For many years, scientists all around the world have been working towards this goal, now suddenly things are happening very fast: it was only in April that a team led by Prof Thorsten Schumm (TU Wien, Vienna) announced a major success. For the first time, an atomic nucleus had been switched from one state to another using a laser – an effect that can be used for high-precision measurements. Now, just a few weeks later, this thorium transition was successfully applied in practice: TU Wien and JILA/NIST (USA) succeeded in combining a high-precision optical atomic clock with ...

WASHINGTON — As the global threat of H5N1 influenza looms with outbreaks across species and continents including the U.S., three international vaccine and public health experts say it is time to fully resource and support a robust strategy to address this and future potential pandemic influenza threats, including to consider voluntary vaccination for those now at exposure risk.  “At this critical juncture, decisions about vaccine development, stockpiling, and deployment will shape our ability to respond to immediate and future pandemic risks,” write Jesse Goodman, MD, PhD; Rick A. Bright, PhD; and Nicole Lurie, MD, ...

Resting brain stem cells hardly differ from normal astrocytes, which support the nerve cells in the brain. How can almost identical cells perform such different functions? The key lies in the methylation of their genetic material, which endowes these special astrocytes with stem cell properties. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and Heidelberg University have published their findings in the journal Nature. In mice, the researchers showed that experimentally induced lack of blood ...

Researchers have uncovered how hormones profoundly affect our immune systems, explaining why men and women are affected by diseases differently. Scientists from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and Imperial College London have shown for the first time which aspects of our immune systems are regulated by sex hormones, and the impacts this has on disease risk and health outcomes in males and females.   It is well established that diseases can affect men and women differently, due to subtle differences ...

Why do some people feel itchy after a mosquito bite or exposure to an allergen like dust or pollen, while others do not? A new study has pinpointed the reason for these differences, finding the pathway by which immune and nerve cells interact and lead to itching. The researchers, led by allergy and immunology specialists at Massachusetts General Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, then blocked this pathway in preclinical studies, suggesting a new treatment approach for allergies. The findings are published in Nature. “Our research provides ...

By repeatedly scanning the brains of a small group of patients for a year and a half, Weill Cornell Medicine researchers have identified a distinct pattern of neuronal interactions that appears to predispose some people to developing depression. Published Sept. 4 in Nature, the work highlights the potential of a new “deep scanning” approach to help predict a person’s susceptibility to depression and other neuropsychiatric conditions and may guide the development of novel treatments. Neuroscientists have long relied on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to identify patterns of activity ...

Exercise intolerance is often severe among patients with cardiovascular disease and can impose significant limitations on their physical abilities and quality of life. Medications known as cardiac myosin inhibitors (CMIs) are being developed to help patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM), a disease in which the heart muscle becomes thickened leading to reduced blood flow out of the heart. In a new analysis led by researchers from Mass General Brigham, investigators probed multiple exercise response ...

Leuven/Amsterdam/Cambridge, 5 September– A team of researchers at the VIB-KU Leuven Center for Cancer Biology, the Netherlands Cancer Institute and Oncode Institute and the University of Cambridge have discovered that a defensive mechanism connected to the menstrual cycle plays a role in spreading mutant cells within mammary tissue. A new study published in Nature describes how the growth and subsequent removal of extra milk ducts in breast tissue during the menstrual cycle can contribute to the spread of mutant cells leading to large mutant fields prone to develop tumors.   Although tissue in healthy individuals may look completely normal, ...

New research shows how oceans can be used to help address major challenges such as the shortage of antimicrobial medicines, solutions for plastic pollution and novel enzymes for genome editing. In the past 20 years, scientists have greatly increased the number of microbial genomes they have collected from the ocean. However, using this information for biotechnology and medicine has been difficult. For this new study, led by BGI Research in China in collaboration with the Shandong University, Xiamen University, ...

Investigators involved in a multicenter study co-led by Cedars-Sinai discovered a pathway by which immune cells prevent the lungs’ protective barrier from healing after viral infections like COVID-19. The findings, published in Nature may lead to new therapeutic treatment options. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed how viral infections can cause long-lasting effects—a condition called long COVID. Also known as post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2, long COVID has left a devastating trail of people who continue to live with ...

Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) has succeeded in domestically developing the ‘CNC driving system’ technology, a core component of machine tools—often referred to as "Mother Machines," the machines that make other machines. The CNC (Computer Numerical Control) system is an electronic module that processes numerical information via a computer and automatically controls all functions of machine tools, including position, speed, and rotation of a machine tool. In a computer, it plays a role similar to that of a CPU. A major challenge ...

Digital Science today announces the launch of Papers Pro, an AI-enhanced premium version of its acclaimed reference manager, Papers. As part of the ReadCube suite of literature solutions, Papers Pro is designed to make researchers and students more productive in their daily tasks by integrating cutting-edge AI tools to transform how they discover, organize, read, annotate, share and cite research materials.   Search and discovery has always been a core part of the Papers workflow. The launch of Papers Pro introduces new search capabilities, powered by Dimensions, one of the world’s largest ...

Sept. 4, 2024  WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) today began inviting proposals through eight new funding opportunities, including three PCORI Funding Announcements (PFAs) for patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER). One PFA is offering up to $100 million to support CER studies promoting healthy children and youth, a demographic representing more than a third of the U.S. population and facing a range of mental and physical health challenges.  “These ...

