Patients with a high number of genes most associated with pathways that lead to cell death in lung cancer are at increased risk of dying early from their disease, researchers report. Also seemingly paradoxically, patients with high expression of this "21-gene cell death signature" the researchers have identified, have indicators that their immune system is attacking the cancer, like higher levels of cytotoxic T cells, which typically kill cancer. But they also have high levels of molecules that can suppress those T cells, helping transform them into dysfunctional, "exhausted" T cells, they report in the journal Cancers. This novel genomic signature can be used both to better predict how a patient with ...

In 2020, the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization stated that breast cancer accounts for most cancer morbidities and mortalities in women worldwide. This alarming statistic not only necessitates newer methods for the early diagnosis of breast cancer, but also brings to light the importance of risk prediction of the occurrence and development of this disease. Ultrasound is an effective and noninvasive diagnostic procedure that truly saves lives; however, it is sometimes difficult for ultrasonologists to distinguish between malignant tumors and other ...

X-Ray Experiments, Machine Learning Could Trim Years Off Battery R&D By Glenn Roberts Jr. An X-ray instrument at Berkeley Lab contributed to a battery study that used an innovative approach to machine learning to speed up the learning curve about a process that shortens the life of fast-charging lithium batteries. Researchers used Berkeley Lab's Advanced Light Source, a synchrotron that produces light ranging from the infrared to X-rays for dozens of simultaneous experiments, to perform a chemical imaging technique known as scanning transmission ...

Parkinson's disease (PD) is well known as a debilitating disease that gradually worsens over time. Although the disease's progression has been largely tied to the loss of motor functions, non-motor symptoms, including the loss of cognitive abilities, often emerge early in the disease. Much less understood is the role that specific neural circuits play in these distinct motor and non-motor functions. A new study led by neurobiologists at the University of California San Diego and their colleagues found that specific, identifiable neural pathways are charged with particular functions during stages of the disease. ...

Developing new materials and novel processes has continued to change the world. The M3I3 Initiative at KAIST has led to new insights into advancing materials development by implementing breakthroughs in materials imaging that have created a paradigm shift in the discovery of materials. The Initiative features the multiscale modeling and imaging of structure and property relationships and materials hierarchies combined with the latest material-processing data. The research team led by Professor Seungbum Hong analyzed the materials research projects reported by leading global ...

Researchers at the Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have developed DeepTCR, a software package that employs deep-learning algorithms to analyze T-cell receptor (TCR) sequencing data. T-cell receptors are found on the surface of immune T cells. These receptors bind to certain antigens, or proteins, found on abnormal cells, such as cancer cells and cells infected with a virus or bacteria, to guide the T cells to attack and destroy the affected cells. "DeepTCR is an open-source software that ...

A research team led by Professor PAN Jianwei and Professor XU Feihu from University of Science and Technology of China achieved single-photon 3D imaging over 200 km using high-efficiency optical devices and a new noise-suppression technique, which is commented by the reviewer as an almost "heroic" attempt at single photon lidar imaging at very long distances. Lidar imaging technology has enabled high precision 3D imaging of target scene in recent year. Single photon imaging lidar is an ideal technology for remote optical imaging with single-photon level sensitivity and picosecond resolution, yet its imaging range is strictly limited by the quadratically decreasing count of photons that echo back. Researchers first optimized transceiver optics. The lidar system setup adopted ...

A new automated process prints a peptide-based hydrogel scaffold containing uniformly distributed cells. The scaffolds hold their shapes well and successfully facilitate cell growth that lasts for weeks. "Bioprinting" -- 3D printing that incorporates living cells -- has the potential to revolutionize tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Scientists have experimented with natural and synthetic "bioinks" to print out scaffolds that hold cells in place as they grow and form a tissue with a specific shape. But there are challenges with cell survival. Natural bioinks, such as gelatin and collagen, need to be treated with chemicals or ultraviolet light to hold their shape, which affects ...

A new analysis of the entire genetic makeup of more than 53,000 people offers a bonanza of valuable insights into heart, lung, blood and sleep disorders, paving the way for new and better ways to treat and prevent some of the most common causes of disability and death. The analysis from the Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program examines the complete genomes of 53,831 people of diverse backgrounds on different continents. Most are from minority groups, which have been historically underrepresented in genetic studies. The increased representation should translate into better understanding of how heart, lung, blood and sleep disorders affect minorities and should help reduce longstanding health disparities. "The Human Genome Project has generated ...

