Culture
(Boston)-- Although macrophages (cells involved in the detection and destruction of bacteria and other harmful organisms as well as dead cells) are classified as immune cells functioning in the activation and resolution of tissue inflammation, it is now clear that they are critically involved in a variety of disease processes, such as chronic inflammatory diseases, tumor growth and metastasis and tissue fibrosis.
In a publication in Nature Communications last Friday, NIOZ scientists Nina Dombrowski and Anja Spang and their collaboration partners describe a previously unknown phylum of aquatic Archaea that are likely dependent on partner organisms for growth while potentially being able to conserve some energy by fermentation. In contrast to initial analyses, this study shows that the new phylum is part of a group of Archaea that are believed to mainly comprise symbionts. Further, the study yields new insights into the diversity and evolutionary history of the Archaea.
The world's 'best of the last' tropical forests are at significant risk of being lost, according to a paper released today in Nature Ecology and Evolution. Of these pristine forests that provide key services--including carbon storage, prevention of disease transmission and water provision--only a mere 6.5 percent are formally protected.
Army researchers developed a reinforcement learning approach that will allow swarms of unmanned aerial and ground vehicles to optimally accomplish various missions while minimizing performance uncertainty.
Swarming is a method of operations where multiple autonomous systems act as a cohesive unit by actively coordinating their actions.
Army researchers said future multi-domain battles will require swarms of dynamically coupled, coordinated heterogeneous mobile platforms to overmatch enemy capabilities and threats targeting U.S. forces.
Highlights:
Previously autism diagnosed by symptoms only
Subtype characterized by abnormal lipid levels
Autism affects estimated 1 in 54 children in U.S.
CHICAGO ---A novel precision medicine approach enhanced by artificial intelligence (AI) has laid the groundwork for what could be the first biomedical screening and intervention tool for a subtype of autism, reports a new study from Northwestern University, Ben Gurion University, Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Scientists have tracked a 'boomerang' earthquake in the ocean for the first time, providing clues about how they could cause devastation on land.
Earthquakes occur when rocks suddenly break on a fault - a boundary between two blocks or plates. During large earthquakes, the breaking of rock can spread down the fault line. Now, an international team of researchers have recorded a 'boomerang' earthquake, where the rupture initially spreads away from initial break but then turns and runs back the other way at higher speeds.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] -- Critical access hospitals (CAHs) provide care to Americans living in remote rural areas. As important health care access points, these hospitals serve a population that is disproportionately older, impoverished and burdened by chronic disease. In 1997, with small rural hospitals under increasing financial strain and closing in large numbers, the federal CAH designation was established to increase their viability and to ensure that rural communities have adequate access to health care.
Personality varies widely. There are bold and reserved individuals, who behave very differently when faced with the same environmental stimulus. What is true for humans also applies to fish: their behavior shows a range of individual differences. By selectively breeding zebrafish, scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology were able to show that distinct personality traits rapidly emerge and manifest not only in the behavior, but also through far-reaching changes in the brain.
AMHERST, Mass. - One of the new realities in biomedical research is that it's increasingly difficult to use a general approach to score advances. Now, investigations into disease mechanisms, for example, are often conducted at the molecular level by specialists who dedicate years to interrogating a single protein or signaling pathway.
PITTSBURGH, Aug. 10, 2020 - In the first large, multicenter analysis of its kind, the 40-hospital UPMC health system today reported its findings on clinician-directed retesting of patients for presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in the journal Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.
While retesting was uncommon, the UPMC analysis found that patients positive for COVID-19 stayed positive for an average of three weeks and repeating tests in patients who were initially negative very rarely led to a positive result.
SASKATOON - An international team led by the Plant Phenotyping and Imaging Research Centre (P2IRC) at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) and researchers at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) has decoded the full genome for the black mustard plant--research that will advance breeding of oilseed mustard crops and provide a foundation for improved breeding of wheat, canola and lentils.
A new study, revisiting fossil specimens from the enormous crocodylian, Deinosuchus, has confirmed that the beast had teeth “the size of bananas”, capable to take down even the very largest of dinosaurs.
And, it wasn’t alone!
Analysis of meteorite content has been crucial in advancing our knowledge of the origin and evolution of our solar system. Some meteorites also contain grains of stardust. These grains predate the formation of our solar system and are now providing important insights into how the elements in the universe formed.
All life is subject to evolution in the form of mutations that change the DNA sequence of an organism's offspring, after which natural selection allows the 'fittest' mutants to survive and pass on their genes to future generations. These mutations can generate new abilities in a species, but another common driving force for evolution is horizontal gene transfer (HGT) - the acquisition of DNA from a creature other than a parent, and even of a different species. For example, a significant amount of the human genome is actually viral DNA.
A new study from the Regenerative Bioscience Center at the University of Georgia is the first to suggest that COVID-19 does not directly damage taste bud cells.
Contrary to previous studies that have shown damage may be caused directly by the virus particle, the researchers, led by Hongxiang Liu, associate professor of animal and dairy science in UGA's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, found that taste loss is likely caused indirectly by events induced during COVID-19 inflammation.