Rockville, Md. (April 27, 2021)--Although bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD)--a chronic lung disease affecting newborns--is the most common complication of preterm birth, it remains difficult to diagnose and treat. Researchers from Fundación INFANT in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, hope to address these difficulties using machine learning to inform the clinical care of preemies with BPD. The team will present their work virtually at the American Physiological Society's (APS) annual meeting at Experimental Biology 2021. BPD affects between 20% and 40% of all infants with birthweight below 3 pounds, 4 ounces (1,500 grams). It usually subsides by age ...

A new study found that non-pungent synthetic analog of capsaicin -- the compound that makes chili peppers hot -- made small cell lung cancer cells more responsive to treatment. Small cell lung cancer is a very aggressive form of cancer with a low survival rate. Cisplatin-based combination chemotherapy is typically the first-line treatment for small cell lung cancer patients. Although patients initially respond very well to this chemotherapy, the tumor usually comes back within a year in a form that doesn't respond to treatments. Patients with relapsed small cell lung cancer have very few treatment options. "Irinotecan is the only FDA approved second-line drug for small cell lung cancer, but less than 3% of patients respond to it," said research team leader Piyali Dasgupta, ...

New research conducted in rats suggests a compound that gives some cruciferous vegetables their pungent taste could help to reverse kidney problems associated with diabetes. It is estimated that about one-quarter of people with diabetes will eventually develop diabetic nephropathy, a gradual loss of kidney function eventually requiring dialysis. The condition is a leading cause of chronic kidney disease in the U.S. and is also associated with a high risk of heart disease. There is currently no cure. For the new study, researchers assessed the effects of phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) in rats with diabetic nephropathy. PEITC is found in several types of vegetables but is most concentrated ...

Corals are part of a highly complex ecosystem, but it remains a mystery if and how they might communicate within their biological community. In a new study, researchers found evidence of sound-related genes in corals, suggesting that the marine invertebrates could use sound to interact with their surroundings. Coral reefs make up less than 1% of the ocean floor yet support more than 25% of all marine life. Around the world, coral reefs are being threatened by climate change, ocean acidification, diseases, overfishing and pollution. A better understanding of coral communication could help inform policies that aim to protect this critical ecosystem. "A growing number of studies have shown that trees can communicate, and that this communication is important for ecosystems such ...

The antidepression drug duloxetine could be beneficial to patients with both depression and cardiovascular disease, according to new studies performed in human blood and in mice. Globally, more than 300 million people have depression, which comes with an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease. When a blood vessel is injured, the platelets in our blood respond by forming clots that stop blood bleeding. If this activation goes into overdrive, it can lead to thrombosis, a condition where blood clots form inside blood vessels and can dislodge to lead to a heart attack or stroke. In the new studies, researchers showed that duloxetine inhibited platelet function and protected ...

Scientists from around the world are gathering to share the latest research at the forefront of biology during the END ...

Recent years have brought increased attention to the lasting effects of chemicals we unwittingly inhale, touch and ingest while going about our daily lives. The END ...

Results from a new cell study suggest that the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein can bring about long-term gene expression changes. The findings could help explain why some COVID-19 patients -- referred to as COVID long-haulers -- experience symptoms such as shortness of breath and dizziness long after clearing the infection. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is covered in tiny spike proteins. During infection, the spike proteins bind with receptors on cells in our body, starting a process that allows the virus to release its genetic material into the inside of the healthy cell. "We found that exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein alone was enough to change ...

The two major types of cetaceans appear to have evolved their characteristic blowholes through different anatomical transformations, according to a study being presented at the END ...

Findings from a new cell study suggest that the natural plant compound sanguinarine could be a promising tool for targeting triple-negative breast cancer cells. The researchers also found that breast cancer cells derived from people with African American ancestry were more sensitive to sanguinarine than those of European origin. "Triple negative breast cancer is especially aggressive in African American women, who are also more likely to develop this type of breast cancer than women of European descent," said Samia Messeha, PhD, a research associate in the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical ...

Researchers are developing a new sensor that can detect Ebola in a single drop of blood and provides results in just an hour. With further development, the technology might also enable fast and inexpensive detection of other viruses, including the virus that causes COVID-19. Ebola is one of the deadliest of all known viruses, killing up to 90% of those infected. Stopping its spread requires quickly detecting and isolating infected people. However, outbreaks tend to occur in remote areas of Africa, requiring blood tests to be transported to distant laboratories for analysis. This leads to significant delays in identifying a new outbreak. Soma Banerjee, PhD, a visiting scientist in Marit Nilsen-Hamilton's laboratory at Iowa State ...

Researchers studying mice made a serendipitous discovery that could lead to a new dry mouth treatment. More than 10% of people experience dry mouth, which can be caused by medical conditions, radiation treatment, certain medications and aging. Abigail Boyd, a doctoral candidate at the University of South Alabama, and colleagues made the new discovery while exploring the anti-inflammatory benefits of inhibiting phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE4) enzymes in a mouse model of bacterial lung infection. After noticing that mice treated with a PDE4 inhibitor were salivating, they decided to examine whether this observation could be translated into a dry mouth therapy. They ...

Using a newly developed mouse model of acute lung injury, researchers found that exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein alone was enough to induce COVID-19-like symptoms including severe inflammation of the lungs. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is covered in tiny spike proteins. These proteins bind with receptors on our cells, starting a process that allows the virus to release its genetic material into a healthy cell. "Our findings show that the SARS-CoV2 spike protein causes lung injury even without the presence of intact virus," said Pavel Solopov, PhD, DVM, research assistant professor at the Frank Reidy Research Center for Bioelectrics at Old Dominion University. "This previously unknown mechanism could cause symptoms before substantial viral replication ...

