A new species of ancient beaver that was rediscovered by researchers in The University of Texas at Austin’s fossil collections has been named after Buc-ee’s, a Texas-based chain of popular travel centers known for its cartoon beaver mascot. The beaver is called Anchitheriomys buceei, or “A. buceei” for short. Steve May, a research associate at the UT Jackson School of Geosciences, said that the beaver’s Texas connection and a chance encounter with a Buc-ee’s billboard are what inspired the name. May is the lead author of the paper that describes A. buceei, along with another, much smaller, species of fossil beaver. Published ...

HOUSTON – (March 27, 2023) – Rice University bioscientist and synthetic biologist James Chappell has won a National Science Foundation CAREER Award to develop RNA programming methods to improve human health and the environment. “Synthetic biology has progressed a lot in the past decade, and we’ve gotten really good at genetically programming microbes in confined laboratory environments where conditions are ideal,” said Chappell, an assistant professor both of biosciences and of bioengineering. “But, of course, most microbes on the planet don't live in pure cultures where the temperature is always 37 degrees ...

Scientists seeking a way to eliminate an adverse reaction to treatments for acute lymphocytic leukemia, a common childhood cancer, have found what they believe to be an early warning indicator. Mouse studies conducted by Rutgers researchers as part of a larger scientific team are pointing to vitamin A levels as a signal that a patient may or may not be vulnerable to a dangerous toxicity. Summarizing their findings in Science Translational Medicine, the scientists found that, in patients being treated for acute lymphocytic leukemia with the chemotherapy drug asparaginase, there is an ...

A subset of white blood cells, known as myeloid cells, can harbor HIV in people who have been virally suppressed for years on antiretroviral therapy, according to findings from a small study supported by the National Institutes of Health. In the study, researchers used a new quantitative method to show that HIV in specific myeloid cells—short-lived monocytes and longer-lived monocyte-derived macrophages—can be reactivated and infect new cells. The findings, published in Nature Microbiology, suggest that ...

American Geophysical Union Press Release 23-11 27 March 2023 For Immediate Release This press release is available online at: https://news.agu.org/press-release/the-greenland-ice-sheet-is-close-to-a-melting-point-of-no-return/ AGU press contact: Rebecca Dzombak, +1 (202) 777-7492, news@agu.org (UTC-4 hours) Contact information for the researchers: Dennis Höning, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, dennis.hoening@pik-potsdam.de (UTC+1 hour) WASHINGTON — The Greenland Ice Sheet covers 1.7 million ...

New simulation combines emissions with weather and chemistry in an air-quality model First neighborhood-scale simulation of its kind focused on Chicago tracks air quality hour by hour across areas as small as 1.3 kilometers-sized blocks Simulation can show how pollutants move across space and time throughout the city and surrounding areas Air pollution along highways is consistently worse than other areas, regardless of season or time of day EVANSTON, Ill. — If you live along one of the major interstate highways running through Chicago or directly next to Lake Michigan, you are regularly exposed to more air pollution than ...

TAMPA, Fla. – Immunotherapies have greatly improved the outcomes of many patients with melanoma. But there is still a need for new approaches for the subset of patients who do not respond well to this type of therapy. Moffitt Cancer Center researchers are looking at new targets to help inhibit tumor development and promote antitumor immunity, one being the STING signaling pathway. In a new article published in Nature Communications, a team of Moffitt and University of Miami Miller School of Medicine investigators demonstrate that targeting the STING pathway with a combination strategy ...

In addition to an antigen, many vaccines also contain substances, called adjuvants, which stimulate the immune system. By using computer-aided molecular design and machine learning, a Chinese research team has now developed two novel broad-spectrum adjuvants that can significantly amplify the immune response to vaccines. As reported in the journal Angewandte Chemie, they were able to enhance the effectiveness of immunization against certain forms of cancer in animal models. Adjuvants amplify and prolong the effect of vaccine immunizations. Aluminum salts have been successfully used ...

