ScienceDaily: Top News


Modifying the body's immune system to help treat Type 1 diabetes

Posted: 13 May 2022 02:07 PM PDT

Scientists to develop a novel diabetes treatment involving transplanting pancreas cells that produce insulin.

Researchers develop 3D-printed shape memory alloy with superior superelasticity

Posted: 13 May 2022 02:07 PM PDT

Laser powder bed fusion, a 3D-printing technique, offers potential in the manufacturing industry, particularly when fabricating nickel-titanium shape memory alloys with complex geometries. Although this manufacturing technique is attractive for applications in the biomedical and aerospace fields, it has rarely showcased the superelasticity required for specific applications using nickel-titanium shape memory alloys. Defects generated and changes imposed onto the material during the 3D-printing process prevented the superelasticity from appearing in 3D-printed nickel-titanium.

New measure of sperm age may be predictor of pregnancy success

Posted: 13 May 2022 10:53 AM PDT

A novel technique to measure the age of male sperm has the potential to predict the success and time it takes to become pregnant, according to a newly published study.

Going gentle on mechanical quantum systems

Posted: 13 May 2022 10:49 AM PDT

Systems in which mechanical motion is controlled at the level of individual quanta are emerging as a promising quantum-?technology platform. New experimental work now establishes how quantum properties of such systems can be measured without destroying the quantum state -- a key ingredient for tapping the full potential of mechanical quantum systems.

Malaria parasites form vortices

Posted: 13 May 2022 10:48 AM PDT

Researchers managed to set larger groups of malaria parasites into motion and to analyze the acquired image data. The collectively moving pathogens form vortex systems that are largely determined by physical principles. Computer simulations helped identify the mechanisms underlying these rotating movements.

Remote sensing research improves hurricane response

Posted: 13 May 2022 10:48 AM PDT

Researchers are investigating better ways to predict where road-clogging debris will be most severe after tropical cyclones.

Microbes help orchestrate how the gut uses its genes

Posted: 13 May 2022 09:33 AM PDT

The microbes that help break down food actually tell the gut how to do its job better, according to a new study in mice. The researchers said it appears that the microbes are able to influence which of the gut's genes are being called into action, and in turn, that interaction might lead to a remodeling of the epithelial cells lining the gut so that they match the diet.

Our cells take their ease in the curves

Posted: 13 May 2022 09:33 AM PDT

How do our cells organize themselves to give their final shape to our organs? The answer lies in morphogenesis, the set of mechanisms that regulate their distribution in space during embryonic development. A team has just made a surprising discovery in this field: when a tissue curves, the volume of the cells that compose it increases instead of decreasing. This discovery opens new avenues for in vitro organ culture, a partial alternative to animal experimentation. It also suggests new perspectives for the production of certain materials.

How sleep helps to process emotions

Posted: 13 May 2022 08:32 AM PDT

Researchers have identified how the brain triages emotions during dream sleep to consolidate the storage of positive emotions while dampening the consolidation of negative ones. The work expands the importance of sleep in mental health and opens new ways of therapeutic strategies.

Early study finds new lymphoma drug effective

Posted: 13 May 2022 08:32 AM PDT

In early research, the oral medication zanubrutinib was found to help most patients with a slow-growing type of cancer known as marginal zone lymphoma.

Understanding the genomic modifications in transgenic papaya

Posted: 13 May 2022 08:32 AM PDT

The transgenic papaya 'SunUp' was developed in the 1990s and was widely publicized because of its ability to resist the papaya ringspot virus. A new study has now identified the genomic changes involved and how they influence the transgenic plants.

Dragonflies use vision, subtle wing control to straighten up and fly right

Posted: 13 May 2022 08:32 AM PDT

Researchers have untangled the intricate physics and neural controls that enable dragonflies to right themselves while they're falling.

Antibiotics can lead to fungal infection because of disruption to the gut's immune system

Posted: 13 May 2022 08:32 AM PDT

Patients prescribed antibiotics in hospital are more likely to get fungal infections because of disruption to the immune system in the gut, according to a new study.

Great progress thanks to mini organs

Posted: 13 May 2022 07:35 AM PDT

Life-like organ replicas -- so-called 3D organoids -- are a good way to research disease processes. A team has now presented a kind of blueprint for such a model of the cervix.

A single hormone directs body's responses to low-protein diet

Posted: 13 May 2022 07:35 AM PDT

A single hormone appears to coordinate the lifespan extension produced by a low-protein diet. Low-protein diets produce beneficial metabolic effects in aged mice, improving metabolic health, reducing frailty, and extending lifespan. These beneficial effects were also apparent when protein intake was reduced in middle-aged mice, even protecting against the detriments of obesity. Importantly, these beneficial effects were lost in mice that lacked FGF21, suggesting that its action in the brain is critical for the increase in health and lifespan.

