The human genome contains about 23,000 genes, but only a fraction of those genes are turned on inside a cell at any given time. The complex network of regulatory elements that controls gene expression includes regions of the genome called enhancers, which are often located far from the genes that they regulate.  This distance can make it difficult to map the complex interactions between genes and enhancers. To overcome that, MIT researchers have invented a new technique that allows them to observe the timing of gene and enhancer activation in a cell. When a gene is turned on around the same time as a particular enhancer, it strongly suggests the enhancer ...

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute, working with UCL and Imperial College London, have discovered a new biological pathway that is a principal driver of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and related conditions, and which can be targeted using existing drugs. About 5% of the world’s population, and one in ten people in the UK1, are currently affected by an autoimmune disease, such as IBD, the umbrella term for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. These diseases are also becoming more common, with over half a million people living with IBD in the UK as of 2022, nearly double the 300,000 previously estimated2. Despite increasing prevalence, current treatments do not ...

LA JOLLA (June 5, 2024)—Bacteria, parasites, viruses—the immune system tackles them all. At the front line of the human immune response are cells called macrophages, which are responsible for correctly identifying intruders and then directing how the entire immune system responds. Researchers at the Salk Institute have now discovered a molecular mechanism that helps macrophages mount a coordinated response tailored to a specific immune challenge. Activating macrophages requires the work of three versions of a protein complex called SWI/SNF: cBAF, ncBAF, and PBAF. Scientists already knew these variants had slightly different structures, but ...

Why Do 1 in 10 Americans Get Eczema? Is it Too Much Salt?  UCSF Study finds that changes in daily salt intake may explain eczema flares.  A high sodium diet may increase the risk of eczema, according to researchers at UC San Francisco (UCSF), who found that eating just one extra gram of sodium per day – the amount in a Big Mac – increases the likelihood of flares by 22%.     Eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis, is a chronic disease that causes dry, itchy skin. It’s one of ...

When Twitter banned more than 70,000 traffickers of false information from its platform in the wake of the violence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the impact went beyond the silencing of those users. A study co-authored by UC Riverside public policy and political science scholars published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, June 5, found that the crackdown by Twitter (now called X after it was acquired by billionaire Elon Musk in late 2022) also significantly reduced the number of misinformation posts by users who stayed on the platform but had been following those who were kicked off. Additionally, the study found that many of the misinformation ...

One in six patients in primary care reported cannabis use, with 35% of those using at levels indicating moderate- to high-risk for cannabis use disorder, new UCLA research finds. The findings, to be published June 5 in JAMA Network Open, suggest that most patients reported using cannabis for symptom management, despite identifying as recreational users, indicating the need for routine cannabis screening.   Currently few healthcare systems offer this screening in primary care settings. “Patients may not tell their primary care providers about their cannabis use, and their doctors ...

In a study published in Cell, a research team led by ZHANG Yong'e and WANG Haoyi from the Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has characterized the diversity of DNA transposons and expanded the genome engineering toolbox. "Our systematic and comparative framework complements conventional case studies in elucidating basic biology and strengthening applied biology," said Prof. ZHANG, corresponding author of the study. Since the first discovery of transposons by Barbara McClintock in the 1940s, scientists ...

Antibiotic treatment prior to surgical repair of a pediatric elbow fracture does not reduce the risk for post-operative infection, according to new findings from a team of researchers and surgeons from the University of Missouri School of Medicine.  A humerus bone fracture near the elbow is a common injury among children who fall. The typical surgical approach for repairing pediatric elbow fractures is a procedure called closed reduction percutaneous pinning (CRPP). It involves inserting pins or wires through the skin to promote stability and healing of the bone. CRPP is a minimally invasive, safe and effective ...

