COLUMBUS, Ohio – Chemotherapy is known to cause behavioral side effects, including cognitive decline. Notably, the gut microbiome communicates with the brain to affect behavior, including cognition. “For the first time ever, our Intelligut Study found that the gut microbiome has been implicated in cognitive side effects of chemotherapy in humans,” said senior author Leah Pyter, associate professor of psychiatry and neuroscience with The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine. ...

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a pill that releases microscopic robots, or microrobots, into the colon to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The experimental treatment, given orally, has shown success in mice. It significantly reduced IBD symptoms and promoted the healing of damaged colon tissue without causing toxic side effects. The study was published June 26 in Science Robotics. IBD, an autoimmune disorder characterized by chronic inflammation of the gut, ...

Sharing false political information on social media by users may be associated with aspects of personality such as positive schizotypy, a set of traits including paranoia, suspicion and disrupted thinking patterns. It may also be linked to a motivation to increase awareness according to a study published June 26, 2024 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Tom Buchanan, University of Westminster, UK, and colleagues. The spread of false political information on social media can tarnish trust in authentic news and even contribute to social unrest. Knowingly or not, a small portion of social media users actively share false material. Buchanan and ...

In a test of the examinations system of the University of Reading in the UK, artificial intelligence (AI)-generated submissions went almost entirely undetected, and these fake answers tended to receive higher grades than those achieved by real students. Peter Scarfe of the University of Reading and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on June 26. In recent years, AI tools such as ChatGPT have become more advanced and widespread, leading to concerns about students using them to cheat by submitting AI-generated work as their own. Such concerns are heightened ...

Researchers led by Kannosuke Yabe, Asuka Kamio, and Soichi Inagaki of the University of Tokyo have discovered that in thale cresses histone H3 lysine-9 (H3K9) methylation, conventionally thought to be a mark of turning off gene transcription, can also turn on gene expression via the interactions of two other proteins and histone marks. The molecular mechanisms demonstrate that rather than functioning as a simple “off switch,” H3K9 methylation is more like a “dimmer switch” that fine-tunes DNA transcription. The discovery suggests there might be similar mechanisms in other ...

New interactive atlas of water scarcity solutions in the U.S. Southwest shares a library of case studies to help adapt to drought. #### Article URL: https://journals.plos.org/water/article?id=10.1371/journal.pwat.0000246 Article Title: The water adaptation techniques atlas: A new geospatial library of solutions to water scarcity in the U.S. Southwest Author Countries: United States Funding: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. END ...

Experienced exam markers may struggle to spot answers generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI), researchers have found.   The study was conducted at the University of Reading, UK, where university leaders are working to identify potential risks and opportunities of AI for research, teaching, learning, and assessment, with updated advice already issued to staff and students as a result of their findings.   The researchers are calling for the global education sector to follow the example of Reading, and others who are also forming new ...

Whether it’s a first-time visit to a zoo or when we learned to ride a bicycle, we have memories from our childhoods kept well into adult years. But what explains how these memories last nearly an entire lifetime?  A new study in the journal Science Advances, conducted by a team of international researchers, has uncovered a biological explanation for long-term memories. It centers on the discovery of the role of a molecule, KIBRA, that serves as a “glue” to other molecules, thereby solidifying memory formation. “Previous efforts to understand ...

North Carolina State University researchers have developed a kirigami-inspired mechanical computer that uses a complex structure of rigid, interconnected polymer cubes to store, retrieve and erase data without relying on electronic components. The system also includes a reversible feature that allows users to control when data editing is permitted and when data should be locked in place. Mechanical computers are computers that operate using mechanical components rather than electronic ones. Historically, these mechanical components have been things like levers or gears. However, mechanical computers can also be made using structures that are multistable, meaning ...

Genova (Italy), 26 June 2024 – Researchers at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT-Italian Institute of Technology) have demonstrated that under specific conditions, humans can treat robots as co-authors of the results of their actions. The condition that enables this phenomenon is that a robot behaves in a human-like, social manner. Engaging in gaze contact and participating in a common emotional experience, such as watching a movie, are the key. The study was published in Science Robotics and paves the way for understanding and designing the optimal circumstances for humans and robots to collaborate in the same environment. The ...

Scientists at the University of Konstanz in Germany have advanced ultrafast electron microscopy to unprecedented time resolution. Reporting in Science Advances, the research team presents a method for the all-optical control, compression, and characterization of electron pulses within a transmission electron microscope using terahertz light. Additionally, the researchers have discovered substantial anti-correlations in the time domain for two-electron and three-electron states, providing deeper insight into the quantum physics of ...

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- A new study published by an international multidisciplinary team of researchers including faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York, documents the first case of Down syndrome in Neandertals and reveals that they were capable of providing altruistic care and support for a vulnerable member of their social group. The research, led by anthropologists at the University of Alcalá and the University of Valencia in Spain, studied the skeletal remains of a Neandertal child, whom they affectionately named “Tina”, found at Cova Negra, a cave in Valencia, Spain long known for yielding important Neandertal discoveries. “The ...

An international team of researchers led by the University of Adelaide has projected future marine heatwaves will cause coral reefs to be at severe risk of bleaching for longer periods than previously seen. Through climate modelling and supercomputing, the researchers discovered that extended bleaching events may significantly disrupt coral spawning. “We found that coral bleaching will start earlier in the year and last longer than previously thought,” said lead author Dr Camille Mellin, from the University of Adelaide’s Environment Institute. “Our results show that by 2080, coral bleaching will tend to start in spring, rather than late summer, which ...

