Culture
Scientists have recently learned how to use light to control specific groups of neurons to better understand the operation of the brain, a development that has transformed areas of neuroscience.
Researchers at Princeton University have now applied a similar method to controlling the metabolism, or basic chemical process, of a living cell. In a series of experiments, they used light to control genetically-modified yeast and increase its output of commercially valuable chemicals. The results offer scientists a powerful new tool to probe and understand the inner working of cells.
NEW YORK (March 22, 2018) -- Logging activities in biodiverse forests can have a huge negative impact on wildlife, particularly large species such as big cats, but a new study proves that the Western Hemisphere's largest cat species--the jaguar (Panthera onca)--can do well in logging concessions that are properly managed, according to conservationists from the San Diego Zoo Global and the Bronx Zoo-based WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society).
Neurology researchers investigating a rare but devastating neurological regression in infants have discovered the cause: gene mutations that severely disrupt crucial functions in mitochondria, the energy-producing structures within cells. The specific disease mechanism, in which mutations disrupt a critical mitochondrial enzyme, has not previously been implicated in a human disease.
INDIANAPOLIS -- The first birth cohort study of its kind has found more than 90 percent of a group of pregnant women in Central Indiana had detectable levels of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, the most heavily used herbicide worldwide.
Researchers from Indiana University and University of California San Francisco reported that the glyphosate levels correlated significantly with shortened pregnancy lengths.
March 22, 2018 - As more patients undergo total hip arthroplasty (THA) before age 65, the rate of repeat hip surgery due to complications has risen sharply in this younger age group, reports a study in the March 21, 2018, issue of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. The journal is published in partnership with Wolters Kluwer.
Proteins do not function in isolation and their interactions with other proteins define their cellular functions. Therefore, detailed understanding of protein-protein interactions (PPIs) is the key for deciphering regulation of cellular networks and pathways.
These complex networks of stable and transient associations can be studied by affinity purification mass spectrometry (AP-MS) and complementary proximity-based labeling methods such as BioID.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass, -- It seems like getting something for nothing, but you really can get drinkable water right out of the driest of desert air.
Even in the most arid places on Earth, there is some moisture in the air, and a practical way to extract that moisture could be a key to survival in such bone-dry locations. Now, researchers at MIT have proved that such an extraction system can work.
MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, Mass. (March 22, 2018) - Monitoring in real time what happens in and around our bodies can be invaluable in the context of health care or clinical studies, but not so easy to do. That could soon change thanks to new, miniaturized sensors developed by researchers at the Tufts University School of Engineering that, when mounted directly on a tooth and communicating wirelessly with a mobile device, can transmit information on glucose, salt and alcohol intake.
The population of bacteria in the pancreas increases more than a thousand fold in patients with pancreatic cancer, and becomes dominated by species that prevent the immune system from attacking tumor cells.
Non-Hodgkin lymphomas are cancers that affect white blood cells of the immune system called B-lymphocytes or B cells. Like cells in all cancers, the B cells begin to grow out of control, creating tumors in the lymph nodes, spleen or other tissues. In 2010 alone, it was estimated that non-Hodgkin lymphomas caused 210,000 deaths worldwide.
Engineers at wastewater recycling plants can rest easy knowing that their methods for minimizing the formation of a potent carcinogen are targeting the right chemical compound.
Cervical fluid samples gathered during routine Papanicolaou (Pap) tests are the basis of a new screening test for endometrial and ovarian cancers developed by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.
PapSEEK detects mutations in DNA that have been identified for specific cancers sooner. Earlier detection of cancer could lead to earlier treatment and potentially better outcomes for patients.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (Mar. 19, 2018) - A newly designed three-part molecule could be the one answer patients with a certain form of breast cancer are looking for, scientists report.
This chimera, created by a team at the Georgia Cancer Center, has the ability to simultaneously decrease the expression of three growth factors that are over-expressed in some cancers.
NEW ORLEANS, March 21, 2018 -- Adults over the age of 45 who consume large amounts of sugary beverages including soft drinks, fruit drinks and fruit juices may have a higher risk of dying from heart disease or other causes, compared to those who drink fewer sugary drinks, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology and Prevention | Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Scientific Sessions 2018, a premier global exchange of the latest advances in population based cardiovascular science for researchers and clinicians.
MINNEAPOLIS - Taking menopausal hormone therapy soon after menopause to relieve symptoms may also benefit the brain, according to a study published in the March 21, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.