A team of researchers led by Feng Zhang at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT has uncovered the first programmable RNA-guided system in eukaryotes — organisms that include fungi, plants, and animals. In a study in Nature, the team describes how the system is based on a protein called Fanzor. They showed that Fanzor proteins use RNA as a guide to target DNA precisely, and that Fanzors can be reprogrammed to edit the genome of human cells. The compact Fanzor systems have the potential to be more easily delivered to cells and tissues as therapeutics than CRISPR/Cas systems, ...

New images from the James Webb Space Telescope have revealed, for the first time, starlight from two massive galaxies hosting actively growing black holes – quasars – seen less than a billion years after the Big Bang. A new study in Nature this week finds the black holes have masses close to a billion times that of the Sun, and the host galaxy masses are almost one hundred times larger, a ratio similar to what is found in the more recent universe. A powerful combination of the Subaru Telescope and the JWST has paved a new path to study the distant universe.    The existence of such massive black holes in the distant universe has created more questions ...

Maunakea, Hawaiʻi - When our Sun reaches the end of its life, it will expand to 100 times its current size, enveloping the Earth. Many planets in other solar systems face a similar doom as their host stars grow old. But not all hope is lost, as astronomers from the University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy (UH IfA) have made the remarkable discovery of a planet’s survival after what should have been certain demise at the hands of its sun. The Jupiter-like planet 8 UMi b, officially named Halla, ...

Contact: Bess Connolly, 203-432-1324 or elizabeth.connolly@yale.edu Embargoed For Release: 11 A.M. ET June 28, 2023 Genetic variant linked with faster progression of multiple sclerosis New Haven, Conn. — A study of more than 22,000 people with multiple sclerosis (MS) has for the first time identified a genetic variant associated with faster progression of the disease, an accumulation of disability that can rob patients of their mobility and independence over time.   Multiple sclerosis begins as an autoimmune disease where the immune system attacks the brain and the spinal cord, resulting in symptom flares, called relapses, as well as longer-term degeneration known ...

How did life begin on Earth? Experts have long been fascinated by this question and over the years have come up with a variety of theories. One hypothesis is that the origin of life can be traced back to warm little ponds which are thought to have existed on Earth four billion years ago. The water in these ponds probably contained urea molecules; these were exposed to ultraviolet radiation from the sun, which at that time would have penetrated to the surface of the earth largely unimpeded. This high-energy radiation was able to convert ...

Lung cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of cancer, continues to be a leading cause of death worldwide. Although several new therapies have been developed for this disease, it has a poor prognosis in its advanced stages. A primary reason underlying this poor response to treatment is the formation of a tumor microenvironment (TME)— the environment that surrounds a tumor and plays a crucial role in its growth. To develop approaches that can overcome treatment resistance during the advanced stages of this cancer, we need to understand ...

ROCKVILLE, MD—JUNE 15, 2023 – In response to the allegations of illicit buying and selling of stolen body parts from Harvard Medical School's body donation program, the American Association for Anatomy (AAA) stands united in strong condemnation of the commercialization of human body donors and any action that violates donor ethics and trust. Our heartfelt support goes out to the affected families.  Any act that violates the principles of respect and dignity owed to every individual, in life or death, undermines the sanctity of ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Johns Hopkins Medicine scientists say they have developed a nanoparticle — an extremely tiny biodegradable container — that has the potential to improve the delivery of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)-based vaccines for infectious diseases such as COVID-19, and vaccines for treating non-infectious diseases including cancer. Results of tests in mice, reported June 20 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, show that the degradable, polymer-based nanoparticle carrying an mRNA-based vaccine, when injected into the ...

A projected rise in droughts could muddy the waters for painted turtles and some fellow freshwater-dwelling reptiles, says 11 years of data collected by 50-plus undergraduates from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Two recent studies based on the data suggest that drought can lower the survival odds, slow the growth and even skew the ratio of female-to-male painted turtles inhabiting the ponds of the Cornhusker State. Those outcomes emerged despite the water level of a sampled pond in southwestern Nebraska remaining relatively steady throughout the observed periods ...

Mutations in the KRAS gene are the major driver of pancreatic cancer. The resulting protein controls multiple signaling pathways involved in cell growth and survival. In cancer, the gene is mutated to be permanently “on,” driving cells to excessively multiply and form tumors.  New drugs have recently been developed to inhibit KRAS and appear to be therapeutically promising. However, pancreatic cancer is especially prone to drug resistance. Most drugs only work for a short period of time before the cancer finds its way around them. Previous experiments revealed a potential reason why: a group ...

A review paper by scientists at the Beijing Institute of Technology summarized the recent research on field-controlled microrobots fabricated by photopolymerization. The new review paper, published on Jun. 6 in the journal Cyborg and Bionic Systems, provided an overview the photopolymerization technologies utilized in the fabrication of field-controlled microrobots and introduced the photopolymerized microrobots actuated by different field forces and their functions. “Field-controlled microrobots have attracted extensive research in the ...

Main Points The research group proposed and tested a nano-antenna that uses the specific optical resonance of dielectric nanoparticles to form a near field of circularly polarized light. This technique bolsters the circularly polarized light-selective response of chiral molecules. The results of this study should provide applications in chirality analysis and asymmetric photochemical reactions for biomolecules, chemical substances, and pharmaceuticals. Research Background “Chirality” refers to the property of a substance that cannot be superimposed on its mirror image. Since the mirror image isomers of chiral molecules ...

CINCINNATI -- Imagine a day when a urine test could inform a doctor precisely why a kidney transplant patient was experiencing organ rejection and suggest the best medication for specifically addressing the problem.   That day took a leap closer to reality thanks to a remarkable set of single-cell analyses that have identified the most specific cellular signatures to date for kidney transplant rejection. The findings were detailed May 25, 2023, in JCI The Journal of Clinical Investigation. The study results reflect eight years of teamwork led by experts at Cincinnati Children’s and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine with contributions ...

