A membrane made from threads of a polymer commonly used in vascular sutures can be loaded with therapeutic drugs and implanted in the body, where mechanical forces activate the polymer's electric potential and slowly release the drugs. The novel system, developed by a group led by bioengineers at UC Riverside and published in ACS Applied Bio Materials, overcomes the biggest limitations of conventional drug administration and some controlled release methods, and could improve treatment of cancer and other chronic diseases. The drawbacks of conventional drug administration include repeated administration, nonspecific biodistribution ...

For the first time, researchers have observed plasma jets interacting with magnetic fields in a massive galaxy cluster 600 million light years away, thanks to the help of radio telescopes and supercomputer simulations. The findings, published in the journal Nature, can help clarify how such galaxy clusters evolve. Galaxy clusters can contain up to thousands of galaxies bound together by gravity. Abell 3376 is a huge cluster forming as a result of a violent collision between two sub-clusters of galaxies. Very little is known about the magnetic fields that exist within this and similar galaxy clusters. "It is generally difficult to directly examine the structure of intracluster magnetic fields," says Nagoya University astrophysicist ...

DALLAS, May 24, 2021 -- Having a stroke or a transient ischemic attack (TIA), sometimes called a "mini-stroke," increases the risk for a stroke in the future. Identifying the cause of the stroke or TIA can lead to specific prevention strategies to reduce the risk of additional strokes, according to an updated guideline from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. The guideline is published today in Stroke, a journal of the American Stroke Association, a division of the American Heart Association. Ischemic strokes account for 87% of strokes in the United States. An ischemic stroke occurs when blood flow in a vessel leading to the brain is blocked, by either clots or plaques. ...

CRISPR technology allows researchers to edit genomes by altering DNA sequences and by thus modifying gene function. Its many potential applications include correcting genetic defects, treating and preventing the spread of diseases and improving crops. Genome editing tools, such as the CRISPR-Cas9 technology, can be engineered to make extremely well-defined alterations to the intended target on a chromosome where a particular gene or functional element is located. However, one potential complication is that CRISPR editing may lead to other, unintended, genomic changes. These are known as off-target activity. ...

While many might consider a walk in the woods to be a quiet, peaceful escape from their noisy urban life, we often don't consider just how incredibly noisy some natural environments can be. Although we use soothing natural sounds in our daily lives - to relax or for meditation - the thunder of a mountain river or the crash of pounding surf have likely been changing how animals communicate and where they live for eons. A new experimental study published in the journal Nature Communications finds that birds and bats often avoid habitat swamped with loud whitewater river noise. Dr. Dylan Gomes, a recent PhD graduate of Boise State University ...

For centuries, pelagic Sargassum, floating brown seaweed, have grown in low nutrient waters of the North Atlantic Ocean, supported by natural nutrient sources like excretions from fishes and invertebrates, upwelling and nitrogen fixation. Using a unique historical baseline from the 1980s and comparing it to samples collected since 2010, researchers from Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute and collaborators have discovered dramatic changes in the chemistry and composition of Sargassum, transforming this vibrant living organism into a toxic "dead zone." Their findings, published in Nature Communications, suggest that increased nitrogen availability from natural and anthropogenic sources, including sewage, is supporting blooms of ...

Despite a daunting more than 130 million cases of SARS-CoV-2 infections to date worldwide, another global pathogen - the Aedes mosquito-borne dengue virus - saw a record number of over 400 million cases in 2019. But vaccine development has been challenging due to the need to protect equally against all four dengue strains. The discovery of new possible biomarkers to predict clinical and immune responses to dengue virus infection, published today in Nature Communication, could be critical to informing future vaccines. As with SARS-CoV-2 infection, the effects of dengue virus infection can range from asymptomatic ...

LEBANON, NH - By 2030, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the most lethal form of pancreatic cancer, is projected to become the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. Not only are therapeutic options limited, but nearly half of all PDAC patients who have their tumors removed surgically experience disease recurrence within a year, despite receiving additional chemotherapy. For more advanced stages, only about one-third of patients have a limited response to approved chemotherapy. A team of researchers led by Dartmouth and Dartmouth-Hitchcock's Norris ...

