Eurekalert

To clarify the origins of coronavirus' infections in humans, researchers from the Bioinformatics Research Center (BRC) at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte) performed the most comprehensive evolutionary analyses of these viruses to date. The UNC Charlotte team analyzed over 2,000 genomes of diverse coronaviruses that infect humans or other animals.

Researchers have identified a gene expressed in children with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) that could serve as a new immunotherapy treatment target, according to a new study published today in Blood Advances, a journal of the American Society of Hematology. The study, co-authored by researchers with Nemours Children's Health System, outlines the process and potential path for new immunotherapy drugs that improve survival and reduce treatment-related toxicity in children with AML.

Private equity investment in hospitals has grown substantially in the 21st century, and it accelerated in the years leading up the COVID-19 pandemic. Now a new study of short-term acute care hospitals acquired by private equity firms finds they not only have higher markups and profit margins, they're also slower to expand their staffs.

A team of researchers from Case Western Reserve University interviewed 174 families to examine the use of health, medical and social services for youth with autism--from 16 to 30 years old--and their family caregivers.

Polarization-sensitive photodetection is central to optics applications and has been successfully demonstrated in photodetectors of layered hybrid perovskites; however, achieving high polarization sensitivity in such a photodetector remains challenging. Scientists based in China demonstrate a high-performance polarization-sensitive photodetector using single-crystalline 2D/3D perovskite heterostructure crystal, which exhibits ultrahigh polarization sensitivity up to 17.6 under self-driven mode. This work offers a new source of polarization-sensitive materials and provides insights into designing other advanced optoelectronic devices.

Researchers at UC San Diego have used gene therapy to prevent learning and memory loss in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease, a key step toward eventually testing the approach in humans with the neurodegenerative disease.

A modified Haldane lattice exhibits the intriguing phenomenon of antichiral edge states, which propagate in the same direction on opposite edges and co-exist with bulk states. Using electric circuit, researchers have successfully demonstrated antichiral edge states. By measuring voltage distributions in the circuit, the key features of the antichiral edge states have been verified experimentally for the first time, including their group velocities and ability to propagate consistently in a Möbius strip configuration.

The toll of gun violence on young people represents one of the most significant public health challenges facing contemporary America.

Researchers present a class of muscle-fiber array inspired, multiple-mode, pneumatic artificial muscles (MAIPAMs), consisting of active 3D elastomer-balloon arrays reinforced by a passive 2D elastomer membrane, through planar design and one-step rolling fabrication. They introduce the prototypical designs of MAIPAMs and demonstrate their muscle-mimic structures and versatility, as well as their scalable ability for contraction and twisting actuations and self-sensing. They further demonstrate their promising potentials for versatile robotic applications.

Increasing the ability of healthcare providers to recognize and respond to adverse childhood experiences can buffer the long-term negative physical and mental health impacts of adversity and increase patient-centered care.

The development of luminophores with favorable photophysical properties is highly demanding for chemical probing, biological sensing and imaging, optoelectronic materials, and theranostic agents. Light-emitting metallacages constructed by coordination-driven self-assembly represent a promising platform due to their high synthetic efficiency and structural versatility, which enable facile control over their photophysical properties. Scientists based in China and the United States summarized the latest advances in the field of light-emitting metallacages and outlined future development challenges.

A team of University of Alberta researchers has discovered a way to use 3-D bioprinting technology to create custom-shaped cartilage for use in surgical procedures. The work aims to make it easier for surgeons to safely restore the features of skin cancer patients living with nasal cartilage defects after surgery.

A team led by Iain Drummond, Ph.D., of the MDI Biological Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine, has identified the signaling mechanisms underlying the formation of podocytes, which are tiny, highly specialized cells in the glomerulus, the cluster of blood vessels in the kidney where waste is filtered. The discovery opens the door to the development of therapies to replace or regenerate these cells, which are vital to ridding the body of toxins.

Researchers at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), in Brazil, have found a crucial link between phase transition (aggregation) of mutant p53 protein and cancer pathology. The study opens new paths for the development of novels drugs against the disease. The results have been published in advance in the scientific journal Chemical Science.

Five years after introducing see-through wood building material, researchers in Sweden have taken it to another level. They found a way to make their composite 100 percent renewable - and more translucent - by infusing wood with a clear bio-plastic made from citrus fruit.

Scientists believe a stomach-specific protein plays a major role in the progression of obesity, according to new research in Scientific Reports. The study could help with development of therapeutics that would help individuals struggling with achieving and maintaining weight loss.

Harsh prison sentences for juvenile crimes do not reduce the probability of conviction for violent crimes as an adult, and actually increase the propensity for conviction of drug-related crimes, finds a new study by economists at UC Riverside and the University of Louisiana. Harsh juvenile sentences do reduce the likelihood of conviction for property crimes as an adult. But the increase in drug-related crimes cancels out any benefit harsh sentences might offer, researchers found.

A powerful, long-term study from WCS adds scientific backing for global calls for conserving 30 percent of the world's ocean.

A previously underappreciated part of the body's natural defense against SARS-CoV-2, called non-RBD-directed antibodies, actually plays a major role in combating the virus, according to a new study in the journal Science. That's good news for scientists designing the next generation of vaccines to protect against variants of the virus or future emerging coronaviruses.

A pair of Mayo Clinic studies shed light on something that is typically difficult to see with the eye: respiratory aerosols. Such aerosol particles of varying sizes are a common component of breath, and they are a typical mode of transmission for respiratory viruses like COVID-19 to spread to other people and surfaces.