Learning the role of immune-system cells in healthy digestive tracts and how they interact with neighboring nerve cells may lead to new treatments for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Researchers from Penn State College of Medicine, in collaboration with other scientists, have reported the role of macrophages in regulating the contractions of the colon to push digested material through the digestive tract. The muscular lining of the intestine contains a distinct kind of macrophage, an immune system cell that helps fight infections. The role of these cells in normal colon ...

New Haven, Conn. -- From the physics labs at Yale University to the bottom of a played-out gold mine in South Dakota, a new generation of dark matter experiments is ready to commence. The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science and the National Science Foundation recently gave the go-ahead to LUX-Zeplin (LZ), a key experiment in the hunt for dark matter, the invisible substance that may make up much of the universe. Daniel McKinsey, a professor of physics, leads a contingent of Yale scientists working on the project. "We emerged from a very intense competition," ...

WASHINGTON, July 18—Long hours of nighttime driving can cause eyestrain because while our vision adapts to the surrounding darkness, the sudden stabs of brightness from streetlamps can be irritating, distracting and even painful. Even as LED technology has transformed the lighting industry, bringing the promise of more energy-efficient road illumination, some fear that the new lights could cause even more troublesome, unsafe glare. A team of researchers from China and the Netherlands has developed a way to evaluate the human impact of uncomfortable glare caused by LED ...

Imagery from NASA's Aqua satellite captured a wide-eyed Typhoon Rammasun as it was making landfall in northern Hainan Island, China early on July 18. A rainfall analysis using another NASA satellite showed the flooding potential of the storm as it left the Philippines and headed for China. Now, Rammasun is headed for a final landfall near the northeastern border of Vietnam and China. On July 17, an analysis of Typhoon Rammasun's rainfall was conducted at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The rainfall analysis covered the storm's rainfall from ...

The first tropical cyclone of the season has formed in the Central Pacific Ocean as NASA's Terra satellite passed overhead. Tropical Storm Wali formed southeast of the Big Island of Hawaii, and now that it's nearing, a Flash Flood Watch has been posted for all of the islands. NASA's Terra satellite passed over Wali on July 17 at 19:55 UTC (3:55 p.m. EDT) just as it was being classified as Tropical Depression 1C. NOAA's Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC) issued an advisory at 5 p.m. EDT (11 a.m. HST) announcing the birth of the depression near 12.7 north and 140.7 ...

Current research on bone marrow stem cell transplantation and autologous or xenogenic nerve transplantation for peripheral nerve regeneration has mainly focused on the repair of peripheral nerve defects in rodents. Dr. Dong Wang and his team, First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, China established a standardized experimental model of 2.5 cm-long radial nerve defects in rhesus monkeys and evaluated the effect of repair on peripheral nerve injury. The quality of nerve regeneration in the bone marrow stem cells-laden allografts was comparable to that achieved ...

Nerve growth factor can be delivered to the brain by intranasal administration without risk for treatment of brain diseases. Dr. Luigi Aloe, Cellular Biology and Neurobiology Institute, National Research Council, Italy and his team performed a study to investigate whether, by intranasal administration, the nerve growth factor bypasses the blood-brain barrier and turns over the spinal cord neurons. Results showed that at 3 weeks after intranasal administration of nerve growth factor, the contents of nerve growth factor and its receptor in the spinal cord were increased, ...

Several studies have demonstrated that L-carnitine exhibits neuroprotective effects on injured sciatic nerve of rats with diabetes mellitus. Dr. Ümmü Zeynep Avsar, Faculty of Medicine, Ataturk University, Turkey and his team proposed a hypothesis that L-carnitine exhibits neuroprotective effects on injured sciatic nerve of rats. Rat sciatic nerve was crush injured by a forceps and exhibited degenerative changes. After intragastric administration of 50 and 100 mg/kg L-carnitine for 30 days, axon area, myelin sheath area, axon diameter, myelin sheath diameter, and numerical ...

