CD8+ T cells, a vital component of the immune system that provides immunity against cancer, have been the focal point of anti-cancer therapies. Recent studies have identified two major subpopulations of these cells present within the tumor—the stem-like cells that do not have anti-tumor activity, and the terminally differentiated CD8+ T cells, which are generated from the stem-like cells and have cytotoxic function on tumor cells. Tumor-draining lymph nodes (TDLNs) have been found to be the primary site for the presence of these cells. However, the molecular mechanisms responsible for the generation of stem-like cells into terminally differentiated ...

Repeat treatment with corticosteroid injections improved vision in people with persistent or recurrent uveitis-related macular edema better than two other therapies, according to results from a clinical trial funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI). Compared with methotrexate or ranibizumab intravitreal (in-the-eye) injections, the corticosteroid treatment achieved greater reductions in retinal swelling and was the only therapy in the study that improved vision. The report was published today in the journal Ophthalmology. NEI is part of the National Institutes of Health. “Prior to this study, we didn’t know the best treatment for persistent or recurrent macular edema, a major ...

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- In collaboration with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Binghamton University has announced a New Educational and Research Alliance (New ERA) with six historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs): Alabama A&M University, Central State University, Tuskegee University, Prairie-View A&M University, the University of the District of Columbia and Virginia State University. The groundbreaking partnership is built on the shared missions of education, research and service, aiming to foster holistic, equitable and sustainable collaborations that will shape the future of academia and beyond. The strategic alliances formed through this partnership will ...

How do you study the effects of exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), when it is in everything?! To study the effect of a chemical, toxicologists typically expose animals to various doses of the chemical over a period of time so that they could then study the dose versus effect relationship. Such toxicology studies often employee several types of “blanks” for quality control. Blanks are experiments where the test animals are not given any dose of the chemical being studied (sort of like a placebo in human drug ...

Tulsa, Okla. – A pioneering study conducted by researchers at the Laureate Institute for Brain Research (LIBR) in Tulsa, Okla., has made significant strides in understanding the elusive gut-brain connection, a complex relationship that has long puzzled scientists due to the difficulty of accessing the body's interior. The study, “Parieto-occipital ERP indicators of gut mechanosensation in humans,” appears in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Nature Communications. The research team successfully had ...

Plant roots play a critical role in taking up, selecting, enriching and retaining a range of different mineral elements thereby supplying distant plant tissues with nutrients while sequestering excessive amounts of metals. To execute such element-specific functions, a range of ion transporters present at roots mediate the uptake, efflux and intracellular compartmentalization of different mineral elements. Most ion transporters show characteristic tissue and cell type-specific localization patterns, which can be altered in response to internal signalling or external cues. To fully ...

A groundbreaking machine-learning study has unmasked the best drug combinations to prevent COVID-19 from coming back after an initial infection. It turns out these combos are not the same for every patient.  Using real-world data from a hospital in China, the UC Riverside-led study found that individual characteristics, including age, weight, and additional illness determine which drug combinations most effectively reduce recurrence rates. This finding has been published in the journal Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence.  That the data came from China is significant for two reasons. First, when patients are treated for COVID-19 in the U.S, it is ...

In situ bioprinting, which involves 3D printing biocompatible structures and tissues directly within the body, has seen steady progress over the past few years. In a recent study, a team of researchers developed a handheld bioprinter that addresses key limitations of previous designs, i.e., the ability to print multiple materials and control the physicochemical properties of printed tissues. This device will pave the way for a wide variety of applications in regenerative medicine, drug development and testing, and custom orthotics and prosthetics. The emergence of regenerative medicine has resulted ...

Women suffering from the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis temporarily get much better when pregnant. Researchers have now identified the beneficial changes naturally occurring in the immune system during pregnancy. The findings, published in Journal of Neuroinflammation, can show the way to new treatments. Pregnancy is a very special condition from an immunological point of view. The immune system serves to defend us against foreign substances. However, although half of the genetic material of the foetus ...

People who adhere to global Cancer Prevention Recommendations are putting themselves at lower risk of developing the disease, new research confirms. Experts at Newcastle University have reviewed evidence of following the 2018 World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) and American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) lifestyle-based recommendations. The findings, published today in Cancer, revealed that adhering to a healthier lifestyle, including maintaining a healthy body weight and eating little red meat and processed meats such as bacon, helps ...

A research group led by Professor Hideki Fujiwara and Associate Professor Daisuke Sakamaki from the Graduate School of Science at Osaka Metropolitan University succeeded, for the first time, in synthesizing a new molecule using a novel combination of dynamic covalent chemistry, in which organic radicals couple and dissociate reversibly, and coordination chemistry, which binds radicals to metal ligands. The study shows that the two types of reactions work without inhibiting each other. “This research was based on a very simple idea of combining two types of reactions,” stated Professor Sakamaki. “However, it was not clear ...

Increased levels of Lipoprotein(a), a variant of ‘bad cholesterol’, in the bloodstream are a risk factor for recurrent coronary heart disease (CHD) in people aged 60 or over, according to the results of a new study which tracked the issue over the course of 16 years. The results, published today in Current Medical Research & Opinion, suggest that current cholesterol-lowering medications may not be effective at reducing the risk of recurrent CHD – such as a heart attack – due to elevated Lp(a). “This finding adds to growing evidence of a relationship between increased Lp(a) and the risk of recurrent CHD,” says lead author Associate Professor ...

Prof. PAN Yang and Associate Researcher LIU Chengyuan, researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), have achieved significant progress in detecting intermediates in methane photocatalytic reactions. Their technique, Synchronous Radiation Photoionization Mass Spectrometry (SR-PIMS), allows for in-situ detection of active intermediates. The findings were published in the prestigious chemistry journal Angewandte Chemie International ...

