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Blog – Page 2710

Tumor metabolism is mandatory for the proper adaptation of malignant cells to the microenvironment and the acquisition of crucial cellular skills supporting the systemic spread of cancer. Throughout this journey, the contribution of the gut microbiota to the bioavailability of nutrients supporting the bioenergetic and biosynthetic requirements of malignant cells is an issue. This review will focus on the role of cysteine as a coin that mediates the metabolic crosstalk between microbiota and cancer. The key points enclose the way cysteine can be made available by the microbiota, by degradation of more complex compounds or by de novo synthesis, in order to contribute to the enrichment of the colonic microenvironment as well to the increase of cysteine systemic bioavailability. In addition, the main metabolic pathways in cancer that rely on cysteine as a source of energy and biomass will be pointed out and how the interspecific relationship with the microbiota and its dynamics related to aging may be relevant points to explore, contributing to a better understanding of cancer biology.

In the human organism, several interspecific relationships are constantly in operation, which are established between the different species that make up the microbiota and the human cells of the various organs where it resides. These interspecific relationships are mainly symbiotic in which both partners benefit. This is the case in health, but in disease, there are still some doubts about the role of the microbiota in the pathophysiology, namely, in the context of cancer, at both the organ and systemic levels. Currently, new clues have been proposed, and several studies have been developed to determine the influence of microbiota in cancer initiation, progression, and therapy, as it is extensively reviewed (1– 7).

Metabolic adaptation in cancer is undoubtedly an essential requirement for the establishment, growth, and spread of a malignant neoplasm. Cellular plasticity is crucial for the adaptation of the tumor cell to the microenvironment of the organ where carcinogenesis occurs and to the emergence of stress conditions, such as drug exposure. Recent studies prove that cysteine metabolic circuits are a relevant component of the metabolic network, sustaining biosynthesis and bioenergetics and allowing chemoresistance (as reviewed in 8 – 10). This review intends to confront some of the most recent findings in the field of cysteine metabolism in cancer and the role of the intestinal microbiota in the dynamic balance of the control of cysteine bioavailability and its putative impact on the progression of oncological disease.

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A team of scientists led by researchers from the University of Leicester has determined that genes responsible for learning, memory, aggression, and other complex behaviors emerged approximately 650 million years ago.

The research spearheaded by Dr. Roberto Feuda, of the Neurogenetic group within the Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Leicester and the University of Fribourg (Switzerland), has recently been published in the journal Nature Communications.

<em>Nature Communications</em> is a peer-reviewed, open-access, multidisciplinary, scientific journal published by Nature Portfolio. It covers the natural sciences, including physics, biology, chemistry, medicine, and earth sciences. It began publishing in 2010 and has editorial offices in London, Berlin, New York City, and Shanghai.

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A team of Japanese researchers claims that they were able to use AI to translate the clucks and noises of chickens.

AI Chicken Language Translator?

This novel feat was documented in a preprint that is yet to undergo peer review. The research team was reportedly able to develop a system that can interpret chicken’s different emotional states. These covered the fowls’ feelings of anger, fear, hunger, excitement, contentment, and distress.

The technology relied on an AI technique that the researchers refer to as Deep Emotional Analysis Learning, according to professor Adrian David Cheok from the University of Tokyo.

Continue reading “Can You Speak Chicken Language? New AI May Translate What These Fowls Are Saying, Scientists Claim” | >

Natural killer (NK) cells represent an important class of immune cells involved in anti-tumor immunity. Once identifying a tumor cell, NK cells use small particles to kill the cancer cell.

Our understanding of the role of NK cells in anti-tumor immunity has led to the development of techniques that transfer NK cells from a healthy individual into a cancer patient. Such approaches, known as allogeneic NK cell adoptive transfer, have effectively treated certain types of leukemia and lymphoma. While such strategies can induce remission, clinical challenges about the survival and function of the transferred NK cells exist. Thus, research focused on enhancing the ability of transferred NK cells to survive and maintain their ability to function has become highly valuable in an effort to provide new, efficacious therapeutic options.

A new report published in Science Translational Medicine finds that a vitamin supplement could effectively improve the efficacy of NK cell adoptive transfer treatment. Supported by pre-clinical studies, the investigators conducted a phase 1 clinical trial to test a new method for processing NK cells before transferring them to a patient.

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Imagine typing “dramatic intro music” and hearing a soaring symphony or writing “creepy footsteps” and getting high-quality sound effects. That’s the promise of Stable Audio, a text-to-audio AI model announced Wednesday by Stability AI that can synthesize stereo 44.1 kHz music or sounds from written descriptions. Before long, similar technology may challenge musicians for their jobs.

Now Stability and Harmonai want to break into commercial AI audio production with Stable Audio. Judging by production samples, it seems like a significant audio quality upgrade from previous AI audio generators we’ve seen.

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A team of NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) researchers has developed a new kind of self-cleaning, hybrid membrane that provides a solution that overcomes significant challenges that have, until now, limited desalination technologies.

The most energy-efficient desalination technologies are based on membrane desalination. However, the membranes used for desalination are prone to fouling, the accumulation of scale that results in decreased membrane performance, shorter lifespan, and the need for chemical cleaning, which has unknown environmental consequences.

Researchers at NYUAD’s Smart Materials Lab and the Center for Smart Engineering Materials, led by Professor Panče Naumov and Research Scientist Ejaz Ahmed, together with their collaborators from the Institute for Membrane Technology in Italy, created a unique hybrid membrane by utilizing stimuli-responsive materials, thermosalient organic crystals, embedded in polymers. The thermosalient crystals are a new class of dynamic materials that are capable of sudden expansion or motion upon heating or cooling.

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While the nanobio interaction is crucial in determining nanoparticles’ in vivo fate, a previous work on investigating nanoparticles’ interaction with biological barriers is mainly carried out in a static state. Nanoparticles’ fluid dynamics that share non-negligible impacts on their frequency of encountering biological hosts, however, is seldom given attention. Herein, inspired by badmintons’ unique aerodynamics, badminton architecture Fe3O4&mPDA (Fe3O4 = magnetite nanoparticle and mPDA = mesoporous polydopamine) Janus nanoparticles have successfully been synthesized based on a steric-induced anisotropic assembly strategy. Due to the “head” Fe3O4 having much larger density than the mPDA “cone”, it shows an asymmetric mass distribution, analogous to real badminton.

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