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Scientists identify spark plug that ignites nerve cell demise in ALS

Scientists from Harvard Medical School have identified a key instigator of nerve cell damage in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, a progressive and incurable neurodegenerative disorder.

Researchers say the findings of their study, published Aug. 5 in the journal Science, may lead to new therapies to halt the progression of the uniformly fatal disease that affects more than 30,000 Americans. One such treatment is already under development for testing in humans after the current study showed it stopped nerve cell damage in mice with ALS.

A mystery of form and structure

Sometimes the answers to our most persistent questions are found in the most unexpected places. Just ask Douglas Burbank.

After working in China for more than a decade, the UC Santa Barbara earth science professor and his graduate students finally confirmed how the Tarim Basin's unusual topography was formed. And they did it from 6,000 miles away, in a laboratory in Minnesota.

New electrical energy storage material shows its power

A powerful new material developed by Northwestern University chemist William Dichtel and his research team could one day speed up the charging process of electric cars and help increase their driving range.

An electric car currently relies on a complex interplay of both batteries and supercapacitors to provide the energy it needs to go places, but that could change.

New editorial, virtual journal issue commemorate research that shaped geriatrics

A new editorial and corresponding virtual journal issue offer a look back at 20 of the most important studies impacting older adult care as published by the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS) from 2000 to 2015.

Queen's researchers measure emotional flexibility in mother-daughter dyads

KINGSTON, Ont. - Queen's University researchers Tom Hollenstein and Jessica Lougheed have published new research on the emotional bonds between mothers and adolescent daughters. The study examined how well mother-daughter pairs were able to manage rapid transitions between emotional states and the so-called "emotional rollercoaster" of adolescence.

Lymph node stage may have clinical significance among NSCLC patients with stage IV M1a

DENVER - Analysis of a large non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patient cohort with stage IV M1a disease identified lymph node staging as having clinical significance and an impact on prognosis.

Johns Hopkins scientists track metabolic pathways to find drug combination for pancreatic cancer

Cancer researchers have long observed the value of treating patients with combinations of anti-cancer drugs that work better than single drug treatments. Now, in a new study using laboratory-grown cells and mice, Johns Hopkins scientists report that a method they used to track metabolic pathways heavily favored by cancer cells provides scientific evidence for combining anti-cancer drugs, including one in a nanoparticle format developed at Johns Hopkins, that specifically target those pathways.

Feeling the force between sand grains

For the first time, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers have measured how forces move through 3D granular materials, determining how this important class of materials might pack and behave in processes throughout nature and industry.

Granular materials such as sand, rice and soil exist everywhere around us. However, scientists and engineers do not yet fully understand how external forces move through these materials. The ability to quantify that force transmission is missing, yet critical in efforts to predict material behavior.

Enigmatic molecules maintain equilibrium between fighting infection, inflammatory havoc

PHILADELPHIA - Special RNA molecules called long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are key controllers for maintaining immune health when fighting infection or preventing inflammatory disorders, according to research led by Jorge Henao-Mejia, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The discovery offers a potential drug target for several inflammatory disorders characterized by an abnormal lifespan in a group of white blood cells, which can lead to organ damage.

Zika virus detected in newborn until 2 months after birth

Physicians at the Santa Casa de Misericordia and researchers from the Institute of Biomedical Sciences at University of São Paulo describe the case of a baby born with Zika infection in January 2016, who remained infected by the virus even two months and one week after birth.

This is the first reported case of prolonged Zika infection in newborns.

Diet, exercise, both: All work equally to protect heart health, SLU study finds

ST. LOUIS -- Which works better to improve the cardiovascular health of those who are overweight - dieting, exercise or a combination of both? A Saint Louis University study finds it doesn't matter which strategy you choose - it's the resulting weight loss that is the protective secret sauce.

UTSW research identifies protein that promotes the breakdown of fat

DALLAS - Aug. 24, 2016 - Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that a protein often located on the surface of fat droplets within cells - and especially abundant in the muscles of endurance athletes - can kick-start the more efficient and healthful breakdown of fat.

The findings could have significant implications for development of new ways to treat obesity and type 2 diabetes, said Dr. Perry Bickel, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern and senior author of the study published online today in Nature Communications.

New map shows alarming growth of the human footprint

A James Cook University scientist says a new map of the ecological footprint of humankind shows 97 per cent of the most species-rich places on Earth have been seriously altered.

JCU's Professor Bill Laurance has taken part in a study to map the ecological effect of people on the planet. He said the news isn't great.

"The most species-rich parts of the planet--especially including the tropical rainforests--have been hit hardest. In total, around 97 per cent of Earth's biologically richest real estate has been seriously altered by humans," he said.

Field Museum study challenges long-standing scientific theory

In Lewis Carroll's "Through the Looking-Glass," the Red Queen explains to Alice how a race works in Wonderland, stating, "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place." So, too, does this statement hold true in nature. Competitive species are under constant pressure to evolve as rapidly as possible so as to outgun their competition, and this is often referred to as the Red Queen Theory. The rabbit needs to outrun the fox to avoid being killed, whereas the fox needs to catch the rabbit in order to avoid starvation.

Psychosis associated with low levels of physical activity

A large international study of more than 200,000 people in nearly 50 countries has revealed that people with psychosis engage in low levels of physical activity, and men with psychosis are over two times more likely to miss global activity targets compared to people without the illness.