Healthcare providers should watch out for new and highly contagious forms of ringworm or jock itch, which are emerging as a potential public health threat, according to a pair of reports. In the first of the studies, experts at NYU Langone Health who focus on the spread of contagious rashes document the first reported U.S. case of a sexually transmitted fungal infection that can take months to clear up even with treatment. In the second report, NYU Langone physicians partnered with authorities at the New York State ...

A team of material scientists led by Jiang Li from Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in Shanghai, China recently reported (Tb1-xYx)3Al5O12 magneto-optical ceramics with high optical quality. The optical transmittance, microstructure, Verdet constant, and thermal conductivity of (Tb1-xYx)3Al5O12 with different Y content were investigated in detail. It was found that Y2O3 can suppress the secondary phase and improve the optical quality of TAG ceramics. As optical quality occupies one ...

Since the brittle characteristics of porous ceramics, high mechanical strength is the most important prerequisite among the fundamental requirements especially when used as the supports. Particle grading strategy has been intensively extended in the preparation of porous ceramics to improve the mechanical strength. Unfortunately, this usually accompanies with the notable sacrifice in porosity. The trade-off between the mechanical strength and porosity is well recognized in the field of porous ceramics, and attempts have been increasingly devoted to overcome the issue. Recently, a research team ...

Restricting use in bedrooms and at mealtimes have the biggest impact, but modeling good behavior is also important.  For many parents, it can feel like curbing kids’ screen use is a losing battle. But new research from UC San Francisco (UCSF) has found the parenting practices that work best to curb screen time and addictive screen behavior: restricting screens in bedrooms and at mealtimes and modeling healthy practices at home.   Researchers asked 12- to 13-year-olds how often they used screens for everything but school, including gaming, texting, social media, video chatting, watching videos and browsing the internet; and whether their ...

Researchers at the State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, China University of Petroleum Beijing, have achieved a significant advancement in battery technology that could revolutionize how energy is stored and utilized, particularly for large-scale applications. In a recently published article in the journal Green Energy and Intelligent Transportation, the team, led by Yingchun Niu and Senwei Zeng, introduced a novel N-B doped composite electrode for iron-chromium redox flow batteries (ICRFB), demonstrating outstanding improvements in performance and efficiency. Iron-chromium redox flow batteries are pivotal in addressing the ...

Achieving a sustained fusion reaction is a delicate balancing act, requiring a sea of moving parts to come together to maintain a high-performing plasma: one that is dense enough, hot enough, and confined for long enough for fusion to take place. Yet as researchers push the limits of plasma performance, they have encountered new challenges for keeping plasmas under control, including one that involves bursts of energy escaping from the edge of a super-hot plasma. These edge bursts negatively impact overall performance and even damage the plasma-facing ...

A compact, lightweight sensor system with infrared imaging capabilities developed by an international team of engineers could be easily fitted to a drone for remote crop monitoring. This flat-optics technology has the potential to replace traditional optical lens applications for environmental sensing in a range of industries. This innovation could result in cheaper groceries as farmers would be able to pinpoint which crops require irrigation, fertilisation and pest control, instead of taking a one-size-fits-all approach, thereby potentially boosting their harvests. The sensor system can rapidly switch between edge ...

Car tires contain hundreds of chemical additives that can leach out of them. This is how they end up in crops and subsequently in the food chain. Researchers at the Center for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science at the University of Vienna and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have now detected these chemical residues in leafy vegetables for the first time. Although the concentrations were low, the evidence was clear, a finding that is also known for drug residues in plant-based foods. The study was published in the internationally renowned journal Frontiers in Environmental Science. The presence of drug residues in commercially sold fruit ...

Older Americans may be missing out on a wide range of programs and services that could help them meet their needs or assist their aging loved ones, a new poll suggests. The new findings from the National Poll on Healthy Aging, based at the University of Michigan, show most older adults don’t know about important public resources for older adults and their caregivers, either by name or general description. The poll asked more than 4,000 adults over age 50 about their awareness and use of Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs), State Health Insurance Assistance ...