Rigid waterproof coating for paper aims to reduce our dependence on plastic

Posted: 13 May 2022 07:35 AM PDT

For our sake and the environment, there is a considerable amount of research into the reduction of plastic for many and various applications. Researchers have now found a way to imbue relatively sustainable paper materials with some of the useful properties of plastic. This can be done easily, cost effectively, and efficiently. A coating called Choetsu not only waterproofs paper, but also maintains its flexibility and degrades safely as well.

New study indicates limited water circulation late in the history of Mars

Posted: 13 May 2022 07:34 AM PDT

A research team has investigated a meteorite from Mars using neutron and X-ray tomography. The technology, which will probably be used when NASA examines samples from the Red Planet in 2030, showed that the meteorite had limited exposure to water, thus making life at that specific time and place unlikely.

Structure of key protein for cell division puzzles researchers

Posted: 13 May 2022 07:34 AM PDT

Human cell division involves hundreds of proteins at its core. Knowing the 3D structure of these proteins is pivotal to understand how our genetic material is duplicated and passed through generations. Scientists are now able to reveal the first detailed structure of a key protein complex for human cell division known as CCAN. By using cryo-electron microscopy, the researchers show important features of the complex's 16 components and challenge previous assumptions about how the complex is able to recognize the centromere, a crucial region of chromosomes in cell division.

Algae reveal clues about climate changes over millions of years

Posted: 13 May 2022 07:34 AM PDT

Organisms adjust their cell walls according to environmental conditions such as temperature. Some adaptations involve changes in lipids which may still be preserved long after the rest of the organisms has been degraded. Researchers have studied a specific group of lipids called long chain diols which are found in sea sediments all over the world, and which can be preserved for millions of years.

Adopting low-carbon energy can reduce racial disparities in air pollution

Posted: 13 May 2022 05:03 AM PDT

Switching to low carbon fuels for transportation, cooking, heating, power generation and other needs would help fight climate change and also reduce racial and ethnic disparities in exposure to air pollution.

Sea turtle success stories along African east coast -- but thousands still dying

Posted: 13 May 2022 05:03 AM PDT

Conservation of sea turtles along much of Africa's east coast has made good progress in recent decades -- but tens of thousands of turtles still die each year due to human activity, researchers say.

Discovered: 150-year-old platypus and echidna specimens that proved some mammals lay eggs

Posted: 12 May 2022 06:13 PM PDT

Jars of tiny platypus and echidna specimens, collected in the late 1800s by the scientist William Caldwell, have been discovered in the stores of Cambridge's University Museum of Zoology.

Six lithium dose predictors for patients with bipolar disorder

Posted: 12 May 2022 06:05 PM PDT

Six predictors could help determine the amount of lithium needed to treat patients with bipolar disorder, according to a large study. The study also pinpoints genetic markers that seem to influence how quickly the body eliminates lithium from its system.

Sea ice can control Antarctic ice sheet stability, new research finds

Posted: 12 May 2022 06:05 PM PDT

Despite the rapid melting of ice in many parts of Antarctica during the second half of the 20th century, researchers have found that the floating ice shelves which skirt the eastern Antarctic Peninsula have undergone sustained advance over the past 20 years.

Not all is rosy for the pink pigeon

Posted: 12 May 2022 06:05 PM PDT

The authors of a major study on the once critically endangered pink pigeon say boosting the species' numbers is not enough to save it from extinction in the future. Despite the population increase, the team's analysis shows the pink pigeon has a high genetic load of bad mutations, which puts it at considerable risk of extinction in the wild within 100 years without continued conservation actions.

Solid tumors use a type of T cell as a shield against immune attack

Posted: 12 May 2022 06:05 PM PDT

Scientists have identified a subset of T cells that show up in great numbers in head and neck tumors, but not in similar tissues of the mouth inflamed by common ailments such as gum disease.

Cardiac progenitor cells generate healthy tissue after a heart attack

Posted: 12 May 2022 06:05 PM PDT

Following a heart attack, the human body is incapable of repairing lost tissue due to the heart's inability to generate new muscle. However, treatment with heart progenitor cells could result in the formation of functional heart cells at injured sites. This new therapeutic approach may be tested in clinical studies within the next two years.

Large-scale ocean sanctuaries could protect coral reefs from climate change

Posted: 12 May 2022 01:41 PM PDT

Earth's oceans are home to some of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet, but warming temperatures are causing many marine animals, including coral, to die out.

Disparities in natural gas leak prevalence in U.S. urban areas

Posted: 12 May 2022 01:41 PM PDT

A new study reveals that in U.S. cities over a several-year period, natural gas pipeline leaks were more prevalent in neighborhoods with low-income or majority non-white populations than those with high income or predominately white populations.