ITHACA, N.Y. – An international team of astronomers has found the atmospheric compositions of giant planets out in the galaxy do not fit our own solar system trend. Using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the researchers discovered that the atmosphere of exoplanet HD149026b, a ‘hot Jupiter’ orbiting a star comparable to our sun, is super-abundant in the heavier elements carbon and oxygen – far above what scientists would expect for a planet of its mass. These findings, published in “High atmospheric metal enrichment for a Saturn-mass ...

When studying the brain, researchers are just beginning to use a method known as voltage imaging to track neural activity in the living animal. While this approach is a promising way to better understand neuron firing, behavior, and cognition, there are limitations and risk factors. The practice requires putting a lot of light into the brain (which can lead to overheating) and only has the capacity to image ten neurons at a time. New research from Jerry Chen, a Boston University College of Arts & Sciences assistant professor of biology, and collaborators aims to address these challenges. Published today in Nature Methods, ...

Researchers at Rochester Institute of Technology are investigating the combined physical effects of heat, chemical reactions, and seismic activity on concrete lining structures used to dispose of nuclear waste. Results from the work could improve nuclear waste infrastructure designs, better long-term safety management, and refine strategies to meet climate change targets. Lu Sun, a professor in RIT’s College of Engineering Technology (CET), received a grant of nearly $500,000 from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for “High temperature and seismic response of concrete lining structures and clay in nuclear waste disposal.” ...

An international team of researchers has used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to measure the temperature of the rocky exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 b. The measurement is based on the planet’s thermal emission: heat energy given off in the form of infrared light detected by Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). The result indicates that the planet’s dayside has a temperature of about 500 kelvins (roughly 450 degrees Fahrenheit) and suggests that it has no significant atmosphere. This is the first detection of any form of light emitted by an exoplanet as small and as cool as the rocky planets in our own solar system. The result ...

Providing an overview of the submissions process and examples of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) applications for Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) and Rare Pediatric Disease Designation (RPDD), a new article can help developers of gene therapies for rare genetic diseases. The article is published in the peer-reviewed journal Human Gene Therapy. Click here to read the article now. Anne Pariser and Elizabeth Ottinger, from the National Center for Advances in Translational Sciences (NCATS), National Institutes of Health, and coauthors, describe the ODD and RPDD programs, which provide financial incentives for the development of ...

A Brazilian study paves the way to increased efficiency of second-generation (2G) ethanol production based on the discovery of novel targets for metabolic engineering in a more robust strain of industrial yeast. An article on the study is published in the journal Scientific Reports. The databases compiled by the authors are at the disposal of the scientific community in the repository of the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), which is a member of the Dataverse Project, an international collaborative initiative supported by FAPESP. First-generation (1G) ethanol is produced from sources rich in carbohydrates ...

UC Davis Health and Propeller Health have announced a new collaboration that will offer personalized treatment for high-risk patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) aiming to improve their health outcomes. As part of the collaboration, UC Davis Health will provide the Propeller program – including sensors, mobile app, web portal, and personalized support – to eligible patients, with eventual expansion to patients in other UC locations and UC affiliates. The sensors attach to a patient’s inhaler to capture unique signals that record events, such as ...

Minipuberty is a stage of reproductive development during infancy in both sexes when reproductive hormones change and reproductive organs develop. The importance of minipuberty is not well understood but could represent an opportunity for the early identification of future reproductive conditions and enable prompt treatment. Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is one of the hormones that changes during minipuberty, and it plays a key role in the development of reproductive organs in boys. However, the role of AMH in infant girls is less clear.  In ...

ITHACA, N.Y. – Female giant African pouched rats, used for sniffing out landmines and detecting tuberculosis, can undergo astounding reproductive organ transformations, according to a new study. The paper, “Extreme plasticity of reproductive state in a female rodent,” which published March 27 in Current Biology, explores how traits once considered “fixed” in adult animals may become variable under specific pressures. Though these rodents could have important military, biodetection and humanitarian uses, breeding them at high rates has been a challenge. ...

