New York, January 17, 2024 — In all species, brain function relies on an intricate network of connections that allows neurons to send information back and forth between one another, commanding thought and physical activity. But within those networks a small number of neurons share much stronger connections to one another than all the others. These abnormally strong connections—known as “heavy tailed” based on the shape of their distribution—are thought to play an outsized role in brain function.   Researchers ...

A new study by physicists and neuroscientists from the University of Chicago, Harvard and Yale describes how connectivity among neurons comes about through general principles of networking and self-organization, rather than the biological features of an individual organism. The research, published on January 17, 2024 in Nature Physics, accurately describes neuronal connectivity in a variety of model organisms and could apply to non-biological networks like social interactions as well. “When you’re building simple models to ...

Sensors built with a new manufacturing approach are capable of recording activity deep within the brain from large populations of individual neurons–with a resolution of as few as one or two neurons–in humans as well as a range of animal models, according to a study published in the Jan. 17, 2024 issue of the journal Nature Communications. The research team is led by the Integrated Electronics and Biointerfaces Laboratory (IEBL) at the University of California San Diego.  The approach is unique in several ways. It relies on ultra-thin, flexible and customizable probes, made of clinical-grade materials, and equipped with sensors that can record extremely localized ...

Large-scale genetic analysis has helped researchers uncover the interplay between cancer-driving genetic mutations and inherited genetic variants in a rare type of blood cancer. Researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the University of Cambridge, and collaborators, combined various comprehensive data sets to understand the impact of both cancer-driving spontaneous mutations and inherited genetic variation on the risk of developing myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN). The study, published today (17 January) in Nature Genetics, describes how inherited genetic variants can influence whether a spontaneous mutation in a particular ...

When a person has one or more blocked arteries, providers may choose to conduct a minimally invasive procedure known as percutaneous coronary intervention, or PCI.  By inflating a balloon and potentially placing a stent, blood can flow more freely from the heart.  Despite carrying less risk than open surgery, stenting and balloon angioplasty can result in complications like bleeding and kidney injury.  Researchers at Michigan Medicine developed an AI-driven algorithm that accurately predicts death and complications after PCI — which could emerge as a tool ...

A new analysis of trial data on pregnant smokers, led by researchers at Queen Mary University of London, finds that the regular use of nicotine replacement products during pregnancy is not associated with adverse pregnancy events or poor pregnancy outcomes.   The PREP 2 study used data collected from over 1100 pregnant smokers attending 23 hospitals in England and 1 stop-smoking service in Scotland to compare pregnancy outcomes in women who did or did not use nicotine in the form of e-cigarettes (EC) or nicotine patches ...

The pioneering research of Dr Yiliang Ding investigating the structure and function of RNA in living cells has been recognised with a major award.  Yiliang a group leader at the John Innes Centre, is among nine recipients of the 2024 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the UK, announced today by the Blavatnik Family Foundation and The New York Academy of Sciences.   The awards recognise research that is transforming medicine, technology, and our understanding of the world across three categories: Chemical Sciences, Physical Sciences & Engineering, and ...

Researchers at the University of Basel have built a quantum memory element based on atoms in a tiny glass cell. In the future, such quantum memories could be mass-produced on a wafer. It is hard to imagine our lives without networks such as the internet or mobile phone networks. In the future, similar networks are planned for quantum technologies that will enable the tap-proof transmission of messages using quantum cryptography and make it possible to connect quantum computers to each other. Like their conventional counterparts, such quantum networks require memory elements in which information can be temporarily stored ...

Osaka, Japan – Cytokines are chemical messengers that help the body get rid of invading bacteria and viruses, and control inflammation. The body carefully balances cytokines because they help keep the immune system healthy. However, this balance is upset if the immune system overreacts. A serious infection or a severe burn can unleash a cytokine storm in the body. During the storm—also called cytokine release syndrome (CRS)—the body produces too many cytokines, leading to life-threatening inflammation. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a key cytokine in the storm because it helps to drive the inflammation that damages ...

Osaka, Japan – Have you ever wondered what wildlife animals do all day? Documentaries offer a glimpse into their lives, but animals under the watchful eye do not do anything interesting. The true essence of their behaviors remains elusive. Now, researchers from Japan have developed a camera that allows us to capture these behaviors. In a study recently published in PNAS Nexus, researchers from Osaka University have created a small sensor-based data logger (called a bio-logger) that automatically detects and records video of infrequent behaviors in wild seabirds without supervision by researchers. Infrequent behaviors, such as diving into the water for food, can ...

Canada's biggest companies often speak of their plans to be more sustainable, but a new study found corporations aren't fully backing up those commitments.   A team of University of Waterloo researchers concluded that corporate investing in communities fell despite an increase in companies committing to the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) over the last decade. Researchers investigated the community investment of Canada's 58 leading private-sector companies as a percentage of their net profit after tax to determine whether introducing SDGs created ...

Polyimide (PI) has emerged as a promising organic photocatalyst owing to its distinct advantages of high visible-light response, facile synthesis, molecularly tunable donor-acceptor structure, and excellent physicochemical stability. However, the synthesis of high-quality PI photoelectrode remains a challenge, and photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting for PI has been less studied.   A research group of Huiyan Zhang and Sheng Chu from Southeast University prepared PI films by a ...

A spider venom molecule being investigated by a University of Queensland team has met critical benchmarks towards becoming a treatment for heart attack and stroke. Associate Professor Nathan Palpant and Professor Glenn King from UQ’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience have previously shown that the drug candidate Hi1a protects cells from the damage caused by heart attack and stroke. Dr Palpant said a subsequent study has put the drug through a series of preclinical tests designed to mimic real-life treatment scenarios. “These tests are a major step towards helping us understand how Hi1a would work ...

