AMHERST, Mass. - A team of polymer science and engineering researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has demonstrated for the first time that the positions of tiny, flat, solid objects integrated in nanometrically thin membranes - resembling those of biological cells - can be controlled by mechanically varying the elastic forces in the membrane itself. This research milestone is a significant step toward the goal of creating ultrathin flexible materials that self-organize and respond immediately to mechanical force. The team has discovered that rigid solid plates in biomimetic fluid membranes experience interactions ...

Mouse models of neurodevelopmental disorders possess unique, sex-specific metabolic dysfunctions, according to a new study in eNeuro. Understanding the unique metabolic effects of each disorder in both animal models and humans may lead to more personalized treatments and diagnostic methods. Any disorder affecting the brain also impacts the body. People with neurodevelopmental disorders -- including Down syndrome and autism spectrum disorders -- are at increased risk for developing diabetes, obesity, and hypertension. Yet the impact of these three disorders on metabolism has not been studied. Menzies et al. measured the resting energy metabolism of three neurodevelopmental disorder mouse models: Down syndrome, ...

A new report by AARP Pennsylvania and Drexel University's College of Nursing and Health Professions highlights how geographic, racial/ethnic and economic factors are combining to restrict access to health care services for many Pennsylvanians, creating disparities that have become more pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Disrupting Disparities in Pennsylvania: Retooling for Geographic, Racial and Ethnic Growth" shows that health inequities are most acute among those living in rural and low resourced areas of the state, and among underrepresented populations (particularly Black/African American and Latino), who lack access to health care, experience digital divide and face persistent ...

In an effort to save her beloved animals, Kathy Janson, a Maine Coon cat enthusiast reached out to a University of Cincinnati researcher to find a way to help her pets who were developing heart troubles. Maine Coon cats are known as great mousers, popular farm cats and, of course, for their enormous size. The New England breed is a really big cat and can weigh up to 19 pounds and grow up to 40 inches in length. Janson fell in love with these animals more than 25 years ago bringing them into her Cincinnati suburban home to become part of her family. "Maine ...

Researchers from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities College of Science and Engineering and Medical School have developed a unique head-mounted mini-microscope device that allows them to image complex brain functions of freely moving mice in real time over a period of more than 300 days. The device, known as the mini-MScope, offers an important new tool for studying how neural activity from multiple regions of the outer part of the brain, called the cortex, contribute to behavior, cognition and perception. The groundbreaking study provides new insight into fundamental research that could improve human brain conditions such as concussions, autism, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's disease, as well as better understanding ...

A study at the University of Chicago Medicine found U.S. women experienced increased incidence of health-related socioeconomic risks (HRSRs), such as food insecurity and interpersonal violence, early in the COVID-19 pandemic. This was associated with "alarmingly high rates" of mental health problems, including depression and anxiety. The research was published April 5 in the Journal of Women's Health. Other studies have found evidence for higher rates of anxiety and depression and related issues, such as alcohol overuse, connected to the pandemic -- but this study is the first to link early pandemic-related changes in HRSRs to mental health effects ...

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and collaborators have demonstrated an atom-based sensor that can determine the direction of an incoming radio signal, another key part for a potential atomic communications system that could be smaller and work better in noisy environments than conventional technology. NIST researchers previously demonstrated that the same atom-based sensors can receive commonly used communications signals. The capability to measure a signal's "angle of arrival" helps ensure the accuracy of radar and wireless communications, ...

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- A team led by a biomedical scientist at the University of California, Riverside, has developed a new RNA-sequencing method-- "Panoramic RNA Display by Overcoming RNA Modification Aborted Sequencing," or PANDORA-seq -- that can help discover numerous modified small RNAs that were previously undetectable. RNA plays a central role in decoding the genetic information in DNA to sustain an organism's life. It is generally known as the intermediate molecule used to synthesize proteins from DNA. Cells are full of RNA molecules in complex and diverse forms, two main types ...

