ScienceDaily: All - December 07, 2024
Today's top research news
Particle research gets closer to answering why we're here
Physicists have outlined the next 10 years of global research into the behavior of neutrinos, particles so tiny that they pass through virtually everything by the trillions every second at nearly the speed of light.
Image: Anshuman Rath/Shutterstock.com
MRI could be key to understanding the impact a gluten free diet has on people with Celiac disease
Experts have used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to better understand the impact a gluten free diet has on people with celiac disease, which could be the first step towards finding new ways of treating the condition. Celiac disease is a chronic condition affecting around one person in every 100 in the general population. When people with celiac disease eat gluten, which is found in pasta and bread, their immune system produces an abnormal reaction that inflames and damages the gut tissue and causes symptoms such as abdominal pain and bloating.
Hybrid theory offers new way to model disturbed complex systems
In fields ranging from immunology and ecology to economics and thermodynamics, multi-scale complex systems are ubiquitous. They are also notoriously difficult to model. Conventional approaches take either a bottom-up or top-down approach. But in disturbed systems, such as a post-fire forest ecosystem or a society in a pandemic, these unidirectional models can't capture the interactions between the small-scale behaviors and the system-level properties. Scientists have worked to resolve this challenge by building a hybrid method that links bottom-up behaviors and top-down causation in a single theory.
A team of interdisciplinary scientists has developed flexible fibers with self-healing, light-emitting and magnetic properties. The Scalable Hydrogel-clad Ionotronic Nickel-core Electroluminescent (SHINE) fiber is bendable, emits highly visible light, and can automatically repair itself after being cut, regaining nearly 100 per cent of its original brightness. In addition, the fiber can be powered wirelessly and manipulated physically using magnetic forces.
Early detection of high-altitude hypoxic brain injury
People who climb too fast or too high risk acute altitude sickness, which can lead to life-threatening hypoxic brain injury. By using in vivo electrochemistry, researchers demonstrated that characteristic changes occur in the oxygen content of various brain regions before injury. The risk of brain damage could be predicted days in advance -- perhaps a new approach for detecting high-altitude hypoxic injury.
New brain mapping technique reveals insights into the brain's higher functions
A new way of mapping activity and connections between different regions of the brain has revealed fresh insights into how higher order functions like language, thought and attention, are organized.
From chip shop to pit stop -- scientists make old cooking oil biofuel as efficient as diesel
A new way to produce fuels made from leftover fat can create biofuel as effective as diesel and 1000-times more efficiently than current methods a new study has suggested.
Researchers have discovered a mechanism in our cells that is essential to energy production in the muscles. The discovery may lead to new treatment for disorders affecting the muscles, like diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease.
AI beats experts in predicting future quality of 'mini-organs'
Researchers have developed a model that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to predict organoid development at an early stage. The model, which is faster and more accurate than expert researchers, could improve the efficiency and lower the cost of culturing organoids.
New biodegradable material to replace certain microplastics
Researchers developed biodegradable materials that could replace the plastic micro-beads now used in beauty products. The materials could also be used to encapsulate nutrients for food fortification.
Conservation paradox: Invasive species are often threatened in their native range
Non-native species introduced by humans are among the main causes of global species decline -- they were partly responsible for 60 percent of the species that have become extinct worldwide in recent decades. In Central Europe, non-native mammals include species such as the Norway rat, the mouflon and the mink. Now a study shows that some of these species introduced by humans are themselves endangered in their native range.
A microRNA solves an evolutionary mystery of butterfly and moth wing coloration
Over the past two decades, scientists discovered that the majority of melanic wing color variants are controlled by a single genomic region surrounding the protein-coding gene 'cortex'. It was assumed, then, that cortex was the melanic color switch. A team of international researchers has now discovered that cortex does not affect melanic coloration. Instead, a previously ignored microRNA (miRNA), is the actual color switch.
Bird-inspired drone can jump for take-off
Researchers have built a drone that can walk, hop, and jump into flight with the aid of birdlike legs, greatly expanding the range of potential environments accessible to unmanned aerial vehicles.
Getting a grip on health norms: Handgrip strength
A groundbreaking study has created the world's largest and most geographically comprehensive international norms for handgrip strength, enabling global peer-comparison, health screening and surveillance across the adult lifespan.
New insights into NPC: A form of childhood dementia
Scientists report on new insights into the mechanisms of 'Niemann-Pick type C' (NPC), a rare neurodegenerative disease associated with dementia that can manifest as early as childhood. Their findings, based on studies in mice, cell cultures and patients, emphasize that neuroinflammation, which is mediated by the brain's immune system, plays a crucial role in NPC.
How neighborhood enhances cooperation
Helping out your neighbor or minding your own business? A challenging choice with different benefits for each decision. Game theory provides guidance in making such choices -- from a theoretical perspective. Novel findings reveal new network structures that enhance cooperation throughout a system. These insights have potential applications also in biology.
So you want to build a solar or wind farm? Here's how to decide where
A new study shows the benefits of coordinating the siting of solar farms, wind farms, and storage systems, taking into account local and temporal variations in wind, sunlight, and energy demand. This approach maximizes the utilization of renewable resources and reduces costs.
By decoding the DNA of the beaked hazelnut (Corylus cornuta), a native plant that thrives in British Columbia, a team of multidisciplinary scientists is providing new insight into how ancestral Indigenous peoples stewarded plants across the province.