Highlights: Dermatophytes are fungi that cause skin, hair and nail fungal infections. These infections often develop resistance to azoles, a common anti-fungal treatment. A new study suggests that adding common bone loss drugs to azoles can improve efficacy. In lab tests, combinations of these drugs worked against dermatophyte species and prevented resistance. Washington, D.C.—Human skin, hair and nails are all vulnerable to fungal infections. While these infections are usually not serious, they’re difficult to fully resolve and often recur after treatment—sometimes for years. They’re also often resistant to treatments, including a common class of antifungals ...

Benefits of emerging near-field communications: The progression of 5G mobile communication commercialization has spurred anticipation for 6G communication. To support emerging applications like digital twins, holographic video, and augmented reality (AR), extremely large-scale antenna array (ELAA) is regarded as key candidates for future 6G mobile communication due to its potential to enhance spectrum efficiency.   “Compared with 5G massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems, 6G ELAA not only entails an increase in the number of antennas, but also signifies a fundamental shift in electromagnetic ...

Researchers have developed a safer, cheaper, better performing and more flexible battery option for wearable devices.   A paper describing the ‘recipe’ for their new battery type was published in the journal Nano Research Energy on June 3.   Fitness trackers. Smart watches. Virtual-reality headsets. Even smart clothing and implants. Wearable smart devices are everywhere these days. But for greater comfort, reliability and longevity, these devices will require greater levels of flexibility and miniaturization of their energy storage mechanisms, which are often frustratingly bulky, heavy and fragile. On top of this, any improvements cannot come at the expense of ...

CLEVELAND—A team of researchers from the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine has developed a new method for target DNA sequence amplification, testing and analysis. This new technique, or reaction, known as AMPLON (Amplifying DNA with Multiarm Priming and Looping Optimization of Nucleic Acid), offers an alternative to the previously accepted “gold-standard” Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method, opening the opportunity for more applications in medical diagnosis. The team’s findings were recently published in the journal Advanced Materials. “AMPLON ...

Chengdu, a bustling city, is on the brink of revolutionizing its transportation landscape by introducing Urban Air Mobility (UAM). A recent study named “A demand forecasting model for urban air mobility in Chengdu, China” conducted by a team of researchers from the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, proposes a sophisticated model to predict the future demand for UAM in Chengdu by 2030. Urban Air Mobility refers to the use of Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft to transport people and goods across urban areas, potentially easing the notorious ...

Pancreatic cancer, recognized as one of the deadliest cancers, poses a persistent challenge for medical professionals globally due to its aggressive behavior and resistance to conventional therapies. The dense fibrotic tissue surrounding pancreatic tumors acts as a significant barrier, hindering the delivery of macromolecular drugs such as antibodies and nanomedicines. Therefore, addressing fibrosis is crucial in enhancing therapeutic outcomes for patients with pancreatic cancer, whose prognosis remains bleak. Understanding the underlying mechanisms driving ...

DARIEN, IL – A new study to be presented at the SLEEP 2024 annual meeting found that circadian misalignment, which is highly prevalent in adolescents, is linked with carbohydrate consumption and sedentary behavior in teens. Results show that a later sleep schedule was significantly associated with greater intake of carbohydrates, and this relationship was partially explained by irregular sleep timing. A later sleep schedule also was associated with greater sedentary behavior, even after adjusting for variables such as demographics, sleep disorders, and insufficient sleep. “Delaying sleep schedules is normal during puberty and adolescence; however, some ...

DARIEN, IL – A new study to be presented at the SLEEP 2024 annual meeting found that it is common for foster caregivers to give melatonin to their child, and these children who have taken melatonin have worse sleep and more daytime behavioral problems. Results show that 48% of foster caregivers reported administering melatonin to their child. Children given melatonin had poorer overall sleep quality compared to children not given melatonin, yet even after adjustment for sleep quality and other potential confounders, melatonin use was associated with increased severity of daytime behavioral problems in foster ...