By combining multiple advanced technologies into a single system, EPFL researchers have made a significant step forward in diagnosing neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) such as Parkinson's disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). This novel device is known as the ImmunoSEIRA sensor, a biosensing technology that enables the detection and identification of misfolded protein biomarkers associated with NDDs. The research, published today in Science Advances, also harnesses the power of artificial intelligence (AI) by employing neural networks to quantify disease ...

Schistosomiasis, a parasitic disease that causes organ damage and death, affected more than 250 million people worldwide in 2021, according to the World Health Organization. One of the world’s most burdensome neglected tropical diseases, schistosomiasis occurs when worms are transmitted from freshwater snails to humans. The snails thrive in water with plants and algae that proliferate in areas of agricultural runoff containing fertilizer. People become infected during routine activities in infested water. Researchers from the University of Notre Dame, in a study recently published in Nature, found that removing invasive vegetation at water access points in and around several ...

Since the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) approved the use of ultrasound to promote the extraction of grape compounds back in 2019, its application for obtaining superior red wines has been studied extensively. Now researchers are turning their attention to rosé – an expanding market which has seen strong growth over the past 15 years. A team from the University of Castilla-La Mancha and the University of Murcia in Spain used high-power ultrasound technology to treat Monastrell crushed grapes – a process known as sonication ...

On July 12, 2023, a new research paper was published in Aging, titled, “Chemically induced reprogramming to reverse cellular aging.” BUFFALO, NY- July 12, 2023 – In a groundbreaking study, researchers have unlocked a new frontier in the fight against aging and age-related diseases. The study, conducted by a team of scientists at Harvard Medical School, has published the first chemical approach to reprogram cells to a younger state. Previously, this was only achievable using a powerful gene ...

The Naval Innovation Center (NIC) at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in Monterey, Calif., is part of the Secretary of the Navy’s initiative to leverage the power of American innovation for national security. Integral to the function of the NIC is the Naval Innovation Exchange (NIX), a new program that organizes and empowers multidisciplinary teams of NPS students and faculty focused on developing prototype research solutions.  While in its early stages, the NIC at NPS will leverage and empower ...

At a glance: Working with mice and zebrafish, researchers identify a gene, expressed in neurons, that produces a signal needed for development and maintenance of the blood-brain barrier. When mutated, the gene makes certain regions of the blood-brain barrier more permeable. The findings could help scientists control the blood-brain barrier — important for delivering drugs into the central nervous system or countering damage from neurodegenerative disease What makes the vital layer of protective cells around the brain and spinal cord — ...

Psychedelic-based therapies are poised to change the treatments that psychiatrists can offer patients. “I often talk about psychedelic treatments as catalysts for change, for both the individual and the field of psychiatry,” said Medical University of South Carolina psychiatrist Jennifer Jones, M.D., who conducts research on these treatments. The highly anticipated approval of MDMA, or “ecstasy,” to treat post-traumatic stress disorder would be the first for a psychedelic drug, ushering in changes for patients, mental health providers and society. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to issue a decision on MDMA-assisted ...

Cancer therapies that target specific genetic abnormalities in tumors have revolutionized treatment possibilities over the past two decades. While quality of life and survival are improved with targeted therapies, relapse is common due to the evolution of new tumor cells that are resistant to the targeted therapy. A new study by investigators from the Mass General Cancer Center, a member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, reveals how lung tumors may develop drug resistance over time, pointing to a protein, called APOBEC3A, that could be a promising target. Results, published in Nature, may help researchers develop new ...

NEW YORK, NY-- A new study suggests that eye drops developed by Columbia University researchers could be a more effective–and comfortable–therapy for a common eye disease currently treated with injections into the eye. Retinal vein occlusion (RVO), an eye disease that affects up to 2% of people over age 40, occurs when a vein in the eye’s retina becomes blocked, leading to swelling in the eye, inflammation, damage to the retina, and vision loss.  Standard therapy involves injecting into the eye a vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitor (anti-VEGF) that reduces swelling. ...

Scientists at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG) have developed a radar technique that lets them image hidden features within the upper few feet of ice sheets. The researchers behind the technique said that it can be used to investigate melting glaciers on Earth as well as detect potentially habitable environments on Jupiter’s moon Europa. The near-surface layers of ice sheets are difficult to study with airborne or satellite ice-penetrating radar because much of what’s scientifically important happens too close to the surface to be accurately imaged. ...

New Haven, Conn. — Simply the smell of seafood can make those with an allergy to it violently ill — and therefore more likely to avoid it. The same avoidance behavior is exhibited by people who develop food poisoning after eating a certain meal. Scientists have long known that the immune system played a key role in our reactions to allergens and pathogens in the environment, but it was unclear whether it played any role in prompting these types of behaviors towards allergic triggers. According to Yale-led research published July ...

NEWPORT, Ore. – Rates of Chinook salmon bycatch in the Pacific hake fishery rise during years when ocean temperatures are warmer, a signal that climate change and increased frequency of marine heatwaves could lead to higher bycatch rates, new research indicates. During years when sea surface temperatures were higher, including during a marine heatwave, Chinook salmon were more likely to overlap with the Pacific hake and raise the risk of bycatch as they sought refuge from higher temperatures. The findings, based on ...

