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Machine learning helps in predicting when immunotherapy will be effective
Cancer cells can put the body's immune cells into sleep mode. Immunotherapy can reverse this, but it doesn't work for all patients and all cancer types. Researchers at TU/e have developed machine learning models that can predict if someone is likely to respond positively to immunotherapy. In clinical settings, this could pave the way for personalized immunotherapy approaches for patients, as well as guidance on how to best combine immunotherapy with other treatments.
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How plants quickly adapt to shifting environmental conditions
Research by Salk Institute scientists offers a new understanding of how gene activity directs plant growth, and how quickly plants respond to their environment -- with shifting light conditions triggering molecular changes in as little as five minutes. The findings provide insights into how to increase yield and safeguard world food production as climate change shrinks the planet's arable land.
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Do 'Made in USA' claims make a difference in marketing results?
Pick up any product in just about any store and you're likely to find information that indicates the country of origin of the product. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires this for any imported product, but not for products made in the United States. When you see the words 'Made in USA' on a product, it's purely for marketing purposes. So, does it work?
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New articles for Geosphere posted online in June
GSA's dynamic online journal, Geosphere, posts articles online regularly. Locations and topics studied this month include the central Appalachian Mountains; fossil pollen in Colombia; the precision and accuracy of model analyses; the Bone Spring Formation, Permian Basin, west Texas; and the geochronology of modern river sediment in south-central Alaska.
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SLAS Discovery's July special edition 'Drug discovery targeting COVID-19' now available
The July edition of SLAS Discovery is a Special Edition featuring the cover article, "Development of a High-Throughput Screening Assay to Identify Inhibitors of the SARS-CoV-2 Guanine-N7-Methyltransferase Using RapidFire Mass Spectrometry" by Lesley-Anne Pearson, Charlotte J. Green, Ph.D., De Lin, Ph.D., Alain-Pierre Petit, Ph.D., David W. Gray, Ph.D., Victoria H. Cowling, Ph.D., and Euan A. F. Fordyce, Ph.D., (Drug Discovery Unit, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK).
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Machine learning algorithm predicts how genes are regulated in individual cells
Researchers have developed a software tool that identify the regulators of genes. The system leverages a machine learning algorithm to predict which transcription factors are most likely to be active in individual cells.
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Frequent COVID-19 testing key to efficient, early detection, study finds
The chance of detecting the virus that causes COVID-19 increases with more frequent testing, no matter the type of test, a new study found. Both polymerase chain reaction and antigen tests, paired with rapid results reporting, can achieve 98% sensitivity if deployed at least every three days.
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Researchers discuss common errors in internet energy analysis to develop best practices
When it comes to understanding and predicting trends in energy use, the internet is a tough nut to crack. So say energy researchers Eric Masanet, of UC Santa Barbara, and Jonathan Koomey, of Koomey Analytics. The two just published a peer-reviewed commentary in the journal Joule discussing the pitfalls that plague estimates of the internet's energy and carbon impacts.
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Lack of exercise while in quarantine had adverse effects on the health of women aged 50-70
Tests performed by Brazilian researchers after the first 16 weeks of COVID-19-induced confinement showed loss of muscle strength and diminished aerobic capacity, as well as an increase in cholesterol and glycated hemoglobin, both of which are risk factors for metabolic disorders.
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New treatment options for deadliest of cancers
A new way to target a mutant protein which can cause the deadliest of cancers in humans has been uncovered by scientists at the University of Leeds.
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Human stem cells enable model to test drug impact on brain's blood barrier
Using an experimental model to simulate the blood-brain barrier, scientists in Sweden reported in unprecedented detail how antioxidants protect the brain from inflammation caused by such neurodegenerative diseases as Alzheimer's and Parkinsons.
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Genetic risks for nicotine dependence span a range of traits and diseases
The study finds that higher polygenetic scores for schizophrenia, depression, neuroticism, self-reported risk-taking, a high body mass index, alcohol use disorder, along with a higher number of cigarettes smoked per day were all indicators of a higher risk for nicotine dependence.
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University of Cincinnati screening program contributes to increase in HIV diagnoses
Newly published research shows that a screening program in the University of Cincinnati Medical Center Emergency Department helped detect an outbreak of HIV among persons who inject drugs in Hamilton County, Ohio, from 2014-18. The study was published in PLOS ONE in May 2021. The researchers would like to see this study have an impact on public health policy as well as the frequency of HIV screening in emergency departments across the country.
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Digging into the molecules of fossilized dinosaur eggshells
Dinosaurs roamed the Earth more than 65 million years ago, and paleontologists and amateur fossil hunters are still unearthing traces of them today. The minerals in fossilized eggs and shell fragments provide snapshots into these creatures' early lives, as well as their fossilization processes. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Earth and Space Chemistry have analyzed the molecular makeup of fossilized dinosaur eggshells from Mexico, finding nine amino acids and evidence of ancient protein structures.
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'Plugging in' to produce environmentally friendly bioplastics
Bioplastics -- biodegradable plastics made from biological substances rather than petroleum -- can be created in a more economical and environmentally friendly way from the byproducts of corn stubble, grasses and mesquite agricultural production, according to a new study by a Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientist.
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Repairing 'broken' hearts -- new promising surgical technique for heart attacks
Patients suffering from severe heart attacks are susceptible to ruptures in the wall of their hearts. Such conditions coupled with drastic fluctuations in blood pressure could be fatal. A group of Chinese medical researchers has now been successful in devising a new surgical technique, called SurCOP, to repair such ruptures, according to a study published in Chinese Medical Journal.
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MD Anderson research highlights for June 30, 2021
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center's Research Highlights provides a glimpse into recently published studies in basic, translational and clinical cancer research from MD Anderson experts. Current advances include expanded use of a targeted therapy for a new group of patients with leukemia, molecular studies yielding novel cancer therapeutic targets, insights into radiation therapy resistance and a community intervention to reduce cervical cancer rates.
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Fairer finance could speed up net zero for Africa by a decade
Levelling up access to finance so that poorer countries can afford the funds needed to switch to renewable energy could see regions like Africa reaching net zero emissions a decade earlier, according to a study led by UCL researchers. Access to finance (credit) is vital for the green energy transition needed to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, as laid out in the Paris Agreement. But access to low-cost finance is uneven.
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COVID-19 in Europe and travel: Researchers show the important role of newly introduced lineages in COVID-19 resurgence after last summer
On the eve of summer holidays, a study conducted by researchers of the KU Leuven and ULB and published in the journal Nature, assesses how newly introduced viral lineages contributed to COVID-19 resurgence after last summer in Europe. The researchers show that in the majority of European countries under investigation, more than half of the lineages circulating at the end of summer 2020 resulted from new introductions since June 15.
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Have a pandemic plan? Most people did not
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, medical experts have stressed the importance of having a plan in the event of a positive test result. A new study by University of Houston psychologists reveals 96% of healthy, educated adults did not have a comprehensive plan in mind.
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