A pivotal study has discovered a genetic synergy between pumpkin and cucumber that fortifies the latter's resilience against salinity. The research illuminates the role of the CmoDREB2A transcription factor from pumpkin, which, when interacted with cucumber's CmoNAC1, forms a regulatory loop that enhances salt tolerance. This breakthrough could be key to developing crops that thrive in saline soils, safeguarding agricultural productivity. Soil salinity, a silent blight on global agriculture, affects an estimated 10% of the world's arable land, leading to significant crop ...

A detailed genomic study of broccoli has revealed the genetic foundations for the production of glucosinolates (GSLs), compounds celebrated for their health benefits, including anti-carcinogenic properties. By assembling a high-quality chromosome-level genome, researchers identified key genes involved in GSL biosynthesis. These findings offer critical insights for future genetic studies and the development of Brassica crops with enhanced nutritional value, paving the way for improved health benefits from these widely consumed vegetables. Broccoli is renowned for its health benefits, primarily due to its rich glucosinolate (GSL) content, which has anti-carcinogenic ...

A cutting-edge study has pinpointed the PgbHLH28 gene as a crucial catalyst in the methyl jasmonate-induced (MeJA-induced) saponin biosynthesis in Platycodon grandiflorus. This genetic insight could significantly bolster the production of saponins, which are beneficial in combating cerebrovascular diseases and COVID-19, offering a novel therapeutic avenue in medicinal plant cultivation. Platycodon grandiflorus, commonly known as balloon flower, is renowned for its medicinal properties, primarily due to its rich saponin content. Saponins are known for ...

Glomerulus, the fundamental filtering unit of the kidney, is an intricate network of capillaries — small blood vessels that regulate the movement of ions, water, and metabolites while maintaining impermeability to essential macromolecules such as proteins. The selectively permeable capillary wall, known as the glomerular filtration barrier (GFB), consists of three main components: glomerular endothelial cells (GEnCs), the glomerular basement membrane, and podocytes. GEnCs line the inner surface of the capillary wall and are covered by a thin layer of glycoproteins and other carbohydrate-based moieties. Adhesion G-protein-coupled ...

(Toronto, June 21, 2024) JMIR Publications is pleased to announce that JMIR Dermatology (JMIR Derm) has been accepted for inclusion in MEDLINE, which is the U.S. National Library of Medicine's premier bibliographic database. JMIR Dermatology was previously already indexed in PubMed, but MEDLINE is a more selective subset of PubMed, consisting of the top 5200 biomedical journals, and indexing in MEDLINE also means that articles are now also indexed with NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH terms) and other metadata. Selection for MEDLINE is a result of a thorough review of the ...

(WASHINGTON, June 21, 2024) – Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs) who received frequent tests for immunoglobulin G (IgG) were less likely to experience severe infections compared with those who didn’t, according to a study published in Blood Advances. Moreover, only half of patients undergo such testing.  Patients with blood cancers such as CLL and NHL are at elevated risk for potentially life-threatening infections due to low blood levels of immunoglobulins — proteins ...

Earth and environmental scientists reported that as human socio-economic activities increase, greenhouse gas emissions will rise, leading to more frequent extreme weather events such as droughts and floods. However, a research team from Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) has published a study suggesting that anthropogenic greenhouse gases might actually mitigate droughts, offering a new perspective on the impact of human activities on nature.   Professor Jonghun Kam from the Division of Environmental Science and Engineering at POSTECH ...

Co-authored by Pascal François (HEC Montreal) and Georges Hubner (University of Liège), both professors of finance, The Complete Guide to Portfolio Performance: Appraise, Analyse, Act, just published by Wiley, is a comprehensive guide to all aspects of financial portfolio performance. The book explores the essential topics of portfolio performance measurement in a realistic and rigorous way, with usable content clearly illustrated by practical examples that demonstrate the application of the concepts discussed. Portfolio management is a complex field, requiring in-depth expertise ...

