Culture

Princeton University researchers have developed a new, scalable cell culture system that allows for detailed investigation of how host cells respond to infection with hepatitis B (HBV) and delta virus (HDV). The paper describing their findings was published online on June 18, 2019 in the journal Hepatology.

New Rochelle, NY, June 14, 2019-The loss of complete segments of the esophagus often results from treatments for esophageal cancer or congenital abnormalities, and current methods to re-establish continuity are inadequate. Now, working with a rat model, researchers have developed a promising reconstruction method based on the use of 3D-printed esophageal grafts. Their work is published in Tissue Engineering, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

New Rochelle, NY, June 17, 2019--A new study has shown that patients are significantly more likely to correctly identify male physicians and female nurses, demonstrating continuing gender bias in the health care environment. These lingering perceptions may slowly be changing, though, as younger patients were more likely to correctly identify female physicians and male nurses, according to the study published in Journal of Women's Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

(Philadelphia, PA) - There are currently more than 200,000 bariatric surgeries being performed in the United States each year according to estimates from the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. Blood clotting is of particular concern during and after these procedures given that obesity and post-surgical immobility are risk factors for developing blood clots, including venous thromboembolism (VTE), which is a blood clot that starts in a vein - often in the deep veins of the leg, groin or arm. This type of VTE is known as deep vein thrombosis, or DVT.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Some 9,000 years ago, residents of one of the world's first large farming communities were also among the first humans to experience some of the perils of modern urban living.

Scientists studying the ancient ruins of Çatalhöyük, in modern Turkey, found that its inhabitants - 3,500 to 8,000 people at its peak - experienced overcrowding, infectious diseases, violence and environmental problems.

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Weight gain occurs when an individual's energy intake exceeds their energy expenditure -- in other words, when calories in exceed calories out. What is less well understood is the fact that, on average, nearly half of the body's energy is used by the brain during early childhood.

Virginia Tech biochemist Brandon Jutras has discovered the cellular component that contributes to Lyme arthritis, a debilitating and extremely painful condition that is the most common late stage symptom of Lyme disease.

Jutras found that as the Lyme-causing bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi multiplies, it sheds a cellular component called peptidoglycan that elicits a unique inflammatory response in the body.

Certain groups of heart failure patients may see improved heart function with cardiac resynchronization therapy with defibrillator (CRT-D) if traditional implantable cardioverter defibrillator treatment does not work, according to research published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Dogs have evolved new muscles around the eyes to better communicate with humans.

New research comparing the anatomy and behavior of dogs and wolves suggests dogs' facial anatomy has changed over thousands of years specifically to allow them to better communicate with humans.

In the first detailed analysis comparing the anatomy and behavior of dogs and wolves, researchers found that the facial musculature of both species was similar, except above the eyes. Dogs have a small muscle, which allows them to intensely raise their inner eyebrow, which wolves do not.

Scientists at the University of York have revealed that there are two separate 'pathways' for seeing 3D motion in the human brain, which allow people to perform a wide range of tasks such as catching a ball or avoiding moving objects.

The new insight could help further understanding into how to alleviate the effects of lazy eye syndrome, as well as how industry could develop better 3D visual displays and virtual reality systems.

Research led by the University of Birmingham has found re-purposing already existing drugs or combining therapies could be used to treat patients who have difficult to treat autoimmune diseases.

Funded by Versus Arthitis, the research was led by the University of Birmingham's Institute of Inflammation and Ageing and Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and was published today (June 17th) in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The mysterious function of a key protein has been revealed following a breakthrough by University of Dundee scientists.

HOIL-1 is a component of the Linear Ubiquitin Assembly Complex (LUBAC) which lies at the heart of the mechanism that determines whether the cells of our body will survive or die. Now researchers working in the laboratory of Professor Sir Philip Cohen in the University's Medical Research Council Protein Phosphorylation Unit (MRC-PPU) have found that HOIL-1 operates in tandem with a second component of LUBAC to form ubiquitin chains.

A new study of climate changes and their effects on past societies offers a sobering glimpse of social upheavals that might happen in the future.

The prehistoric groups studied lived in the Amazon Basin of South America hundreds of years ago, before European contact, but the disruptions that occurred may carry lessons for our time, says study coauthor Mitchell J. Power, curator of the Garrett Herbarium at the Natural History Museum of Utah, University of Utah.

People are living longer than ever before, but brain health isn't keeping up. To tackle this critical problem, a team of researchers has proposed a new model for studying age-related cognitive decline - one that's tailored to the individual.

Inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) can be quickly and precisely diagnosed using a new type of nuclear medicine scan, according to research published in the June issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine. Using immuno-positron emission tomography (immuno-PET) to image monoclonal antibodies directed against specific innate immune cell markers, investigators were able to effectively assess IBD in murine models. In addition, immuno-PET has high potential for theranostic diagnosis and precision treatment of IBD and other inflammatory diseases.