Although stratospheric ozone protects us by filtering out the sun's ultraviolet radiation, tropospheric ozone is a harmful pollutant. A new study has shown that ozone in the lower layers of the atmosphere decreases crop yields in maize and changes the types of chemicals that are found inside the leaves. Ozone is formed when nitrous oxide, released from industries and tail pipes of cars, is broken down by sunlight and chemically reacts to form ozone. Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have been studying the effects of ozone pollution on crops for over 20 years at a unique facility where crops can be grown under real-world farm ...

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - April 5, 2021 - According to the American Cancer Society, a noninvasive breast cancer called ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) accounts for approximately one of every four new breast cancer cases in the United States. If left untreated, DCIS has the potential to evolve into invasive cancer, so many patients choose to have breast-conserving surgery or mastectomy after a diagnosis. However, obtaining clear or negative margins -- no cancer cells in the outer edge of removed tissue -- is critical to mastectomy success as positive margins are associated with higher rates of recurrence. A new study from Wake Forest School of Medicine suggests removing ...

A new study published in Indoor Air provides design-based solutions on how to best use ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) to disinfect occupied rooms without harming individuals. This research was conducted by Dorit Aviv, assistant professor of architecture and director of the Thermal Architecture Lab at the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design, Penn visiting scholar Miaomiao Hou, and Jovan Pantelic, an air quality expert at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) devices use short-wavelength ultraviolet ...

Palmer Amaranth is a high-impact agronomic weed species that has cost the United States agriculture industry billions of dollars since its discovery outside of its native range in the southwestern U.S. and northwestern Mexico. Over the last 20 years, it has moved further north, and now poses a major threat to corn, soybean, and cotton growers across the south and Midwest regions of the United States. It is not legal to sell any kind of seed in Minnesota if the seed lot contains Palmer Amaranth. The problem is this particular invasive species--which has shown potential to wipe out up to 91% of corn yields, 68% of soybean yields, and 54% of cotton yields-- is difficult to visibly distinguish from ...

Scientists create stable nanosheets containing boron and hydrogen atoms with potential applications in nanoelectronics and quantum information technology. What's thinner than thin? One answer is two-dimensional materials -- exotic materials of science with length and width but only one or two atoms in thickness. They offer the possibility of unprecedented boosts in device performance for electronic devices, solar cells, batteries and medical equipment. In collaboration with Northwestern University and the University of Florida, scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory report in Science ...

How do we become a complex, integrated multicellular organism from a single cell? While developmental biologists have long researched this fundamental question, Stanford University biologist and HHMI investigator Dominique Bergmann's recent work on the plant Arabidopsis thaliana has uncovered surprising answers. In a new study, published April 5 in Developmental Cell, led by Bergmann and postdoctoral scholar Camila Lopez-Anido, researchers used single-cell RNA sequencing technologies to track genetic activity in nearly 20,000 cells as they formed the surface and inner parts of an Arabidopsis leaf. Through this highly detailed technique, the researchers captured ...

PHILADELPHIA - A team led by scientists at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has illuminated the functions of mysterious structures in cells called "nuclear speckles," showing that they can work in partnership with a key protein to enhance the activities of specific sets of genes. The discovery, which will be published on April 5 in Molecular Cell, is an advance in basic cell biology; the key protein it identifies as a working partner of speckles is best known as major tumor-suppressor protein, p53. This avenue of research may also lead to a better future understanding of cancers, and possibly better cancer treatments. "This study shows that nuclear speckles work as major regulators of gene expression, and suggests that ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Approximately 40,000 children in the United States may have lost a parent to COVID-19 since February 2020, according to a statistical model created by a team of researchers. The researchers anticipate that without immediate interventions, the trauma from losing a parent could cast a shadow of mental health and economic problems well into the future for this vulnerable population. In the researchers' model, for approximately every 13th COVID-related death, a child loses one parent. Children who lose a parent are at higher risk of a range ...

CHICAGO - A new study shows that youth arrested as juveniles with psychiatric disorders that remain untreated, struggle with mental health and successful outcomes well beyond adolescence. Research from Northwestern Medicine shows nearly two-thirds of males and more than one-third of females with one or more existing psychiatric disorders when they entered detention, still had a disorder 15 years later. The findings are significant because mental health struggles add to the existing racial, ethnic and economic disparities as well as academic challenges from missed school, making a successful transition to adulthood harder to attain. "Kids get into trouble during adolescence.Those from wealthier families also use drugs and get into fights. But these situations are most often ...