A new study determines glycosylation and pH-dependent conformational changes of virus receptor SCARB2 as crucial for EV71 attachment, entry and uncoating Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is the major causative agent of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in the Asia-Pacific region, having caused 8.8 million infections and 3,000 deaths in China in the past five years. Unlike other enteroviruses (e.g. Coxsackievirus), EV71 can cause severe aseptic meningitis, encephalitis, myocarditis and acute flaccid paralysis, thus leading to significant fatality rates. Unfortunately, the molecular ...

This news release is available in German. Proteins, the components of our body that execute, control and organize basically all functions in our cells, are made out of strings of amino acids, which – like an origami - are folded into specific and complex three-dimensional structures according to their desired functions. However, since folding and maintaining of such structures is highly sensitive to cellular or environmental stress, proteins can potentially misfold or form clumps (aggregates). Such undesired protein waste can be toxic for cells and may even lead ...

Researchers at the University of Granada have designed new software that provides real time data on traffic. It is a device that provides information on traffic flow between cities. Drivers can use this information to choose the fastest route as they plan to drive to their destinations. It is a highly reliable, low-cost method, easy and quick to install, which uses bluetooth devices. These devices collect real-time data on road traffic which it then sends to a central server. This information is then processed using complex data mining algorithms, evolutionary computing ...

Spanish scientists have demonstrated through an experiment on obese rats that the consumption of probiotics during thirty days helps diminish the accumulation of fat in the liver. This new finding, published today by the journal PLOS ONE, is a great step forward on the fight agains the Non-Alcolohic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), which is closely related to obesity and diabetes. Researchers from the 'Nutrition Biochemistry: Theurapetic Applications' group (CTS-461) and the José Mataix Institute for Nutrition and Food Technology at the University of Granada have demonstrated ...

In a recent study, a researcher at the University of Colorado Boulder found no evidence that a California ban on using hand-held cellphones while driving decreased the number of traffic accidents in the state in the first six months following the ban. The findings, published in the journal Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, are surprising given prior research that suggests driving while using a cellphone is risky. For example, past laboratory studies have shown that people who talk on a cellphone while using driving simulators are as impaired as people ...

Slit-Robo GTPase-activating protein 3 contains a Rho GAP domain that regulates the activities of Rho family GTPases and affects actin polymerization, which influences dendrite elaboration, neurite outgrowth and axon guidance, contributing to neural regeneration. Anjie Lu, the Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, China and his team performed a microRNA microarray analysis and identified 23 microRNAs whose expression were significantly changed in rat dorsal root ganglia (DRG) after sciatic nerve injury (SNI). Bioinformatic analysis was used to determine microRNA-214 ...

Recent studies have demonstrated that glutamate receptor δ2 gene (GRID2) is closely related to cerebellar functions in mice. This gene is predominantly located in postsynaptic dendrites of parallel fiber–Purkinje cell synapses in the cerebellum and contains potential fragile sites within large introns. These fragile sites easily develop spontaneous mutation, which leads to Purkinje cell death, contributing to the manifestation of spinocerebellar ataxia in mice. The human GRID2 shares 90% homology with the orthologous mouse gene, and therefore it has become an important ...

Non-coding RNAs represent one of the most exciting aspects of current biomedical research. Non-coding RNAs include long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) which are generally longer than 200 nucleotides (nt) and small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs) that are mostly 20-35 nt. Among sncRNAs, microRNAs (miRNAs) and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are commonly 21 nt in length, and both specifically bind to the AGO subfamily of the ARGONAUTE (AGO)/PIWI family proteins. PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), which are defined by their specific binding to the PIWI subfamily of AGO/PIWI family proteins, ...