It turns out that a particular gene has a great influence on longevity, a new study from the University of Copenhagen concludes. This may pave the way for new treatment. Sleep, fasting, exercise, green porridge, black coffee, a healthy social life … There is an abundance of advice out there on how to live a good, long life. Researchers are working hard to determine why some people live longer than others, and how we get the most out of our increasingly long lives. Now researchers from the Center for Healthy Aging, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Copenhagen have made a breakthrough. They have discovered that ...

SAN ANTONIO — September 4, 2024 — Southwest Research Institute has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Blade Energy Partners, establishing a new research collaboration focused on advancing carbon dioxide storage technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) refers to the practices of capturing CO2 from its industrial sources or the atmosphere, transport it using pipelines and other means, using it as alternative fuel or other industrial applications, and storing it for later use.  The drive to meet net-zero greenhouse gas emissions goals and ...

A research paper by scientists at University of Coimbra proposed an integrated approach targeting the design and fabrication of pneumatic soft actuators in a single casting step. Molds and sacrificial water-soluble hollow cores are printed using fused filament fabrication. The new research paper, published on Jul. 17 in the journal Cyborg and Bionic Systems, presented an integrated process for the design and fabrication of soft robot actuators in a single casting. The author proved the availability, versatility, and effectiveness of the proposed methods, contributing to accelerating the design and fabrication of soft robots. Bio-inspired soft robots have already shown the ability to handle ...

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract are a rare and heterogeneous group of malignancies arising from the neuroendocrine cell system. These tumors are more commonly encountered in the stomach, appendix, small bowel, rectum, and pancreas. Over the past few decades, the incidence of GI NETs has increased due to improved diagnostic capabilities and an aging population. The management of these tumors requires a careful assessment of various factors, including the site, size, grading, depth of invasion, and local lymphadenopathy, as they significantly impact prognosis and treatment ...

Microglia are the brain’s immune cells known to play a vital role in maintaining neural function and responding to potential threats. However, when the brain is subjected to hyperosmotic stress—a condition characterized by elevated extracellular sodium levels, the microglial response can become exaggerated, leading to potentially harmful effects. Understanding the mechanisms behind this heightened response is crucial for the treatment of hypernatremia-induced neurological dysfunctions. To ...

A cellular link between obesity and atrial fibrillation — a heart condition that afflicts over 33 million people worldwide — presents a promising target for new therapies, researchers from the University of Illinois Chicago report. Obesity is among the leading causes of atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm that can lead to heart failure and stroke. But scientists still don’t know how high levels of body fat cause this heart condition.  In a new study published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, UIC researchers identified a cellular pathway essential to obesity-induced ...

A team of researchers has developed a radical new technique for analyzing evidence in sexual assault cases. The new approach could streamline the forensics pipeline and reduce delays in the processing of DNA evidence.   The research is described in a paper published today in the journal Advanced Science. There are almost half a million sexual assaults in Canada every year with many more going unreported. The new approach could mitigate one of the reasons victims are reluctant to report assaults: the perception that ...

Delinquent activities almost always occur outside of the home and away from adult supervision, so it is only natural for parents to blame peers for their child’s bad behavior. Not surprisingly, many parents also assume that they can prevent future problems by limiting contact with suspicious peers. However, a new study cautions parents – especially meddling moms – to resist the temptation to prohibit friendships because doing so only makes a bad situation worse. How can this be? Results from a new longitudinal study of middle school youth, published in The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, indicates that maternal disapproval of friends in ...

ROCKVILLE, MD (September 4, 2024) The AIM-HI Accelerator Fund is pleased to announce that the 2024 Women’s Venture Competition’s first prize winner with distinction goes to HDAX Therapeutics led by its CEO and Co-Founder, Nabanita Nawar, Ph.D, and the Second Prize Winner goes to ARMA BIO, led by Co-Founder & CSO, Paraskevi Giannakakou, Ph.D. The 2024 AIM-HI Women’s Venture Competition Committee reviewed more than 50 applications from 10 countries, including Canada, Ghana, India, Israel, Norway, Romania, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, ...

Every day, people die waiting for an organ transplant. Time is at a premium, not just for those awaiting organs, but also for the organs themselves, which can deteriorate rapidly during transportation. Looking to extend the viability of human tissues, researchers report in ACS’ Nano Letters their efforts to facilitate completely freezing, rather than cooling and then thawing, potentially life-saving organs. They demonstrate a magnetic nanoparticle’s successful rewarming of animal tissues. As of August 2024, more than 114,000 people are on the U.S. national transplant ...

Dinosaurs continue to fascinate people, but that’s not their only enduring quality: Collagen in their skeletons remains intact for millions of years, despite containing chemical bonds that should only persist for about 500 years. Now, scientists report in ACS Central Science that the unique tenacity of this protein may result from a molecular structure that shields these vulnerable bonds from attack by water that’s present in the environment. Collagen is the most abundant protein in animals. It’s found in skin and connective tissues, such as cartilage and bones. Fragments of collagen have been ...

Rain and water in ponds and lakes slowly seeps into the soil, moving through minute cracks to refill underground aquifers. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often described as forever chemicals, can tag along into groundwater that’s later removed for drinking. Researchers in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology Letters analyzed water from over 100 wells in Denmark for one particularly persistent PFAS: trifluoroacetate. They report steadily increasing levels of the forever chemical in recent decades. Trifluoroacetate forms when fluorinated gases, such as refrigerants, and fluorinated pesticides partially degrade in the environment. Water passing ...