Culture

PITTSBURGH, May 19, 2021 - Specialized immune cells that accumulate in the brain in the days and weeks after a stroke promote neural functions in mice, pointing to a potential immunotherapy that may boost recovery after the acute injury is over, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine neurologists found.

The yeast Candida albicans can cause itchy, painful urinary tract and vaginal yeast infections. For women in low-resource settings who lack access to healthcare facilities, these infections create substantial social and economic burdens. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Omega have developed color-changing threads that turn bright pink in the presence of C. albicans. When embedded in tampons or sanitary napkins, they could allow women to quickly and discreetly self-diagnose vulvovaginal yeast infections, the researchers say.

Researchers have found the elusive genetic element controlling the elongated grains and glumes of a wheat variety identified by the renowned botanist Carl Linnaeus more than 250 years ago.

The findings relating to Polish wheat, Triticum polonicum, could translate into genetic improvements and productivity in the field.

Wheat, in bread, pasta, and other forms, is a vital energy and protein source for humans. Each individual grain is nestled within the glumes and other leaf-like organs called lemma and palea which affect the grain's final size, shape, and weight.

Scientists, governments and corporations worldwide are racing against the clock to fight climate change, and part of the solution might be in our soil. By adding carbon from the atmosphere to depleted soil, farmers can both increase their yields and reduce emissions. A cover story in Chemical & Engineering News, the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, explores what it would take to get this new practice off the ground.

Protein intake is more important than protein source if the goal is to gain muscle strength and mass. This is the key finding of a study that compared the effects of strength training in volunteers with a vegan or omnivorous diet, both with protein content considered adequate.

Artificial intelligence is providing new opportunities in a range of fields, from business to industrial design to entertainment. But how about civil engineering and city planning? How might machine- and deep-learning help us create safer, more sustainable, and resilient built environments?

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Self-affirmation, the practice of reflecting upon one's most important values, can aid Black medical students in reaching their residency goals. But conversely, it can lead to the perception that they are less qualified for a prestigious residency than their peers.

The pandemic has underscored the racial disparities in the quality of healthcare, a field in which Black Americans are vastly underrepresented as medical physicians.

BOSTON - In a major breakthrough, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have discovered how amyloid beta--the neurotoxin believed to be at the root of Alzheimer's disease (AD)--forms in axons and related structures that connect neurons in the brain, where it causes the most damage. Their findings, published in Cell Reports, could serve as a guidepost for developing new therapies to prevent the onset of this devastating neurological disease.

The development of antibodies to the COVID-19 virus has been the great long-term hope of ending the pandemic. However, immune system turncoats are also major culprits in severe cases of COVID-19, Yale scientists report in the journal Nature.

HOUSTON -- The glutaminase (GLS1) inhibitor IACS-6274, discovered and developed by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center's Therapeutics Discovery division, appears to be well-tolerated with successful target inhibition and early signs of anti-tumor activity in a biomarker-driven Phase I trial. Interim results of the study will be presented at the 2021 American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting on June 4.

HAMILTON, ON (May 19, 2021) - Researchers have found that the inclusion of a third drug to commonly used dual-drug inhalers can reduce asthma exacerbations and improve control over the disease in children, adolescents, and adults with moderate-to-severe asthma.

A team from McMaster University and The Research Institute of St. Joe's Hamilton announced their findings from a systematic review and meta-analysis. Data from 20 randomized controlled trials, which included a total of almost 12,000 patients, were analyzed in the study.

By mapping its genetic underpinnings, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have identified a predictive causal role for specific cell types in type 1 diabetes, a condition that affects more than 1.6 million Americans.

The findings are published in the May 19, 2021 online issue of Nature.

ITHACA, N.Y. - For the first time, Cornell University researchers have developed a technique for studying the neuroscience of motor control in mice ¬- by focusing on a mouse's tongue when it licks a water spout.

The technique incorporates high-speed cameras and machine learning in a tractable experimental setup that opens the door for revealing mysteries of how the motor cortex works, understanding the neural basis of related disorders like Parkinson's disease, and informing robots.

Open up Scott Roy's Twitter bio and you'll see a simple but revealing sentence: "The more I learn the more I'm confused." Now the rest of the scientific world can share in his confusion. The San Francisco State University associate professor of Biology's most recent research, published earlier this month in one of the scientific world's most prestigious journals, catalogues a strange and confounding system of genes in a tiny rodent that scientists have ignored for decades.