Culture

New studies from the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI) shed more light on the economic and environmental costs of mandates in the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), a federal program to expand the nation's biofuels sector.

Researchers said the studies indicate the need to adopt more targeted policies that value the environmental and ecosystem benefits of perennial bioenergy crops over cheaper options -- and provide financial incentives for farmers to grow them.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - For the first time in published literature, Le Bonheur Children's Hospital and University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) researchers showed that a variety of white blood cells known as eosinophils modify the respiratory barrier during influenza A (IAV) infection, according to a recent paper in the journal Cells. This research could have implications in understanding SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) infection in asthmatic patients.

An Academic Analytics Research Center (AARC) study published in the journal Scientometrics found that senior faculty (scholars who earned their terminal degree 30 or more years ago) research publication activity exceeded expectations based on age cohort population for book chapters and book publications, and senior scholars largely kept pace in terms of journal article publications.

Irvine, Calif., April 27, 2021 -- University of California, Irvine biologists have developed a new genetically engineered mouse model that, unlike its predecessors, is based on the most common form of Alzheimer's disease. The advance holds promise for making new strides against the neurodegenerative disease as cases continue to soar. Their study appears in the journal, Nature Communications.

Link to study: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-22624-z

Just as humans receive the first members of their microbiomes from their mothers, seeds may harbor some of the first microorganisms plants encounter. While these initial microbes could become influential players in the plants' microbiomes, the microbial communities that colonize seeds have not received as much attention as root, shoot, or soil microbiomes.

Researchers have spent more than three decades developing and studying miniature biosensors that can identify single molecules. In five to 10 years, when such devices may become a staple in doctors' offices, they could detect molecular markers for cancer and other diseases and assess the effectiveness of drug treatment to fight those illnesses.

Skoltech researchers used Google Trends' Big Data ensuing from human interactions with the Internet to develop a new methodology - a tool and a data source - for analyzing and researching the growth of startups. A paper reporting these important findings was published in technology management journal, Technological Forecasting and Social Change.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--April 27, 2021--In the 40-some years since the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, scientists have learned a lot about the virus, the disease, and ways to treat it. But one thing they still don't completely understand is which exact cells are most susceptible to HIV infection.

Without this knowledge, it is difficult to envision targeting these cells to protect the millions of people who encounter the virus for the first time every year, or the infected people in which infection will likely rebound if they go off therapy.

DALLAS - April 27, 2021 - Researchers with the Peter O'Donnell Jr. Brain Institute at UT Southwestern have identified a new protein implicated in cell death that provides a potential therapeutic target that could prevent or delay the progress of neurodegenerative diseases following a stroke.

Des Plaines, IL - In a randomized, double-blind trial of patients with acute undifferentiated agitation in the emergency department, droperidol was more effective for sedation and was associated with fewer episodes of respiratory depression than lorazepam or either dose of ziprasidone.

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Having grown up poor in a rural village in Zimbabwe, Wilson Majee saw firsthand as a child the lack of educational opportunities that were easily accessible and how that impacted the youth in his village.

Neurons result from a highly complex and unique series of cell divisions. For example, in fruit flies, the process starts with stem cells that divide into mother cells (progenitor cells), that then divide into precursor cells that eventually become neurons.

In a new nationwide poll, the GeneSight® Mental Health Monitor found that 83% of people with depression agree that life would be easier if others could understand their depression. Yet, most people who have not experienced depression may not be able to understand the challenges, including its treatment.

Whether you hanker for a hard hit of caffeine or favour the frothiness of a milky cappuccino, your regular coffee order could be telling you more about your cardio health than you think.

In a world first study of 390,435 people, University of South Australia researchers found causal genetic evidence that cardio health - as reflected in blood pressure and heart rate - influences coffee consumption.

Cells breathe, to an extent, exchanging gases, taking in energy sources from the environment and processing it. Now, researchers from Tohoku University in Japan have shone a light on the process in a new way.

Their demonstrated visualization method in model systems was made available online on March 12th in Biosensors and Bioelectronics, ahead of the June print edition.