When it comes to cancer metastasis, it takes two to tango. That was one of the key findings of a new study led by researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK): The TGF-beta and RAS signaling pathways work together to spur the spread of cancer in lung adenocarcinoma, a leading cause of cancer deaths around the world. Take away one of those two signals, and lung cancer will not be able to spread (metastasize) to new parts of the body, their findings in animal models suggest. The research, published September 6 in Cell, points to new opportunities to potentially prevent metastasis, thanks to an updated understanding of the underlying processes. “About ...

Conservation needs to scale successfully to protect nature. A new paper takes lessons from around the world to show how that might be done. To reverse biodiversity loss and meet ambitious global targets, conservation programmes designed to preserve everything from forests to fish need to work ‘at scale’. Scaling can mean three things. Scaling ‘out’ means expanding a programme to new people and places, while scaling ‘up’ means bringing in higher-level institutions, such as governments introducing policies or incentives that make it easier for individuals and private companies to engage. Scaling ‘deep’ means changing hearts and minds – ...

A new study led by Rice University’s Qimiao Si has unveiled a new class of quantum critical metal, shedding light on the intricate interactions of electrons within quantum materials. Published in Physical Review Letters on Sept. 6, the research explores the effects of Kondo coupling and chiral spin liquids within specific lattice structures. “The insights gained from this discovery could lead to the development of electronic devices with extreme sensitivity, driven by the unique properties of quantum-critical ...

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science (SC) today announced a new research and development opportunity led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to advance technologies and drive new capabilities for future supercomputers. This industry research program worth $23 million, called New Frontiers, will initiate partnerships with multiple companies to accelerate the R&D of critical technologies with renewed emphasis on energy efficiency for the next generation of post-exascale computing in the 2029 ...

A study led by the UAB Institut de Neurociències and published in the journal Nature Communications demonstrates in animal models how daily administration of cannabidiol (CBD), a substance obtained from the cannabis plant, extends lifespan and improves symptoms associated with Leigh syndrome. This severe mitochondrial disease affecting children is characterised by a progressive decline in cognitive and motor functions and premature death. The research group also demonstrated in both mice and fibroblasts from children with ...

Summer 2022’s environmental disaster led to the death of up to 60 per cent of fish biomass and up to 85 per cent of mussel and snail biomass in the River Oder. In August 2022, the UFZ set up an interdisciplinary ad hoc working group together with researchers from the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna (Vetmeduni) and the University of Birmingham. They took water samples at five locations along the Oder, extracted poisoned ...

“This editorial explores its impact on expanding datasets, improving image quality, and enabling predictive oncology.” BUFFALO, NY- September 6, 2024 – A new editorial was published in Oncotarget's Volume 15 on September 4, 2024, entitled, “Generative AI in oncological imaging: Revolutionizing cancer detection and diagnosis.” Generative AI is revolutionizing oncological imaging, enhancing cancer detection and diagnosis. This editorial explores its impact on expanding ...

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 11 A.M. ET FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6. 2024 Individuals involved in the criminal legal system have a high rate of opioid use disorder (OUD) and a high risk of overdose death compared to the general population, yet the most effective treatments—medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD)—are underutilized in criminal legal settings where treatment is mandated as part of a person’s probation or parole. Medications are often not provided due to stigma or lack of adequate funding for evidence-based care. According to a study ...

Age-related changes in the fibroblasts, cells that create the skin’s structure, contribute to the development of aggressive, treatment-resistant melanoma in males, according to research in mice by the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.  The study was published online Sept. 6 in Cell.  The risk of developing melanoma, a potentially deadly skin cancer, increases with age. Men are more at risk than women, and tend to develop more aggressive, hard-to-treat melanomas, particularly at advanced ages, says Ashani Weeraratna, Ph.D., the Bloomberg ...

About The Study: This population-based cross-sectional study of U.S. cancer incidence trends found that rates of diagnosis improved in 2021 but continued to be lower than expected, adding to the existing deficit of diagnosed cases from 2020. Particular attention should be directed at strategies to immediately increase cancer screenings to make up lost ground.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Krystle A. Lang Kuhs, PhD, MPH, email krystle.kuhs@uky.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.32288) Editor’s Note: Please see ...

Scientists from Swansea University have developed a new tool to help identify optimal photovoltaic (PV) materials capable of maximising crop growth while generating solar power. In a recent study published in Solar RRL, academics from the University’s Department of Physics have been exploring the effect of semi-transparent PV materials placed over crops – an exemplary application of agrivoltaics (solar panels combined with agricultural settings). As part of this work, the team has developed an innovative freeware tool that predicts the light transmission, absorption, and power generation of different PV materials nearly anywhere on the globe using ...

Researchers at the Institut Pasteur in France have developed artificial “lymphoid organ-chips” that recreate much of the human immune system’s response to booster vaccines. The technology, described in an article to be published September 6 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine (JEM), could potentially be used to evaluate the likely effectiveness of new protein and mRNA-based booster vaccines for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. The rapid mutation and evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses ...

SAN ANTONIO -- A monoclonal antibody appears effective at neutralizing the numerous variants of SARS-CoV-2, as well as related viruses in animals that could pose a threat if they were to begin spreading in people. The antibody, called SC27, was recently described in Cell Reports Medicine. The finding opens the possibility of broader, more effective treatments to work against current and future COVID variants. Monoclonal antibody SC27 was identified, developed and provisionally patented by a team of researchers led ...

