Culture
Diversity in many biological communities is a sign of an ecosystem in balance. When one species dominates, the entire system can go haywire. For example, the uncontrolled overgrowth of certain oceanic algae species causes toxic red tides that kill fish and other sea life, and sicken humans. On a more individual level, the human gut hosts a large community of different bacteria that is crucial for proper digestion and absorption of nutrients.
A medical robotic hand could allow doctors to more accurately diagnose and treat people from halfway around the world, but currently available technologies aren't good enough to match the in-person experience.
Researchers report in Science Advances that they have designed and produced a smart electronic skin and a medical robotic hand capable of assessing vital diagnostic data by using a newly invented rubbery semiconductor with high carrier mobility.
JUPITER, FL -- Failures in a quality control system that protects protein-building fidelity in cells can lead to motor neuron degeneration and related diseases, according to a new study from an international team co-directed by Scripps Research molecular biologist Claudio Joazeiro, PhD.
Research led by Dr. Wonmuk Hwang has led to better understanding on how components of the body's immune system find intruding or damaged cells, which could lead to novel approaches to viral and cancer treatments.
Hwang, associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has written about this in an article recently published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
LA JOLLA, CA--Ever since SARS-CoV-2 first appeared, researchers have been trying to understand whether sometimes the immune system does more harm than good during the acute phase of COVID-19. The latest study by researchers at La Jolla Institute for Immunology clearly argues in favor of the immune system.
WASHINGTON -- Researchers have developed an automated 3D printing method that can produce multicolor 3D microstructures using different materials. The new method could be used to make a variety of optical components including optical sensors and light-driven actuators as well as multimaterial structures for applications such as soft robotics and medical applications.
New Rochelle, NY, September 16, 2020—A novel taxonomic approach to obesity prevention using existing U.S. obesity prevention studies is highlighted in a special supplement of the peer-reviewed journal Childhood Obesity.
The cover for issue 37 of Oncotarget features Figure 7, "The combination of romidepsin and KU60019 is synergistic in a xenograft model of MCL," by Scotto, et al. which reported that the antiproliferative effect induced by histone deactylase inhibitors is associated with the up-regulated expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21. Paradoxically, the increased expression of p21 correlates with a reduced cell killing to the drug.
In another fascinating snapshot from deep time, an international team of paleontologists has reported the discovery of specimens of a minuscule crustacean that dates back to the Cretaceous (about 100 million years ago), conserved in samples of amber from Myanmar. The most spectacular find is a single female, which turns out on closer examination to contain giant sperm cells in its reproductive tract. In fact, this is the oldest fossil in which sperm cells have been conclusively identified.
Slower growing broiler chickens are healthier and have more fun than conventional breeds of birds, new evidence from an independent commercial scale farm trial has shown. The study carried out by researchers from FAI Farms, the University of Bristol and The Norwegian University of Life Sciences, is published today [16 September], in Scientific Reports.
The California Channel Islands are renowned for their archaeological, biological and paleontological significance and richness, containing some of the most important early human sites in North America. This importance is only growing with new excavation, chemical, and biomolecular techniques, expanding our vision of this dynamic ecosystem and its enduring importance to humans and wildlife alike.
Primary forests are forests without any signs of past human use and where ecological processes are not disrupted by human influence. These forests are of outstanding ecological value. They are an irreplaceable part of our natural heritage and critical for conserving forest biodiversity. In Europe, where millennia of land use have transformed forested landscapes, very few such primary forests remain, and these are mostly found in remote and relatively unproductive areas.
People who have experienced post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are up to twice as likely to develop dementia later in life, according to a new study by UCL researchers.
The research, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, is the first meta-analysis of global evidence on PTSD and dementia risk.
For the study, the researchers analysed findings from 13 studies conducted on four continents, including data from a total of 1,693,678 people, investigating whether a PTSD diagnosis was associated with increased risk of dementia up to 17 years later.
Durham, NC - Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) hold promise in the field of regenerative medicine for how they give rise to every other cell type in the body and for their ability to propagate indefinitely. Their potential, however, is hampered by the body's tendency to reject any "allogeneic" cells or tissue, which means that the cells come from a donor other than the patient.
PULLMAN, Wash. - Researchers in recent years have demonstrated the health benefits of soy, linking its consumption to reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, cancer and improved bone health.
Now, WSU researchers are hoping to use the health benefits of the popular legume to improve post-operative treatment of bone cancer.