Culture
In Southeast Asia, the fruit, flowers, and leaves of Indonesia's "Melinjo" tree are traditional foods. Researchers from Kumamoto University, Japan who study plants from around the world for useful medicinal properties have found that Melinjo seed extract (MSE) stimulates the production of adiponectin, a beneficial hormone that improves obesity and diabetes. They also discovered that individual genotype differences were responsible for variations in its efficacy.
Tsukuba, Japan - In most cases, taking a break isn't the most efficient way of getting a job done. But in a study published this week in iScience, researchers from Japan's University of Tsukuba have uncovered the regulatory pathway governing the first of two breaks that are essential for proper germline cell development in model species Drosophila melanogaster.
Fuel cells and water electrolyzers that are cheap and efficient will form the cornerstone of a hydrogen fuel based economy, which is one of the most promising clean and sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels. These devices rely on materials called electrocatalysts to work, so the development of efficient and low-cost catalysts is essential to make hydrogen fuel a viable alternative. Researchers at Aalto university have developed a new catalyst material to improve these technologies.
Photodetectors, a key optoelectrical component for the translation of optical signals into electrical signals, are of great interest to a wide range of industrial production, military affairs, biochemical detection, optical communication. Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites (OIHPs), owing to their excellent optical and electrical properties including tunable direct bandgap, preeminent optical absorption, high carrier mobility, and low trap density, have attracted immense research interest for thin-film solar cells, LEDs, and photodetectors.
As average temperatures rise every year, it is no longer rare to see plants flower as early as February. Behind this phenomenon is a complex of proteins whose activity is controlled by temperature changes, as has just been demonstrated by researchers from the Cell and Plant Physiology Laboratory (CNRS / CEA / INRAE / Université Grenoble Alpes) and their partners.* Composed of three proteins (LUX, ELF3, and ELF4), the Evening Complex regulates the expression of genes involved in plant growth and flowering, as a function of exterior temperatures.
WASHINGTON, March 23, 2020 -- Constantly being told to wash your hands? Us, too. So we're diving into the chemistry behind why soap is so effective against viruses like the coronavirus that causes COVID-19: https://youtu.be/K2pMVimI2bw.
Big data makes big promises when it comes to providing insights into human behavior and health. The problem is how to harness the information it provides in an efficient manner. An international team of researchers has proposed a microbiome search-based method, via Microbiome Search Engine (MSE), to analyze the wealth of available health data to detect and diagnose human diseases.
They are billions of times larger than our Sun: how is it possible that, as recently observed, supermassive black holes were already present when the Universe, now 14 billion years old, was "just" 800 million years old? For astrophysicists, the formation of these cosmic monsters in such a short time is a real scientific headache, which raises important questions on the current knowledge of the development of these celestial bodies. A recent article published in The Astrophysical Journal, by the SISSA Ph.D.
Stem cells can generate a variety of specific tissues and are increasingly used for clinical applications such as the replacement of bone or cartilage. However, stem cells are also present in cancerous tissues and are involved in cancer progression and metastasis. Nerves are fundamental for regulating the physiological and regenerative processes involving stem cells. However, little is known about the interactions between stem cells and neurons in regenerating tissues and in cancers.
Comparing stem cell types in tissue regeneration
Engineers have created a tiny device that can rapidly detect harmful bacteria in blood, allowing health care professionals to pinpoint the cause of potentially deadly infections and fight them with drugs.
The Rutgers coauthored study, led by researchers at Rochester Institute of Technology, is published in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
Immunotherapy that involves treating cancer with the body's own immune cells, or those of a matched donor, shows promise in clinical trials for some patients, but not all.
New Orleans, LA - James Diaz, MD, MHA, MPH & TM, Dr PH, Professor and Head of Environmental Health Sciences at LSU Health New Orleans School of Public Health, has proposed a possible explanation for the severe lung complications being seen in some people diagnosed with COVID-19. The manuscript was published by Oxford University Press online in the Journal of Travel Medicine, available here.
Kidney stone disease has a high prevalence worldwide, ranging up to 13% in North America, 9% in Europe, and 5% in Asia. They are painful for patients, often lead to surgery, and impart a significant economic impact. Many have reported nephrolithiasis (NL) to be associated with metabolic syndrome, but the mechanism by which they are linked is not understood. This poorly characterized association affords an opportunity to identify new targets that may lead to medical prevention of kidney stone recurrence.
Cumulative doses of oral steroids in patients with chronic inflammatory diseases are associated with increased hypertension (blood pressure) for those who take them regularly, found new research in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
X-ray Imaging Reveals Insights into a Natural Mosquito-Killing Compound
Study of a mosquito-targeting toxin produced by bacteria could lead to safer and more effective anti-mosquito products
Many of the chemicals used to deter or eliminate disease-carrying mosquitoes can pollute ecosystems and drive the evolution of even more problematic, insecticide-resistant species - but thankfully, we may have better options soon.