Within the European Union alone, about three million people are affected by an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Some are only mildly affected and can live independent lives. Others have severe disabilities. What the different forms have in common is difficulty with social interaction and communication, as well as repetitive-stereotypic behaviors. Mutations in a few hundred genes are associated with ASD. One of them is called Cullin 3, and it is a high-risk gene: A mutation of this gene almost certainly leads to a disorder. But how exactly does this gene affect the brain? To learn more about it, Jasmin Morandell and Lena Schwarz, PhD students at Professor Gaia Novarino's research group, ...

SILVER SPRING, Md.--People who are successful at weight-loss maintenance spend less time sitting during the week and weekends compared to weight-stable individuals with obesity, according to a paper published online in Obesity, The Obesity Society's flagship journal. This is the first study to examine time spent in various sitting activities among weight-loss maintainers. Prior findings from 2006 in the National Weight Control Registry indicated that weight-loss maintainers watched significantly less television than controls, but other sitting activities were not examined. In the current study, weight-loss maintainers did not significantly differ from controls in reported weekly sitting time ...

SILVER SPRING, Md.-- Multi-factorial metabolic and inflammatory abnormalities in obesity, independently or in combination, seems to be the critical biological link of obesity, cancer and racial/gender health disparities. However, the specific cross-talk between these factors remain elusive. Because of the extraordinary relevance in understanding the relationship between obesity-associated inflammation and comorbidities with cancer development, progression and intervention, three new papers emphasizing different aspects of the obesity and cancer connection can be found in the latest online issue of Obesity, ...

A study of 1,095 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 discovered that two easily measurable signs of health - respiration rate and blood-oxygen saturation - are distinctly predictive of higher mortality. Notably, the authors said, anyone who receives a positive COVID-19 screening test can easily monitor for these two signs at home. This context is lacking in current guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which tells people with COVID-19 to seek medical attention when they experience overt symptoms such as "trouble breathing" and "persistent pain or pressure in the chest" - indications that may be absent even when respiration and blood oxygen have reached dangerous levels, the authors ...

New research indicates that certain anti-cancer therapies may hasten cellular aging, where changes in the DNA of patients may contribute to greater inflammation and fatigue. The findings are published by Wiley early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. Gene activity is often adjusted during life through epigenetic changes, or physical modifications to DNA that do not involve altering the underlying DNA sequence. Some individuals may experience epigenetic age acceleration (EAA) that puts them at a higher risk of age-related ...

Oncotarget published "Urine protein biomarkers of bladder cancer arising from 16-plex antibody-based screens" which reported that the current study examines urine samples from 66 subjects, comprising of 31 Urology clinic controls and 35 bladder cancer patients, using a Luminex based screening platform. ELISA validation was carried out for the top 4 prospective urine biomarkers using an independent cohort of 20 Urology clinic controls and 60 bladder cancer subjects. Eight of these urine proteins were able to differentiate BC from control urine with ROC AUC values exceeding 0.70 at p < 0.0001, with specificity values exceeding 0.9. Upon ELISA validation, urine IL-1&alpha;, IL-1ra, and IL-8 were able to distinguish ...

Oncotarget published "The acylfulvene alkylating agent, LP-184, retains nanomolar potency in non-small cell lung cancer carrying otherwise therapy-refractory mutations" which reported that KEAP1 mutant NSCLCs further activate NRF2 and upregulate its client PTGR1. LP-184, a novel alkylating agent belonging to the acylfulvene class is a prodrug dependent upon PTGR1. The authors hypothesized that NSCLC with KEAP1 mutations would continue to remain sensitive to LP-184. LP-184 demonstrated highly potent anticancer activity both in primary NSCLC cell lines and in those originating from brain metastases of primary lung cancers. LP-184 activity correlated with PTGR1 transcript levels but was independent of mutations in key oncogenes and tumor ...

Oncotarget published "Prognostic and therapeutic value of the Hippo pathway, RABL6A, and p53-MDM2 axes in sarcomas" which reported that herein the authors evaluate expression of TAZ and YAP, the p53-MDM2 axis, and RABL6A, a novel oncoprotein with potential ties to both pathways, in sarcomas of different histological types. Immunohistochemical staining of a tissue microarray including 163 sarcomas and correlation with clinical data showed that elevated YAP and TAZ independently predict worse overall and progression-free survival, respectively. In the absence of p53 expression, combined TAZ and YAP expression adversely affect overall, progression free, and metastasis free survival ...

