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New antivirals could help prevent cold sores by changing cell structures

A class of antivirals called Pin1 inhibitors could reduce or stop outbreaks of herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1), the common infection behind oral herpes, according to new research published in Antiviral Research.

HSV-1 causes sores around the mouth, commonly called cold sores or fever blisters. Most people are infected with HSV-1 in childhood, and between 50% and 90% of people worldwide have HSV-1. After the , HSV-1 remains in the body and can reactivate throughout a person’s life. While HSV-1 infections are usually mild, they can be serious and even deadly for people with suppressed immune systems. Finding new, more effective antivirals for this common illness is essential.

Researchers focused on an enzyme called peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase NIMA-interacting 1, or Pin1, that regulates protein stability, function, and cellular structure. When this is dysregulated, it can play a role in a variety of conditions, including obesity, cancer, , and more. Viruses, such as cytomegalovirus (CMV) and SARS-CoV-2, are known to affect Pin1, and Pin1 have been developed to reduce the impact of these viruses.

Role of hypoxia in cancer therapy by regulating the tumor microenvironment

Clinical resistance is a complex phenomenon in major human cancers involving multifactorial mechanisms, and hypoxia is one of the key components that affect the cellular expression program and lead to therapy resistance. The present study aimed to summarize the role of hypoxia in cancer therapy by regulating the tumor microenvironment (TME) and to highlight the potential of hypoxia-targeted therapy.

Algorithm precisely quantifies flow of information in complex networks

Networks are systems comprised of two or more connected devices, biological organisms or other components, which typically share information with each other. Understanding how information moves between these connected components, also known as nodes, could help to advance research focusing on numerous topics, ranging from artificial intelligence (AI) to neuroscience.

To measure the directional flow of information in systems, scientists typically rely on a mathematical construct known as transfer entropy, which essentially quantifies the rate at which information is transmitted from one node to another. Yet most strategies for calculating transfer entropy developed so far rely on approximations, which significantly limits their accuracy and reliability.

Researchers at AMOLF, a institute in the Netherlands, recently developed a computational algorithm that can precisely quantify transfer entropy in a wide range of complex networks. Their algorithm, introduced in a paper published in Physical Review Letters, opens new exciting possibilities for the study of information transfer in both biological and engineered networks.

Sensor identifies sodium nitrite in drinks using laser-modified cork

A team of researchers from the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, has developed a sensor that can identify sodium nitrite (NaNO2) in various beverages, including mineral water, orange juice, and wine. This inorganic salt is used as a preservative and fixative to give products such as ham, bacon, and sausages their pink or red color. Depending on the amount, it can cause serious health problems by leading to the formation of nitrosamines, which are carcinogenic compounds.

“This risk motivated us to develop a simple, fast, and accessible way to detect the compound and ensure the quality and safety of liquid consumption,” says Bruno Campos Janegitz, head of the Laboratory of Sensors, Nanomedicine, and Nanostructured Materials (LSNano) at UFSCar. Janegitz coordinated the study, which was published in the journal Microchimica Acta.

“Detection [of NaNO2] in beverages, especially wines, is important for , since its use is not legally permitted in Brazil and most countries,” the authors write in the article.

Time-delay snapshots enable scientists to identify dynamics in chaotic systems

Many of the world’s most important systems, such as the atmosphere, turbulent fluids, and even the motion of planets, behave unpredictably due to chaos and noise. Scientists often study these systems through their “invariant” measures, long-term statistical behaviors, rather than individual paths. While useful, these measures have a fundamental limitation: completely different systems can share the same statistics, making it impossible to identify the underlying dynamics.

Researchers led by mathematician Yunan Yang have introduced a new way forward, using time-delay snapshots. Their work, “Invariant Measures in Time-Delay Coordinates for Unique Dynamical System Identification,” was published in Physical Review Letters on Oct. 17.

