Culture
Several organisms possess "ion channels" (gateways that selectively allow charged particles called ions to enter the cells and are integral for cell function) called "channelrhodopsins," that can be switched on and off with the help of light. Different channelrhodopsins respond to different wavelengths in the light spectrum. These channels can be expressed in foreign organisms (animals even in human) by means of genetic engineering, which in turn finds applications in optogenetics, or the application of light to modulate cellular and gene functions.
Monash University researchers have uncovered for the first time the reason mutations in a particular gene lead to mitochondrial disease.
The finding, published in PNAS journal and led by Professor Mike Ryan from Monash University's Biomedicine Discovery Institute, shows that a gene responsible for causing loss of vision and hearing, TMEM126A, makes a protein that helps build an important energy generator in mitochondria. So, if this gene is defective, it reduces mitochondrial function and impares energy production, uncovering why mutations lead to the disease.
Portopulmonary hypertension (PoPH) is a form of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). PoPH occurs in approximately 15% of patients with PAH, and is reportedly found in 2-6% of patients with portal hypertension and 1-2% of patients with liver cirrhosis according to studies from Europe and America. However, the real-world data on PoPH in Japan are largely unknown, with many questions on the condition's etiology and prevalence.
Examples of complex systems exist everywhere. Neuron connections and protein-protein interactions are two systems of this type found in organisms, but complex systems also exist in cities, economic models, and even in social networks. The common denominator is that they are made up of many interrelated elements which can be represented and studied as a network.
The neutron reflexometry method has given scientists an atomic-level insight into the behaviour of Bcl-2, a protein that promotes cancerous cell growth. The new study was carried out by Umeå chemists in collaboration with the research facilities ESS and ISIS and is published in Nature Communications Biology.
Elevated function of the cell-protecting membrane protein Bcl-2 can promote cancer and cause resistance to cancer treatment. Developing an understanding of the way it does this could inform the development of anti-cancer drugs.
During the last 30 years, medical and dental research has attracted a large number of scientists and practitioners working on aspects of high medical relevance that involve a combination of genetic and tissue regeneration approaches. These developments in stem cell and tissue engineering have provided medical and dental researchers with new insights and given rise to new ideas as to how everyday clinical practice can be improved. Many research groups are dealing with questions like: How can we help injured tissues and organs heal? Can lost tissue be regenerated?
For a long time, historical linguists have been using the comparative method to reconstruct earlier states of languages that are not attested in written sources. The method consists of the detailed comparison of words in the related descendant languages and allows linguists to infer the ancient pronunciation of words which were never recorded in any form in great detail.
Scientific studies rarely focus on long non-coding RNA molecules (lncRNAs), even though they potentially regulate several diseases. The role of several lncRNAs in anti-viral inflammatory response regulation has recently been reported. Considering their significant regulatory function in immune response, researchers from the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine of Bar-Ilan University sought to identify lncRNAs co-expressed with human genes involved in immune-related processes during severe SARS-CoV-2 infection in the lungs.
COLUMBUS, Ohio - A new treatment is among the first known to reduce the severity of acute respiratory distress syndrome caused by the flu in animals, according to a new study.
Tests in mice infected with high doses of influenza showed that the treatment could improve lung function in very sick mice and prevent progression of disease in mice that were pre-emptively treated after being exposed to the flu.
The hope is that it may also help humans infected with the flu, and potentially other causes of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) such as SARS-CoV-2 infection.
A research group led by Professor Xiang David LI from the Research Division for Chemistry and the Department of Chemistry, The University of Hong Kong, has developed a novel chemical tool for elucidating protein interaction networks in cells. This tool not only facilitates the identification of a protein's interacting partners in the complex cellular context, but also simultaneously allows the 'visualisation' of these protein-protein interactions. The findings were recently published in the prestigious scientific journal Molecular Cell.
The researchers in this study reached this conclusion by drawing on network modelling research and mapped the job landscapes in cities across the United States during economic crises.
During the Bronze Age, Mesopotamia was witness to several climate crises. In the long run, these crises prompted the development of stable forms of State and therefore elicited cooperation between political elites and non-elites. This is the main finding of a study published in the journal PNAS and authored by two scholars from the University of Bologna (Italy) and Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen (Germany).
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- People up to age 40 living in economically depressed municipalities in the Greater Santiago, Chile, metropolitan area were three times more likely to die as a result of the infection than their counterparts in wealthier areas, researchers report in the journal Science. People ages 41-80 in low socioeconomic-status municipalities also suffered more from the pandemic than their peers in more affluent areas, the team found.
Cryopreservation, or the long-term storage of biomaterials at ultralow temperatures, has been used across cell types and species. However, until now, the practical cryopreservation of the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) — which is crucial to genetics research and critical to scientific breakthroughs benefiting human health — has not been available.
A team of scientists has found that women's football was common across Japan between the Meiji restoration and the start of the Second World War. In the process, they also uncovered the oldest known photograph of women playing football in Japan, from 1916.
The history of men's football in Japan is well documented. In particular, the introduction of association football into Japan in the late 19th and 20th centuries has been extensively investigated. The same degree of attention had not been paid to women's football.