Smaller female North Atlantic right whales have fewer calves: Declining body size may contribute to low birth rates

Posted: 12 May 2022 01:41 PM PDT

The declining body size of North Atlantic right whales may have critical consequences for the future of the species. New research shows that smaller females produce fewer calves.

Immune cell characteristics mapped across multiple tissues, from early life to adulthood

Posted: 12 May 2022 01:41 PM PDT

The Human Cell Atlas sheds new light on the types and traits of immune cells that can be found in the human body, from developmental stages to adulthood.

Study finds nanomedicine targeting lymph nodes key to triple negative breast cancer treatment

Posted: 12 May 2022 01:41 PM PDT

Research could provide a new approach to treating an aggressive form of breast cancer. A study found that targeting the immune microenvironment in lymph nodes and tumors simultaneously led to long-term tumor remission in mice models of metastatic triple negative breast cancer.

Hunga volcano eruption provides an explosion of data

Posted: 12 May 2022 01:40 PM PDT

The massive Jan. 15, 2022, eruption of the Hunga submarine volcano in the South Pacific Ocean created a variety of atmospheric wave types, including booms heard 6,200 miles away in Alaska. It also created an atmospheric pulse that caused an unusual tsunami-like disturbance that arrived at Pacific shores sooner than the actual tsunami.

Researchers seek to improve success of chimeric antigen receptor-T cell therapy in non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Posted: 12 May 2022 01:40 PM PDT

A study investigates the reasons for decreasing remission rates for patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma treated with chimeric antigen receptor-T cell therapy (CAR-T cell therapy).

Chemists synthesize psychotropic compound from rainforest tree

Posted: 12 May 2022 01:40 PM PDT

Scientists found a chemical from a rainforest tree that binds to opioid receptors in the brain and may have utility as an antidepressant or anti-anxiety drug.

Jellyfish's stinging cells hold clues to biodiversity

Posted: 12 May 2022 11:43 AM PDT

The cnidocytes -- or stinging cells -- that are characteristic of sea anemones, hydrae, corals and jellyfish, and make us careful of our feet while wading in the ocean, are also an excellent model for understanding the emergence of new cell types, according to new research.

What we're still learning about how trees grow

Posted: 12 May 2022 11:43 AM PDT

A new study finds that tree growth does not seem to be generally limited by photosynthesis but rather by cell growth. This suggests that we need to rethink the way we forecast forest growth in a changing climate, and that forests in the future may not be able to absorb as much carbon from the atmosphere as we thought.

When quan­tum par­ti­cles fly like bees

Posted: 12 May 2022 11:43 AM PDT

A quantum system with only 51 charged atoms can take on more than two quadrillion different states. Calculating the system's behavior is child's play for a quantum simulator. But verifying the result is almost impossible, even with today's supercomputers. A research team has now shown how these systems can be verified using equations formulated in the 18th century.

Mind the gap: Space inside eggs steers first few steps of life

Posted: 12 May 2022 11:43 AM PDT

Imagine sitting at a meeting where the shape of the table and your place at it might impact how you get along with the other members. Cells also communicate with their nearest neighbors, and in embryos, nothing is left to chance in the 'seating plan' for the first few cells. However, questions remain about the how this process is controlled and how it can influence the overall growth of an organism.

Bacteria with recording function capture gut health status

Posted: 12 May 2022 11:43 AM PDT

Researchers have equipped gut bacteria with data logger functionality as a way of monitoring which genes are active in the bacteria. These microorganisms could one day offer a noninvasive means of diagnosing disease or assessing the impact of a diet on health.

Massive single-cell atlas across human tissues highlights cell types where disease genes are active

Posted: 12 May 2022 11:43 AM PDT

Genetic studies have revealed many genes linked to both common and rare disease, but to understand how those genes bring about disease and use those insights to help develop therapies, scientists need to know where they are active in the body. Now researchers have developed a robust experimental pipeline that can profile many more cell types from more tissues than can be studied with other techniques, as well as machine learning methods to put this data together and query the resulting map, or atlas.

Review of pre-eclampsia care

Posted: 12 May 2022 11:43 AM PDT

Researchers have published a review of care for women with pre-eclampsia.

Family size may influence cognitive functioning in later life

Posted: 12 May 2022 10:41 AM PDT

A new study found that having three or more versus two children has a negative effect on late-life cognition. The results further indicated that this effect was strongest in Northern Europe, where higher fertility decreases financial resources but does not improve social resources in this region.

Treatment minimizes infants' opioid-related brain abnormalities

Posted: 12 May 2022 10:41 AM PDT

Researchers have evidence validating the benefits of using medication for opioid use disorder during pregnancy. Brain imaging revealed significant improvements in brain function after treatment.

