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Category: biotech/medical – Page 66

Marijuana Use Surpasses Cigarette Smoking

Rising cannabis use and falling smoking rates suggest legalization drives substitution of cannabis for cigarettes.

How does cannabis use influence cigarette smoking? This is what a recent study published in Addictive Behaviors hopes to address as a team of researchers investigated how recreational cannabis legalization has caused shifts in social dynamics, specifically regarding cigarette use. This study has the potential to help researcher better understand the social impacts of recreational cannabis legalization and the steps that can be taken to mitigate the negative impacts.

For the study, the researchers analyzed data obtained from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health for 30-day trends regarding cannabis-only use, cigarette-only use, and co-use for individuals 18 years and older and from time periods of 2015–2019, 2020, and 2021–2023. The goal of the study was to draw a connection between cannabis legalization and cigarette use, or co-use. In the end, the researchers found increases in cannabis-only use in 2015–2019, 2020, and 2021–2023 at 3.9% to 6.5%, 7.1%, and 7.9% to 10.6%, respectively. In contrast, cigarette-only use decreased during these same time periods at 15% to 12%, 10.3%, and 10.8% to 8.8%, respectively. Finally, the researchers observed consistent co-use during all three periods.

“The rising cannabis-only use across groups parallels the expanding state-level recreational cannabis legalization, increasing accessibility and normalization,” the study notes. “Conversely, continued declines in cigarette-only use align with decades of tobacco control efforts and evolving norms surrounding smoking. The relatively stable co-use trends may reflect substitution dynamics whereby some individuals replace cigarettes with cannabis, preventing co-use from rising in tandem with cannabis-only use.”

Electricity reprograms immune cells to speed up recovery

By electrically stimulating macrophages, scientists at Trinity College Dublin have found a way to calm inflammation and promote faster healing. The process turns these immune cells into tissue-repairing helpers, enhancing regeneration and blood vessel growth. Safe, effective, and based on human cells, this discovery could revolutionize treatments for inflammation and injury recovery.

BRCA2 research reveals a novel mechanism behind chemoresistance

One of the biggest challenges in cancer treatment is chemoresistance: Tumors that initially respond well to chemotherapy become resistant over time. When that happens, treatment options are often limited.

A research team led by Arnab Ray Chaudhuri at the Department of Molecular Genetics, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute has now uncovered a mechanism by which BRCA2-deficient tumors develop this resistance. The proteins BRCA2 and FIGNL1 appear to have a different function than previously assumed.

“These findings change the paradigm of thought,” says Ray Chaudhuri. The team also identified ways to reverse or prevent resistance.

THE FOREST KING | Red Iron Road | Full Episode

Set in a suffocating, over-commercialized future, a young boy’s desire for success and status leads him into a terrifying and deadly new reality through the lens of a mysterious VR game.
His desperate father must now race against both time and technology to save his dying son.
But the boy is the only one who can save himself — before becoming another faceless pawn of the Forest King.

Adapted from the poem “The Forest Tsar” (1818) by Vasiliy Zhukovsky.

🎬 THE FOREST KING
The second installment of the animated horror anthology RED IRON ROAD.
Each episode is a standalone short film (10–20 minutes) inspired by European literature, produced with unique creative partners in distinctive visual styles.

🏆 Festival Highlights.
• World Premiere – Nightmares Film Festival (Ohio, USA, 2022)
• Nominations – FilmQuest, Blood in the Snow Film Festival, Animaze.

🌐 Official Sites:
https://www.lakesideanimation.com/for… 🎥 Credits Directed & Written By: Lubomir Arsov Produced By: Lakeside Animation Animation By: Art Light & Riki Group (Petersburg Animation Studio) Musical Score By: Lars Korb Starring: Carlo Rota, Tom Rooney, Jaiden Cannatelli 📖 Full Cast & Crew: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23845934… 📺 Where to Watch Season 1 of Red Iron Road: Amazon Prime Video (subscription required): https://www.primevideo.com/detail/0PB… TubiTV (free streaming): https://tubitv.com/movies/100014990/r… Plex (free streaming): https://tubitv.com/movies/100014990/r… Hoopla Digital (free with library card): https://www.hoopladigital.com/televis… Kanopy (free via library or university): https://www.kanopy.com/en/product/140… Apple TV (subscription to Prime Video required): https://tv.apple.com 🔔 Subscribe for new animated horror shorts and exclusive content! Follow Red Iron Road & Lakeside Animation: Facebook: / redironroadseries Instagram: / redironroadseries TikTok: / lakesideanimation LinkedIn: / lakeside-animation 🔖 Hashtags: #RedIronRoad #AdultAnimation #Games #Anthology #Animation #AnimatedAnthology #HorrorAnimation #SlavicMythology #AnimatedShortFilm #LakesideAnimation #EuropeanHorror #AnimationStudio #FolkHorror #AnimatedHorror #CreepyTales #ClassicLiterature #AnimationForAdults © 2022 Ghost Train Productions Inc.

Scientists reverse Alzheimer’s in mice with groundbreaking nanotech

Researchers used supramolecular nanoparticles to repair the brain’s vascular system and reverse Alzheimer’s in mice. Instead of carrying drugs, the nanoparticles themselves triggered natural clearance of amyloid-β proteins. This restored blood-brain barrier function and reversed memory loss. The results point to a revolutionary new path for treating neurodegenerative diseases.

Powerful New Antibiotic Was ‘Hiding in Plain Sight’ For Decades

Researchers have just identified a powerful new antibiotic – in a significant discovery made not by breaking new ground, but by revisiting familiar territory.

The compound, pre-methylenomycin C lactone, was discovered by a team from Warwick University in the UK and Monash University in Australia. While it’s never been spotted before, it comes from a type of bacteria that scientists have studied for decades.

Potentially, it could help fight bacteria that have become increasingly resistant to modern treatments – and it’s actually an intermediate chemical that’s created during the process of making another antibiotic, methylenomycin A.

Will nasal vaccines consign injections to history?

It’s hard to think of vaccination without associating it with a sharp jab in the arm. But there are other, more gentle ways of activating the immune system, such as administering vaccines via the nose. Now, researchers at Chiba University, in Chiba prefecture, Japan, and the pharmaceutical company Shionogi have joined forces to explore the exciting potential of nasal vaccines.

One of the most compelling reasons for pursuing nasal vaccines is that they could offer protection against airborne pathogens at their entry point, before they take hold deeper in the body. That’s the role of the mucosal immune system, associated with the mucosal surfaces that line the nose, mouth, airway, digestive tract and genitals. It’s one of the body’s first lines of defence against external threats.

The mucosal immune system is most evident when experiencing the aggravating symptoms that accompany hay fever, such as uncontrollable sneezing, a runny nose and itchy eyes. These are responses of an activated mucosal immune system as it desperately tries to flush or defuse harmless pollen grains from the nasal cavity and eyes.

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