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Due to the immunological pathogenesis of IgA nephropathy, patients used to be given immunosuppressive therapy; however, this was shown to have no long-term benefit over optimal supportive therapy. Promising data from the interim analysis of a Phase II study with iptacopan now show that the targeted inhibition of a specific factor of the immune system allows a specific approach to therapy for IgAN without burdening patients with the severe side effects of immunosuppression.

Researchers at Tel Aviv University discovered a process by which a "good" virus selectively destroys the DNA of "bad" bacteria, thereby stopping its reproduction. The discovery may assist in the development of treatments against antibiotic-resistant bacteria that cause infectious diseases.

In hemodialysis patients at high cardiovascular risk, including patients with coronary artery disease and heart failure, lung congestion, a condition predisposing to decompensated heart failure and pulmonary edema, is much common. By means of ultrasound examination of the lungs, the degree of lung congestion can be estimated relatively easily, and the therapy aimed at lung decongestion can be adapted individually.

Many patients with the rare kidney disease FSGS require dialysis in the course of the disease, despite anti-inflammatory corticosteroid therapies. The DAPA-CKD study showed a significant benefit in renal outcomes for chronic kidney disease patients with and without diabetes mellitus, following treatment with dapagliflozin, an SGLT-2 (sodium dependent glucose co-transporter 2) inhibitor [1]. A subgroup analysis of the DAPA-CKD study [2] suggests that the beneficial effect of dapagliflozin extends to patients with FSGS.

That viruses and bacteria can trigger autoimmune processes is well known. In autoimmune disease, the immune system attacks the body's own cells, which can become life-threatening, for example in lupus nephritis. In COVID-19, the same autoantibodies (antiphospholipid (aPL) antibodies) have been found repeatedly in lupus patients - a new study even describes a specific site of attack site where aPL antibodies could trigger a self-reinforcing continuous loop of autoantibody production and cause very severe COVID-19 courses.

Renal tropism or virus detection can be associated with severe course, greater incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) and earlier death - yet the immediate role of the virus in the kidney has not been clarified. An essential role in AKI is played by the overall combination of pneumonia/ARDS, cytokines and complement, ischemia hemodynamics and hypercoagulopathy/ microembolism. The high rate of AKI in COVID-19 patients is also conspicuous in comparison to other infectious diseases.

It was realized early on in the pandemic that kidney values can predict a severe COVID-19 course [1]. A new concern is that molecular tissue changes caused by the virus could lead in the long term to kidney injury, not only in COVID-19 patients who have suffered acute kidney injury, but also in those who have experienced renal dysfunction during acute disease. Kidney experts stress the importance of nephrological aftercare following COVID-19 illness.

To investigate the role genes play in the evolution of social structure, Rice University researchers created an experiment they likened to the 1998 film 'The Truman Show.' Genetically identical versions of 20 fruit flies were placed in 98 controlled enclosures, and video cameras recorded their interactions. The study in this week's Nature Communications revealed the same clones occupied the same social positions in each enclosure, regardless of living conditions, providing evidence that popularity is heritable.

Biomimetic catalysis is an emerging concept that emulates key features of enzymatic process. Prenylation is a ubiquitous process found in almost all living organisms. Inspired by the enzymatic mechanism, researchers developed a selective C2 prenylation of indoles via chemical catalysis, which can be applied to late-stage diversification of tryptophan-based peptides and concise synthesis of tryprostatin B.

Frequent caffeine intake could more than triple risk of glaucoma for those genetically predisposed to higher eye pressure.

Fewer than ten common bacterial taxa are responsible for the majority of soil carbon cycling, a team led by researchers at Northern Arizona University announced. The study, which used a technique quantitative stable isotope probing, identified several soil microbial groups that play an outsized role in carbon processing and CO2 release, and suggests that communities found in wild soil may contain functional redundancies.

A new study from a CUNY ASRC Neuroscience Initiative team has identified a molecule called ten-eleven-translocation 1 (TET1) as a necessary component in the repair of myelin, which protects nerves and facilitates accurate transmission of electrical signals. The discovery could have important implications in treating neurodegenerative diseases and for molecular rejuvenation of aging brains in healthy individuals.

The first double-blind experiment analysing the role of human decision-making in climate reconstructions has found that it can lead to substantially different results.

A new study of over 3000 people led by King's College London in collaboration with Lund University, has shown for the first time that a single biomarker can accurately indicate the presence of underlying neurodegeneration in people with cognitive issues.

ETH Zurich researchers have developed a gene switch that can be operated with the green LED light emitted by commercial smartwatches. This revolutionary approach could be used to treat diabetes in the future.

MIT engineers discovered a way to generate electricity using tiny carbon particles that can create an electric current simply by interacting with an organic solvent in which they're floating.

Rates of Kawasaki disease -- a condition that creates inflammation in blood vessels in the heart and is more common in children of Asian/Pacific Island descent -- have substantially decreased in South Korea during the COVID-19 pandemic.The decrease could be due to mask-wearing, hand-washing, school closures and physical distancing, suggesting Kawasaki disease may be prompted by infectious agents.The cause of Kawasaki disease is unknown, though it may be an immune response to acute infectious illness.

In network science, the famous "friendship paradox" describes why your friends are (on average) more popular, richer, and more attractive than you are. But a slightly more nuanced picture emerges when we apply mathematics to real-world data.

Choroid plexus tissue, anchored in each of the brain's ventricles and bathed in cerebrospinal fluid, is a small but influential player in the brain. It's now been spatially inventoried with single-cell RNA sequencing, cataloguing its cell types and gene expression patterns in each ventricle during early development, adulthood, and old age.

Nem Chua is eaten raw but doesn't cause food poisoning when prepared correctly. Food scientists went to explore why - and discovered a powerful new bacteria-killer. On World Food Safety Day (7 June), a new study reveals the ideal growth conditions to potentially make the bacteriocin at industrial scales.