Eurekalert

A study of gene activity in the brain's hippocampus, led by UT Southwestern researchers, has identified marked differences between the region's anterior and posterior portions. The findings, published today in Neuron, could shed light on a variety of brain disorders that involve the hippocampus and may eventually help lead to new, targeted treatments.

UC San Diego scientists have developed a genetics toolkit that helps pave the way to a gene drive designed to stop Culex mosquitoes from spreading disease. Much less studied than other genera, Culex mosquitoes spread devastating afflictions stemming from West Nile virus, Japanese encephalitis virus and the pathogen causing avian malaria.

Centuries-old smoke particles preserved in the ice reveal a fiery past in the Southern Hemisphere and shed new light on the future impacts of global climate change.

A new study of dozens of wild fish species commonly consumed in the Peruvian Amazon says that people there could suffer major nutritional shortages if ongoing losses in fish biodiversity continue. Furthermore, the increasing use of aquaculture and other substitutes may not compensate.

A study coordinated by Luís Graça, principal investigator at the Instituto de Medicina Molecular (iMM; Portugal) used lymph nodes, tonsils and blood, to show how the cells that control production of antibodies are formed and act. The results published now in the scientific journal Science Immunology unveiled key aspects about the regulation of antibody production, with significant importance for diseases where antibody production is dysregulated such as autoimmune diseases or allergies.

A team of researchers offer new insight on conversion factors of greenhouse gases into their CO2 equivalent. The publication in Science Advances puts forward the economic benefits of reassessing periodically conversion factors according to scenarios of global warming.

Older adults with cerebral palsy are more likely to have debilitating musculoskeletal conditions, but our researchers found they receive significantly less physical therapy for those ailments. The lead author says the results, while staggering, support their hypothesis that people with CP receive inequitable health care.

"This is particularly exciting because therapy using robotic exoskeletons shows such promise for improving the lives of people with co-occurring mobility and cognitive disability, a cohort that likely has the greatest potential to benefit from this new technology," said Dr. Androwis at Kessler Foundation. "We're eager to design a larger trial to further study these effects. Based on our initial results, we're optimistic that this approach may be superior to the current standard of care."

A small molecule STING agonist was highly protective against the virus that causes COVID-19 and likely other coronaviruses

Climate change will make outbreaks of West Nile virus more likely in the UK within the next 20-30 years, a new study has found. A new scientific model shows the risk of the mosquito-borne pathogen spreading to the country will increase as temperatures rise.

Developing new ultrathin metal electrodes has allowed researchers to create semitransparent perovskite solar cells that are highly efficient and can be coupled with traditional silicon cells to greatly boost the performance of both devices, said an international team of scientists. The research represents a step toward developing completely transparent solar cells.

Electroceramics such as capacitors are essential components in electronic devices. Intervening in their crystalline structure can change specific properties. A stable shape can be created by replacing a whole series of atoms rather than just a single one. An international team of researchers under the leadership of the TU Darmstadt has, for the first time, succeeded in inserting a dislocation into a ferroelectric ceramic by mechanically imprinting the atoms in the material.

Experts highlight four major symptoms affecting people with progressive MS that should be the focus of new research: fatigue, mobility and upper extremity impairment, pain, and cognitive impairment. "We have ample evidence from research in other clinical areas that rehabilitation can improve quality of life and find support from diverse payers and stakeholders," noted Dr. John DeLuca. "Our aim is to bring attention to the pressing need to develop rehabilitation treatment interventions for the progressive MS community."

A new article examines how the depiction of a "final girl's" struggle after survival in a horror film - how she has been vilified and dismissed, but ultimately proven right - might offer trauma survivors the chance to see a bit of themselves on the big screen.

Chemotherapy destroys stem cells, which then cannot develop into immune cells and become part of the body's defences. There are drugs that can remedy this, but previously we did not know exactly how these drugs worked. Now, a study conducted in mice by researchers at the University of Copenhagen details their function providing new knowledge that may improve stem cell transplantation and lead to better drug design in the future.

Platinum chemotherapy fails for triple-negative breast cancer, basal-like subtype. The first racially diverse trial to look at severe joint pain from aromatase inhibitors shows more postmenopausal Black and Asian women with early breast cancer developed this common/significant syndrome. Less intense therapy for HPV-associated throat cancer shows outstanding three-year survival and quality of life. Inflammation biomarker links to distant recurrence of HER2-negative early breast cancer. Joseph A. Sparano receives ASCO's 2021 Gianni Bonadonna Breast Cancer Award and Lecture.

A significant article was published in the journal Science on 14 May 2021 by 40 top scientists calling on the World Health Organisation to reinforce requirements for ventilation systems of buildings, in order to prevent the spread of corona, influenza and other airborne pathogens in public indoor spaces.

New study used whole genome sequencing to gain further understanding of why some children develop secondary leukaemia after neuroblastoma treatment.

EPFL researchers have developed a device that can continuously measure the blood concentration of propofol - one of the main compounds used in anesthetics - in patients as they are being operated on. That will help anesthesiologists deliver more personalized doses.

There is a strong link between hormonal contraceptives and breast cancer risk. The main culprit are progestins, synthetic mimics of the pregnancy hormone progesterone that stimulate cell growth in the breast. An EPFL study into the distinct biological effects of different progestins on the breast shows that contraceptive-related breast cancer can be prevented by more informed choices about the composition of contraceptives.