As a neurodegenerative disease characterized by childhood onset dementia, Sanfilippo syndrome causes immense suffering in many ways, including pain, loss of speech, extreme agitation, and distress, gastrointestinal symptoms, and profound sleep disturbance. With no approved treatment, clinical specialists have had few options to help alleviate this suffering until now. A groundbreaking clinical trial collaboration between study lead and principal investigator Lynda Polgreen, MD, MS, Investigator at The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA (TLI) and Associate ...

Many drug and antibody discovery pathways focus on intricately folded cell membrane proteins: when molecules of a drug candidate bind to these proteins, like a key going into a lock, they trigger chemical cascades that alter cellular behavior. But because these proteins are embedded in the lipid-containing outer layer of cells, they are tricky to access and insoluble in water-based solutions (hydrophobic), making them difficult to study. "We wanted to get these proteins out of the cell membrane, so we redesigned them as hyperstable, soluble analogues, which look like membrane proteins but are much ...

In a world striving for sustainability, understanding the hidden half of a living plant – the roots – is crucial. Roots are not just an anchor; they are a dynamic interface between the plant and soil, critical for water uptake, nutrient absorption, and, ultimately, the survival of the plant. In an investigation to boost agricultural yields and develop crops resilient to climate change, scientists from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s (Berkeley Lab’s) Applied Mathematics and Computational Research (AMCR) and Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology (EGSB) Divisions have made a significant leap. Their latest innovation, RhizoNet, harnesses the power ...

Press release under embargo: Cleveland Clinic Study Shows Weight Loss Surgery Cuts Risk of Heart Complications and Death in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Obesity  First-of-its-kind MOSAIC study shows weight-loss surgery is associated with a 42% reduction in risk of heart complications and 37% reduction in risk of death in patients with obstructive sleep apnea   Under embargo until Friday, June 21, 2024, 9:00 AM ET, CLEVELAND: A Cleveland Clinic study shows that bariatric surgery performed in patients with obesity and moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea is associated with a significantly lower risk of ...

Artificial intelligence continues to squirm its way into many aspects of our lives. But what about biology, the study of life itself? AI can sift through hundreds of thousands of genome data points to identify potential new therapeutic targets. While these genomic insights may appear helpful, scientists aren’t sure how today’s AI models come to their conclusions in the first place. Now, a new system named SQUID arrives on the scene armed to pry open AI’s black box of murky internal logic. SQUID, ...

A new UCLA Health study has found that resilient people exhibit neural activity in the brain regions associated with improved cognition and regulating of emotions, and were more mindful and better at describing their feelings. The same group also exhibited gut microbiome activity linked to a healthy gut, with reduced inflammation and gut barrier. For the study, rather than examine microbiome activity and composition linked to disease conditions-- like anxiety and depression -- the researchers wanted to flip the script and study the gut microbiome and brain in healthy, resilient people who effectively cope with different types of stress, including discrimination ...

Nightshade plants produce a diverse array of compounds with therapeutic potential. Researchers at CeMM have now identified an artificial variant inspired by the Withanolides group that acts highly specifically against leukemia cells. Using state-of-the-art chemical and genetic high-throughput analyses, the team led by Georg Winter not only confirmed its effectiveness but also elucidated its mechanism of action: the molecule disrupts the cholesterol metabolism of tumor cells. The study's findings ...

Green hydrogen often, but certainly not always, leads to CO2 gains. This claim is based on research published in Nature Energy by Kiane de Kleijne from Radboud University and Eindhoven University of Technology. “If you calculate the entire life cycle of green hydrogen production and transport, CO2 gains may be disappointing. However, if green hydrogen is produced from very clean electricity and locally, it can really help reduce emissions.” It is thought that green hydrogen can make ...

Although there is the saying, “straight from the horse’s mouth”, it's impossible to get a horse to tell you if it's in pain or experiencing joy. Yet, its body will express the answer in its movements. To a trained eye, pain will manifest as a change in gait, or in the case of joy, the facial expressions of the animal could change. But what if we can automate this with AI? And what about AI models for cows, dogs, cats, or even mice? Automating animal behavior not only removes observer bias, but it helps humans more efficiently get to the right answer. Today ...

