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Category: biotech/medical – Page 39

A single gene may explain why immune responses differ between men and women

A new study has uncovered a key difference between the immune system of males and females—and it comes down to a single gene. The study is published in The Journal of Immunology.

It is known that biological sex affects the function of the immune system, with women often being more severely affected by autoimmune conditions or allergic diseases.

Scientists from the University of York have now identified the gene Malat1 as a critical player in regulating immune responses in female immune cells, but not in males.

Harnessing mechanobiology to combat kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease affects an estimated 37 million people in the U.S., and for many, there is no cure. But a new research project at Washington University in St. Louis seeks to change that by uncovering the mechanical basis of kidney cell injury.

To tackle chronic kidney disease, Guy Genin, the Harold and Kathleen Faught Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the WashU McKelvey School of Engineering, and Jeffrey Miner, the Eduardo and Judith Slatopolsky Professor of Medicine in Nephrology at WashU Medicine, teamed up with Hani Suleiman, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. The interdisciplinary team, with expertise spanning medicine, cell biology, genetics and engineering, received a five-year $4 million grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

With the NIH’s support, the team plans to study the mechanobiology of podocytes, specialized cells in the kidney that help filter blood.

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have received a $4 million grant to study specialized cells that could help treat kidney disease.

Challenging Over 150 Years of Immunotherapy: Scientists Unveil New Weapon That Kills Cancer Without the Immune System

Two bacteria working in harmony show powerful antitumor effects. The approach could transform treatment for immunocompromised patients. A research team led by Professor Eijiro Miyako at the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST), working in collaboration with Daiichi Sankyo Co

A stunning first look at the viruses inside us

You are mostly but not entirely human. If we crunch the numbers, 8% of your genome actually comes from viruses that got stranded there. This viral detritus is a souvenir from our evolutionary past, a reminder that viruses have been with us from the very beginning.

Usually, this 8% of your DNA—the viral bits—are kept silent. Scientists call it part of the “dark matter” in your genome.

Now scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) have published a first look at a key viral protein. In a study published in Science Advances, LJI researchers revealed the first three-dimensional structure of a protein from one of these ancient “human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs).”

Breathwork can induce altered states of consciousness linked with changes in brain blood flow

Breathwork while listening to music may induce a blissful state in practitioners, accompanied by changes in blood flow to emotion-processing brain regions, according to a study published in the open-access journal PLOS One by Amy Amla Kartar from the Colasanti Lab in the Department of Clinical Neuroscience at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, U.K., and colleagues.

These changes occur even while the body’s stress response may be activated and are associated with reporting reduced negative emotions.

The popularity of breathwork as a therapeutic tool for psychological distress is rapidly expanding. Breathwork practices that increase ventilatory rate or depth, accompanied by music, can lead to altered states of consciousness (ASCs) similar to those evoked by psychedelic substances.

MRI technology inspires quantum advancement with 2D materials

The same technology behind MRI images of injury or disease also powers nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, which is used to analyze biological molecules for research on diseases and therapeutics. While NMR spectroscopy produces valuable data about the structure of molecules, the resolution is too low to sense individual atoms.

Now, quantum researchers at Purdue University are advancing an approach that could improve the resolution of NMR spectroscopy to the atomic scale and may also have applications in developing quantum computing and quantum communications.

“Conventional NMR spectroscopy is limited to measuring large samples of molecules. We’re interested in developing technologies that can detect and analyze a ,” said Tongcang Li, professor of physics and astronomy in the College of Science and of electrical and computer engineering in the College of Engineering.

AI prescribes new electrolyte additive combinations for enhanced battery performance

Batteries, like humans, require medicine to function at their best. In battery technology, this medicine comes in the form of electrolyte additives, which enhance performance by forming stable interfaces, lowering resistance and boosting energy capacity, resulting in improved efficiency and longevity.

Finding the right electrolyte for a battery is much like prescribing the right medicine. With hundreds of possibilities to consider, identifying the best additive for each battery is a challenge due to the vast number of possibilities and the time-consuming nature of traditional experimental methods.

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory are using models to analyze known electrolyte additives and predict combinations that could improve battery performance. They trained models to forecast key battery metrics, like resistance and energy capacity, and applied these models to suggest new additive combinations for testing.

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