Culture
With their rich repertoire of anti-infective substances, medicinal plants have always been key in the human fight to survive pathogens and parasites. This is why the search for herbal drugs with novel structures and effects is still one of the great challenges of natural product research today.
Bacterial canker of tomato is a disease that can lead to significant losses in greenhouse and field production systems. This disease is caused by the bacterial pathogen Clavibacter michiganensis. The best way to control bacterial canker is by securing clean tomato seed and enforcing good sanitation practices.
Doctors have reported that partial or total loss of the sense of smell is often an early symptom of infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Chemical Neuroscience have shown that in mice, two proteins required for SARS-CoV-2 entry are produced by cells of the nasal cavity that contribute to odor detection. Moreover, larger amounts of the proteins are made in older animals than in younger ones.
Working alongside colleagues in Mainz, Bern, Hannover and Bonn, researchers from Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) and the German Rheumatism Research Center Berlin (DRFZ) were able to show how the microbiome helps to render the immune system capable of responding to pathogens. If absent, relevant mediators are not released, resulting in a failure to activate metabolic processes in certain immune cells.
ATLANTA – Today, the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) released the 2020 Guideline for the Management of Gout. The updated guideline reflects new clinical evidence that became available since the ACR last released a treatment guideline for the condition in 2012, Among the 42 recommendations offered, addressing standard treat-to-target urate lowering therapy (ULT) was a key focus for the authors due to its benefit for all patients with gout that are on ULT.
From writing papers to answering emails, it's common for office workers to juggle multiple tasks at once. But those constant interruptions can actually create sadness and fear and eventually, a tense working environment, according to a new study aimed at understanding what shapes the emotional culture of a workplace.
Philadelphia, May 11, 2020 - Artificial insemination (AI), breeding value estimation, and genomic selection have allowed substantial increases in milk and component yields for Holstein cows. However, their widespread use has also led to challenges including declining fertility, emergence of recessive genetic conditions, and a loss of genetic diversity--more than 99 percent of Holstein bulls born using AI in the last decade trace their male lineage to just two bulls born in the 1960s.
SUMMARYThrough a combination of lab and field experiments, researchers have developed a better understanding of the factors accounting for different wood decomposition rates among fungi. The new findings reveal how an understanding of fungal trait variation can improve the predictive ability of early and mid-stage wood decay, a critical driver of the global carbon cycle.
BOSTON - Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS) is a fatal condition that is especially prevalent in the skin, cardiovascular and the musculoskeletal systems. There exists a wide gap between existing knowledge of the disease and a potential treatment or cure.
Researchers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) have developed a new solution to render an essential detail in many video games: human skin. The research is published in the Proceedings of the Association for Computing Machinery on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques. Marc Olano, associate professor of computer science and electrical engineering at UMBC, led this research alongside Tiantian Xie, Ph.D. '22, computer science.
The 2018 opening of a FreshDirect warehouse in Mott Haven, Bronx, significantly increased truck and vehicle flow within that neighborhood, leading to small upticks in air and noise pollution, according to a new study led by scientists at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Results are published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
(BOSTON) -- Stroke is the leading cause of serious long-term disability in the US with approximately 17 million individuals experiencing it each year. About 8 out of 10 stroke survivors suffer from "hemiparesis", a paralysis that typically impacts the limbs and facial muscles on one side of their bodies, and often causes severe difficulties walking, a loss of balance with an increased risk of falling, as well as muscle fatigue that quickly sets in during exertions. Oftentimes, these impairments also make it impossible for them to perform basic everyday activities.
Asgard archaea, proposed as a new archaeal superphylum, are currently composed of five phyla Lokiarchaeota, Thorarchaeota, Odinarchaeota, Heimdallarchaeota, and Helarchaeota. Since Asgard archaea contain abundant eukaryotic signature proteins and form a monophyletic group with eukaryotes in a phylogenetic tree, they are regarded as the closest relatives of Eukarya and have therefore attracted increasing research interests, although the debate about the evolutionary relationship is ongoing.
The phrase 'the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau' is often used to link various phenomena (e.g. monsoon dynamics and biodiversity evolution) but in this review Spicer and colleagues bring together diverse lines of evidence to show that the concept of an extensive low-relief Tibet, rising in its entirety as a result of the India-Eurasia collision, is false, and the product of overly simplistic modelling.
Tsukuba, Japan - Allergies can significantly affect health and quality of life. While allergen immunotherapy provides long-lasting therapeutic relief to people suffering from environmental allergies, the therapy can last several years and requires large amounts of allergen. Now, researchers from the University of Tsukuba developed a novel system that enables the mass production of the major birch pollen allergen Bet v 1 in plant leaves in just a matter of days.