Scientists from Hokkaido University have shown that an antigen-based test for quantifying SARS-CoV-2 in saliva samples is simple, rapid, and more conducive for mass-screening. More than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, the RT-PCR test remains the gold standard for detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This method requires trained personnel at every step, from collection of nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) samples to interpretation of the results; in addition, the entire process ranges from 24-48 hours on average. As the virus can be transmitted by an infected person before symptoms ...

Fixed-dose combination of nivolumab and relatlimab holds the cancer in check significantly longer than nivolumab alone This is the first regimen to demonstrate a statistical benefit over anti-PD-1 monotherapy in metastatic melanoma BOSTON - A combination of two drugs that target different proteins on immune system T cells kept advanced melanoma in check significantly longer than one of the drugs alone in a phase 3 clinical trial involving 714 patients. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators co-led the study. Findings will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, being held ...

HOUSTON -- The glutaminase (GLS1) inhibitor IACS-6274, discovered and developed by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center's Therapeutics Discovery division, appears to be well-tolerated with successful target inhibition and early signs of anti-tumor activity in a biomarker-driven Phase I trial. Interim results of the study will be presented at the 2021 American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting on June 4. On the trial, 17 of 20 evaluable patients achieved a best response of stable disease, with a disease control rate of 60% at 12 weeks. Six patients with biomarker-defined advanced cancers ...

URBANA, Ill. - Women's ability to work as entrepreneurs can help alleviate poverty and malnutrition in developing countries. As local governments and development organizations aim to encourage business opportunities, it's important to identify projects suited for women's lives in rural households. The soy kit, which includes common household items such as a pot, spoon, thermometer, and cheese cloth, enables entrepreneurs to create value-added products from soy in small-scale household settings. The kit has potential to improve the economic conditions of Malawi women in a sustainable way, a University of Illinois study concludes. "The larger issue is about adding value to agricultural products in the developing world as a means ...

Boulder, Colo., USA: The Paleozoic era culminated 251.9 million years ago in the most severe mass extinction recorded in the geologic record. Known as the "great dying," this event saw the loss of up to 96% of all marine species and around 70% of terrestrial species, including plants and insects. The consensus view of scientists is that volcanic activity at the end of the Permian period, associated with the Siberian Traps Large Igneous Province, emitted massive quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere over a short time interval. This caused a spike in global temperatures and a cascade of other deleterious ...

Keto, gluten-free, organic: If a pet owner is on a specific diet, chances are their dog is on it, too, a new U of G study reveals. But when it comes to a grain-free diet, owners seem to choose it more for their dogs than themselves, the study also found. "It demonstrates that many variables, not just dietary habits, influence the selection of dog food," said study lead author Sydney Banton, a master's student in U of G's Department of Animal Biosciences. The international Pet Food Consumer Habit Survey is the first of its kind to examine factors involved in ...

NEWPORT, Ore. - The population of white sharks that call the Central California coast their primary home is holding steady at about 300 animals and shows some signs of growth, a new long-term study of the species has shown. Between 2011 and 2018, researchers were able to identify hundreds of individual adult and subadult white sharks, which are not fully mature but are old enough to prey on marine mammals. They used that information to develop estimates of the sharks' abundance. "The finding, a result of eight years of photographing and identifying individual ...

In new research, Texas A&M University scientists have for the first time revealed a single microscopic defect called a "twin" in a soft-block copolymer using an advanced electron microscopy technique. This defect may be exploited in the future to create materials with novel acoustic and photonic properties. "This defect is like a black swan -- something special going on that isn't typical," said Dr. Edwin Thomas, professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. "Although we chose a certain polymer for our study, I think the twin defect will be fairly universal across a bunch of similar soft matter systems, like oils, surfactants, biological materials and natural polymers. Therefore, our findings will be valuable to diverse research across the soft matter field." The ...

Scanning technology aimed at detecting small amounts of nuclear materials was unveiled by scientists in Sweden today, with the hope of preventing acts of nuclear terrorism. Bo Cederwall, a professor of physics at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, says the technology can be used in airports and seaports for routine inspection of passengers and goods. The research is published and featured in the journals Science Advances and Science, respectively. A form of tomography, the system enables quick 3D imaging of the source of neutron and gamma ray emissions from weapons-grade plutonium and other special nuclear materials, Cederwall says. The so-called Neutron-Gamma Emission Tomography (NGET) system goes beyond the capabilities of existing radiation portal monitors, ...