EMBARGO DATE: Monday, March 27, 2023, 12:30 pm ET PRESS RELEASE   ENGOT-EN6-NSGO/GOG-3031/RUBY trial results: The new standard of care in advanced/recurrent endometrial cancer   ENGOT, NSGO-CTU & GOG-Foundation proudly announce the ground-breaking results of ENGOT-EN6-NSGO/GOG-3031/RUBY trial.   The results reveal improvement in overall survival at 24 months in whole study population from 56% (CP+placebo) to 71.3% (CP+dostarlimab). “although these are interim data, we believe they are robust and will be confirmed with longer follow-up.”, said Mansoor R Mirza.   The trial is presented on 27th of March 2023 through ESMO’s ...

The community of microbes living in and on our bodies may be acting as a reservoir for antibiotic resistance, according to new research from the Earlham Institute and Quadram Institute in Norwich. The use of antibiotics leads to ‘collateral damage’ to the microbiome, ramping0 up the number of resistance genes being passed back and forth between strains in the microbiome. The findings also suggest these genes spread so easily through a population that, regardless of your own health and habits, the number of resistance genes in your gut is heavily influenced by national trends in antibiotic consumption. The rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among human pathogens is widely seen ...

URBANA, Ill. – In today’s pet food market, there are products to match nearly every lifestyle, value system, and price point pet owners demand, including vegan formulations. New University of Illinois research shows at least two human-grade, lightly cooked vegan diets provide adequate nutrition for dogs. “The trends of vegan foods and human grade foods are increasing for dogs. Because people are feeding these diets to their pets, it’s important they be tested like all other foods to make sure they're safe and ‘complete and balanced,’” ...

A new study published in the peer-reviewed OMICS: A Journal of Integrative Biology identified differentially expressed host and viral microRNAs (miRNAs) in six Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) associated tumors. The study reports several drug candidates for repurposing and targeting EBV latent infection: Glyburide, Levodopa, Nateglinide, and Stiripentol, among others. Click here to read the article now.  The authors, Anamika Thakur and Manoj Kumar, PhD, from the Institute of Microbial Technology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Chandigarh, India, note: “This is the first integrative analysis, to the best of our knowledge, in regard to the potential ...

ORLANDO, March 27, 2023 - A University of Central Florida professor and 26 other researchers have published a study identifying the challenges humans must overcome to ensure that artificial intelligence is reliable, safe, trustworthy and compatible with human values.   The study, “Six Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence Grand Challenges,” was published in the International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction.   Ozlem Garibay ’01MS ’08PhD, an assistant professor in UCF’s Department ...

More than half amount in adult human brain is made up of white matter. Lipid-rich myelin is a special structure formed by oligodendrocytes wrapping neuronal axons to form the major components of white matter. Abnormal myelin sheath is associated with many neurological diseases. Mea6/ cTAGE5C is essential for vesicle trafficking from ER to Golgi. However, its biological function in oligodendrocyte and white matter development remains unclear. Scientists from Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of Chinese Academy of Sciences generated mice with conditional knockout (cKO) of Mea6 in oligodendrocytes. Using ...

Recently, a research group lead by Prof. Shuting Wang from topology optimization of Huazhong University of Science and Technology has put forward a massively efficient filter utilizing the splitting of the tensor product structure. This study can be found in the journal Frontiers of Mechanical Engineering on 10 January, 2023. With the aid of spitting technique, the traditional weight matrices of both B-splines and non-uniform rational B-splines implicit filters are equivalently decomposed into two or three submatrices, by which the sensitivity analysis is reformulated for the nodal design variables without altering ...

A large observational study published in JAMA Internal Medicine suggests that most patients do not medically benefit from consultation with a medical specialist before their surgery. In Canada, surgeons refer more than 40,000 patients each year for consultation with a medical specialist (such as a general internist, cardiologist, endocrinologist, geriatrician, or nephrologist) before surgery. Between 10 and 40% of elective surgery patients will have a preoperative medical consultation. These preoperative medical consultations are meant to address health issues that could lead to complications during surgery, but the evidence to support them has been limited ...