Culture
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The eyes have a surprise.
For decades, biology textbooks have stated that eyes communicate with the brain exclusively through one type of signaling pathway. But a new discovery shows that some retinal neurons take a road less traveled.
New research, led by Northwestern University, has found that a subset of retinal neurons sends inhibitory signals to the brain. Before, researchers believed the eye only sends excitatory signals. (Simply put: Excitatory signaling makes neurons to fire more; inhibitory signaling makes neurons to fire less.)
UPTON, NY--Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory and collaborators have revealed new details that explain how a highly selective catalyst converts methane, the main component of natural gas, to methanol, an easy-to-transport liquid fuel and feedstock for making plastics, paints, and other commodity products. The findings could aid the design of even more efficient/selective catalysts to make methane conversion an economically viable and environmentally attractive alternative to venting or flaring "waste" gas.
Scientists have long known that even in the face of antiretroviral therapy, some HIV virus remains in infected individuals forever, hiding in small reservoirs of cells of the immune system. When these individuals discontinue the therapy, the virus almost always rebounds rapidly from the reservoirs, causing deadly symptoms to re-emerge.
Stroke researchers at the University of Cincinnati have released a new report recommending the proper protocol for delivering lifesaving treatment to stroke patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report, published in Stroke, a journal of the American Heart and American Stroke associations, is timely as more data emerges that patients with COVID-19, even young, otherwise healthy patients, are experiencing strokes. The authors emphasize that diagnosis with COVID-19 should not prevent patients from receiving this time-sensitive treatment.
When kidney transplants first came into practice in the 1950s, patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) could finally picture freedom from the unrelenting routine of blood-cleansing dialysis treatments. Just over a half-century later, demand has completely outstripped supply. The critically ill languish for years on waiting lists, while doctors have little choice but to accept donations of damaged kidneys in a desperate attempt to save lives.
BELLINGHAM, Washington, USA - A paper published in Advanced Photonics "Enhanced light–matter interactions in dielectric nanostructures via machine-learning approach," suggests that machine-learning techniques can be used to enhance metasurfaces, optimizing them for nonlinear optics and optomechanics.
Because customers who shop online cannot try on their purchases, a third of all Internet sales get returned. But handling these returns is costly, giving retailers that have both physical stores and digital sales a clear advantage over retailers that operate only online. A new study examined the decisions around the pricing and return policies of a retailer with both stores and online sales to help explain why some firms opt to fully refund customers for their returns while others charge a fee for online returns.
Older adults with depression may be at much higher risk of remaining depressed if they are experiencing persistent or worsening sleep problems, according to a study from researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
The researchers, who published their findings online April 30 in the journal Sleep, analyzed data from almost 600 people over 60 years old who visited primary care centers in the Northeast U.S. All patients met clinical criteria for major or minor depression at the outset of the study.
African naked mole-rats are sometimes referred to as animal superheroes. They resist cancer, tolerate pain, and live a remarkably long time. They're also known for their ability to handle high levels of carbon dioxide and can go for several minutes without oxygen. But researchers reporting in Current Biology on April 30 say they may have found the mole-rats' kryptonite: they need high levels of carbon dioxide to function.
Despite the infamy of the transatlantic slave trade, scientific research has yet to fully explore the history of the enslaved Africans brought into Latin America. In a study appearing April 30th in the journal Current Biology, scientists tell the story of three 16th century African slaves identified from a mass burial site in Mexico City.
Five centuries after Charles I of Spain authorized the transport of the first African slaves to the Viceroyalty of New Spain, the ancestry of the hundreds of thousands of abducted and enslaved people forms an integral part of the genetic and cultural heritage of the Americas. The origins and experiences of those enslaved individuals, however, remains largely unknown.
WASHINGTON--Older men who have lower lean body mass as they age are more prone to developing diabetes, while similar findings were not found in older women, according to a new study published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society.
One in four adults aged 65 and older has diabetes, making them the group with the greatest burden of diabetes. Skeletal muscle is the largest insulin-sensitive tissue in the body and plays an essential role in blood sugar regulation. Age-related muscle loss, called sarcopenia, may contribute to the development of diabetes in older adults.
Osaka, Japan - Homologous recombination is an essential process of DNA repair to maintain genomic integrity of the organism. Now, researchers from Japan have identified mechanisms that choose between alternate pathways of DNA repair to limit anomalous and deleterious chromosomal combinations that may be predisposed to cancer and genetic diseases.
Durham, NC - A new study released today in STEM CELLS suggests for the first time that regulatory T-cells (Treg) induced by mesenchymal stromal cells can yield an abundant replacement for naturally occurring T-cells, which are vital in protecting the body from infection. Led by Rita I. Azevedo, Ph.D., at the Instituto de Medicina Molecular in Lisbon, Portugal, this study could yield new treatments for a long list of chronic inflammatory diseases that includes everything from cancer and asthma to inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis and more.
April 29, 2020 - Early reports of COVID-19 symptoms and the compelling need to quickly identify treatment options and curb the growing number of critically ill patients have led to erroneous and potentially dangerous comparisons between COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases like high altitude pulmonary edema, or HAPE.