Brain
Creating and controlling on Earth the fusion energy that powers the sun and stars is a key goal of scientists around the world. Production of this safe, clean and limitless energy could generate electricity for all humanity, and the possibility is growing closer to reality. Now a landmark report released this week by the American Physical Society Division of Plasma Physics Community Planning Process proposes immediate steps for the United States to take to accelerate U.S. development of this long-sought power.
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) play essential roles in cell signal transduction and serve as important therapeutic targets for a large number of diseases. Upon binding to extracellular agonists, GPCRs stimulate various signaling pathways by recruiting different G proteins (Gs, Gi, Gq, etc.) to mediate a wide variety of physiological functions. The selective coupling between a GPCR and specific G proteins is critical for the biological action of the receptor.
Working memory, the ability to hold a thought in mind even through distraction, is the foundation of abstract reasoning and a defining characteristic of the human brain. It is also impaired in disorders such as schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease.
Now Yale researchers have found a key molecule that helps neurons maintain information in working memory, which could lead to potential treatments for neurocognitive disorders, they report March 19 in the journal Neuron.
Researchers at the University of Cincinnati are helping to identify those most at risk in Ohio of overdosing on opiates.
A new study published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports examined Ohio Health Department records from 2010 to 2017 and found that white men between the ages of 30 and 39 were most at risk of fatal overdoses. The epidemic is disproportionately affecting white men over white women in all age categories, the study found.
BOSTON - In patients with advanced ovarian cancer, a combination of drugs known as immune checkpoint inhibitors and PARP inhibitors can produce powerful remissions, clinical trials have shown, but up until now investigators haven't been able to predict which patients won't benefit from the treatment and should explore other options. A new study by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers, is showing that it's now possible to identify such patients in advance.
Teens who feel personally empowered are less likely to bully, harass or commit acts of sexual violence, according to a study by Rutgers University, the University of Nebraska, and the University of New Hampshire.
The study, published in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, also found that teens who think their friends support violence prevention and healthy relationships are less likely to mistreat their peers.
CML is a blood cancer that can be controlled by continuously taking an expensive type of medicine called a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). In almost all patients, stopping TKI treatment results in recurrence of CML. While most CML patients respond well to life-long TKI usage, about 10 per cent of patients become resistant to TKIs, and progress to late-stage or blast crisis (BC) CML. Patients with BC almost always die from their disease.
Iron build-up in the lung cells and tissues is associated with worse asthma symptoms and lower lung function, according to new research published in the European Respiratory Journal [1].
The researchers say that the study, which includes data from asthma patient samples and mouse models, is the first to definitively show a relationship between iron build-up in the lung cells and tissues and the severity of asthma.
Researchers from the Zepler Institute for Photonics and Nanoelectronics at the University of Southampton have demonstrated a new leap in hollow-core fibre performance, underlining the technology's potential to soon eclipse current optical fibres.
Hollow-core fibres replace conventional glass cores with gas or a vacuum to enable unique properties including faster light speed and reduced sensitivity to environmental variations.
Growing fruit and vegetables in just 10 per cent of a city's gardens and other urban green spaces could provide 15 per cent of the local population with their 'five a day', according to new research.
In a study published in Nature Food, academics from the Institute for Sustainable Food at the University of Sheffield investigated the potential for urban horticulture by mapping green spaces and grey spaces across the city.
Experts have stressed an urgent need to find alternatives to wormers and anti-ectoparasitic products used widely on cattle, following the findings of a study just published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.
The laboratory directed by Arne Skerra, Professor of Biological Chemistry, has its focus on designing artificial binding proteins for therapeutic applications. The laboratory's current research findings are paving the way for the development of new types of binding proteins for biological sugar structures, which play a significant role in cancer as well as infectious diseases.
Recognizing biological sugar structures
BUFFALO, N.Y. - Soft corals at three sites in the U.S. Virgin Islands were able to recover from the destructive effects of nearly back-to-back Category 5 storms in 2017, but the story of these apparently hardy communities of colorful marine life is part of a larger, rapidly shifting narrative surrounding the future of coral reefs, according to a new study led by a University at Buffalo marine ecologist.
Certain middle-aged and older adults, especially women who tend to disengage from difficult tasks and goals after they retire, may be at greater risk of cognitive decline as they age, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.
Their researches on the lamprey brain has enabled researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden to push the birth of the cortex back in time by some 300 million years to over 500 million years ago, providing new insights into brain evolution. The study is published in the scientific journal Nature Ecology & Evolution.