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UCI-led study finds unleashing Treg cells may lead to treatments for multiple sclerosis

Eurekalert - Jul 20 2021 - 00:07
In a new University of California, Irvine-led study, researchers found that a certain protein prevented regulatory T cells (Tregs) from effectively doing their job in controlling the damaging effects of inflammation in a model of multiple sclerosis (MS), a devastating autoimmune disease of the nervous system.
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Improving access to mental health services in low-income communities

Eurekalert - Jul 20 2021 - 00:07
When it comes to improving access to mental health services for children and families in low-income communities, a University of Houston researcher found having a warm handoff, which is a transfer of care between a primary care physician and mental health provider, will help build trust with the patient and lead to successful outcomes.
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Study refutes suspicion that dengue increases risk of microcephaly associated with zika

Eurekalert - Jul 20 2021 - 00:07
Researchers compared data for pregnant women in two cities who were infected by zika virus in 2015-16. Factors that influenced the risk of fetal malformation were the high zika attack rate in the area and being infected in the first trimester of pregnancy.
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Study: Long-term prognosis for some patients with severe brain injury better than expected

Eurekalert - Jul 20 2021 - 00:07
New research adds to a body of evidence indicating decisions about withdrawing life-sustaining treatment for patients with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) should not be made in the early days following injury.
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Child with rare genetic syndrome successfully treated in less than two years

Eurekalert - Jul 20 2021 - 00:07
Diagnosing a rare medical condition is difficult. Identifying a treatment for it can take years of trial and error. In a serendipitous intersection of research expertise, an ill patient in this case a child and innovative technology, Bachmann-Bupp Syndrome has gone from a list of symptoms to a successful treatment in just 16 months.
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DNA assay aids in identifying and protecting North American wolves, coyotes

Eurekalert - Jul 20 2021 - 00:07
Forensics specialists can use a commercial assay targeting mitochondrial DNA to accurately discriminate between wolf, coyote and dog species. The genetic information could aid authorities in prosecuting hunting jurisdiction violations and preserving protected species.
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"Springing forward" affects early birds less than night owls, study finds

Eurekalert - Jul 20 2021 - 00:07
Every spring, the Daylight Saving Time shift robs people of an hour of sleep - and a new study shows that DNA plays a role in how much the time change affects individuals. People whose genetic profile makes them more likely to be "early birds" can adjust to the time change in a few days. But those who tend to be "night owls" could take more than a week to get back on track.
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Brain 'noise' keeps nerve connections young

Eurekalert - Jul 20 2021 - 00:07
EPFL researchers have found that a form of neuron-to-neuron communication that has long been dismissed as 'background noise' is required to keep nerve junctions intact as animals age. The finding suggests that defects in this type of neural communication could contribute to neurodegenerative disorders and other brain conditions.
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Enzyme-based plastics recycling is more energy efficient, better for environment

Eurekalert - Jul 20 2021 - 00:07
Researchers in the BOTTLE Consortium, including from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the University of Portsmouth, have identified using enzymes as a more sustainable approach for recycling polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a common plastic in single-use beverage bottles, clothing, and food packaging that are becoming increasingly relevant in addressing the environmental challenge of plastic pollution. An analysis shows enzyme-recycled PET has potential improvement over conventional, fossil-based methods of PET production across a broad spectrum of energy, carbon, and socioeconomic impacts.
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Machine learning models to help photovoltaic systems find their place in the sun

Eurekalert - Jul 20 2021 - 00:07
Although photovoltaic systems constitute a promising way of harnessing solar energy, power grid managers need to accurately predict their power output to schedule generation and maintenance operations efficiently. Scientists from Incheon National University, Korea, have developed a machine learning-based approach that can more accurately estimate the output of photovoltaic systems than similar algorithms, paving the way to a more sustainable society.
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The environmental toll of disposable masks

Eurekalert - Jul 20 2021 - 00:07
The high monetary cost and environmental toll of disposable N95 masks could be dramatically cut by adopting reusable masks, according to an MIT study that calculated the financial and environmental cost of several different mask usage scenarios.
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SARS-CoV-2: Achilles' heel of viral RNA

Eurekalert - Jul 20 2021 - 00:07
Certain regions of the SARS-CoV-2 genome might be a suitable target for future drugs. This is what researchers at Goethe University, together with their collaborators in the international COVID-19-NMR consortium, have now discovered. With the help of dedicated substance libraries, they have identified several small molecules that bind to certain areas of the SARS-CoV-2 genome that are almost never altered by mutations.
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Fish friends help in a crisis

Eurekalert - Jul 20 2021 - 00:07
To better understand how familiarity impacts social fishes, a group of research scientists studied this idea using schooling coral reef fish.
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Automobile class society

Eurekalert - Jul 20 2021 - 00:07
Up to now passenger cars are classified by experts in each country into categories such as micro, small, middle, upper middle, large and luxury class. But this old fashioned method has limitations in terms of compatibility. Moreover, some crossover vehicles are difficult to categorize. Empa scientists found a method to do this sorting fairly and in an efficient way by browsing databases with machine learning methods.
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15,000-year-old viruses discovered in Tibetan glacier ice

Eurekalert - Jul 20 2021 - 00:07
Scientists who study glacier ice have found viruses nearly 15,000 years old in two ice samples taken from the Tibetan Plateau in China. Most of those viruses, which survived because they had remained frozen, are unlike any viruses that have been cataloged to date.
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Spinal fluid biomarkers detect neurodegeneration, Alzheimer's disease in living patients

Eurekalert - Jul 20 2021 - 00:07
New research sows that the same framework that can detect Alzheimer's disease in the cerebrospinal fluid of living patients can also detect other forms of neurodegeneration, like frontotemporal degeneration.
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Review evaluates the evidence for an intensifying Indian Ocean water cycle

Eurekalert - Jul 20 2021 - 00:07
The Indian Ocean has been warming much more than other ocean basins over the last 50-60 years. While temperature changes basin-wide can be unequivocally attributed to human-induced climate change, it is difficult to assess whether contemporary heat and freshwater changes in the Indian Ocean since 1980 represent an anthropogenically-forced transformation of the hydrological cycle. What complicates the assessment is factoring in natural variations, regional-scale trends, a short observational record, climate model uncertainties, and the ocean basin's complex circulation.
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A foot tumor and two tail fractures complicated the life of this hadrosaur

Eurekalert - Jul 20 2021 - 00:07
When it was discovered in the 1980s in Argentina, this hadrosaur was diagnosed with a fractured foot. However, a new analysis now shows that this ornithopod commonly known as the duck-billed dinosaur actually had a tumour some 70 million years ago, as well as two painful fractures in the vertebrae of its tail, despite which, it managed to survive for some time.
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Virginia Tech scientists uncover how a molecule improves appearance of surgery scars

Eurekalert - Jul 20 2021 - 00:07
In a new study, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC scientists discovered that the alphaCT1 molecule may help repair the skin's collagen matrix by altering how scar-forming cells behave. The findings were published in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Journal.
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Take your best shot: Which SARS-CoV-2 vaccine should I get, if any?

Eurekalert - Jul 20 2021 - 00:07
Researchers at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine have developed a computerized decision analytic model to compare projected outcomes of three vaccine strategies: a patient opts for a messenger RNA vaccine, a patient decides to get an adenovirus vector vaccine or the patient simply forgoes a vaccine altogether.
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