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Cleaning up the aging brain

Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other neurological disorders can be seen as “dirty brain” diseases, where the brain struggles to clear out harmful waste. Aging is a key risk factor because, as we grow older, our brain’s ability to remove toxic buildup slows down. However, new research in mice demonstrates that it’s possible to reverse age-related effects and restore the brain’s waste-clearing process.

“This research shows that restoring cervical lymph vessel function can substantially rescue the slower removal of waste from the brain associated with age,” says Douglas Kelley, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Rochester. “Moreover, this was accomplished with a drug already being used clinically, offering a potential treatment strategy.”

Kelley is one of the lead authors of the study, which appears in the journal Nature Aging, along with Maiken Nedergaard, codirector the University’s Center for Translational Neuromedicine. The study is one of many collaborations carried out by researchers at Rochester’s Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences and the Medical Center.

Massive credit card breach hits 1.7 MILLION people

Almost 1.7 million consumers in the US and Canada may have had their data exposed in a massive credit card database breach.

Florida-based Slim CD, a payment processor, is sending emails to customers that their information may have been accessed anytime from August 2023 to June 2024.

The company provides software systems to merchants, allowing them to take any kind of electronic payment, both online and in-person, across variety of hardware.

Super-Earth Exoplanet Formation Becomes Nearly Impossible Around Metal-Poor Stars

How can the metal content of stars influence the formation of Earth-like exoplanets? This is what a recent study published in The Astronomical Journal hopes to address as an international team of researchers investigated the minimum amount of metals a star can possess (also called metallicity) that are needed for Earth-like planets to form in small orbits like our own. This study holds the potential to help researchers better understand the necessary conditions for Earth-like exoplanets to form, along with gaining new insights into the formation and evolution of other exoplanets.

This research builds off previous studies that hypothesized a correlation between star’s low metallicity and the formation of exoplanets smaller than Saturn or Neptune. For this new study, the researchers used computer models built from exoplanet data obtained by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission to ascertain a metallicity cutoff where the formation of Earth-like exoplanets become impossible. In the end, the researchers indicated that a threshold between-0.75 and-0.5 metallicity is where Earth-like exoplanets can form.

“In a similar stellar type as our sample, we now know not to expect planet formation to be abundant once you pass a negative 0.5 metallicity region,” said Dr. Kiersten Boley, who recently completed her PhD at The Ohio State University and is lead author of the study. “That’s kind of striking because we actually have data to show that now. You don’t want to search areas where life wouldn’t be conducive or in areas where you don’t even think you’re going to find a planet. There’s just a plethora of questions that you can ask if you know these things.”

SpaceX: The Biden-Harris administration is blocking the next flight of Starship which is critical for accomplishing the promised Moon landing and later Mars landing

The Biden-Harris administration is blocking the next flight of Starship which is critical for accomplishing the promised Moon landing and later Mars landing. SpaceX has prepared a lengthy document where they detail their endless attempts to be allowed to fly again.

SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft.

Green hydrogen: MXenes shows talent as catalyst for oxygen evolution

The MXene class of materials has many talents. An international team led by HZB chemist Michelle Browne has now demonstrated that MXenes, properly functionalised, are excellent catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction in electrolytic water splitting. They are more stable and efficient than the best metal oxide catalysts currently available. The team is now extensively characterising these MXene catalysts for water splitting at the Berlin X-ray source BESSY II and Soleil Synchrotron in France.

The findings have been published in Journal of Materials Chemistry A (“Enhancing the Oxygen Evolution Reaction activity of CuCo based Hydroxides with V 2 CTx MXene”).

The surface of a vanadium carbide MXene has been examined by Scanning Electron Microscopy. The beautiful structures are built by cobalt copper hydroxide molecules. (Image: B. Schmiedecke, HZB)

NASA and ISS National Lab Choose WFIRM for Innovative Cancer Study

“This selection underscores WFIRM’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of scientific research and finding innovative solutions to some of the world’s most challenging health issues,” said Dr. Anthony Atala.

How can microgravity help advance cancer research? This is what an upcoming grant-awarded project sponsored by the International Space Station (ISS) National Lab hopes to address as a team of researchers from the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) have been selected to send samples to the ISS with the goal of observing how microgravity influences cancer growth and their responses to treatment. This project holds the potential to help scientists and cancer researchers develop new methods for combating cancer here on Earth.

“Being selected for this project is an incredible honor and opportunity for our team at WFIRM,” said Dr. Shay Soker, who is the project lead and a professor in the Wake Forest University School of Medicine. “The microgravity environment of the ISS provides a unique setting to study cancer in ways that are not possible on Earth. This research has the potential to unlock new understandings of cancer behavior and lead to more effective treatments.”

For the project, astronauts onboard the ISS will monitor organoids, which are lab-grown organs produced from colorectal cancer patient cells, and how the cancer cells within these organoids respond to microgravity and the treatment designed to reduce their growth and spread. The ISS has a rich history of promoting scientific innovation and discovery using the unique environment of microgravity, as more than 3,000 scientific experiments have been conducted onboard the ISS since its first module launched into orbit in 1999.