A new study by researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and BC Children’s Hospital shows the sugar sialic acid, which makes up part of the protective intestinal mucus layer, fuels disease-causing bacteria in the gut.  The findings, published in PNAS, suggest a potential treatment target for intestinal bacterial infections and a range of chronic diseases linked to gut bacteria, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), celiac disease, irritable bowel syndrome and short bowel syndrome.  “Bacteria need to find a place in our intestines to take hold, establish and expand, and then they need to overcome all the different defences that normally protect our ...

Rising global temperatures are making it harder for birds to know when it’s spring and time to breed according to a new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. A large collaboration led by scientists at UCLA and Michigan State University has found that birds produce fewer young if they start breeding too early or late in the season. With climate change resulting in earlier springlike weather, the researchers report, birds have been unable to keep pace. And, the authors write, the mismatch between the ...

When photosynthetic cells absorb light from the sun, packets of energy called photons leap between a series of light-harvesting proteins until they reach the photosynthetic reaction center. There, cells convert the energy into electrons, which eventually power the production of sugar molecules. This transfer of energy through the light-harvesting complex occurs with extremely high efficiency: Nearly every photon of light absorbed generates an electron, a phenomenon known as near-unity quantum efficiency. A new study from MIT chemists offers a potential explanation for how proteins of the light-harvesting complex, also called the antenna, achieve that ...

EMBARGOED UNTIL JULY 3 AT 3 P.M. ET FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Kathleen Haughney, University Communications (850) 644-1489; khaughney@fsu.edu July 2023 PLANTING SEEDS: FSU RESEARCHERS DIG INTO HOW CHEMICAL GARDENS GROW TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Since the mid-1600s, chemists have been fascinated with brightly colored, coral-like structures that form by mixing metal salts in a small bottle. Until now, researchers have been unable to model how these deceptively simple tubular structures —called chemical gardens — work and the patterns and rules that ...

Gene expression within the apicoplast, an organelle in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, is regulated by melatonin (the circadian signaling hormone) in host blood, and intrinsic parasite cues, via a factor called ApSigma, as identified by a recent study aided by Tokyo Tech’s World Research Hub Initiative. The regulatory system highlighted in this study might be a future target for malaria treatment. Malaria is one of the biggest public health risks, with around 240 million people from across the globe contracting it every year. However, this life-threatening disease is ...

Regular physical exercise, such as resistance training, can prevent Alzheimer’s disease, or at least delay the appearance of symptoms, and serves as a simple and affordable therapy for Alzheimer’s patients. This is the conclusion of an article published in Frontiers in Neuroscience by Brazilian researchers affiliated with the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) and the University of São Paulo (USP). Although older people and dementia patients are unlikely to be able to do long daily runs or perform other high-intensity aerobic exercises, these activities are the focus for most scientific studies on ...

UPTON, NY—In the field of superconductivity—the phenomenon in which electrons can flow through a material with essentially zero resistance—the “holy grail” of discovery is a superconductor that can perform under everyday temperatures and pressures. Such a material could revolutionize modern life. But currently, even the “high-temperature” (high-Tc) superconductors that have been discovered must be kept very cold to function—too cold for most applications. Scientists still have much to learn before room-temperature ...

Artificial Intelligence, Space Food & Polyphenols: 2 Ambitious Projects Polyphenols Applications 2023 World Congress, which will be held on September 28-29 in Malta, will support 2 projects in order to advance in the polyphenols innovations: 1- Polyphenols & Artificial Intelligence:  This project aims to leverage artificial intelligence techniques to enhance the understanding and utilization of polyphenols. You will utilize machine-learning algorithms to analyze large datasets on polyphenols, including their chemical structures, bioactivities, and health effects. ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- While formula-feeding babies is a safe and convenient option, research studies have shown natural breastfeeding is linked to numerous health benefits for both mother and child. For mothers, breastfeeding can improve recovery after giving birth and lower the risks of cancer. For babies, the nutrients strengthen their immune system and help lower their risk of developing obesity and diabetes. Now, a new study at the University of Missouri Sinclair School of Nursing is helping researchers better understand the factors that influence moms, particularly in rural areas where breastfeeding is less common, when deciding how to feed their babies. In the study, ...

People with dementia still have the ability to learn new things despite their illness. This is the conclusion of a doctoral thesis recently presented at Linköping University, Sweden. Its findings debunk the general belief that people with dementia are empty shells, according to Elias Ingebrand, who conducted the study. Elias Ingebrand let ten dementia sufferers, eight of whom lived in care facilities, try using computer tablets for the first time in their lives. A staff member or a loved one was there for support, but the only instruction given to participants ...

Summary An El Niño event has officially begun. The climate phenomenon, which originates in the tropical Pacific and occurs in intervals of a few years will shape weather across the planet for the next year or more and give rise to various climatic extremes. El Niño-like conditions can also occur on longer time scales of decades or centuries. This has been shown to have occurred in the recent past by an international research team led by Ana Prohaska of the University of Copenhagen and Dirk Sachse of the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ). Their analysis of biomarkers – organic molecules or molecular fossils from vascular plants – in ...

Nadine Kabbani, Associate Professor, School of Systems Biology, is set to receive $100,000 from Charles Morgan for: "Mitochondrial Targeting and Regulation." This funding will begin in July 2023 and will end in July 2025.   Regarding the importance of the project, Kabbani said, "Studies suggest an important role for mitochondrial regulation in many human diseases. The targeting of mitochondrial processes has thus emerged as an important strategy in drug design and biomarker discovery. In addition, mitochondrial responses are especially useful in toxicity testing for medical and environmental applications. The goal of this project is to identify mitochondrial ...

