Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR) have succeeded in creating the first genetically engineered marsupial. This study, published in the scientific journal Current Biology, will contribute to deciphering the genetic background of unique characteristics observed only in marsupials. Genetically modified animals, particularly mice and rats, are extremely important tools for researching biological processes. For example, researchers often silence genes to find out what their normal functions are. Since marsupials have unique characteristics, studying them requires developing ...

During cell division, chromosomes are duplicated and separated so that one copy of each chromosome is inherited by each of the two emerging daughter cells. Correct distribution of chromosomes requires high accuracy and defects in this process can cause aberrant distribution of chromosomes and facilitate cancer development. By analyzing the structure of the protein responsible for chromosome separation, an international team, led by scientists from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), has shed light on the mechanisms controlling this essential player in cell division. This work is published in the journal ...

MIT physicists have observed signs of a rare type of superconductivity in a material called magic-angle twisted trilayer graphene. In a study appearing in Nature, the researchers report that the material exhibits superconductivity at surprisingly high magnetic fields of up to 10 Tesla, which is three times higher than what the material is predicted to endure if it were a conventional superconductor. The results strongly imply that magic-angle trilayer graphene, which was initially discovered by the same group, is a very rare type of superconductor, known as a "spin-triplet," that is impervious to high ...

What The Study Did: This study at an institution of higher education in Colorado evaluated the association between self-reported protective behaviors and how common SARS-CoV-2 infection was among essential in-person employees during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Authors: Tracy L. Nelson, M.P.H., Ph.D., of Colorado State University in Fort Collins, 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.2021.16543) Editor's Note: The article includes conflict of interest and funding/support disclosures. ...

What The Study Did: In this analysis of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, gender-affirming hair removal procedures were associated with lower odds of past-month severe psychological distress, past-year smoking and past-year suicidal ideation. Authors: Michelle S. Lee, B.A., of Harvard Medical School in Boston, 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/jamadermatol.2021.2551) Editor's Note: The article includes conflicts of interest ...

Alexandria, Va., USA - Parach Sirivichayakul, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand, presented the poster "Preventing Approximal Caries in Primary Teeth With Topical Fluorides" at the virtual 99th General Session & Exhibition of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR), held in conjunction with the 50th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental Research (AADR) and the 45th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research (CADR), on July 21-24, 2021. There is limited evidence regarding the use of silver diamine fluoride (SDF) for caries prevention in primary teeth. This randomized clinical trial evaluated the effectiveness of 38% SDF, 5% sodium fluoride (NaF) varnish and ...

Chestnut Hill, Mass. (7/21/2021) - Researchers have discovered a "layer" Hall effect in a solid state chip constructed of antiferromagnetic manganese bismuth telluride, a finding that signals a much sought-after topological Axion insulating state, the team reports in the current edition of the journal Nature. Researchers have been trying to find evidence of a topological Axion insulating (TAI) state and developed some candidate materials based on theoretical calculations. The layered Hall effect represents the first clear experimental evidence of the state, a feature bound by the laws of quantum physics, according to Boston College Assistant Professor ...

PHILADELPHIA--Investing in structural home repairs in historically segregated, low-income, Black and Latino neighborhoods has been associated with reduced crime rates. In Philadelphia, when a home received repairs through a city-funded program, total crime dropped by 21.9% on that block, and as the number of repaired houses on a block increased, instances of crime fell even further, according to research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania published today in JAMA Network Open. In an effort to address an old housing stock and high levels of historical disinvestment in Philadelphia, the city implemented the Basic Systems Repair ...

Rome (Italy), July 21st, 2021 - The remarkable structural properties of the basket sponge (E. aspergillum) might seem fathoms removed from human-engineered structures. However, insights into how the organism's latticework of holes and ridges influences the hydrodynamics of seawater in its vicinity could lead to advanced designs for buildings, bridges, marine vehicles and aircraft, and anything that must respond safely to forces imposed by the flow of air or water. While past research has investigated the structure of the sponge, there have been few studies of the hydrodynamic fields ...

