Brain
Organoids are stem cell-based tissue surrogates that can mimic the structure and function of organs, and they have become a key component of numerous types of medical research in recent years. But researchers from The University of Texas at Austin have uncovered problems with the conventional method for growing organoids for common experiments that may cause misleading results.
Scientists have identified key molecules that mediate radioresistance in glioblastoma multiforme; these molecules are a potential target for the treatment of this brain cancer.
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is the most aggressive type of brain cancer. It is treated by radiation therapy combined with chemotherapy. However, even with treatment, the five-year survival rate for GBM is less than 7%. One of the major causes for this is that GBM rapidly develops radioresistance (resistance to radiotherapy) by unknown mechanisms.
A new study provides substantial evidence that the first fossil feather ever to be discovered does belong to the iconic Archaeopteryx, a bird-like dinosaur named in Germany on this day in 1861. This debunks a recent theory that the fossil feather originated from a different species.
Secondary schools in Wales that teach pupils through the medium of Welsh are outperformed by their English-speaking counterparts in maths, reading and science tests, according to a new study by Lancaster University.
The average results of pupils attending Welsh-language secondary schools are markedly lower than pupils in English-language schools. This is despite Welsh-medium school pupils having more books available at home, spending more time on their studies outside of school and far fewer qualifying for free school meals.
It is well known that an individual infected with the coronavirus can spread it to others through respiratory droplets projected by violent expiratory events like coughing and sneezing. Evidence also shows that the virus can also be transmitted before these symptoms arise. The airflow generated from everyday conversations is increasingly recognized as a potent route of transmission, especially as people spend more time indoors during the fall and winter.
The villain in this drama has a pretty name: Aurora - Latin for dawn. In the world of biochemistry, however, Aurora (more precisely: Aurora-A kinase) stands for a protein that causes extensive damage. There, it has been known for a long time that Aurora often causes cancer. It triggers the development of leukemias and many pediatric cancers, such as neuroblastomas.
It is estimated that over 10 million asteroids are circling the Earth in the asteroid belt. They are relics from the early days of our solar system, when our planets formed out of a large cloud of gas and dust rotating around the sun. When asteroids are cast out of orbit, they sometimes plummet towards Earth as meteoroids. If they are big enough, they do not burn up completely when entering the atmosphere and can be found as meteorites.
Washington, DC-- A 10-year effort by China to improve air quality and reduce pollution-related health risks has caused warming in areas across the northern hemisphere, according to new work published in Environmental Research Letters.
Aerosols are tiny particles that are spewed into the atmosphere by human activities, such as burning coal and wood, or by geological phenomena, like volcanos. Their negative effects on air quality can damage human health and agricultural productivity.
Through the development of new technology, University of Minnesota researchers have developed a method that allows scientists to understand how a fruit fly's brain responds to seeing color. Prior to this, being able to determine how a brain responds to color was limited to humans and animals with slower visual systems. A fruit fly, when compared to a human, has a visual system that is five times faster. Some predatory insects see ten times faster than humans.
SALT LAKE CITY--Scientists from the John A. Moran Eye Center at the University of Utah have achieved another first in the field of connectomics, which studies the synaptic connections between neurons.
Moran's Marclab for Connectomics was the first to complete a map of the circuitry of the retina, or connectome, in 2011. Now, the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded lab has produced the first pathoconnectome, showing how eye disease alters retinal circuitry.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Can't stop checking social media for the latest COVID-19 health information? You might want to take a break, according to researchers at Penn State and Jinan University who discovered that excessive use of social media for COVID-19 health information is related to both depression and secondary trauma.
An African millet crop could be improved for growth in the dry, arid lands of Saudi Arabia by using information about its genome. Fonio is already well-adapted to this environment but has not had as much domestication as the major cereal crops, such as wheat, rice and maize. Gene targeting could lead to higher yields and larger grains.
Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have shown that blocking the construction of nuclear pores complexes--large channels that control the flow of materials in and out of the cell nucleus--shrank aggressive tumors in mice while leaving healthy cells unharmed.
When nerve cells aren't busy exchanging information, they're supposed to keep quiet. If they're just popping off at random, like in a noisy classroom, it obscures the signals they're supposed to be transmitting.
But in the most common genetic cause of schizophrenia, it seems that nerve cells won't shut up, Stanford University School of Medicine investigators have found. And they think they know why.
Helium atom precision measurements and calculations have a history of nearly a century. In the 1960s, theorists discovered that the fine-structure split (23P0-23P2) of the 23P energy level of helium is the best atomic system for measuring the fine structure constant α (approximately 1/137), which is the key parameter in the Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) theory. QED is the basic theory describing the quantum properties of electromagnetic interactions. It covers almost all physical systems from microscopic particles to macroscopic solids, and is currently the most accurate theory in physics.