Earth
The Experimental Biology 2018 meeting (EB 2018) will showcase exciting new research aimed at understanding contamination and improving the environment.
Assessing harmful environmental exposures in wildlife
Madrid, Spain: Researchers identified novel chromosomal mutations and described their role in the development of resistance of Escherichia coli (E. coli) to broad-spectrum antibiotic fosfomycin, according to research presented at the 28th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) [1].
A strain of the disease responsible for killing off nearly two thirds of the UK's greenfinches has been discovered in myna bird populations in Pakistan.
Mynas are native to the Indian subcontinent and are one of the world's most invasive species. Although the disease is not generally fatal to them, experts from the University of East Anglia studying the birds say there is a risk they might pass it on to other species.
Barcelona, Spain: Quality of life for women treated with a more targeted radiotherapy treatment - called accelerated partial breast irradiation - is at least as good as quality of life for women treated with standard radiotherapy, according to research presented at the ESTRO 37 conference and published simultaneously in The Lancet Oncology [1].
One of the most frustrating and debilitating complications of diabetes is the development of wounds on the foot or lower leg. Once they form, they can persist for months, leading to painful and dangerous infections.
New research uncovers the role of a particular protein in maintaining these wounds and suggests that reversing its effects could help aid wound healing in patients with diabetes.
Biomarkers in saliva identify changes that impact the body, according to research published in Current Genomics. This important paper details the drawbacks and benefits of using saliva as a tissue sample for the study of epigenetic changes affected by experiences. Beginning with a detailed review introducing epigenetics and providing background from previous studies, the new findings include strong examples of how analysis of saliva can be applied to vulnerable populations, such as children, to identify changes correlated with experience and behavior.
An epidemiological study conducted by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Seoul National University suggests that persons deficient in vitamin D may be at much greater risk of developing diabetes.
The findings are reported in the April 19, 2018 online issue of PLOS One.
Barcelona, Spain: An analysis of elderly patients treated in a phase II trial of radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has shown that they were less likely to benefit than younger patients if the two treatments were given at the same time.
Managing symptoms such as pain, nausea, and psychiatric illness can be challenging as people age. A new Journal of the American Geriatrics Society review highlights what's currently known about the indications and risks of medical marijuana use for older adults.
Even as botany has moved firmly into the era of "big data," some of the most valuable botanical information remains inaccessible for computational analysis, locked in physical form in the orderly stacks of herbaria and museums. Herbarium specimens are plant samples collected from the field that are dried and stored with labels describing species, date and location of collection, along with various other information including habitat descriptions.
For the first time, scientists have successfully created optically active, chiral gold nanoparticles using amino acids and peptides. Many chemicals significant to life have mirror-image twins (left-handed and right-handed structures), a characteristic that is conventionally called chirality. This study describes how chirality, which is typically observed in organic molecules, can be extended to three-dimensional metallic nanostructures. This newly discovered synthesis method was described in Nature (April 19th) and was featured on the cover.
ROCHESTER, Minn. - A Mayo Clinic study finds no evidence that children given anesthesia before their third birthdays have lower IQs than those who did not have it. A more complex picture emerges among people who had anesthesia several times as small children: Although their intelligence is comparable, they score modestly lower on tests measuring fine motor skills, and their parents are more likely to report behavioral and learning problems. The findings are published in Anesthesiology.
JUPITER, FL--April 17, 2018--Memory T cells are a critical element of our immune system's historical archive. To prevent repeat infections, these cells retain a record of germs they've fought before.
But for all their importance, the origins of memory T cells have remained a mystery. Now, a new study from the laboratory of immunologist Matthew Pipkin, PhD, of The Scripps Research Institute's Florida campus, lays out the opening chapter of this enigma.
Ithaca, NY -- Newly publicized audiovisuals support full species status for one of the dancing birds-of-paradise in New Guinea. This new species, called the Vogelkop Superb Bird-of-Paradise, is found only in the island's far-western Bird's Head, or Vogelkop, region. In a new paper published in the journal PeerJ, scientists "show and tell" half-a-dozen ways this form is distinct from the more widespread Superb Bird-of-Paradise, now called the Greater Superb Bird-of-Paradise--the bird known for its bouncy "smiley face" dance routine.
Roughly one in 10 women in the United States will experience depression, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The consequences, however, may extend to their children, report researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, who found that a mother's depression can negatively affect a child's cognitive development up to the age of 16.
The findings are published in the April issue of Child Development.