Culture
Osaka, Japan - The early development of embryos is not well understood. One necessary stage is the formation of the blastocyst, a collection of cells present by about 4 days after fertilization of the egg, before implantation in the uterus. From that tiny collection of cells, all the different cells in the body must be created. Accordingly, there need to be mechanisms in the blastocyst to ensure normal gene expression and cell differentiation; those regulatory mechanisms are still largely unknown.
Infants of women with a short-term education are more likely to die within the first year of life. In more than half of cases, the cause of death is premature childbirth and low foetal weight. This is shown by research from Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital.
Prof. HU Junjie from the Institute of Biophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and his collaborators reported that the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) fusogen atlastin (ATL) was involved in regulating cargo mobility and COPII formation in the ER. Their finding, published in PNAS on June 25, provides important insight into the physiological role of the tubular ER network.
Professor Atsushi Sato of the University of Toyama and Ai Matsuo, a researcher at The Open University of Japan, in cooperation with Professor Michiteru Kitazaki of Toyohashi University of Technology have found that social contingency modulates one's perceptual representation of the environment.
(Boston)--Increasing the levels of the anti-aging protein hormone Klotho improves the neurological deficits and prolongs life span in an experimental model with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). In addition, brain immune cells called microglia play an important role in protecting the brain against inflammation and, likely, motor neuron loss in this model.
Many work processes would be almost unthinkable today without robots. But robots operating in manufacturing facilities have often posed risks to workers because they are not responsive enough to their surroundings. To make it easier for people and robots to work in close proximity in the future, Prof. Matthias Althoff of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has developed a new system: IMPROV.
Early disease stages of MS are primarily characterised by immune cell infiltration of the CNS. This causes inflammation that damages the so-called myelin sheaths. Myelin sheaths are electrically insulating structures established by specialised glial cells of the CNS, referred to as 'oligodendrocytes'. These structures protect, nourish and stabilise axons, which transmit electrical signals between neurons.
Experts led by the Institute for Sustainable Food at the University of Sheffield reveal how plants provide a steady flow of air to every cell
Study shows humans have bred wheat plants to have fewer pores on their leaves and use less water
Findings pave the way to develop more drought-resistant crops
Scientists have discovered how plants create networks of air channels - the lungs of the leaf - to transport carbon dioxide (CO2) to their cells.
In the past few years, thrill-seekers from Hollywood, Silicon Valley and beyond have been travelling to South America to take part in so-called Ayahuasca retreats. Their goal: to partake in a brewed concoction made from a vine plant Banisteriopsis caapi, traditionally used by indigenous people for sacred religious ceremonies. Drinkers of Ayahuasca experience short-term hallucinogenic episodes many describe as life-changing.
Bottom Line: A risk prediction model developed using clinical and radiological features could stratify individuals presenting with a lung nodule as having high or low risk for lung cancer.
Journal in Which the Study was Published: Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research
Author: Barbara Nemesure, PhD, director of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program and the Lung Cancer Program at Stony Brook Cancer Center in New York
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Medical advancements can come at a physical cost. Often following diagnosis and treatment for cancer and other diseases, patients' organs and cells can remain healed but damaged from the medical condition.
New Danish research may help direct focus towards the serious complications that on average every fifth haematological cancer patient suffers. This is according to medical doctor and PhD Kasper Adelborg from Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital, who has studied the cases of 32,000 haematological cancer patients between the years 2000-2013. Haematological cancer includes leukaemia, bone marrow cancer and cancers of the lymph nodes.
Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have succeeded in 3D printing with a wood-based ink in a way that mimics the unique 'ultrastructure' of wood. Their research could revolutionise the manufacturing of green products. Through emulating the natural cellular architecture of wood, they now present the ability to create green products derived from trees, with unique properties - everything from clothes, packaging, and furniture to healthcare and personal care products.
Keeping physically active or becoming more active during middle and older age is associated with a lower risk of death, regardless of past activity levels or existing health conditions, suggests a large UK study published by The BMJ today.
At the population level, meeting and maintaining at least the minimum public health recommendations (150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity physical activity) would potentially prevent 46% of deaths associated with physical inactivity, say the researchers.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Malaria parasites develop faster in mosquitoes at lower temperatures than previously thought, according to researchers at Penn State and the University of Exeter. The findings suggest that even slight climate warming could increase malaria risk to hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people -- including travelers -- in areas that are currently too cold for malaria parasites to complete their development.