Procrastination, the deliberate but detrimental deferring of tasks, has many forms. Sahiti Chebolu of the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics uses a precise mathematical framework to understand its different patterns and their underlying reasons. Her insights could help tailor individual strategies to tackle the issue. “Why did I not do this when I still had the time?” – Whether it is filing taxes, meeting a deadline at work, or cleaning the apartment before a family visit, most of us have already wondered why we tend to put off certain tasks, even in the face of unpleasant consequences. Why do we make decisions that are harmful to us – against our better ...

Saudi women have obtained their citizenship rights through their own struggle and there is little truth in the widely held idea in the West that their role in the fight for their freedom has been negligible. The finding is part of a new research in the journal Diogenes authored by Zahia Salhi, a professor at Sharjah University’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. The University of Cambridge Press has also posted Prof. Salhi’s research online. “Far from being passive victims of their society, Saudi women are active agents ...

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- Binghamton University, State University of New York Distinguished Professor and Nobel Prize Laureate M. Stanley Whittingham has been named a Knight Bachelor “for his services to research in chemistry.” The honor entitles him to be known as Sir Stanley, or Sir Stanley Whittingham, and was announced as part of King Charles III’s official birthday honours list. In his 30-plus-year career, Whittingham has been a pioneer in the development of lithium-ion batteries, for which he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2019. ...

The injectable antiretroviral drug lenacapavir was safe and 100% effective as long-acting HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among cisgender women in a Phase 3 clinical trial, according to top-line findings released by Gilead Sciences, Inc., the study sponsor. Lenacapavir is administered every six months, making it the most durable HIV prevention method to have shown efficacy in this population. NIAID applauds the study sponsor, investigators, study staff, and—most importantly—the participants ...

The City University of New York has appointed Joshua C. Brumberg as president of the CUNY Graduate Center, making permanent a post he has held on an interim basis since October 2023. Brumberg, a neurobiologist who has been a faculty member, dean and researcher during his 22-year career at CUNY, will lead the University’s renowned center of graduate education, scholarship and public-interest research. CUNY’s Board of Trustees approved the appointment at its meeting last night. “Dr. Brumberg has played a key role in expanding CUNY’s research enterprise over the past several years,” said Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “A ...

Before a cell commits fully to the process of dividing itself into two new cells, it may ensure the appropriateness of its commitment by staying for many hours—sometimes more than a day—in a reversible intermediate state, according to a discovery by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine. Their revelation of this fundamental feature of biology includes details of its mechanisms and dynamics, which may inform the development of future therapies targeting cancers and other diseases. In their study, published June 26 in Nature, the researchers developed new tools allowing them to track over time the activation state of E2F, a ...

ST. LOUIS, MO, June 26, 2024 – With the goal of reducing the time and cost it takes to bring an improved crop to the marketplace, research conducted in the laboratory of Keith Slotkin, PhD, and his colleagues in the Plant Transformation Facility at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, was recently published in the scientific journal Nature. The publication Transposase-assisted target site integration for efficient plant genome engineering focuses on technology called TATSI (Transposase-Assisted Target Site Integration), which uses transposable elements to integrate custom DNA into specific sites in plant genomes.  The ...

Bacteria populate virtually every habitat on Earth, including within and on our own bodies. Understanding and engineering bacteria can lead to new methods for diagnosing, treating, and preventing infections. Additionally, it presents opportunities to protect crops from disease and create sustainable cell factories for chemical production, reducing environmental impact — just a few of the many benefits to society. To unlock these advantages, scientists need the ability to manipulate the genetic content of these bacteria. However, a longstanding bottleneck in genetically engineering bacteria has been the efficient ...

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory will support three innovative artificial intelligence (AI)-driven science projects as part of the first round of awards from the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) Pilot. Led by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in collaboration with DOE and several partners, the NAIRR Pilot aims to provide researchers and students with expanded access to key AI resources and data. NAIRR’s ultimate goal ...

“We wanted to investigate how second pillar pension funds react to financial crises and how to protect them from the crises,” says Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) professor Dr Audrius Kabašinskas, who, together with his team, discovered a way to achieve this goal. The discovery in question is the development of stress tests for pension funds. Lithuanian researchers were the first in the world to come up with such an adaptation of the stress tests. Stress tests are usually carried out on banks or other financial institutions to allow market regulators to determine and assess their ability to withstand adverse economic conditions. According to the professor at ...

About The Study: Multivitamin use was not associated with a mortality benefit in this cohort study of U.S. adults. Still, many adults report using multivitamins to maintain or improve health.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Erikka Loftfield, Ph.D., M.P.H., email erikka.loftfield@nih.gov. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.18729) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, ...

In order to convert sunlight into electricity or other forms of energy as efficiently as possible, the very first step is an efficient light-harvesting system. Ideally, this should be panchromatic, i.e. absorb the entire spectrum of visible light. The light-collecting antennae of plants and bacteria are a model for this. They capture a broad spectrum of light for photosynthesis, but are very complex in structure and require many different dyes to transmit the energy of the absorbed light and focus it on a central point. The light-harvesting systems developed by humans to date also have disadvantages: Although ...