Despite expert recommendations that children continue to get regularly scheduled vaccines during the pandemic, vaccination rates have decreased in several states. A new study by researchers from the Texas A&M University School of Public Health and several other research institutions looked at childhood immunization rates in Texas to see what effect the COVID-19 pandemic may have had on childhood immunizations in 2020. In the study, led by public health doctoral student Tasmiah Nuzhath and published in the journal Vaccine, the researchers used data from a statewide immunization registry ...

May 19, 2021 - For patients with severe arthritis of the ankle, total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) provides better long-term function than ankle arthrodesis (AA), reports a study in The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio in partnership with Wolters Kluwer. "Both established treatments for end-stage ankle arthritis are effective at pain relief and improved patient-reported outcomes," according to the research by Bruce Sangeorzan MD, and colleagues at the University of Washington and VA Puget Sound Health Care System. "However, it appears TAA leads to greater improvement in most patient-reported outcome measures at 48 months after surgery." Study adds to evidence supporting TAA for ankle arthritis End-stage ankle arthritis is characterized ...

The continued growth of wireless and cellular data traffic relies heavily on light waves. Microwave photonics is the field of technology that is dedicated to the distribution and processing of electrical information signals using optical means. Compared with traditional solutions based on electronics alone, microwave photonic systems can handle massive amounts of data. Therefore, microwave photonics has become increasingly important as part of 5G cellular networks and beyond. A primary task of microwave photonics is the realization of narrowband filters: the selection of specific data, at specific frequencies, out of immense volumes that are carried over light. Many microwave photonic systems are built ...

Scientists at SPECIFIC Innovation and Knowledge Centre, Swansea University, have found a way to replace the toxic, unsustainable solvents currently needed to make the next generation of solar technology. Printed carbon perovskite solar cells have been described as a likely front runner to the market because they are extremely efficient at converting light to electricity, cheap and easy to make. A major barrier to the large-scale manufacture and commercialisation of these cells is the solvents used to control crystallisation of the perovskite during fabrication: this is because they are ...

ITHACA, N.Y. - For the first time, Cornell University researchers have developed a technique for studying the neuroscience of motor control in mice ¬- by focusing on a mouse's tongue when it licks a water spout. The technique incorporates high-speed cameras and machine learning in a tractable experimental setup that opens the door for revealing mysteries of how the motor cortex works, understanding the neural basis of related disorders like Parkinson's disease, and informing robots. "We now have an approach in a mouse where we can bring all the tools of modern neuroscience to bear on this really classic problem of motor control," said senior author Jesse Goldberg, associate professor of neurobiology and behavior. The field of motor control neuroscience has made advancements ...

Updated Criteria Also Released for Legius Syndrome and Mosaic NF NF2 and Schwannomatosis Diagnostic Criteria to Be Released Later This Year The Children's Tumor Foundation (CTF) today announced the publication of updated diagnostic criteria for the genetic disorder neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) in Genetics in Medicine, the official journal of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics. The new publication is the result of an extensive, multi-year collaborative effort of over 90 leading neurofibromatosis (NF) experts from around the globe, and is aimed at improving the accuracy and earlier diagnosis of NF1 in patients, thus ultimately leading to improved care and quality of life for those patients. ...

Open up Scott Roy's Twitter bio and you'll see a simple but revealing sentence: "The more I learn the more I'm confused." Now the rest of the scientific world can share in his confusion. The San Francisco State University associate professor of Biology's most recent research, published earlier this month in one of the scientific world's most prestigious journals, catalogues a strange and confounding system of genes in a tiny rodent that scientists have ignored for decades. "This is basically the weirdest sex chromosome system known to science," Roy said. "Nobody ordered this." But he's serving it anyway. The owner of those chromosomes is the creeping vole, a burrowing rodent native to the Pacific Northwest. Scientists ...

In recent years, foresters have been able to observe it up close: First, prolonged drought weakens the trees, then bark beetles and other pests attack. While healthy trees keep the invaders away with resin, stressed ones are virtually defenseless. Freiburg scientist Sylvie Berthelot and her team of researchers from the Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources and the Faculty of Biology are studying the importance of tree diversity on bark beetle infestation. They are investigating whether the composition of tree species affects bark beetle feeding behavior. The team recently published their findings in the Journal of Ecology. In a 1.1 hectare experimental set-up in Freiburg, six native deciduous and coniferous tree species from Europe and six deciduous and coniferous ...