A technology-packed tank top offers a simple, effective way to track astronauts' vital signs and physiological changes during spaceflight, according to research being presented at the END ...

New research offers an up-close view of how SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can spread to the brain. The study helps explain the alarming array of neurological symptoms reported in some patients with COVID-19, as well as why some patients suffer severe neurological effects while others experience none at all. The researchers report evidence that SARS-CoV-2 can infect both the nerve cells that power our brains (neurons), and the cells in the brain and spinal cord that support and protect neurons (astrocytes). "Our findings suggest that astrocytes are a pathway through which COVID-19 causes neurological damage," said Ricardo Costa, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at the ...

New insights into how fetal and adult liver cells differ could be used to help make liver cell transplants successful long term. Transplanting functioning liver cells into a patient's liver can help replace liver function that is impaired due to disease. Today there are many more patients waiting for liver transplants than there are donor organs available. Because liver cell transplantation only requires a portion of cells isolated from a liver, it could allow multiple patients to be treated from one donated organ. Although liver cell transplants offer a promising life-saving alternative to transplanting the whole organ, the effects aren't long-lasting when adult liver ...

Taking a break from extreme heat, by visiting a cooling center for example, could help our cells protect themselves from damage, according to preliminary findings from a new study. The research, which focused on older people, suggests temporarily cooling down on a hot day helps cells maintain autophagy, a process cells use to rid themselves of dangerous protein buildups caused by stressors like extreme heat. "By lessening the time spent in a state of elevated internal body temperature, cooling centers may help to preserve autophagy in older adults, which may translate to greater cellular protection and improved health outcomes during an extreme heat event," said James J. McCormick, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow ...

How do different parts of the brain communicate with each other during learning and memory formation? A new study by researchers at the University of California San Diego takes a first step at answering this fundamental neuroscience question. The study was made possible by developing a neural implant that monitors the activity of different parts of the brain at the same time, from the surface to deep structures--a first in the field. Using this new technology, the researchers show that diverse patterns of two-way communication occur between two brain regions known to play a role in learning and ...

A new coating solution discovered by researchers at Simon Fraser University can transform regular materials into waterproof surfaces. The product will be cheaper to produce, free of harmful fluorinated compounds, and effective on a variety of materials. Their research findings have been published in Nature Communications. SFU chemistry professor and project lead Hogan Yu estimates that their patented waterproofing solution will be up to 90 percent cheaper to produce. Yu and his team are currently floating the idea by investors and companies with the goal of commercializing the product. The new formula was invented at Yu's lab when SFU graduate student Lishen Zhang and another student were working on an experiment in 2016. ...

In the Council of the European Union, member states mostly cooperate with other countries in their geographical proximity. However, once it became clear that the United Kingdom was going to leave the EU, the member states also started cooperating to a greater extent with ideologically like-minded members. Research from the University of Gothenburg shows that Brexit may, in part, have changed the logic behind how cooperation in the Council of the European Union is structured. The Council of the European Union is one of the most important EU decision-makers. Government ministers from the 27 EU member states participate in the ...

Scientific classifications of forest vegetation on the territory of the former USSR, including the Republic of Tatarstan, previously used the dominant approach, traditional for northern countries, taking into account the dominance degree of one or another species in the main tree layer, or similarity in the composition of subordinate layers with the identification of cycles and series of associations. Currently, the classification of plant communities of the Republic of Tatarstan is made on a dominant-determinant basis and is reflected, for example, in the vegetation map of the Atlas of the Republic of Tatarstan and other publications. The classification ...

The LUX team at DESY is celebrating not just one but two milestones in the development of innovative plasma accelerators. The scientists from the University of Hamburg and DESY used their accelerator to test a technique that allows the energy distribution of the electron beams produced to be kept particularly narrow. They also used artificial intelligence to allow the accelerator to optimise its own operation. The scientists are reporting their experiments in two papers published shortly after one another in the journal Physical Review Letters. "It's ...

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), a gram-negative pathogen that has infected half of the world's population is a Group I carcinogen according to the WHO. H. pylori resides in the gastric mucosa causing gastritis, ulcers, gastric cancers and malignant lymphoma of the stomach. It can be eradicated in most infected people using a combination of three drugs; antibiotics clarithromycin, amoxicillin, and gastric acid suppressants. Amoxicillin exerts antibacterial activity by inhibiting the biosynthesis of peptidoglycan present in the cell wall of bacteria, and clarithromycin exerts antibacterial activity by inhibiting protein synthesis. The current success rate of H. pylori eradication is about 90%. ...

Anyone who lives in Okinawa, a subtropical island in Japan, has an appreciation of the intensity of its pig farming industry. The farms have a large effect on the island's economy and culture. According to Japan's Cabinet Office, as of 2018, there were over 225,000 pigs in Okinawa. Pork is a staple in the local diet and is found in many dishes in traditional restaurants. But the presence of the pig farms has another, less welcome, impact - the odor-y kind. Drive through some particularly farm-filled areas with the car's windows wound down and you're sure to be filled with regret. This smell is, at least in part, caused by a byproduct of the pig farming. ...

University of South Australia researchers have drawn inspiration from a 300-million-year-old superior flying machine - the dragonfly - to show why future flapping wing drones will probably resemble the insect in shape, wings and gearing. A team of PhD students led by UniSA Professor of Sensor Systems, Javaan Chahl, spent part of the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown designing and testing key parts of a dragonfly-inspired drone that might match the insect's extraordinary skills in hovering, cruising and aerobatics. The UniSA students worked remotely on the project, solving mathematical formulas at home on whiteboards, digitising stereo photographs of insect wings into 3D models, and using spare rooms as rapid prototyping workshops to test parts of the flapping wing drone. Their findings have ...