Carbohydrates have traditionally been the largest source of energy intake for much of the world's population1. However, without a standard definition for carbohydrate quality, some foods that contain carbohydrates are often stigmatized based on isolated and reductionist assessment methods that fail to consider their contributions to nutrient intakes and balanced, healthy diets. A new perspective piece, published in Advances in Nutrition, brings to light the pressing need to define carbohydrate quality, to better assess the value of nutrient-dense carbohydrate-containing foods in healthy lifestyles. Ultimately, the authors call for a more holistic approach to carbohydrate guidance to address the complex ...

Natto, a fermented soybean dish often served for breakfast in Japan, originated at the turn of the last millennium but may hold an answer to a modern problem: COVID-19, according to a new study based on cell cultures. Long thought to contribute to longer, healthier lives across Japan -- the country with the longest life expectancy on Earth and home to more than a quarter of the world's population aged 65 years or older -- natto was previously found to be a diet staple in those who were least likely to die from stroke or cardiac disease. Now, researchers have found that extract made from the sticky, strong smelling natto may inhibit the ability of the virus that causes COVID-19 to infect cells. The team published its results on July 13th in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. ...

Researchers from HSE University have discovered nucleotide sequences characteristic of microRNA isoforms (microRNAs with errors). The discovery will help predict errors in microRNA behaviour and create drugs that can detect targets (such as viruses) more effectively. The results of the study have been published in the RNA Biology journal. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are very small molecules that regulate all the processes in a cell, including the transformation of inherited information in RNA or proteins (gene expression). Each microRNA has its own unique set of targets--genes whose activity it can suppress. Recent studies show that even slight changes in microRNA nucleotide sequences (so-called microRNA isoforms or isomiRs) can completely rebuild numerous targets. This can drastically ...

Each year, hundreds of thousands of people worldwide suffer from peripheral nerve injuries, which often leave them with long-term disabilities. The peripheral nervous system is analogous to the circulatory system; a network of vessels that reaches all parts of the body, but instead of blood flowing through vessels, electrical signals propagate information through thin fibers called axons, which are engulfed within nerve trunks. These nerve trunks are the communication network relaying information from all parts of the body to the brain, coordinating activity, and generating motor and sensory function. If one of the nerve trunks is damaged or torn - a common condition in limb injuries ...

A far-reaching new study of the life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from passenger cars, including SUVs, draws sharp and meticulous distinctions between the climate impacts of battery and fuel cell electric vehicles on one hand and combustion vehicles on the other. The detailed findings can be summarized straightforwardly. Only battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) powered by renewable electricity can achieve the kind of deep reductions in GHG emissions from transportation that comport with the Paris Agreement's goal of ...

URBANA, Ill. - No one wants to live near a toxic plant. Toxic-releasing facilities such as paper, pulp, and other manufacturing plants negatively affect human health, environmental quality, and property values. And communities with lower income and educational attainment are more likely to house such facilities. Since mandatory reporting about toxic facilities became publicly available in 1990, affected communities have increasingly expressed concern through the media, and engaged in targeted collective action and "toxic torts" lawsuits for health and environmental damages. New ...

A new wearable brain-machine interface (BMI) system could improve the quality of life for people with motor dysfunction or paralysis, even those struggling with locked-in syndrome - when a person is fully conscious but unable to move or communicate. A multi-institutional, international team of researchers led by the lab of Woon-Hong Yeo at the Georgia Institute of Technology combined wireless soft scalp electronics and virtual reality in a BMI system that allows the user to imagine an action and wirelessly control a wheelchair or robotic arm. The team, which included researchers from the University of Kent (United Kingdom) and Yonsei University (Republic of Korea), describes the new motor imagery-based BMI system this month ...

During the height of the pandemic, some hospitals were overwhelmed with patients seeking treatment for COVID-19. This situation could happen again during future outbreaks, especially with SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern on the rise. Now, researchers reporting in ACS' Analytical Chemistry have developed a blood test to predict which people infected with COVID-19 are most likely to experience serious symptoms, which could help health care workers prioritize patients for hospitalization and intensive care. Although many people who contract COVID-19 have either no symptoms or mild ones, some require intensive care for pneumonia with acute respiratory distress syndrome. Risk factors for severe disease include older age, ...