SAN ANTONIO (May 19, 2021) -- Four months of multi-drug therapy that included rifapentine and moxifloxacin treated active tuberculosis (TB) as effectively as the standard six-month regimen in a multinational study, cutting treatment time by a third. Coauthors including Marc Weiner, MD, of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, reported the findings May 6 in the New England Journal of Medicine. "Shorter treatment would be easier for people to complete without missing doses, and ultimately may be cost-effective," said Dr. Weiner, associate professor in the health science center's Joe R. and Teresa Lozano END ...

A team of researchers at the Centre Spatial de Liège (CSL) of the University of Liège has just developed a method to identify the contributors and origins of stray light on space telescopes. This is a major advance in the field of space engineering that will help in the acquisition of even finer space images and the development of increasingly efficient space instruments. This study has just been published in the journal Scientific Reports. Space telescopes are becoming more and more powerful. Technological developments in recent years have made it possible, for example, to observe objects further and further into the universe or to measure the composition of the Earth's atmosphere with ever greater precision. However, there is still one factor limiting the performance ...

HAMILTON, ON (May 19, 2021) - Researchers have found that the inclusion of a third drug to commonly used dual-drug inhalers can reduce asthma exacerbations and improve control over the disease in children, adolescents, and adults with moderate-to-severe asthma. A team from McMaster University and The Research Institute of St. Joe's Hamilton announced their findings from a systematic review and meta-analysis. Data from 20 randomized controlled trials, which included a total of almost 12,000 patients, were analyzed in the study. Dual-drug inhalers used to treat asthma typically contain an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) to reduce inflammation, as well as a long-acting beta-adrenoceptor agonist (LABA) that acts as a bronchodilator. High-certainty evidence showed that the inclusion of a third ...

Leesburg, VA, May 19, 2021--According to an open-access article in ARRS' American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR), increased axillary lymph node or ipsilateral deltoid uptake is occasionally observed on FDG or 11C-choline PET performed after Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccination. "Recognition of occasional abnormal axillary lymph node or deltoid uptake on PET examinations performed after COVID-19 vaccination will aid interpreting physicians and reduce unnecessary biopsies," wrote corresponding author Jason R. Young from the department of radiology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Young and colleagues' retrospective study included ...

For the first time, geological records have been used to reconstruct the history of Larsen C Ice Shelf in Antarctica. The ice shelf is the largest remaining remnant of a much more extensive area of ice on the Antarctic Peninsula that began to break up during the 1990s (Larsen A), and saw a huge collapse in 2002 (Larsen B). This new reconstruction enables scientists to better understand if and when the remaining ice shelf could collapse in the future. Publishing this month in the journal Geology an international team describes how the largest remaining ice shelf on the Antarctic ...

By mapping its genetic underpinnings, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have identified a predictive causal role for specific cell types in type 1 diabetes, a condition that affects more than 1.6 million Americans. The findings are published in the May 19, 2021 online issue of Nature. Type 1 diabetes is a complex autoimmune disease characterized by the impairment and loss of insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells and subsequent hyperglycemia (high blood sugar), which is damaging to the body and can cause other serious health problems, such as heart disease and vision loss. Type 1 is less common than type 2 diabetes, but its prevalence is growing. The U.S. Centers for Disease ...

Boulder, Colo., USA: Deep pools below waterfalls are popular recreational swimming spots, but sometimes they can be partially or completely filled with sediment. New research showed how and why pools at the base of waterfalls, known as plunge pools, go through natural cycles of sediment fill and evacuation. Beyond impacting your favorite swimming hole, plunge pools also serve important ecologic and geologic functions. Deep pools are refuges for fish and other aquatic animals in summer months when water temperatures in shallow rivers can reach lethal levels. Waterfalls also can liquefy sediment within the pool, potentially triggering debris flows that can damage property and threaten ...

Florida State University researchers have more insight into a strange sea creature found in oceans around the world and what their presence means for the health of a marine ecosystem. Scientists have thought that salps -- small marine organisms that look like clear, gelatinous blobs -- competed for resources with krill, shrimp-like creatures that are an important food source for many marine animals. But new research published in Limnology and Oceanography suggests that salps are actually competing for food with an organism known as a protist. An image of a salp taken during research. New research published in Limnology and Oceanography suggests that salps are actually competing for food with an organism known as a protist. (Courtesy of ...