Researchers develop wireless implantable vascular monitoring system

Posted: 12 May 2022 09:19 AM PDT

Researchers are improving the odds for patients with the development of an implantable soft electronic vascular monitoring system. Their smart stent and printed soft sensors, is capable of wireless real-time monitoring of hemodynamics without batteries or circuits.

Using shark teeth to decipher evolutionary processes

Posted: 12 May 2022 09:19 AM PDT

From embryo to turtle cracker: Palaeobiologists studied the multiple changes in tooth shape in the tiger shark. The study is also central in drawing conclusions about extinct species from the myriad of preserved shark teeth in the field of palaeontology.

Excessive sports training may have negative effects on mood

Posted: 12 May 2022 09:19 AM PDT

New research on road cyclists sheds light on the importance of monitoring a training session load with the use of heart rate variability measuring tools, to favor assimilation and prevent injuries, and to compare training intensity with mood states the following morning.

Water makes tree branches droop at night

Posted: 12 May 2022 09:19 AM PDT

Terrestrial laser scanning data show that trees move their branches in a diurnal pattern, settling down for the night -- as if falling asleep. Changes in the water status of leaves and branches causes branches to move downward at night, up to 20 cm depending on the tree species.

The origin of life: A paradigm shift

Posted: 12 May 2022 09:19 AM PDT

According to a new concept, it was a novel molecular species composed out of RNA and peptides that set in motion the evolution of life into more complex forms.

What grasshoppers feed on

Posted: 12 May 2022 09:19 AM PDT

Anyone walking past a meadow on a mild summer evening is often exposed to an impressive concert. It is the grasshoppers, bush crickets and crickets that create a Mediterranean atmosphere with their chirping. The songs are usually those of males trying to attract females to mate with them. But they can also be rival songs when two males get too close to each other.

The deadly impact of urban streets that look like highways

Posted: 12 May 2022 09:19 AM PDT

Serious auto crashes in urban areas are more likely on city streets that look to drivers like highways, new research suggests. The study used a novel approach: researchers applied machine learning techniques to analyze more than 240,000 images of road segments in Columbus, Ohio.

What caused this megatooth shark's massive toothache?

Posted: 12 May 2022 09:19 AM PDT

Did the world's largest prehistoric shark need an orthodontist, or did it just have a bad lunch?

Vaccine for rare but deadly mosquito-borne viruses shows promise in clinical trial

Posted: 12 May 2022 09:19 AM PDT

A vaccine for eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV), western equine encephalitis virus (WEEV), and Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) was found to be safe, well-tolerated and induced a neutralizing antibody response in adult volunteers, according to newly published results from a Phase 1 clinical trial.

Unusually fast beaked whale has special deep-sea hunting strategy

Posted: 12 May 2022 09:19 AM PDT

Biologists have successfully used biologgers to reveal insights into the lifestyle and hunting behaviur of the little-known species Sowerby's beaked whale. The team's first results show that these dolphins have a surprisingly different, much faster lifestyle than related species.

Study finds realism a key factor in driving engagement with virtual reality videos

Posted: 12 May 2022 09:19 AM PDT

A recent study finds that realism is a key factor in determining whether viewers engage with virtual reality videos -- and that engagement is itself a key factor in determining whether viewers are interested in watching VR videos in the future.

People choose healthier food when with outsiders for fear of being negatively judged

Posted: 12 May 2022 09:18 AM PDT

People are more likely to choose a healthy food option than an unhealthy food option among people from different social groups because they fear being judged negatively for their choices.

Aerodynamic model of a moving car and its tires

Posted: 12 May 2022 09:18 AM PDT

Engineers have produced a video simulation to illustrate the complex aerodynamics around a moving car and its tires.

Video games can help boost children's intelligence

Posted: 12 May 2022 09:18 AM PDT

Scientists have studied how the screen habits of US children correlates with how their cognitive abilities develop over time. They found that the children who spent an above-average time playing video games increased their intelligence more than the average, while TV watching or social media had neither a positive nor a negative effect.

A first: Scientists grow plants in soil from the Moon

Posted: 12 May 2022 09:18 AM PDT

Scientists have, for the first time, grown plants in soil from the Moon. They used soil collected during the Apollo 11, 12 and 17 missions. In their experiment, the researchers wanted to know if plants would grow in lunar soil and, if so, how the plants would respond to the unfamiliar environment, even down to the level of gene expression.

From cavefish to humans: Evolution of metabolism in cavefish may provide insight into treatments for a host of diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and stroke

Posted: 12 May 2022 09:18 AM PDT

New research examines how cavefish, surface-dwelling river fish that flooded into underground cave systems over 100,000 years ago, developed unique metabolic adaptations to survive in nutrient-scarce environments. The study created a genome-wide map of liver tissue for two independent colonies of cavefish along with river fish to understand how cavefish metabolism evolved and how this may be applicable for humans.