Brigham researchers are working on a new approach to target autoimmunity in the brain leverages designer bacteria to make treatment safer and more effective Researchers  from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, have designed a probiotic to suppress autoimmunity in the brain, which occurs when the immune system attacks the cells of the central nervous system. Autoimmunity in the brain is at the core of several diseases, including multiple sclerosis. In a new study, researchers demonstrated the treatment’s potential using preclinical models of these diseases, finding that the technique offered a more precise ...

To function properly, organs require a precise number of cells and a functional architecture, which are established during embryogenesis. Embryos are proficient multitaskers; they grow, and acquire shape and functional architecture all at once. Despite a lot of research on embryo development, scientists do not yetfully grasp how embryos orchestrate all these different tasks in space and time to ensure the formation of healthy organs. This was ...

The rare moss Takakia has adapted over millions of years to a life at high altitudes. An international research team led by Prof. Dr. Ralf Reski from the University of Freiburg and Prof. Dr. Yikun He from the Capital Normal University / China has now discovered exactly how it has developed the ability to survive frost and life-threatening high UV radiation. In the renowned journal Cell, they describe the genetic traits that protect the moss from extreme environmental conditions. At the same time, they document how climate change greatly altered the natural habitat of this highly specialized species within just a few years. The ...

A Kaiser Permanente study provides new information that may help oncologists answer one of the most common questions they hear from breast cancer survivors: Is it safe to drink alcohol? The new study, published August 9 in Cancer, is the largest prospective study to look at short-term alcohol use after breast cancer. The findings suggest drinking alcohol is not associated with an increased risk of breast cancer recurrence or dying from the disease. “We know that women who drink alcohol are at increased ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Deep-learning technology developed by a team of Johns Hopkins engineers and cancer researchers can accurately predict cancer-related protein fragments that may trigger an immune system response. If validated in clinical trials, the technology could help scientists overcome a major hurdle to developing personalized immunotherapies and vaccines. In a study published July 20 in the journal Nature Machine Intelligence, investigators from Johns Hopkins Biomedical Engineering, the Johns Hopkins Institute for Computational Medicine, the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and the Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy show that ...

(Vienna, 9.8.2023) Scientists at St. Anna Children's Cancer Research Institute and the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen have shown that immunotherapy after stem cell transplantation effectively combats certain nerve tumors in children. Crucially, stem cells from a parent provide children with a new immune system that responds much better to immunotherapies. These results of an early clinical trial were published in the prestigious Journal of Clinical Oncology. Childhood tumors of the nervous system, known as neuroblastomas, are associated with an unfavorable prognosis ...

The Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) has published the new call for the 2024 HFSP Nakasone Award. Until September 30th, the global scientific community is invited to submit their nominations for this prestigious award. The HFSP Nakasone Award recognizes groundbreaking contributions and breakthrough discoveries in the life sciences. The award celebrates exceptional achievements in scientific excellence, particularly those that have propelled the boundaries of biological knowledge forward. In its 13th ...

For all the astonishing things artificial intelligence can do, it has a particular blind spot that one University of Virginia researcher seeks to remedy. It can’t recognize all shapes. “Current machine-learning models lack the capability to analyze and quantify the shape of objects presented in images with complex structures and large variations, especially in the context of medical imaging,” said Miaomiao Zhang, an assistant professor in the UVA School of Engineering and Applied Science. The models are biased toward “seeing” image textures and have limited ability ...

Osaka, Japan – You’re likely familiar with RNA, the molecule that plays an important role in protein production and gene expression control. Perhaps you’re less familiar, however, with PIWI-interacting RNA (piRNA), a special type of RNA that protects the genome from mutations. Now, researchers in Japan have shed light on how these critical molecules are formed by the dynamics of several associated proteins in the germline of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. In a new study published in the Journal of Cell Biology, researchers from Osaka University have clarified how the proteins Tejas (Tej), Vasa (Vas), and Spindle-E ...

In recent years, hydrogen gas has gained momentum as the fuel for a clean and green future. This carbon-neutral fuel source releases huge amounts of energy via combustion in the presence of oxygen with water vapor as the by-product. One of the most popular methods of hydrogen production is the splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity.  An electrochemical cell is used to split water, and the hydrogen gas gets released at the negatively charged electrode in hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Catalysts are used to lower the ...

Breastfeeding has long been used as a method to help keep newborns healthy and protected against a variety of diseases. But certain sugars naturally found in breastmilk could also help prevent infections before a baby arrives. Researchers reporting in ACS Central Science have found that these sugars can stop a common prenatal infection in human tissues and pregnant mice. This could someday help avoid preterm births or complications without the need for additional antibiotics. One of the most common bacteria that can affect pregnancies is Group B streptococcus (GBS). If left untreated, ...

By some estimates, the human nose can detect up to a trillion different smells with its hundreds of scent receptors. But even just catching a quick whiff of certain chemicals known as nerve agents can be lethal, even in tiny amounts. Researchers now reporting in ACS Sensors have developed a sensitive and selective nerve gas sensor using these human scent receptors. It reliably detected a substitute for deadly sarin gas in simulated tests. Nerve gases are often very potent, requiring highly sensitive sensors to detect them ...

Everywhere scientists look for microplastics, they’ve found them — food, water, air and some parts of the human body. But examinations of our innermost organs that aren’t directly exposed to the environment are still limited. Now, in a pilot study of people who underwent heart surgery, researchers in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology report that they have found microplastics in many heart tissues. They also report evidence suggesting that microplastics were unexpectedly introduced during the procedures. Microplastics ...

