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Study explores the differences in gut microbiome composition between prediabetic patients and healthy individuals, revealing significant variations that correlate with altered metabolic functions and potential diabetes progression.

Anyone who needs an unusual mole on their skin checked out may soon get to skip a surgical biopsy, and instead have a virtual biopsy. This tool could be a quick, uninvasive way to identify cancerous cells, as well as reveal any cancerous tissue that might be present and left behind during a surgery. This new tool uses lasers to and generate a three-dimensional reconstruction of cells in a tissue under analysis. Cross-sectional images of that tissue can then be assessed, like slides on a microscope. This work may one day be used not only on skin, but on other parts of the body. The work has been reported in Science Advances.

“We’ve not only created something that can replace the current gold-standard pathology slides for diagnosing many conditions, but we actually improved the resolution of these scans so much that we start to pick up information that would be extremely hard to see otherwise,” said senior study author Adam de la Zerda, PhD, an associate professor of structural biology at Stanford University.

“People don’t believe there’s wildlife here, but we’re really very, very rich in wildlife because we’re on the Atlantic Flyway and we have so many places for the birds to stop over during migration,” McMahon said.

Researchers and local students spent nearly two years collecting samples from a wide range of birds, including ones we see often like ducks and geese, to raptors.

Their findings were published earlier this month.

Scientists have figured out a whole new way to cut the legs out from underneath drug-resistant bacterial infections.

The new class of antibiotic was identified by researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden, and while it has only been tested on mice, the team hopes that further development of the drug can “make an important contribution to the ongoing struggle against antibiotic resistance.”

The unique medicine, like many other antibiotics currently in development, targets the double membrane that surrounds gram-negative bacteria, like Escherichia coli, which can cause bowel and blood infections, and Klebsiella pneumoniae, which can cause lung, bladder, and blood infections.

Cells contain various specialized structures—such as the nucleus, mitochondria or peroxisomes—known as “organelles.” Tracing their genesis and determining their structure is fundamental to understanding cell function and the pathologies linked to their dysfunction.

Aging is a life process where the body slowly breaks down and becomes more vulnerable to external stimuli. For example, bones in older individuals become frail and muscle deteriorates. Additionally, older individuals are more susceptible to disease with a compromised immune system. In many cases there are protocols and guidelines in place to protect those with high susceptibility to disease. During the COVID-19 pandemic older patients had to be extremely careful to avoid contracting COVID-19.

Unfortunately, aging is a natural part of life. However, scientists are working to make the process of aging a little easier. Due to the increased average lifespan, aging has been a progressively growing field. Physicians and scientists are working to understand how we age and if there are secrets to be uncovered that would help avoid, prevent, or cure age-related diseases, such as cancer.

Stem cells are self-renewing cells in the body with the ability to differentiate into any cell type. The outcome to which final cell type it turns into is dependent on what the body needs. Regarding the immune system, the body generates more myeloid immune cells. Aging of the immune system is best characterized by an imbalance of these immune cells. Other immune cells including lymphoid cells related to adaptive immunity are reduced in number while myeloid cells and inflammatory pathologies are increased. Many believe that stem cells may be the cause of this imbalance.