ScienceDaily: Top News

Injured human liver treated for 3 days in a machine and then successfully transplanted

Posted: 31 May 2022 08:18 AM PDT

A multidisciplinary research team has succeeded in doing something during a treatment attempt that had never been achieved in the history of medicine until now: it treated an originally damaged human liver in a machine for three days outside of a body and then implanted the recovered organ into a cancer patient. One year later, the patient is doing well.

Degrading a key cancer cell-surface protein to invigorate immune attack on tumors

Posted: 31 May 2022 08:18 AM PDT

One powerful way cancer cells defend against tumor-killing immune cells is to load up their cell surface with a protein known as PD-L1. Now a team of researchers has identified a method to degrade tumor cell-surface PD-L1, thereby making tumors susceptible to immune attack.

Palms at the poles: Fossil plants reveal lush southern hemisphere forests in ancient hothouse climate

Posted: 31 May 2022 08:18 AM PDT

Plant fossils dating back 55 to 40 million years ago, during the Eocene epoch reveal details about the warmer and wetter climate. These conditions meant there were palms at the North and South Pole and predominantly arid landmasses like Australia were lush and green. By focusing on the morphology and taxonomic features of 12 different floras, the researchers developed a more detailed view of what the climate and productivity was like in the ancient hothouse world of the Eocene epoch.

How sleep builds relational memory

Posted: 31 May 2022 08:18 AM PDT

Researchers describe biological mechanism that allows sleep to build relational memories -- associations between unrelated items.

The secret to a longer lifespan? Gene regulation holds a clue

Posted: 31 May 2022 08:18 AM PDT

Researchers investigated genes connected to lifespan. Their research uncovered specific characteristics of these genes and revealed that two regulatory systems controlling gene expression -- circadian and pluripotency networks -- are critical to longevity. The findings have implications both in understanding how longevity evolves and in providing new targets to combat aging and age-related diseases.

Photonics: Quest for elusive monolayers just got a lot simpler

Posted: 31 May 2022 08:18 AM PDT

Optics researchers develop an automated scanning device that can detect 2D monolayers with 99.9 percent accuracy -- surpassing any other method to date -- at a fraction of the cost, in far less time, and with readily available materials.

Electrical pulses to the back of the neck found to restore breathing after drug use

Posted: 31 May 2022 08:18 AM PDT

Breathing difficulties are the main cause of death following opioid use. In the UK, the number of adults entering treatment for opioid use was 140,863 in 2020/211 and opioid use remains a significant cause of premature death, contributing to 3,726 drug-related deaths last year. Opioid misuse causes death by supressing respiratory activity. New research points to a novel treatment for respiratory depression associated with opioid use that administers electrical pulses to the back of the neck, helping patients regain respiratory control following high dosage opioid use. This could offer an alternative to pharmacological treatments, which can cause withdrawal symptoms, heart problems and can negatively affect the central nervous system.

Roundworms offer new insights into Bardet-Biedl syndrome

Posted: 31 May 2022 08:18 AM PDT

Scientists have identified a new role for a protein complex at the center of a human genetic disorder called Bardet-Biedl syndrome, or BBS, for which there is currently no cure.

Great white sharks may have contributed to megalodon extinction

Posted: 31 May 2022 08:18 AM PDT

The diet of fossil extinct animals can hold clues to their lifestyle, behavior, evolution and ultimately extinction. However, studying an animal's diet after millions of years is difficult due to the poor preservation of chemical dietary indicators in organic material on these timescales. An international team of scientists has applied a new method to investigate the diet of the largest shark to have ever existed, the iconic Otodus megalodon. This new method investigates the zinc isotope composition of the highly mineralized part of teeth and proves to be particularly helpful to decipher the diet of these extinct animals.

Scientists use AI to update data vegetation maps for improved wildfire forecasts

Posted: 31 May 2022 07:27 AM PDT

A new technique uses artificial intelligence to efficiently update the vegetation maps that are relied on by wildfire computer models to accurately predict fire behavior and spread.

Healthy development thanks to older siblings

Posted: 31 May 2022 07:27 AM PDT

During the first years of their lives, children develop the cognitive, social and emotional skills that will provide the foundations for their lifelong health and achievements. However, exposure to environmental stressors during critical periods of life can have negative long-term consequences for their development. One of the most critical stressors for children is maternal stress, which is known to have a detrimental effect on children's health and well-being, already in utero.

Dementia diagnosis often comes as part of costly crisis

Posted: 31 May 2022 07:27 AM PDT

Medicare costs around the time of a dementia diagnosis are much lower for older adults screened proactively rather than those diagnosed while experiencing a health issue.

Researchers investigate the links between facial recognition and Alzheimer's disease

Posted: 31 May 2022 07:27 AM PDT

In recent years Alzheimer's disease has been on the rise throughout the world and is rarely diagnosed at an early stage when it can still be effectively controlled. Using artificial intelligence, researchers conducted a study to identify whether human-computer interfaces could be adapted for people with memory impairments to recognize a visible object in front of them.