A team led by Academician Prof. GUO Guangcan from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) provides a comprehensive overview of the progress achieved in the field of quantum teleportation. The team, which includes Prof. HU Xiaomin, Prof. GUO Yu, Prof. LIU Biheng, and Prof. LI Chuanfeng from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC),CAS, was invited to publish a review paper on quantum teleportation in Nature Review Physics. The paper was officially released online on May 24.   As one of the most important protocols in the field ...

A point-to-point long-distance quantum key distribution (QKD) over a distance of 1,002 km has been achieved by scientists from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and their collaborators from Tsinghua University, Jinan Institute of Quantum Technology, and Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology (SIMIT), CAS. This milestone not only sets a new world record for non-relay QKD but also provides a solution for high-speed intercity quantum communication. The ...

Posters All poster presentations will take place on Monday, June 12, 2023, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. EDT, or Tuesday, June 13, 2023, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. EDT at the Baltimore Convention Center, Exhibit Hall E, Level 100.   Abstract 4-M (Monday) Avoiding Clinical Inertia: Comparing Time to Intensification of Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) Receptor Agonists in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Among Clinical Pharmacists versus Providers Clinical pharmacists have a significant impact on medication optimization and reduction ...

Niigata, Japan - The Department of Neurology at Niigata University has developed a new in silico method for evaluating the pathogenicity of missense variants using AlphaFold2 (MOVA). Rare variants in the causative gene of ALS are present in 10-30% of sporadic ALS cases, which highlights the need for accurate and efficient pathogenicity prediction methods. To predict the pathogenicity of the variants, in silico analysis methods are commonly used. In some ALS causal genes, the mutations are concentrated in specific regions, and the accuracy of pathogenicity prediction can be improved by considering the positional information of the variants. ...

Niigata, Japan - The gold standard test for predicting the onset of diabetic kidney disease is albuminuria. However, detecting albuminuria alone has limited sensitivity and specificity in end-stage renal failure with a decreased estimated glomerular filtration rate. This is supported by several reports, which state that about half of the type 2 diabetes patients who developed kidney dysfunction showed no preceding albuminuria. In this study, the authors propose the possibility of diagnosing tubular abnormalities in diabetic kidney disease at an early stage and connecting them to treatment by combining the evaluation of sodium concentration using 23Na MRI ...

Older female mice had more immune cells entering areas of the body where they shouldn’t according to a new study, demonstrating that sex differences contribute to age-related inflammation that needs to be considered in future research.   In a paper published in Journal of Leukocyte Biology today (Tuesday 13 June), at team of researchers led by Dr Myriam Chimen from the University of Birmingham have found that age significantly increases the number of immune cells entering the sack that holds major organs (peritoneal cavity) in female mice, when compared to young mice or older male mice.   The findings support previous studies that suggest ...

Peer-reviewed / Randomised Controlled Trial / People Study of healthy US adults found that a single dose of the VLA1553 vaccine candidate was generally safe, well tolerated and provokes an immune response. After a single vaccination, the vaccine produced neutralizing antibody levels which are thought to protect against chikungunya disease in 99% (263/266) of participants. Antibody levels declined 28 days after vaccination, but seroprotection persisted in more than 96% (233/242) participants after six months. Most adverse events were moderate or mild and the authors say its safety profile is similar to other licensed vaccines The VLA1553 vaccine candidate ...

Glasgow, UK:  The informed consent process in biomedical research is biased towards people who can meet with clinical study staff during the working day. For those who have the availability to have a consent conversation, the time burden can be off-putting. Professor Eric Vilain, from the Department of Paediatrics, University of California, Irvine, USA, will tell the European Society of Human Genetics annual conference today (Tuesday 13 June) how results from his team’s study of the use of a chatbot (GIA – ‘Genetics Information Assistant’ ...

Weight and body mass index (BMI) policies introduced by NHS commissioning groups in England are inappropriate and worsening health inequalities, according to a new study published in BMC Medicine today [13 June] that analysed nearly 490,000 hip surgeries. With one in ten people likely to need a joint replacement in their lifetime, many thousands of patients are directly affected by these policies. Rules implemented by NHS clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) across England to change the access to hip and knee replacement surgery for patients who are overweight or obese have been in effect for over ten years. ...

In a world of continuously warmer temperatures, a growing consensus demands that energy sources have zero, or next-to-zero, carbon emissions. That means growing beyond coal, oil, and natural gas by getting more energy from renewable sources. One of the most promising renewable energy carriers is clean hydrogen, which is produced without fossil fuels. It’s a promising idea because the most abundant element in the universe is hydrogen, found in 75 percent of all matter. Moreover, a hydrogen molecule has two paired atoms—Gemini twins that are both non-toxic and highly combustible. Hydrogen’s combustive potential ...

A decade after UC San Francisco scientists identified an over-the-counter antihistamine as a treatment for multiple sclerosis, researchers have developed an approach to measure the drug’s effectiveness in repairing the brain, making it possible to also assess future therapies for the devastating disorder.  The researchers, led by physician-scientist Ari Green, MD, who together with neuroscientist Jonah Chan, PhD, first identified clemastine as a potential MS therapy, used MRI scans to study the drug’s impact on the brain of 50 participants in a clinical study.  In MS, patients lose myelin, the protective insulation around ...

As adoption of Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) continues to increase, there is a growing body of evidence supporting the use of this technology in improving diabetes outcomes for patients with Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes. A new supplement in the peer-reviewed journal Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics (DTT) provides an excellent perspective of the past, present, and future of CGM. Click here to read the supplement now. In the supplement Rickson et al. review the rapid pace in which diabetes technology has progressed and the implications for relying on rigorous and extensive timelines to publish randomized controlled trials to impact ...