Researchers at Tel Aviv University were able to reconstruct the nutrition of stone age humans. In a paper published in the Yearbook of the American Physical Anthropology Association, Dr. Miki Ben-Dor and Prof. Ran Barkai of the Jacob M. Alkov Department of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University, together with Raphael Sirtoli of Portugal, show that humans were an apex predator for about two million years. Only the extinction of larger animals (megafauna) in various parts of the world, and the decline of animal food sources toward the end of the stone age, led humans to gradually increase the vegetable element in their nutrition, until finally they had no choice but to domesticate both plants and animals - and became farmers. "So far, attempts to reconstruct the diet of stone-age humans ...

WASHINGTON, April 5, 2021 -- Forever chemicals are known for being water-, heat- and oil-resistant, which makes them useful in everything from rain jackets to firefighting foams. But the chemistry that makes them so useful also makes them stick around in the environment and in us -- and that could be a bad thing: https://youtu.be/tqKEG5LxPiY. INFORMATION: Reactions is a video series produced by the American Chemical Society and PBS Digital Studios. Subscribe to Reactions at http://bit.ly/ACSReactions and follow us on Twitter @ACSReactions. The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS' mission is to advance the broader ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. - Researchers in the Oregon State University College of Science have taken a key step toward new drugs and vaccines for combating COVID-19 with a deep dive into one protein's interactions with SARS-CoV-2 genetic material. The virus' nucleocapsid protein, or N protein, is a prime target for disease-fighting interventions because of the critical jobs it performs for the novel coronavirus' infection cycle and because it mutates at a comparatively slow pace. Drugs and vaccines built around the work of the N protein carry the potential to be highly effective and for longer periods of time - i.e., less susceptible to resistance. Among the SARS-CoV-2 proteins, ...

Ishikawa, Japan - One of the most important classes of problems that all scientists and mathematicians aspire to solve, due to their relevance in both science and real life, are optimization problems. From esoteric computer science puzzles to the more realistic problems of vehicle routing, investment portfolio design, and digital marketing--at the heart of it all lies an optimization problem that needs to be solved. An appealing technique often used in solving such problems is the technique of "quantum annealing", a framework that tackles optimization problems by using "quantum tunneling"--a quantum physical phenomenon--to pick out an optimum solution out of several candidate solutions. ...

INDIANAPOLIS -- The high incidence of COVID-19 and resulting sudden changes in the health of many long-stay nursing home residents across the country have amplified the importance of advance care planning and the need for periodic review of the process, especially as widespread vaccination changes the calculus of the disease. Two new studies from Indiana University and Regenstrief Institute focus on POLST, a medical order form widely used in nursing homes that documents what life-sustaining treatments a person prefers to receive or not receive, such as hospitalization or comfort-focused care. The studies, published online ...

Researchers from Kumamoto University (Japan) have found that adult nocturnal fishflies (Neochauliodes amamioshimanus), which are typically aquatic insects, feed on pollen at night. They also present circumstantial evidence suggesting that this species not only forages in flowers, but is also a supplementary pollinator. Their work sheds light on the terrestrial life of adult fishflies, which has been a mystery until now. Megaloptera is a small taxon (about 400 species worldwide) consisting of the families Sialidae (alderflies) and Corydalidae (dobsonflies and fishflies), and is considered to be one of the oldest groups of insects that undergo complete metamorphosis. The biology of the fishfly's aquatic larvae, which were sometimes used as folk remedies in Japan, is relatively well understood. ...

WASHINGTON, April 5, 2021 -- As the world awaits the upcoming Olympic games, a new method for detecting doping compounds in urine samples could level the playing field for those trying to keep athletics clean. Today, scientists report an approach using ion mobility-mass spectrometry to help regulatory agencies detect existing dopants and future "designer" compounds. The researchers will present their results today at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). ACS Spring 2021 is being held online April 5-30. Live sessions will be hosted April 5-16, and on-demand and networking content will continue through April 30. The meeting features nearly 9,000 presentations ...