Decoding how a protein on the move keeps cells healthy

Posted: 31 May 2022 07:26 AM PDT

Cells rely on a process known as RNA interference (RNAi) to control protein production. The centerpiece of that process is the protein Argonaute, which seeks out and destroys mRNA molecules. Scientists have now discovered how Argonaute efficiently jumps from one target to the next. Their work may help improve current RNAi-based therapies and develop better ones in the future.

What will it take to transform obesity care for all?

Posted: 31 May 2022 07:26 AM PDT

A new framework for managing obesity care in primary care settings, and efforts to educate clinicians about the appropriate use of obesity medications, aim to improve care for this chronic disease.

Nerve stimulation promotes resolution of inflammation

Posted: 31 May 2022 07:26 AM PDT

The nervous system is known to communicate with the immune system and regulate inflammation in the body. Researchers now show how electrical activation of a specific nerve can promote healing in acute inflammation.

Cuttlefish camouflage may be more complex than previously thought

Posted: 31 May 2022 07:26 AM PDT

A new study suggests that the European cuttlefish (sepia officinalis) may combine, as necessary, two distinct neural systems that process specific visual features from its local environment, and visual cues relating to its overall background environment to create the body patterns it uses to camouflage itself on the sea floor.

Multi-spin flips and a pathway to efficient ising machines

Posted: 31 May 2022 07:26 AM PDT

Combinatorial optimization problems are at the root of many industrial processes and solving them is key to a more sustainable and efficient future. Ising machines can solve certain combinatorial optimization problems, but their efficiency could be improved with multi-spin flips. Researchers have now tackled this difficult problem by developing a merge algorithm that disguises a multi-spin flip as a simpler, single-spin flip. This technology provides optimal solutions to hard computational problems in a shorter time.

Mobile app provides effective support for children with obesity

Posted: 31 May 2022 06:15 AM PDT

A mobile app that shows a child's weight development in real-time for children with obesity provides greater weight loss compared to conventional care. The fact that both families and healthcare professionals can follow the same data facilitates individualized extra support when needed.

New artificial enzyme breaks down tough, woody lignin

Posted: 31 May 2022 06:15 AM PDT

An innovative artificial enzyme has shown it can chew through woody lignin, an abundant carbon-based substance that stores tremendous potential for renewable energy and materials.

Too much self-confidence can endanger health

Posted: 31 May 2022 06:15 AM PDT

Older people who overestimate their health go to the doctor less often. This can have serious consequences for their health, for example, when illnesses are detected too late. By contrast, people who think they are sicker than they actually are visit the doctor more often. This is what a new study based on data from over 80,000 Europeans aged 50 and older found.

Discovery could lead to better cancer immunotherapy

Posted: 31 May 2022 06:15 AM PDT

A type of white blood cell previously known only as a helper in the immune system appears also to be the instigator of the body's defenses against cancerous tumors. The discovery could lead to more effective cancer immunotherapy, a promising treatment which uses the body's own immune system, rather than radiation, to attack cancer cells. In an animal study, researchers found that a population of T cells called CD4-positive helper T cells helped start a chain of antitumor immunity defenses that allow killer cells to better infiltrate melanoma and breast cancer tumors.

A new arrangement: Using quantum dots to quench the smallest ferrimagnetism

Posted: 31 May 2022 06:15 AM PDT

A team of scientists have focused on the Kondo effect on minimal ferrimagnetism and attempted to elucidate it theoretically. As a result, they found that the Kondo effect occurred via multiple 'quantum entangled states' depending on temperature and other factors. They also found that the Kondo effect suppressed electrical conductivity through minimal ferrimagnetism, when usually it is amplified in many other cases.

What's in a name? Glimmers of evolution in naming babies, choosing a dog

Posted: 30 May 2022 09:04 AM PDT

Maverick was first used as a baby name after a television show called 'Maverick' aired in the 1950s, but its popularity rose meteorically in 1986 with the release of the movie 'Top Gun.' Today, it is even used for baby girls.

Ultrasound-guided microbubbles boost immunotherapy efficacy

Posted: 30 May 2022 09:04 AM PDT

Researchers have developed an ultrasound-guided cancer immunotherapy platform that generates systemic antitumor immunity and improves the therapeutic efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade.

The paired perils of breast cancer and diabetes

Posted: 30 May 2022 09:03 AM PDT

Researchers have discovered a mechanism linking breast cancer and diabetes, each of which promotes development and growth of the other.

Fjords emit as much methane as all the deep oceans globally

Posted: 30 May 2022 05:57 AM PDT

During heavy storms, the normally stratified layers of water in ocean fjords get mixed, which leads to oxygenation of the fjord floor. But these storm events also result in a spike in methane emissions from fjords to the atmosphere. Researchers have estimated that the total emissions of this climate-warming gas are as great from fjords as from all the deep ocean areas in the world put together.