Culture
Plant cells tend to grow longer instead of wider due to the alignment of the many layers of cellulose that make up their cell walls, according to a new study that may have implications for biofuels research. The study, which appears online Feb. 4 in the Journal of Experimental Botany, reveals that the protein CSI1 and the alternating angle of the cell wall's layers, creating a herringbone pattern, are critical for cell growth.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Feb. 4, 2020) -- Significantly reducing dietary levels of the amino acid methionine could slow onset and progression of inflammatory and autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis in high-risk individuals, according to findings published today in Cell Metabolism.
New Haven, Conn. -- In a pair of related studies, a team of Yale researchers has found a way to reverse type-2 diabetes and liver fibrosis in mice, and has shown that the underlying processes are conserved in humans.
The studies appear in the Feb. 4 edition of Cell Reports and in the Jan. 17 edition of Nature Communications.
Infectious disease researchers at The University of Texas at Austin and other institutions in Hong Kong, mainland China and France have concluded there is a high probability that the deadly Wuhan coronavirus spread beyond Wuhan and other quarantined cities before Chinese officials were able to put a quarantine in place. At least 128 cities in China outside of the quarantine zone, including cities with no reported cases to date, had a greater than even risk of exposure, according to a paper currently in press with Emerging Infectious Diseases, a journal of the U.S.
Washington, DC-- A new approach to analyzing seismic data reveals deep vertical zones of low seismic velocity in the plumbing system underlying Alaska's Cleveland volcano, one of the most-active of the more than 70 Aleutian volcanoes. The findings are published in Scientific Reports by Helen Janiszewski, recently of Carnegie, now at the University of Hawai?i at Mānoa, and Carnegie's Lara Wagner and Diana Roman.
A new study in Burns & Trauma, published by Oxford University Press, reveals promising new strategies to prevent skin scarring after injuries.
While scars are common when wounds heal, hypertrophic scarring is a skin condition characterized by deposits of excessive amounts of collagen. This results in a thick and often raised scar. The underlying mechanisms of hypertrophic scar development are poorly understood, however. The Burns & Trauma paper reviewed strategies for treating hypertrophic scars.
ITHACA, N.Y. - One strategy for reducing food waste's environmental impact is as counterintuitive as it is straightforward: Open more grocery stores.
That's according to new research from Elena Belavina, associate professor at the School of Hotel Administration in the Cornell University SC Johnson College of Business.
Why are some people better able to fight off the flu than others? Part of the answer, according to a new study, is related to the first flu strain we encounter in childhood.
MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, Mass. (February 4, 2020)-- Researchers led by biologists at Tufts University have discovered that the brains of developing embryos provide signals to a nascent immune system that help it ward off infections and significantly improve the embryo's ability to survive a bacterial challenge. Using frog embryos, which continue to develop with their brains removed, the researchers found that embryos without a brain are not able to marshall the forces of immune cells to an injury or infection site, leading the embryo to succumb to an infection more quickly.
It may not always seem so, but scientists are convinced that humans are unusually cooperative. Unlike other animals, we cooperate not just with kith and kin, but also with genetically unrelated strangers. Consider how often we rely on the good behavior of acquaintances and strangers-- from the life-saving services of firefighters and nurses, to mundane activities like our morning commute and queueing at the airport check-in counter. Of course, we encounter people who cheat, disregard the welfare of others, and engage in cronyism and nepotism.
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. ? Publicly sharing a goal may help you persist after hitting a failure, but only if you care about what others think of you, according to new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York.
However, public announcements, such as Facebook posts about New Year's resolutions or weight loss targets, may only be motivating when there is immediate feedback after a failure and if there is a high incentive in reaching a goal.
To address the receptor dysfunction associated with several serious neurological diseases, Michaela Jansen, Pharm.D., Ph.D., from the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine recently completed a study that provides novel insights into a protein-protein interaction that may one day lead to more effective treatments for these disorders. The study, "Delineating the site of interaction of the 5-HT3A receptor with the chaperone protein RIC-3," was recently published in Biophysical Journal.
February 4, 2020 -- A new study shows that having general anesthesia in a cesarean delivery is linked with significantly increased odds of severe postpartum depression requiring hospitalization, thoughts of suicide or self-inflicted injury.
As the use of marijuana is legalized in an increasing number of U.S. states, the number of people who use the drug daily is on the rise. This upward trend also holds up in women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, despite evidence that using marijuana could harm their babies.
Depression, anxiety, impulsive behaviour and poor cognitive performance in children is effected by the amount of sleep they have researchers from the University of Warwick have found.
Sleep states are active processes that support reorganisation of brain circuitry. This makes sleep especially important for children, whose brains are developing and reorganizing rapidly.