WASHINGTON, April 5, 2021 -- Polyurethanes, a type of plastic, are nearly everywhere -- in shoes, clothes, refrigerators and construction materials. But these highly versatile materials can have a major downside. Derived from crude oil, toxic to synthesize, and slow to break down, conventional polyurethanes are not environmentally friendly. Today, researchers discuss devising what they say should be a safer, biodegradable alternative derived from fish waste -- heads, bones, skin and guts -- that would otherwise likely be discarded. The researchers will present their results today at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). ACS Spring 2021 is being held online April 5-30. Live sessions will be hosted ...

WASHINGTON, April 5, 2021 -- For centuries, people in Baltic nations have used ancient amber for medicinal purposes. Even today, infants are given amber necklaces that they chew to relieve teething pain, and people put pulverized amber in elixirs and ointments for its purported anti-inflammatory and anti-infective properties. Now, scientists have pinpointed compounds that help explain Baltic amber's therapeutic effects and that could lead to new medicines to combat antibiotic-resistant infections. The researchers will present their results today at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). ACS Spring 2021 is being held online ...

DALLAS, April 5, 2021 -- When people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) develop high blood pressure, the type of medication chosen for their initial treatment may influence their risk of heart disease, stroke and heart failure, according to new research published today in Hypertension, an American Heart Association journal. With current anti-retroviral medications, people with HIV are able to live longer. However, people with HIV receiving anti-retroviral therapy (ART) are more likely to develop high blood pressure (hypertension) and hypertension-related heart problems than people who do not have the virus. The current study is the first to examine how the choice of blood pressure medications influences the long-term risk of heart disease, stroke and ...

New research shows the permanent rise of oxygen in our atmosphere, which set the stage for life as we know it, happened 100 million years later than previously thought. A significant rise in oxygen occurred about 2.43 billion years ago, marking the start of the Great Oxidation Episode -- a pivotal moment in Earth's history.  An international research team including a UC Riverside scientist analyzed rocks from South Africa formed during this event. Findings, published this week in the journal Nature, include the discovery that oxygen fluctuated dramatically after its early appearance until it became a permanent constituent of the atmosphere much later. These ...

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have developed a breath test that measures how well patients with methylmalonic acidemia (MMA) respond to receiving liver or combined liver and kidney transplantation. Researchers also used the test to assess the severity of the disease in people and help determine if they would benefit from surgical or experimental genomic therapies that target the liver. The study results were published in Genetics in Medicine. Scientists at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) led the project team, with collaborators from the National ...

Rates of prolonged visits for pediatric mental health emergency department (ED) visits increased over a decade, in contrast to non-mental health visits for which visit times remained stable, according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics. From 2005-2015, rates of ED visits lasting over six hours for children presenting for mental health issues jumped from 16 percent to nearly 25 percent, while rates of visits lasting over 12 hours increased from 5 percent to nearly 13 percent. "The trend of increasingly long ED visits for pediatric mental health problems likely represents worsening access to essential mental health services. This is concerning, especially since during the COVID-19 pandemic we are seeing substantially more children coming ...

BATON ROUGE, La. (March 2021) - Without restoration efforts in coastal Louisiana, marshes in the state could lose half of their current ability to store carbon in the soil over a period of 50 years, according to a new paper published in American Geophysical Union Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences. "This reduction in capacity could significantly alter the global carbon budget, given that Louisiana's marsh soils account for between 5 and 21 percent of the global soil carbon storage in tidally influenced wetlands," said Melissa Baustian, lead author and coastal ecologist at The Water Institute of the Gulf. The article, "Long-term carbon sinks in marsh soils of coastal Louisiana are at risk to wetland loss" ...

A new study shows a correlation between the end of solar cycles and a switch from El Nino to La Nina conditions in the Pacific Ocean, suggesting that solar variability can drive seasonal weather variability on Earth. If the connection outlined in the journal Earth and Space Science holds up, it could significantly improve the predictability of the largest El Nino and La Nina events, which have a number of seasonal climate effects over land. For example, the southern United States tends to be warmer and drier during a La Nina, while the northern U.S. tends to be colder ...

PULLMAN, Wash. - The ability to control your own behavior, known as executive function, might not exist all in your head. A new theory proposes that it develops with many influences from outside the mind. The theory, detailed in Perspectives on Psychological Science, draws on dynamic systems theory which originated in mathematics and physics and has been used to describe complex organizing phenomena like cloud formation and flying patterns of birds. Now, a research team led by Washington State University human development assistant professor Sammy Perone is applying ...