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) – Researchers from UC Davis School of Medicine and Shriners Hospitals for Children – Northern California have identified a group of cells in the brain that they say plays an important role in the abnormal neuron development in Down syndrome. After developing a new model for studying the syndrome using patient-derived stem cells, the scientists also found that applying an inexpensive antibiotic to the cells appears to correct many abnormalities in the interaction between the cells and developing neurons. The findings, which focused on support cells ...

Lincoln, Neb., July 18, 2014 -- A research team led by Scott Gardner of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has identified four new species of Ctenomys, a genus of gopher-like mammal found throughout much of South America. Commonly called tuco-tucos, the burrowing rodents range from 7 to 12 inches long and weigh less than a pound. They demonstrate the broad range of biological diversity in the lowlands and central valleys of Bolivia, where all four new species were found, Gardner said. It is very rare to identify a new species of mammal, said Gardner, director of the H.W. ...

Scientists at The Australian National University (ANU) have uncovered the secret to twisting light at will. It is the latest step in the development of photonics, the faster, more compact and less carbon-hungry successor to electronics. A random find in the washing basket led the team to create the latest in a new breed of materials known as metamaterials. These artificial materials show extraordinary properties quite unlike natural materials. "Our material can put a twist into light – that is, rotate its polarisation – orders of magnitude more strongly than natural materials," ...

MAYWOOD, Ill-- Omega-3 fish oil might help protect against alcohol-related neurodamage and the risk of eventual dementia, according to a study published in the journal PLOS ONE. Many human studies have shown that long-term alcohol abuse causes brain damage and increases the risk of dementia. The new study found that in brain cells exposed to high levels of alcohol, a fish oil compound protected against inflammation and neuronal cell death. The study was conducted by Michael A. Collins, PhD, Edward J. Neafsey, PhD, and colleagues at Loyola University Chicago Stritch ...

DURHAM, N.C. -- An intervention program aimed at helping obese women maintain their weight without adding pounds also significantly reduced depression in nearly half the participants, according to a new study from Duke University. The study was conducted with 185 low-income black women ages 25-44, each with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 35, who were receiving primary care at five community health centers in central North Carolina. The program used software built by Duke researchers that personalized a weight-gain prevention intervention called the Shape Program for ...

Boulder, Colo., USA – Volcanic hazards aren't limited to eruptions. Debris avalanche landslides can also cause a great deal of damage and loss of life. Stratovolcanoes, with their steep, conical shapes made up of lava and unconsolidated mixed materials, can reach a critical point of instability when they overgrow their flanks. This leads to partial collapse, and the product of this slope failure is a large-scale, rapid mass movement known as a catastrophic landslide or debris avalanche. In a matter of minutes, a debris avalanche can drastically modify the shape and nature ...

Researchers at Queen's University have made a significant breakthrough that may benefit patients with bowel cancer. Dr Sandra van Schaeybroeck and her team have discovered how two genes cause bowel cancer cells to become resistant to treatments used against the disease. The research, which was funded by Cancer Research UK, was published this month in the prestigious international journal Cell Reports. The activity of the two genes, called MEK and MET, was uncovered when the researchers looked at all the different pathways and interactions taking place in bowel cancer ...

Despite a deluge of new information about the diversity and distribution of plants and animals around the globe, "big data" has yet to make a mark on conservation efforts to preserve the planet's biodiversity. But that may soon change. A new model developed by University of California, Berkeley, biologist Brent Mishler and his colleagues in Australia leverages this growing mass of data – much of it from newly digitized museum collections – to help pinpoint the best areas to set aside as preserves and to help biologists understand the evolutionary history of life on Earth. ...

A new approach to measuring biodiversity has uncovered some biologically important but currently unprotected areas in Western Australia, while confirming the significance of the world heritage listed Wet Tropics rainforests in the country's north-east. In a paper published yesterday (Friday 18 July) in Nature Communications, scientists from CSIRO, University of California, University of Canberra, the Australian Tropical Herbarium at James Cook University and University of New South Wales applied the new method to Australia's iconic Acacia. The genus Acacia includes ...