Culture
You might need a microscope to witness the next agricultural revolution. New research, published in the journal Science Advances, demonstrates how microfluidic technologies can be used to identify, isolate and propagate specific single photosynthetically active cells for fundamental industry applications and improved ecosystem understanding.
What The Study Did: This randomized clinical trial in Brazil of 299 patients with COVID-19 and moderate or severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) examined if intravenous dexamethasone plus standard care compared with standard care alone would increase the number of days patients were alive and free from mechanical ventilation.
Authors: Luciano C. P. Azevedo, M.D., Ph.D., of Hospital Sirio-Libanes in São Paulo, Brazil, is the corresponding author.
What The Study Did: This randomized clinical trial of patients with severe COVID-19 was stopped early after results from another trial were released but this study investigated whether intravenous hydrocortisone (administered either as a seven-day fixed-dose course or restricted to when shock is clinically evident) improved 21-day organ support-free days.
Authors: Derek C. Angus, M.D., M.P.H., of the University of Pittsburgh, is the corresponding author.
What The Study Did: The results of seven randomized clinical trials with 1,703 critically ill patients with COVID-19 were combined to estimate the association between administration of corticosteroids compared with usual care or placebo and the risk of death after 28 days.
Authors: Jonathan A.C. Sterne, M.A., M.Sc., Ph.D., of the University of Bristol in England, is the corresponding author.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
Researchers from McGill University have revealed the steps by which two very distinct organisms - bacteria and carpenter ants - have come to depend on one another for survival to become a single complex life form. The study, published today in Nature, shows that the two species have collaborated to radically alter the development of the ant embryo to allow this integration to happen. Understanding how such grand unifications originate and evolve is a major puzzle for biologists.
BOSTON - Kidneys from deceased donors with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection can be safely transplanted into noninfected recipients when a regimen of direct-acting antiviral therapies is initiated as early as two days after the transplant, according to a study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).
AMES, Iowa - A recently published analysis of data on tagged monarch butterflies migrating from the United States to Mexico emphasizes the importance of creating new habitat to ensure the future of the species' iconic migratory pattern.
Our gut microbiota can crucially influence our behaviour and neurodevelopment. New research of the Ethology Department at the Faculty of Science at Eötvös Loránd University indicates that dogs' aging mechanism and memory performance are also linked to their gut microbiome composition. According to the study, dogs and humans may have similar mechanisms in cognitive aging.
The humble ink in a tattoo artist's needle could be the key to improving the detection of cancer, thanks to new research from the USC Viterbi Department of Biomedical Engineering.
Tropical Depression 15 strengthened into a tropical storm late on Sept. 1 and was renamed Omar. Visible imagery from NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite was compiled into an animation that showed the system's formation and strengthening. NASA's Terra satellite also provided temperature data on Omar that revealed wind shear was affecting the storm.
Another Record-Breaker
Omar is the 15th named storm of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, and is the earliest 15th storm on record, besting the previous mark by about a week from Ophelia of 2005.
Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative condition that is characterized by the buildup of clumps of beta-amyloid protein in the brain. Exactly what causes these clumps, known as plaques, and what role they play in disease progression is an active area of research important for developing prevention and treatment strategies.
Recent studies have found that beta-amyloid has antiviral and antimicrobial properties, suggesting a possible link between the immune response against infections and the development of Alzheimer's disease.
House sparrows can be found on nearly every continent including North America, South America, Africa and Australia, where they are not native but an invasive species. New research into these highly social songbirds reveals that they can learn from each other and adapt their behavior.
Like humans, bacteria live together in communities, sometimes lending a hand -- or in the case of bacteria, a metabolite or two -- to help their neighbors thrive. Understanding how bacteria interact is critical to solving growing problems such as antibiotic resistance, in which infectious bacteria form defenses to thwart the medicines used to fight them.
September 2, 2020 - States that have expanded Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act have seen an "early surge in demand" for hip and knee replacement surgery, reports a study in the September 2, 2020 issue of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.
The human brain has about 100 billion neurons, linked in intricate ways, that the Spanish neuroanatomist Ramón y Cajal compared to "the impenetrable jungles where many investigators have lost themselves."
But to decipher how the brain works and understand how it can go awry in many diseases, it is essential to figure out how many classes of neurons it actually has and how they are connected with each other.