Doctors in New York have performed the world’s first successful face and double hand transplant. Joe DiMeo, 22, underwent the 23-hour surgery, performed by a…
Category: biotech/medical – Page 450
Cell and animal tests suggest two classes of common chemicals might play a role in neurological disease.
The extracellular matrix is an essential component of the tumor microenvironment and affects cancer progression. Weeraratna and colleagues have now uncovered that age-related reductions in the level of hyaluronan and proteoglycan link protein 1 (HAPLN1) stimulate neoangiogenesis and compromise the vascular integrity of intratumoral blood vessels. These biological modifications converge to fuel distant melanoma metastasis.
The child required a specific nutrient blend to optimize health and reduce kidney strain.
Prescription drugs helped a toddler born with a rare and chronic kidney disease receive a kidney transplant and escape the net of repeated dialysis sessions, all due to the efforts of his mother and the team of doctors.
The toddler, Dinero Motton, had been diagnosed with a lower urinary tract obstruction and enlarged bladder when he was still in his mother’s womb.
In a global research effort, scientists have uncovered a relationship between metabolism problems in the brain and a range of neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders, from autism to Alzheimer’s disease and more.
Despite their diverse symptoms, these conditions – as well as depression, epilepsy, schizophrenia, intellectual disability, and bipolar disorder – all involve a degree of cognitive impairment and often share genetic or metabolic features, hinting at a common biological basis.
The extensive collaboration by the International Brain pH Project Consortium, involving 131 scientists from 105 labs in seven countries, identified changes in brain acidity and lactate levels in animals as key signs of this metabolic dysfunction.
The idea of growing functioning human brain-like tissues in a dish has always sounded far-fetched, even to researchers in the field. Towards the future goal, a Japanese and French research team has developed a technique for connecting lab-grown brain-mimicking tissue in a way that resembles circuits in our brain.
The work appears in Nature Communications.
It is challenging to study exact mechanisms of the brain development and functions. Animal studies are limited by differences between species in brain structure and function, and brain cells grown in the lab tend to lack the characteristic connections of cells in the human brain. What’s more, researchers are increasingly realizing that these interregional connections, and the circuits that they create, are important for many of the brain functions that define us as humans.
A first-ever dataset bridging molecular information about the poplar tree microbiome to ecosystem-level processes has been released by a team of Department of Energy scientists led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The project aims to inform research regarding how natural systems function, their vulnerability to a changing climate, and ultimately how plants might be engineered for better performance as sources of bioenergy and natural carbon storage.
The data, described in Nature Publishing Group’s Scientific Data, provides in-depth information on 27 genetically distinct variants, or genotypes, of Populus trichocarpa, a poplar tree of interest as a bioenergy crop. The genotypes are among those that the ORNL-led Center for Bioenergy Innovation previously included in a genome-wide association study linking genetic variations to the trees’ physical traits. ORNL researchers collected leaf, soil and root samples from poplar fields in two regions of Oregon — one in a wetter area subject to flooding and the other drier and susceptible to drought.
Details in the newly integrated dataset range from the trees’ genetic makeup and gene expression to the chemistry of the soil environment, analysis of the microbes that live on and around the trees and compounds the plants and microbes produce.
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In a recent study published in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers explored how changes in daily step counts and variability affect cognitive function in older adults during a 10-week physical activity intervention.
Study: Association between changes in habitual stepping activity and cognition in older adults. Image Credit: SibRapid / Shutterstock.
Background
Aging often leads to cognitive decline, particularly in executive functions and inhibitory control, which are early indicators of conditions like Alzheimer’s disease. Engaging in regular physical activity can reduce or even reverse these declines in older adults. As the population ages, identifying strategies to preserve cognitive function becomes crucial. While structured exercise in controlled settings has been linked to cognitive health, the effects of habitual, daily physical activity on cognition remain underexplored. Further research is needed to clarify the mechanisms linking physical activity patterns to cognitive improvements and to establish customized intervention strategies for diverse aging populations.
Researchers have identified new variations in neuroblastoma that could lead to a more accurate prognosis and better-targeted treatments for this devastating childhood cancer.