Climate change could increase the amount of time women spend collecting water by up to 30 percent globally by 2050, according to a new study published in Nature Climate Change. In regions of South America and Southeast Asia, the time spent collecting water could double due to higher temperatures and less rainfall. A team of scientists from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) estimates the large welfare losses that could result from climate impacts and highlights how women are particularly vulnerable to changing future climate conditions. Worldwide, two billion people currently lack access to safe drinking water. The ...

[The following is a guest editorial written by Dr Lex van Loon, an assistant professor at the Australian National University and the University of Twente in the Netherlands. He is co-author of a new Frontiers in Physiology article.] Space exploration has always captivated our imagination, offering the promise of discovering new worlds and pushing the boundaries of human capability. As commercial space travel becomes more accessible, individuals with various underlying health conditions—including heart failure—may soon be among those venturing beyond Earth’s atmosphere. This raises critical questions about the impact of space travel ...

Extensive research shows the link between exposure to racism during childhood and adolescence and increased risks of depression and metabolic health issues, such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Conversely, racial socialization, described as behaviors and practices that teach children about race and ethnic identity, has shown potential in mitigating these negative effects, and discussions like these could be effective in pediatric clinics, according to the first expert consensus guidance on this topic published in Pediatrics. “Over the years, numerous calls to action have been made to address racism in medicine. ...

Drugs developed to combat HIV and AIDS are being trialled for the first time in patients with multiple brain tumours. Scientists at the Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence at the University of Plymouth are conducting a clinical trial to see whether using anti-retroviral medications, Ritonavir and Lopinavir, could help people with Neurofibromatosis 2 (NF2). The rare inherited genetic condition causes tumours such as schwannoma (which include acoustic neuroma), ependymoma and meningioma which develop ...

Groundbreaking research has revealed a new way to measure incredibly minute forces at the nanoscale in water, pushing the boundaries of what scientists know about the microscopic world. The significant nanotechnology advance was achieved by researchers from Beihang University in China with RMIT University and other leading institutions including the Australian National University and University of Technology Sydney.  The new technique, involving a super-resolved photonic force microscope (SRPFM), is capable of detecting forces in water as small as 108.2 attonewtons—a scale so minute that it compares to measuring the weight of a virus. Lead ...

Imagine a close basketball game that comes down to the final shot. The probability of the ball going through the hoop might be fairly low, but it would dramatically increase if the player were afforded the opportunity to shoot it over and over. A similar idea is at play in the scientific field of membrane separations, a key process central to industries that include everything from biotechnology to petrochemicals to water treatment to food and beverage. “Separations lie at the heart of so many of the products we use in our everyday lives,” said Seth Darling, head of the Advanced Materials for Energy Water Systems (AMEWS) Center at the U.S. Department of ...

​ Oh, the joy of inflicting pain upon others. The Germans have a word for it: schadenfreude, meaning “malicious pleasure.” And tapping into its sentiment properly can, ironically, do a lot of good by raising money for charity. In a groundbreaking paper published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, UC Riverside School of Business marketing professor and associate dean Thomas Kramer and co-authors articulate and quantify the appeal of schadenfreude (pronounced Sha-den-froid-e) through the lens of marketing psychology. Through a series of behavioral scenario studies, their paper provides insights ...

The Lancet: Managing gestational diabetes much earlier in pregnancy can prevent complications and improve long-term health outcomes, experts say Speaking at the American Diabetes Association 84th Scientific Sessions, authors of a new Lancet Series challenge current approaches to managing gestational diabetes (a type of diabetes that can be diagnosed during pregnancy) and call for initiating treatment much earlier to prevent complications during pregnancy and beyond. [1].  Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM), commonly referred to as gestational diabetes, is the most common ...