Conditions are ripe for an accelerated transition to electric vehicle (EV) use in the United States. The Biden-Harris administration has set a target that 50 percent of newly purchased cars in 2030 be electric. In addition, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 provides significant tax incentives for purchasing electric vehicles and for companies that produce them. And that is good news for environmental justice (EJ), says Lisa Benjamin, author of a paper called “EVs as EJ?” forthcoming in Harvard Environment Law Review. Benjamin, associate professor of law at Lewis & Clark Law School, details all of the positive impacts of EVs ...

Alzheimer’s disease, one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases, leads to progressive loss of memory and autonomy. It is characterised by the accumulation of neurotoxic proteins in the brain, namely amyloid plaques and tau tangles. Due to the silent development of pathology over decades, very early diagnosis is of utmost importance to be able to take action as early as possible in the disease process. A team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and the Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) has demonstrated ...

A new DNA study has nuanced the picture of how different groups intermingled during the European Stone Age, but also how certain groups of people were actually isolated. The study was carried out by researchers at Uppsala University working with an international team of researchers, who produced new genetic data from 56 Central and Eastern European individuals from the Stone Age. The results have been published in the journal Communications Biology. “Conducting studies like this one requires a broad interdisciplinary discussion. In this study, this discussion has been exceptionally fruitful,” says Tiina Mattila, population geneticist at Uppsala ...

Odorants are widely used in natural gas for leak detection, however, few studies have examined their potential effects on public health. A new peer-reviewed publication in Current Environmental Health Reports, suggests that some commonly-used natural gas odorants may induce a range of adverse health symptoms at very low concentrations, ranging from headaches to respiratory inflammation and skin rashes.  “Our sense of smell is the first line of defense in detecting gas leaks, but few studies have examined how odorants in gas may adversely affect our health or well-being,” said the review’s lead author, PSE Healthy Energy Senior Scientist Drew Michanowicz. “The ...

Research Highlights: Between 1990 and 2019, the total annual number of premature CVD deaths and years of disability attributable to particulate matter air pollution rose by 31% worldwide. The increase in deaths was unevenly distributed by sex, with a 43% increase in deaths among men compared to a 28.2% increase among women. During the nearly 30 years of data reviewed, deaths and disability attributed to outdoor particulate matter pollution rose, while deaths associated with indoor use of solid fuels declined. Regions ...

Dam constructions have flooded over 1.13 million acres of tribal land in the US contributing to the historic and ongoing struggle against land dispossession for Indigenous peoples in the United States. New research, published in Environmental Research Letters, has identified that a region of tribal land larger than the state of Rhode Island has been submerged by dams in the US. The findings raise concerns about the destruction of ecosystems, cultural heritage, and livelihoods.  The new study shows that dams have significantly contributed to land loss of Native people, a factor that ...

An analysis published in Cancer Medicine reveals the trends of self-initiated deaths—including assisted suicide (AS) and conventional suicide (CS)—in Switzerland over a 20-year period, focusing on people who suffered from cancer. Although supporters of assisted dying state that access to AS should lead to a reduction in violent CS, the study’s findings do not confirm this assumption. The situations and motivations for cancer-associated CS seem to be clearly different from those for cancer-related AS. In Switzerland, assisting in a suicide is not punishable as long as it does not serve selfish motives. ...

New research published in The FASEB Journal indicates that increasing the expression of a particular gene may help to prevent bone loss associated with postmenopausal osteoporosis. For the study, investigators examined which genes are involved in turning precursor cells called bone marrow–derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) into cells that play a crucial role in bone formation. The screen identified a gene that encodes high mobility group AT-hook 1 (Hmga1), a protein that controls the expression of a variety of other genes. In experiments conducted in rats, expression of Hmga1 increased during bone formation but decreased when rats’ ovaries were removed ...

In research published in Arthritis & Rheumatology, investigators developed and validated a tool called PRESTO that identifies patients with psoriasis who face an elevated risk for developing psoriatic arthritis and may therefore benefit from preventive therapies. Among 635 patients with psoriasis followed in the University of Toronto psoriasis cohort, 51 and 71 developed psoriatic arthritis during 1-year and 5-year follow-up periods, respectively. The risk of developing psoriatic arthritis within 1 year was higher in patients with younger age; male sex; family history of psoriasis; back stiffness; nail pitting (dents, ...

Through next-generation sequencing, investigators have identified a mutation in the TMCO3 gene in two sisters with short stature. The research, which is published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, also revealed that the TMCO3 protein is expressed by chondrocytes, cells responsible for bone growth, and that it regulates expression of two other proteins known to control bone growth (parathyroid hormone-related protein and Indian hedgehog). TMCO3 appears to transport protons in exchange for potassium across a protein packaging organelle within cells. The scientists confirmed that the mutation in TMCO3 was responsible for the sisters’ ...

An analysis of the hierarchy of tipping points suggests that during the last 66 million years two events set the scene for further climate tipping and for the evolution of the climate system in particular. If the anthropogenic climate change of today leads to complete deglaciation, the evolution of Earth's climate will be influenced on a geological time scale, the authors suggest. The work by Denis-Didier Rousseau, Université Montpellier, France, Witold Bagniewski, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France, and Valerio Lucarini, University of Reading, UK is published in Scientific Reports and is part of the European TiPES project on tipping points ...

PHILADELPHIA – The transfer of a neurotransmitter from one type of skin cell to another (melanocytes to keratinocytes) altered electrical activity and promoted melanoma initiation in preclinical models, according to results published in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Melanoma is a deadly form of skin cancer that develops in melanin-containing skin cells known as melanocytes. An intrinsic feature of melanocytes is their ability to secrete melanin-containing vesicles to surrounding skin ...