The U.S. is forecasted to fall in its global rankings below nearly all high-income and some middle-income countries. Drug use disorders, high body mass index, high blood sugar, and high blood pressure are driving mortality and disability higher across the U.S. Future scenarios for health outcomes identify the states that are forecasted to gain ground, face stagnation, or grow worse. Scientific evidence underscores the urgent need to prioritize public health to prevent the economic consequences of sickness, disabilities, and premature mortality in the U.S.
Imaging technique allows rapid assessment of ovarian cancer subtypes and their response to treatment
An MRI-based imaging technique predicts the response of ovarian cancer tumors to treatment, and rapidly reveals how well treatment is working, in patient-derived cell models.
Autonomous imaging robot plays a crucial role in assessing embryos' response to environmental change
The opensource LabEmbryoCam uses 3D-printed components to form a robotic microscope and is the result of over a decade of research at the University of Plymouth. Its creators say the instrument can autonomously monitor the earliest stages of development in any aquatic species.
Molecular zip code draws killer T cells straight to brain tumors
Scientists have developed a 'molecular GPS' to guide immune cells into the brain and kill tumors without harming healthy tissue.
Rapid surge in global warming mainly due to reduced planetary albedo
Rising sea levels, melting glaciers, heatwaves at sea -- 2023 set a number of alarming new records. The global mean temperature also rose to nearly 1.5 degrees above the preindustrial level, another record. Seeking to identify the causes of this sudden rise has proven a challenge for researchers. After all, factoring in the effects of anthropogenic influences like the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, of the weather phenomenon El Nino, and of natural events like volcanic eruptions, can account for a major portion of the warming. But doing so still leaves a gap of roughly 0.2 degrees Celsius, which has never been satisfactorily explained. A team puts forward a possible explanation for the rise in global mean temperature: our planet has become less reflective because certain types of clouds have declined.
Scientists have 'turned up the heat' on how repeated outbreaks of coffee wilt disease threatened arabica and robusta varieties of our favorite daily coffee brew. The scientists say the fungal pathogen Fusarium xylarioides continues to pose a significant threat to coffee production and incomes across sub-Saharan Africa.
Mangroves save $855 billion in flood protection globally, new study shows
Mangroves have been shown to provide $855 billion in flood protection services worldwide, according to a new study.
Shaking sensor continuously monitors inflammation
First-of-its-kind sensor monitors fluctuating proteins within the body in real time. In an animal study, device accurately tracked biomarkers of inflammation. Device also could track protein markers for other illnesses, including heart failure.
Scientists discover new receptor for nerve growth factor--a promising target for treating pain
Researchers have found a new receptor for nerve growth factor that plays an important role in pain signaling, even though it does not signal on its own, according to a new study. The findings hold promise for finding new treatments for arthritis and other forms of inflammatory and cancer pain, without the side effects that led recent therapies to fail in clinical trials.
New drug tested to reduce side effect of 'half-matched' stem cell transplants
Stem cell transplantation is used to treat several types of blood cancers, but carries the risk of a life-threatening side effect called graft-versus-host disease. Results from a clinical trial showed adding the investigational drug itacitinib to standard care for 'half-matched' stem cell transplantation may reduce rates of the disease, in which the donor's stem cells attack the patient's healthy tissues.
From one gene switch, many possible outcomes
Scientists have uncovered surprising ways transcription factors, the genetic switches for genes, regulate plant development. Their findings reveal how subtle changes in a lipid-binding region called the START domain can dramatically alter gene regulation, paving the way for advancements in crop engineering, synthetic biology, and precision gene therapies.
Innovative immunotherapy shows promise in early clinical trial for breast cancer
A groundbreaking phase one clinical trial explored a novel cell-based immunotherapy for breast cancer. The study focuses on a new treatment approach that aims to harness the body's immune system to enhance patient responses and reduce the need for conventional chemotherapy and its associated toxicities. The trial involved 12 patients with locally advanced stage I-III HER2 breast cancer.
That's no straw: Hummingbirds evolved surprisingly flexible bills to help them drink nectar
Hummingbird bills -- their long, thin beaks -- look a little like drinking straws. But new research shows just how little water, or nectar, that comparison holds. Scientists have discovered that the hummingbird bill is surprisingly flexible. While drinking, a hummingbird rapidly opens and shuts different parts of its bill simultaneously, engaging in an intricate and highly coordinated dance with its tongue to draw up nectar at lightning speeds.
Climate change threatens global food supply: Scientists call for urgent action
As climate change accelerates, scientists are sounding the alarm about its potentially devastating impact on the world's food supply. Researchers warn that without rapid changes to how we develop climate-resilient crops, we could face widespread food shortages leading to famine, mass migration, and global instability.
Analyzing multiple mammograms improves breast cancer risk prediction
A new method of analyzing mammograms identified individuals at high risk of developing breast cancer more accurately than the standard, questionnaire-based method did. The new method, powered by artificial intelligence, could help diagnose cancer earlier and guide recommendations for earlier screening, additional imaging or risk-reducing medications.
Changes in blood cell production over the lifetime could impact leukemia outcomes
The first comprehensive map of the dramatic changes that take place in the blood system over the course of the human lifetime could have implications for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia and other blood diseases.
Controlling cancer cells' gluttony for glutamine
Researchers describe two enzymes newly identified for their roles in regulating macropinocytosis, a process cancer cells use to snatch extra nutrients from the jelly-like substance between cells. This allows tumors to fuel their growth even when they consume more energy and other resources than they can acquire from nearby blood vessels.