An invariant measure is a way of assigning size or probability to parts of a system that remain unchanged when the system is transformed or evolves. Time-delay snapshots use invariant measures that are expressed in time-delay coordinates—linking present observations to their past values—and providing enough information to distinguish between systems.

Transparent wearable monitor gives real-time warnings about overexposure to sunlight

Scientists in South Korea have unveiled a transparent, wearable sensor that monitors a user’s exposure to ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation in real-time. The technology could help prevent sunburn and long-term skin damage that can cause cancer.

Ultraviolet radiation is released naturally by the sun and artificially by tanning beds. The problem with overexposure is that the rays can penetrate deep into the skin and damage DNA, potentially causing cells to grow out of control and leading to cancer. In many countries, the majority of skin cancer cases are linked to this type of overexposure.

While wearing long clothes and hats and applying sunscreen provides valuable protection, the researchers wanted a simple device to alert wearers when exposure reached a certain level. Current sensors often lack the ability to track UVA and are opaque, which makes them uncomfortable and difficult to use in wearable tech like smart glasses.

‘Wetware’: Scientists use human mini-brains to power computers

Inside a lab in the picturesque Swiss town of Vevey, a scientist gives tiny clumps of human brain cells the nutrient-rich fluid they need to stay alive.

It is vital these remain healthy, because they are serving as rudimentary computer processors—and, unlike your laptop, once they die, they cannot be rebooted.

This new field of research, called biocomputing or “wetware,” aims to harness the evolutionarily honed yet still mysterious computing power of the human brain.

How the auditory cortex syncs with behavior to help the brain become a better listener

When we are engaged in a task, our brain’s auditory system changes how it works. One of the main auditory centers of the brain, the auditory cortex, is filled with neural activity that is not sound-driven—rather, this activity times the task, each neuron ticking at a different moment during task performance.

Researchers at Hebrew University have discovered how this happens. The study published in Science Advances, led by Prof. Israel Nelken from the Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences (ELSC) and the Institute of Life Sciences, is based on the Ph.D. research of Ana Polterovich, with contributions from Alex Kazakov, Maciej M. Jankowski, and Johannes Niediek.

They found that when we are engaged in the task, neurons in the brain’s show large bursts of activity that aren’t caused directly by sounds. Instead, these “” are tied to specific moments in a task, suggesting that the auditory cortex is deeply in sync with behavior.

Taking the shock out of predicting shock wave behavior with precise computational modeling

Shock waves should not be shocking—engineers across scientific fields need to be able to precisely predict how the instant and strong pressure changes initiate and dissipate to prevent damage. Now, thanks to a team from Yokohama National University, those predictions are even better understood.

In work published on Aug. 19 in the Physics of Fluids, the researchers detailed how computational models used to simulate wave behavior represent the very weak in a way that is distinctly different from both theoretical predictions and physical measurements.

Shock waves comprise the pressure that pushes out from an explosion or from an object moving faster than sound, like a supersonic jet. Weak shockwaves refer to the same changes in pressure, density and velocity, but they are much smaller than the larger waves and move closer to the speed of sound. However, current computational modeling approaches have difficulty accurately representing these very weak shock waves, according to co-author Keiichi Kitamura, professor, Faculty of Engineering, Yokohama National University.

Developing drugs—with tens of thousands of minuscule droplets on a small glass plate

A glass plate, a delicate tube and an oil bath are all that is required: thanks to a new method, researchers at ETH Zurich can produce tens of thousands of tiny droplets within minutes. This enables them to test enzymes and active ingredients faster, more precisely and in a more resource-efficient manner than previously.

What happens when an enzyme encounters a potential active ingredient that is supposed to inhibit or activate the enzyme? This is precisely what drug development is all about. Analyzing the interaction of an enzyme with an active ingredient molecule, however, is extremely complex.

The group led by Petra Dittrich, Professor of Bioanalytics at ETH Zurich, has developed a method that radically simplifies such tests: their method allows up to 100,000 minuscule droplets containing enzymes and substrates to be produced on a glass plate—in a mere 40 minutes and without involving a pipette.

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