(LOS ANGELES) – June 28, 2023 - A multi-faceted device for effectively treating deep, non-compressible, and irregularly-shaped wounds has been engineered by the scientists at the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation (TIBI). As outlined in their recent paper in Advanced Science, the device provides rapid hemorrhage management, has minimal inflammatory effects, and provides infection control. It also has tunable biodegradation rates, making it usable for both internal and external use, and features sensing capabilities for long-term hemorrhage monitoring. This versatile device is highly beneficial ...

From growls to pulses to booms, whales, fish and crustaceans all produce sounds. In fact, more than 800 species of fish are capable of making noises for a variety of functions such as courtship and mating, defending their turf or responding to threats. Each of these species has a characteristic waveform that is unique to their “calls.” As such, detecting structures in these signals can be used to identify the sounds of different species. Classifying sounds produced by fish will help to understand how they respond to environmental changes ...

With a flick of a switch, current technologies allow you to quickly change materials from being dark to light, or cold to hot, just by blocking or transmitting specific wavelengths. But now, inspired by squid skin, researchers in ACS Nano report a soft film that can regulate its transparency across a large range of wavelengths — visible, infrared and microwave — simultaneously. They demonstrated the material in smart windows and in health monitoring and temperature management applications. Unique to the skin of squid and other cephalopods, iridocytes and chromatophores reversibly ...

Korea has recently seen a surge in localized torrential rain and floods due to global warming. Frequent flash floods are hard to forecast and, when forecast, the accuracy is low. This often leads to major disasters that take hundreds of lives, as seen in Germany and China (Henan) in July 2021. Floods are one of the deadliest types of natural disasters, but climate change has made the forecasting of them even more challenging. Researchers at the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT, President Kim Byung-Suk) have developed a system that can forecast ...

Reston, VA (July 28, 2023)—The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) hosted nearly 8,000 physicians, technologists, pharmacists, laboratory professionals, scientists and others at its 2023 Annual Meeting, themed “Eye on the Patient,” held in Chicago, Illinois. “This year’s meeting offered attendees world-class scientific research, education, and exhibits as well as one-of-a-kind networking opportunities that will ultimately help us serve our patients better,” said Helen ...

An international team led by the University of Minnesota Twin Cities has, for the first time, accurately determined the age and formation process of the East Anatolian fault, which runs from eastern to south-central Turkey and was involved in the creation of the Anatolian tectonic plate. The fault zone was the site of two devastating earthquakes that occurred in Turkey and Syria in February 2023. While the researchers’ findings won’t help predict timing or size of earthquakes, it allows geologists to learn more about how long the area has been seismically active and how major earthquakes have shaped the landscape over time, which can help drive ...

Artificial lipid bilayer vesicle liposomes, also called proteoliposomes, are specialized systems capable of incorporating various molecules, such as chemicals and drugs. Their unique properties make them ideal carriers for delivering substances inside cells. However, they must possess the dual characteristics of high stability in extracellular environments and low stability in intracellular environments. Several techniques have been developed to regulate the stability of liposomes in a condition-dependent manner, with pH-sensitive liposomes being widely employed. A standard measure of acidity or basicity, the ...

Copenhagen, Denmark: Women with adenomyosis – a chronic condition that can cause pelvic pain and heavy menstrual bleeding –  are at increased risk of infertility as well as problems in pregnancy and during birth, according to research presented at the 39th annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) [1]. Data from the first study of its kind based on more than nine million women show that mothers-to-be with adenomyosis experienced higher rates of complications. The greatest risk was for caesarean section delivery – ...

Prisoners in Bolivia are trading in jaguar skins and other wild animal body parts to produce wallets, hats, and belts for sale in local markets. The fangs and bones of jaguars are being illegally exported for use as traditional Asian medicine.  The trade, which further threatens the future of this species, has been uncovered by researchers investigating reports of illegal trading at Mocoví prison, in Trinidad, Bolivia. As the largest big cat in the Americas the jaguar (Panthera Onca) has ecological and cultural significance in the landlocked country of Bolivia, but numbers are declining fast due to reasons including habitat loss – as ...

Performing arts performed in groups appears to lower anxiety and depression, according to a review of available evidence. Researchers at the University of Exeter looked at the effect of group-based performing arts-based therapies on symptom severity, wellbeing, quality of life, functional communication or social participation. In a study published in BMJ Open, the researchers reviewed 171 studies, and took 12 forward to inclusion, which met the screening criteria. Published from 2004 to 2021, the studies involved a total of 669 participants with anxiety and/or depression, from nine countries and covered ...

For many people, the day doesn’t start until their coffee mug is empty. Coffee is often thought to make you feel more alert, so people drink it to wake themselves up and improve their efficiency. Portuguese scientists studied coffee-drinkers to understand whether that wakefulness effect is dependent on the properties of caffeine, or whether it’s about the experience of drinking coffee. “There is a common expectation that coffee increases alertness and psychomotor functioning,” said Prof Nuno Sousa of the University of Minho, corresponding author of the study ...

Orlando, Fla., June 28, 2023 – A Virginia pediatric hospital eliminated central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) among its most vulnerable patients for 300 days during 2021 and 2022. Their results are being presented at the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology’s (APIC’s) Annual Conference in Orlando Florida, June 26-28. When the infection prevention and quality departments at Inova L.J. Murphy Children’s Hospital, part of the Inova Health System and located in Falls Church, Virginia, benchmarked their CLABSI rates against other pediatric hospitals, ...