July 12, 2023              Bacterium Associated With Disease Found in N.C. Chiggers EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL NOON EDT ON WEDNESDAY, JULY 12 A bacterium that causes a disease called scrub typhus – a disease not previously reported in the United States – has been detected in North Carolina, according to a new study by researchers at North Carolina State University and UNC-Greensboro.  The researchers stress that scrub typhus, which can cause fever, headache and body aches – and can be fatal if left untreated by antibiotics – has not yet been ...

  Researchers at McLean and Mass General Hospital demonstrated that a transplant surgical procedure (called “needle trauma”) triggers a profound immune response and causes the death of most grafted dopamine neurons They also found that co-transplantation of neuronal cell therapy with host regulatory T cells resulted in effective suppression of needle trauma and significant improvement in the survival and recovery of grafts Findings suggest a path for the ‘realistic’ use of cell therapy to treat neurodegenerative disorders Cell therapy holds promise as a new treatment for Parkinson’s disease but, in many trials to date, most transplanted dopamine ...

About The Study: This study found that the joint exposure of unequal income distribution and lack of social mobility was associated with additional risks for deaths of despair (deaths from suicide, drug overdose, and alcohol-related liver disease), suggesting that addressing the underlying social and economic conditions is crucial in responding to the epidemic of deaths of despair.  Authors: Chun-Tung Kuo, Ph.D., of National Taiwan University in Taipei, is the corresponding author.  To access the embargoed study: Visit our ...

About The Study: Into the second year of the pandemic, mental health emergency department visits increased notably among adolescent females, and there was an increase in prolonged boarding (waiting in an emergency department or medical inpatient unit) of youth awaiting inpatient psychiatric care. Interventions are needed to increase inpatient child psychiatry capacity and reduce strain on the acute mental health care system. Authors: Haiden A. Huskamp, Ph.D., of Harvard Medical School in Boston, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2023.2195) Editor’s ...

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- The ocean’s color has changed significantly over the last 20 years, and the global trend is likely a consequence of human-induced climate change, report scientists at MIT, the National Oceanography Center in the U.K., and elsewhere.  In a study appearing today in Nature, the team writes that they have detected changes in ocean color over the past two decades that cannot be explained by natural, year-to-year variability alone. These color shifts, though subtle to the human eye, have occurred over 56 percent of the world’s oceans — an expanse that is larger than ...

Like its viral cousins, a somewhat parasitic DNA sequence called a retrotransposon has been found borrowing the cell’s own machinery to achieve its goals. In a new work appearing online Wednesday in the journal Nature, a Duke University team has determined that retrotransposons hijack a little-known piece of the cell’s DNA repair function to close themselves into a ring-like shape and then create a matching double strand. The finding upends 40 years of conventional wisdom saying these rings were just a useless by-product of bad gene copying. It may also offer new insights into cancer, viral infections and immune responses. Retrotransposons are segments ...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (July 12, 2023) — In a paper published today in Nature, researchers from the California Academy of Sciences, University of São Paulo, University of Oxford, University of Exeter, and other collaborators reveal the extent of plastic pollution on coral reefs, finding that debris increases with depth, largely stems from fishing activities, and is correlated with proximity to marine protected areas.  Through underwater visual surveys spanning more than two dozen locations across the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic ...

The function of mast cells, which are part of the immune system, is still a mystery. Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have now shown in mice: mast cells function as a sensor that signals the animals to avoid antigens, including harmful allergens, and thereby protect themselves from health-threatening inflammatory reactions. The findings were published in the journal Nature. Mast cells are found primarily in tissues that separate the outside and inside worlds of the body, such ...

In a new study, published today (12 July) in Nature, researchers have produced the most detailed and comprehensive human Heart Cell Atlas to date, including the specialised tissue of the cardiac conduction system - where the heartbeat originates. The multi-centre team is led by the Wellcome Sanger Institute and the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London, and has also presented a new drug-repurposing computational tool called Drug2cell, which can provide insights into the effects of drugs on heart rate. This study is part of the international Human Cell Atlas* ...

The number of young people in the United States visiting hospital emergency departments for mental health crises increased sharply during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study led by researchers from the Department of Health Care Policy in the Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School. The findings are published Jul 12 in JAMA Psychiatry. These results come amidst growing national concern about a crisis in youth mental health and provide important new details about how young people with mental health problems such as self-harm ...

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Around 14 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean every year. But that is not the only water source where plastic represents a significant intrusion. “We found microplastics in every lake we sampled,” said Ted Harris, associate research professor for the Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research at the University of Kansas. “Some of these lakes you think of as clear, beautiful vacation spots. But we discovered such places to be perfect examples of the link between plastics and humans.” Harris ...

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University say they’ve found a way to make thin films of an exciting new nickel oxide superconductor that are free of extended defects. Not only does this improve the material’s ability to conduct electricity with no loss, they said, but it also allows them to discover its true nature and properties, both in and out of the superconducting state, for the first time. Their first look at a superconducting nickel oxide, or nickelate, that does ...

In a pre-clinical, proof-of-concept study from Johns Hopkins Medicine, researchers found that epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a green tea compound with powerful antioxidant properties, could be promising for both treating and preventing uterine fibroids. Results of the study, first posted online May 25 in Scientific Reports, add to growing evidence that EGCG may reduce fibroid cell growth. The study was specifically designed to identify the biochemical mechanisms responsible for EGCG action in fibroid cells. The investigators emphasize that their study involves human fibroid cells grown in the laboratory and treated with EGCG extract to explore the possibility of oral EGCG supplementation ...