(MEMPHIS, Tenn. – July 03, 2023) Gene therapy that alters hemoglobin genes may be an answer to curing sickle cell disease (SCD) and beta thalassemia. These two common life-threatening anemias afflict millions of individuals across the globe. Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard used a next-generation genome editing technology, adenosine base editing, to restart fetal hemoglobin expression in SCD patient cells. The approach raised the expression of fetal hemoglobin to higher, more stable, and more uniform levels than other genome editing technologies that use ...

MIAMI, FLORIDA (EMBARGOED UNTIL JULY 3, 2023 AT NOON ET) – The median length of survival after diagnosis of glioblastoma is 14 months, but some of these brain tumors are more aggressive and resistant to treatment than others, and a new study from Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine suggests reactivation of an ancient retrovirus may be at least partly to blame. “Our lab found that an evolutionary dormant retrovirus from 6 million years ago – HML-2, a subtype of HERV-K– contributes to brain tumor formation. We demonstrated for the first time that this virus, when reactivated, ...

Scientists have for the first time observed the early universe running in extreme slow motion, unlocking one of the mysteries of Einstein’s expanding universe. Einstein’s general theory of relativity means that we should observe the distant – and hence ancient – universe running much slower than the present day. However, peering back that far in time has proven elusive. Scientists have now cracked that mystery by using quasars as ‘clocks'. “Looking back to a time when the universe was ...

IHME/Mass General Brigham study finds rates highest for Black population; largest increase seen in American Indian and Alaskan Native populations High rates of maternal mortality found in northern Mountain states and the Midwest in addition to the South, a region traditionally known to have high rates Study is the first such analysis for every state, showing differences in each by racial and ethnic groups A new study by investigators from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of ...

Brigham researchers mapped lesions related to epilepsy to a common brain circuit This study points to a novel role of deep brain circuits in the cause and control of epilepsy New findings highlight the possibility of using this brain circuit to guide brain stimulation treatments for epilepsy Focal epilepsy affects over 30 million patients worldwide and is commonly caused by brain lesions, such as stroke. However, it is unclear why some lesion locations cause epilepsy while others do not. A new study by investigators from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, found ...

About The Study: Food insecurity was associated with slightly faster memory decline among middle to older–age individuals, suggesting possible long-term negative cognitive function outcomes associated with exposure to food insecurity in older age.  Authors: Adina Zeki Al Hazzouri, Ph.D., of Columbia University in 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/jamanetworkopen.2023.21474) Editor’s ...

About The Study: While maternal mortality remains unacceptably high among all racial and ethnic groups in the U.S., American Indian and Alaska Native and Black individuals are at increased risk, particularly in several states where these inequities had not been previously highlighted. Maternal mortality persists as a source of worsening disparities in many U.S. states and prevention efforts during this study period (1999 to 2019) appear to have had a limited impact in addressing this health crisis. Authors: Gregory A. ...

About The Study: Childhood diabetes is an increasing global health challenge with rising incidence. Results of this study suggest that despite the global decline in deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), the number of deaths and DALYs remains high among children with diabetes, especially in low Sociodemographic Index regions. Improved understanding of the epidemiology of diabetes in children may facilitate prevention and control.  Authors: Xiaodong Sun, M.D., Ph.D., and Ningning Hou, M.D., of the Affiliated Hospital of Weifang Medical ...

About The Study: The results of this study suggest that from 1999 to 2020, death rates due to poisonings, firearms, and all other injuries increased substantially in the U.S. The rapid increase in deaths due to unintentional poisonings and firearm homicides is a national emergency that requires urgent public health interventions at the local and national levels.  Authors: Wayne R. Lawrence, Dr.P.H., of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, is the corresponding author. To ...

·    Use of successful medications to break up blood clots rose from 4% to 14% due to new approach Suspected stroke victims now bypass emergency room for CT scanner and nurse stroke experts, who support patient care team Community educators went to beauty and barber shops, churches and water distribution centers to deliver stroke-awareness talks  Approach can be duplicated by other communities to improve treatment   CHICAGO --- The use of thrombolysis, medications to break up blood clots, for acute ischemic stroke reduces post-stroke disability, but it is underutilized. This particularly affects Black individuals, who experience ...

Our body’s fat metabolism plays a vital role in energy production in our body. A research team at the University of Basel, Switzerland, has discovered a molecular switch that regulates lipid metabolism in our cells. This switch controls the storage or conversion of lipids into energy. All organisms need energy to live. We get energy from various components of our food. Our body uses a part of this energy directly and stores the rest. While glucose serves as an immediately available energy source, fats are stored as energy reserve in form of lipid droplets within our cells. When the body needs energy from these fat stores, lipids are transported ...

Artificial intelligence can predict on- and off-target activity of CRISPR tools that target RNA instead of DNA, according to new research published in Nature Biotechnology. The study by researchers at New York University, Columbia Engineering, and the New York Genome Center, combines a deep learning model with CRISPR screens to control the expression of human genes in different ways—such as flicking a light switch to shut them off completely or by using a dimmer knob to partially turn down their activity. These precise gene controls could be used to develop new CRISPR-based therapies.  CRISPR is a gene ...

It’s estimated that around 25% of patients who have a cardiac arrest and receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in a normal hospital setting will survive. Those odds shoot up to 50% for patients who receive CPR during or in the immediate period following surgery, where they are closely monitored by specialists who know their medical history and can intervene without delay. But it’s unclear whether that trend applies to frail patients, who are often older and at a higher risk of experiencing CPR-related trauma and complications. Such uncertainty has led some doctors ...