reducing shark catch and finning, the latter of which typically sees valuable shark fins retained for sale while carcasses are discarded at sea. But until ...