Regular consumption of milk is not associated with increased levels of cholesterol, according to new research. A study published in the International Journal of Obesity looked at three large population studies and found that people who regularly drank high amounts of milk had lower levels of both good and bad cholesterol, although their BMI levels were higher than non-milk drinkers. Further analysis of other large studies also suggests that those who regularly consumed milk had a 14% lower risk of coronary heart disease. The team of researchers took a genetic approach to milk consumption by looking at a variation in the lactase gene associated with digestion of milk sugars known as lactose. The study identified that having the genetic variation where people can digest ...

Press release - Abstract 1394: Alterations in clock genes expression in Eutopic and Ectopic Endometrial Tissue New research suggests that night shift work is linked to menstrual irregularity and increased chance of developing endometriosis According to a study being presented at the 23rd European Congress of Endocrinology (e-ECE 2021), on Sunday 23 May at 19:00 CET (http://www.ece2021.org), women working night shifts may be at a greater risk of menstrual irregularity and developing endometriosis. The research found a reduction in the expression of PER-2, CRY-1 and CLOCK genes along with an increase in REV-ERBb in ectopic compared to ...

Bethesda, MD (May 23, 2021) -- Patients' irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms unexpectedly improved when they were under COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, reaffirming the gut-brain connection in functional gastrointestinal disorders, according to research that was selected for presentation at Digestive Disease Week&reg; (DDW) 2021. "One of our main hypotheses was that these patients were going to be worse because of pressure and stress due to COVID-19," said Juan Pablo Stefanolo, MD, a lead author on the study and a physician with the Neurogastroenterology and Motility section, Hospital de Cl&#237;nicas Jos&#233; de San Mart&#237;n, ...

Bethesda, MD (May 22, 2021) -- An artificial intelligence tool under development at Duke University can be added to the standard toilet to help analyze patients' stool and give gastroenterologists the information they need to provide appropriate treatment, according to research that was selected for presentation at Digestive Disease Week&reg; (DDW) 2021. The new technology could assist in managing chronic gastrointestinal issues such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). "Typically, gastroenterologists have to rely on patient self-reported information about their stool to help determine the cause of their ...

Tokyo, Japan - Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have been quantifying how different batches of mesenchymal stem cells respond to the mechanical stiffness of their environments. They focused on how certain proteins were "localized" in cell nuclei and found key trends in how this changed with stiffness. Their findings explain inconsistencies between previous findings and may guide how scientists control the state of stem cells for research and medical treatments. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are important "progenitor" cells that can transform into muscle, cartilage, bone or fat cells. In 2006, pioneering work by Engler and coworkers showed that they could control what cell type mesenchymal stem cells ...

Nearly half a billion people on the planet have diabetes, but most of them aren't getting the kind of care that could make their lives healthier, longer and more productive, according to a new global study of data from people with the condition. Many don't even know they have the condition. Only 1 in 10 people with diabetes in the 55 low- and middle-income countries studied receive the type of comprehensive care that's been proven to reduce diabetes-related problems, according to the new findings published in Lancet Healthy Longevity. That comprehensive package of care ...

Business shutdowns reduce COVID-19 deaths, though with rapidly diminishing returns, with study of Italian lockdowns estimating they saved over 9,400 lives in under a month. INFORMATION: Article Title: Closed for business: The mortality impact of business closures during the Covid-19 pandemic Funding: The author(s) received no specific funding for this work. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Article URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0251373 ...

Plant diseases don't stop at national borders and miles of oceans don't prevent their spread, either. That's why plant disease surveillance, improved detection systems, and global predictive disease modeling are necessary to mitigate future disease outbreaks and protect the global food supply, according to a team of researchers in a new commentary published in&nbsp;Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The idea is to "detect these plant disease outbreak sources early and stop the spread before it becomes a pandemic," says lead-author Jean Ristaino, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Plant Pathology at North Carolina State University. Once an epidemic occurs it is difficult to control, Ristaino says, likening the effort to the one undertaken ...

Neurotic personalities found the pandemic most traumatic, while agreeable and conscientious personalities offered protection from the pandemic's negative impacts. INFORMATION: Article Title: Which personality traits can mitigate the impact of the pandemic? Assessment of the relationship between personality traits and traumatic events in the COVID-19 pandemic as mediated by defense mechanisms Funding: The author(s) received no specific funding for this work. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Article URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0251984 ...