Since antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV was introduced in 1996, AIDS-related morbidity and mortality has declined significantly. People living with HIV are now expected to live nearly as long as people without HIV. Despite these advances, those living with HIV often report poor well-being and health-related quality of life. To guide stakeholders in improving health system responses to achieve the best possible long-term health outcomes for people living with HIV, a global multidisciplinary group of HIV experts led by CUNY SPH Senior Scholar Jeffrey Lazarus and including Distinguished Professor Denis Nash and Associate Professor Diana Romero developed a consensus statement identifying the key issues health systems must address in order to move beyond the longtime ...

Activism and the Clinical Ethicist Christopher Meyers Although clinical ethics scholarship and practice have largely avoided assuming an activist stance, the many health care crises of the last 18 months motivated a distinct change: activist language has permeated conversations over such issues as the impact of triage policies on persons with disabilities and of color, and how the health care system has historically failed African Americans. "This activism is, to my mind, an overdue and welcome turn, and my goal here is to defend it--generally and with particular ...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have designed a new class of molten sodium batteries for grid-scale energy storage. The new battery design was shared in a paper published today in the scientific journal Cell Reports Physical Science. Molten sodium batteries have been used for many years to store energy from renewable sources, such as solar panels and wind turbines. However, commercially available molten sodium batteries, called sodium-sulfur batteries, typically operate at 520-660 degrees Fahrenheit. Sandia's new molten sodium-iodide battery operates at a much cooler 230 degrees Fahrenheit instead. "We've been working to bring the operating temperature of molten sodium batteries down as low as physically possible," ...

Scientists have developed a new way to model and map the health of coral reef ecosystems using data collected on the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation's Global Reef Expedition. This innovative method, presented today at the International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS), can determine which natural and anthropogenic factors are most likely to lead to persistently vibrant coral and fish communities. Their findings can help scientists identify the reefs most likely to survive in a changing world. The new models are a first step in being able to produce maps of global coral reef resilience. To create these models, scientist Anna Bakker needed a lot of data on coral reefs from ...

Drugs must be safe not just for the patients; in the case of pregnant patients, drugs must also be safe for the unborn children still in the womb. Therefore, at an early stage in the development of new medicines, candidate substances are tested in the Petri dish on embryonic stem cells from mouse cell lines. This is to avoid that an embryo-damaging effect would only be noticed at a later stage during tests with pregnant mice. However, these cell culture tests are a highly simplified version of what takes place in the uterus. Researchers just add the test material to a culture of embryonic stem cells in a Petri dish, and can identify substances that have a direct adverse effect on embryonic cells. By contrast, in the body of a pregnant woman, active pharmaceutical ...

New Rochelle, NY, July 21, 2021-- Evaluating the efficacy of novel therapies requires the ability to monitor wound progression accurately and reproducibly over time. Researchers have proposed a new scoring system for wound healing in mice based on parameters in each phase of healing, as described in an article in the peer-reviewed journal Stem Cells and Development. Click here to read the article for free through August 21, 2021. The parameters include re-epithelization, epithelial thickness index, keratinization, granulation tissue thickness, remodeling, and the scar elevation index. The parameters can be assessed using either Hematoxylin & Eosin or ...

By José Tadeu Arantes | Agência FAPESP – Gluten is a protein complex found in cereals such as wheat, rye and barley. It is responsible for the elastic texture of dough so that loaves and rolls can be baked into different shapes while remaining flexible and crusty. It also lengthens the shelf life of bread at room temperature, when associated with preservatives. Gluten intolerance, however, has become a global epidemic, and gluten-free products are increasingly popular. The problem is that most of those available on the market are far from corresponding to consumers’ expectations in terms of appearance, aroma, flavor and durability. A research line focusing on ways to enhance gluten-free products is being pursued ...

No one wants bad breath -- not when visiting friends and family, at a job interview, and especially not on a first date. Smelly breath can make things awkward, but it also is a natural warning sign, indicating that serious dental issues are occurring. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Nano have constructed a portable, thumb-sized device that diagnoses bad breath by quickly "sniffing" exhalations for the gas that makes it stinky -- hydrogen sulfide. Because most people can't smell their own breath, they need to ask someone else, which can be embarrassing and awkward. Some devices measure small amounts of stinky hydrogen sulfide, but they require exhaled air to be collected and tested on expensive instruments in a lab, which is not feasible ...