Soil nitrogen mineralization (Nmin) is a key process that converts organic N into mineral N that controls soil N availability to plants. However, regional assessments of soil Nmin in cropland and its affecting factors are lacking, especially in relation to variation in elevation. Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for crops but mineral N in soil, the only form that can be absorbed and used by crops, represents only about 1% of total soil N. Although N fertilization is commonly a necessary method for supplying N to crops, N release due to excess N fertilizer in the environment ...

Excessive alcohol intake is strongly associated with alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) which accounts for 25% and 30% of deaths from cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Impairment of Ca2+ influx and Ca2+-mediated signaling in ALD suggests that Ca2+ channels are important in ALD pathological progression.   TRPC (transient receptor potential cation channel protein C) is an evolutionarily conserved non-selective cation channel protein primarily located in the cell membrane with six transmembrane segments. So far four TRPC subfamilies have been identified, categorized into TRPC1, TRPC2, TRPC4/5, and TRPC3/6/7. Among them, TRPC3 is the most well-studied ...

The blueprint for human life lies within the DNA in the nucleus of each of our cells. In human cells, around six and a half feet of this genetic material must be condensed to fit inside the nucleus. DNA condensation is not random. To function properly, the genetic material is highly organized into loop structures that often bring together widely separated sections of the genome critical to the regulation of gene activity. In a new paper published in Nature Communications, USC Stem Cell scientists from the laboratory ...

Niigata, Japan – On September 4, 2022, a geologist Hayato Ueda in Niigata University boarded a submarine vehicle with a pilot Chris May and had a dive into the Japan Trench within the epicenter area of the 2011 Tohoku-oki megaquake, which caused the devastating tsunami disaster. On the 7,500 m deep trench bottom, they found a 26 m high nearly vertical cliff on the eastern slope of a 60 m high ridge. Previous bathymetric surveys from the sea surface have revealed that the ridge did not exist before, and appeared just after the megaquake ...

Video gamers worldwide may be risking irreversible hearing loss and/or tinnitus—persistent ringing/buzzing in the ears—finds a systematic review of the available evidence, published in the open access journal BMJ Public Health.   What evidence there is suggests that the sound levels reported in studies of more than 50,000 people often near, or exceed, permissible safe limits, conclude the researchers.  And given the popularity of these games, greater public health efforts are needed to raise awareness of the potential ...

Men with enlarged breast tissue, not caused by excess weight—a condition formally known as gynaecomastia—may be at heightened risk of an early death before the age of 75, suggests the first study of its kind, published online in the open access journal BMJ Open.   Those with a pre-existing risk factor, such as cancer or circulatory, lung, and gut diseases before diagnosis seem to be most vulnerable, the findings indicate. Enlarged breast tissue in men is usually caused by a hormone imbalance and affects around a third to around two thirds of men, depending on age. It is distinct from what is often dubbed ...

Same-level falls in the workplace are set to rise amid rapid growth in the numbers of older female employees in the workforce, suggests Australian research published online first in the journal Occupational & Environmental Medicine. Although workplace falls, overall, are more common among male employees, particularly falls from height, same-level falls are more common in older women, the findings indicate. The prevalence and relative severity of workplace falls mean that better prevention strategies are needed to mitigate these sex-specific risk factors, conclude the researchers. In 2016, an estimated 1.53 million deaths and 76.1 million years of ...

The world smells different for female silkmoths than for males In humans, the sense of smell is similarly developed in men and women, although women have slightly more olfactory neurons and therefore a slightly more sensitive nose. On the whole, however, they perceive the same odors. Male moths, on the other hand, live in a completely different olfactory world to their female counterparts. For example, the antennae of male silkmoths - their "nose" - are highly specialized to detect female sex pheromones, ...

Cultural institutions are censoring research, learning and creativity because of the way they police the reuse of digital copies of out-of-copyright artworks and artefacts, a new study warns. Cultural institutions have created a “mess” by claiming and enforcing new rights over the reproduction images of works in their collections. This allows museums and other organisations to refuse requests for the use of the images in education or research or charge high fees. This impedes free and creative expression and amounts to censorship, according to Dr Andrea Wallace from the University of Exeter Law School. Researchers, educators and others regularly ...

One year ago, Caltech’s Space Solar Power Demonstrator (SSPD-1) launched into space to demonstrate and test three technological innovations that are among those necessary to make space solar power a reality. The spaceborne testbed demonstrated the ability to beam power wirelessly in space; it measured the efficiency, durability, and function of a variety of different types of solar cells in space; and gave a real-world trial of the design of a lightweight deployable structure to deliver and hold the aforementioned solar cells and power transmitters. Now, with ...

The Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation today announced a call for entries for its 2024 Cancer Survivor Scholarships.  The Foundation will award $100,000 to eligible students – including graduating high school seniors, college, vocational and graduate students – to support these students in realizing happy, productive futures. “Beating cancer medically is just one part of creating a healthy, happy life.  Achieving our purpose of ensuring survivors can spread their wings and soar requires ...

Pumping over 100,000 times a day, the heart is a critical muscle needed to deliver oxygen and nutrients to our organs to sustain healthy bodily function. Unfortunately, heart failure affects an estimated 6.2 million people in the U.S. and a staggering 64 million worldwide. Of older patients with heart failure and abnormally thickened hearts, as many as one in five have an underdiagnosed, highly progressive and fatal condition called transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy, or ATTR-CM. The disease, which can be hereditary or develop spontaneously, is defined by an accumulation of misfolded transthyretin ...