An observational study conducted using samples from remote Indigenous communities found that the introduction of basic medicine results in rapid microbiome restructuring, with children exhibiting the most pronounced changes.
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Host Cell Virus Interactions: Molecular Mechanisms, Immune Modulation, Viral Pathogenesis, and Emerging Therapeutic Targets
Host–virus relationships regulate every phase of viral infection and critically influence course of illness and the effectiveness of treatment. Viruses utilize host receptors, intracellular trafficking routes, metabolic programs, and immunological signaling networks to introduce infection, while host cells use innate and adaptive immune responses that both limit viral replication and, in certain situations, cause tissue damage. Given the fast viral evolution and drug resistance linked to virus-directed therapy, there is growing proof that these host-dependent mechanisms are appealing and underutilized targets for antiviral treatment.
With machine learning, researchers embrace the atomic-scale complexity of batteries
For grid-scale energy storage and national energy resilience, the U.S. needs better batteries. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists are tackling that challenge in many ways, but one approach is making a significant impact: physics-informed machine learning.
In two recent publications, LLNL researchers examined how integrating molecular dynamics simulations with physics-informed machine learning can illuminate the relationships between structure and behavior in complex battery materials. They used the combination of techniques to explore carbon anodes in sodium-ion batteries and liquid electrolytes in lithium-ion batteries.
“These studies show that the structural complexity of battery materials is not just an obstacle to understanding but a design advantage, laying the groundwork for high-throughput screening of next-generation energy-storage materials,” said LLNL scientist and author Liwen (Sabrina) Wan. “By encoding that complexity into physics-informed machine learning models, we can predict properties and identify design levers that traditional approaches simply cannot access.”
Proton pump rhodopsins for optogenetic manipulation of biological activities and beyond
(H2O), the principal component of living organisms including humans, dissociates into H+ and OH-in aqueous environments, and the resulting H+ concentration determines both cellular pH and the proton motive force (PMF) across cellular membranes. These physicochemical parameters are fundamental regulators of a wide range of biological processes. Optogenetics enables the manipulation of biological and cellular functions using light, typically through the ectopic expression of microbial rhodopsins as photoreceptive proteins in target cells or organs.
Predicting Risk of Cognitive Impairment With Alzheimer Disease Blood Biomarkers
Alzheimer disease is the most common cause of dementia in older individuals. Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers and amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) can accurately detect Alzheimer disease brain pathology, but the perceived risks, costs, and limited availability have contributed to low rates of biomarker testing in the clinic.1 With recent approvals of disease-modifying, amyloid-targeting therapies, incorporation of biomarkers into clinical practice has become more important for medical decision-making. Fortunately, blood-based biomarkers of Alzheimer disease pathology have advanced rapidly in recent years and are now increasingly used in research, clinical trials, and clinical practice.2 Blood-based biomarkers are highly scalable and promise to improve accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer disease, with the potential for much greater reach than cerebrospinal fluid or PET tests.2 Among the blood-based biomarkers, plasma phosphorylated tau 217 (p-tau217) has demonstrated the highest accuracy in detecting amyloid pathology and also reflects tau pathology to some degree.3-5
Although Alzheimer disease biomarkers are increasingly being incorporated into clinical practice in patients with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia (the populations for which amyloid-targeting therapies have demonstrated clinical benefit), these measures are also sensitive to early biological changes associated with Alzheimer disease that precede the onset of clinical symptoms.6 Indeed, these biological changes are thought to begin a decade or more prior to the onset of cognitive decline, during an asymptomatic phase of disease that has often been referred to as preclinical Alzheimer disease.7 Importantly, current Alzheimer’s Association clinical practice guidelines limit testing for Alzheimer disease pathology using blood-based and other Alzheimer disease biomarkers to individuals with objective cognitive impairment undergoing diagnostic evaluation in specialty care; clinical testing of cognitively unimpaired older adults is not recommended at this time.2
However, in the research setting, unimpaired individuals with biomarker evidence of Alzheimer disease pathology have been the focus of numerous natural history studies and, more recently, secondary prevention trials testing whether targeting pathology can forestall the onset of cognitive impairment.8 Studies have demonstrated that higher plasma p-tau217 levels in cognitively unimpaired individuals are associated with higher risk for future cognitive decline and progression to mild cognitive impairment or dementia.9-11 The ability of blood-based biomarkers to detect early Alzheimer disease pathology in cognitively unimpaired individuals with high sensitivity has already been translated to clinical trials of amyloid-targeting therapies. The TRAILBLAZER-ALZ 3 clinical trial enrolled cognitively unimpaired individuals with elevated p-tau217 and is evaluating whether donanemab reduces progression to cognitive impairment.
Plasma agriculture makes strides toward super-seeding conventional methods
Occasionally, the sun unleashes powerful flares and coronal mass ejections, which hurl plasma and energetic particles into space. On the infant Earth, this solar activity drove cascades of atmospheric chemical reactions that may have helped form the building blocks of life. More recently, scientists have discovered that applying plasma to seeds in a controlled way can trigger similar activity, making them faster-growing and more resilient. Researchers at Nagoya University and Kyushu University in Japan have compiled a comprehensive review of this new field—termed “plasma agriculture”—as a potential sustainable solution to address global food shortages.
The word plasma brings to mind a hot, ionized inferno that makes up the fourth state of matter. But the plasma used here is different. By applying high voltage to air or any gas, electrons are stripped from a tiny fraction of its molecules and gain very high energies. These electrons zipping around can effectively mimic the behavior of plasma even though the bulk of the gas remains at room temperature.
This low-temperature plasma can be applied directly to seeds without burning them. Excessive use of chemicals and genetic modification of plants cause concern for many people. Instead, plasma agriculture can offer similarly high crop yields without invasive intervention.