What The Study Did: Researchers estimated and projected the number of children in the United States affected by the death of a parent from COVID-19. Authors: Rachel Kidman, Ph.D., of Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, New York, 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/jamapediatrics.2021.0161) Editor's Note: The article includes conflict of interest disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support. INFORMATION: Media advisory: The full study is linked to this news release. Embed this link to provide your readers ...

CLAREMONT, CA - Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) Assistant Professor and University of California, Berkeley Visiting Scientist Dr. Kiana Aran first introduced the CRISPR-Chip technology in 2019. Now just two years later, she has expanded on its application to develop CRISPR-SNP-Chip, which enables detection of single point mutations without amplification in Sickle Cell Disease and Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). "The field of CRISPR-based diagnostics is rapidly evolving due to CRISPR programmability and ease of use," Aran says. "However, the majority of CRISPR-based diagnostics platforms are still relying on target amplifications or optical detections. The reprogrammability of CRISPR combined with optics-free highly scalable graphene transistors will allow us to bring the ...

A new study, out this week, could pave the way to revolutionary, transparent electronics. Such see-through devices could potentially be integrated in glass, in flexible displays and in smart contact lenses, bringing to life futuristic devices that seem like the product of science fiction. For several decades, researchers have sought a new class of electronics based on semiconducting oxides, whose optical transparency could enable these fully-transparent electronics. Oxide-based devices could also find use in power electronics and communication technology, reducing the carbon footprint of our utility networks. A RMIT-led team has now introduced ultrathin beta-tellurite to the two-dimensional (2D) semiconducting material family, providing ...

Irvine, Calif. -- In 2019, the National Weather Service in Alaska reported spotting the first-known lightning strikes within 300 miles of the North Pole. Lightning strikes are almost unheard of above the Arctic Circle, but scientists led by researchers at the University of California, Irvine have published new research in the journal Nature Climate Change detailing how Arctic lightning strikes stand to increase by about 100 percent over northern lands by the end of the century as the climate continues warming. "We projected how lightning in high-latitude boreal forests and Arctic ...

An interdisciplinary team led by KU Leuven and Stanford has identified 76 overlapping genetic locations that shape both our face and our brain. What the researchers didn't find is evidence that this genetic overlap also predicts someone's behavioural-cognitive traits or risk of conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. This means that the findings help to debunk several persistent pseudoscientific claims about what our face reveals about us. There were already indications of a genetic link between the shape of our face and that of our brain, says Professor Peter Claes from the Laboratory for Imaging Genetics at KU Leuven, who is the joint senior author of the study with Professor Joanna Wysocka from the ...

Journal Name: Nature Methods Title of the Article: Discovering multiple types of DNA methylation from individual bacteria and microbiome using nanopore sequencing Corresponding Author: Gang Fang, PhD Bottom Line: Bacterial DNA methylation occurs at diverse sequence contexts and plays important functional roles in cellular defense and gene regulation. An increasing number of studies have reported that bacterial DNA methylation has important roles affecting clinically relevant phenotypes such as virulence, host colonization, sporulation, biofilm formation, among others. Bacterial methylomes contain three ...

What The Study Did: A clinical risk assessment tool developed in China was tested with a group of patients in Spain to evaluate its ability to predict critical illness among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Europe. Authors: Oscar Moreno-Perez, M.D., Ph.D., of the Alicante General University Hospital-Alicante Institute of Sanitary and Biomedical Research in Alicante, Spain, 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/jamainternmed.2021.0491) Editor's Note: The article includes conflicts of interest disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and ...

What The Study Did: The 30-day incidence of outpatient and hospital-associated blood clots following SARS-CoV-2 testing among adults in a large health system was examined in this study. Authors: Nareg H. Roubinian, M.D., of Kaiser Permanente Northern California in Oakland, 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/jamainternmed.2021.0488) Editor's Note: The article includes conflicts of interest and funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, ...