Every cell in our body contains the same DNA, yet liver cells are different from brain cells, and skin cells differ from muscle cells. What determines these differences? It all comes down to gene regulation; essentially how and when genes are turned on and off to meet the cell’s demands. But gene regulation is quite complex, especially because it is itself regulated by other parts of DNA. Gene regulators: Enhancers, transcription factors There are two important components that control gene regulation: the first are enhancers, which are short bits of DNA that increase the likelihood that a ...

 Dr. Min-young Lee and Dr. Sung-gyu Park of the Advanced Bio and Healthcare Materials Research Division at KIMS have developed a technology that can detect cancer mutant genes in blood with the world's highest sensitivity of 0.000000001% based on plasmonic nanomaterials for optical signal amplification. The team tested blood samples from lung cancer patients (stages 1-4) and healthy individuals for EGFR mutations and achieved a diagnostic accuracy of 96%.  Previously utilized genetic analysis technologies had low analytical sensitivity to detect mutated genes compared to normal genes, making it difficult to accurately diagnose early-stage cancer patients. ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Severe drought in the American Southwest and Mexico and more severe wet years in the Northeast are the modern norm in North America, according to new research – and the analysis suggests these seasonal patterns will be more extreme in the future. The middle of the United States, meanwhile, can expect bigger swings between wetter wet periods – high-rainfall years known as pluvials – and drier summers through the rest of this century, the study predicts. Researchers at The Ohio State University say the findings, based on modern precipitation data, historical tree rings and climate models ...

The medical field is inherently susceptible to errors, with laboratory tests being no exception. In histopathology laboratories, where tests are considered the gold standard for diagnosing various diseases, errors can significantly impact patient outcomes. Quality Control (QC) and Quality Assurance (QA) programs are essential in minimizing these errors and ensuring the generation of accurate and reliable reports. The complex, multistep nature of histopathology work, combined with the subjective nature of many diagnostic interpretations, ...

Nearly three out of four people (72%) surveyed across 18 G20 countries1 support making it a criminal offence for government or leaders of large businesses to approve or permit actions which cause serious damage to nature and climate, finds major new research. This finding is part of the latest Global Commons Survey 2024, conducted by Ipsos UK and commissioned by Earth4All and the Global Commons Alliance (GCA).  The research follows recent landmark legislative changes, including in Belgium where ecocide was recognised as a federal crime earlier this year. Related laws ...

Newborn babies have one of three pioneer bacteria in their gut shortly after birth, one of which could be used to develop new personalised infant therapeutic probiotics, researchers show. In the largest study of UK baby microbiomes to date, researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, University College London (UCL), and the University of Birmingham, used whole genome sequencing to analyse stool samples from 1,288 healthy infants, all under one month old from the UK Baby Biome Study1. This research, published today (6 September) ...

Most animals live in intimate relationships with bacteria. Some of these bacteria live inside the cells of their hosts, but only very few are able to live inside cell organelles (structures inside the cell, like organs in the body). One group of bacteria have figured out how to colonize the nuclei of their hosts, a remarkable feat given that the nucleus is the control center of the cell. To date, nothing is known about the molecular and cellular processes that these intranuclear bacteria use to infect and reproduce in animal hosts. A group of scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen, Germany, now presents the first in-depth analysis ...

Thermogenesis is a process by which organisms generate internal heat. Although it is usually associated with animals, some plants have also developed this ability. This metabolic process allows certain parts of the plant, such as flowers and inflorescences, to raise their temperature above that of the surrounding environment. Today, these plants, which include cycads and some angiosperms (flowering plants), rely on insects for pollination. The heat they generate helps volatilize and disperse floral fragrances and other chemical compounds that attract insects such as beetles, flies, and ...

They’re tiny drug-delivery systems 1000 times smaller than a human hair, but while nanomedicines have long been hailed as the future for treating debilitating and life-threatening diseases, their journey from lab to patient has many challenges.   Now, new findings from a global team of expert scientists in academia and industry has generated world-first research quality standards that will help slash costs and reduce the time it takes to develop advanced nanomedicine treatments and make them available for patients.   Published in Nature Nanotechnology today, and led by the University of South Australia’s Dr Paul Joyce and the University ...

If this galaxy is typical, then the study, published today in Nature Astronomy, indicates that our galaxy is already interacting with its closest neighbour, Andromeda.  Where does a galaxy end and deep space begin? It seems like a simple question until you look more closely at the gas that surrounds galaxies, known as the circumgalactic medium.  The halo of gas surrounding the stellar disc accounts for about 70% of the mass of the galaxy – excluding dark matter – but until now has remained something of a mystery. In the past we have only been able to observe the gas by measuring the light from a background object, ...

Dark matter is the invisible force holding the universe together – or so we think. It makes up around 85% of all matter and around 27% of the universe’s contents, but since we can’t see it directly, we have to study its gravitational effects on galaxies and other cosmic structures. Despite decades of research, the true nature of dark matter remains one of science’s most elusive questions. According to a leading theory, dark matter might be a type of particle that barely ...

A widely used disinfectant worldwide, chloroxylenol, has been associated with eco-toxicological threats in water environments due to its relatively high chemical stability and massive consumption. Researchers at the School of Engineering of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have discovered a promising alternative known as 2,6-dichlorobenzoquinone (2,6-DCQ), which works more effectively in combating certain common bacteria, fungi and viruses, and can be rapidly degraded and detoxified in receiving waters. This groundbreaking study is led by Prof. ZHANG Xiangru from HKUST's ...