Curated News: Nature (journal)

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Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have made an important finding about Aedes aegypti mosquitoes—one that could one day lead to better methods for reducing the mosquito-to-human transmission of dengue, yellow fever, Zika, and other harmful and sometimes deadly viruses.

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Led by scientists at UNC-Chapel Hill and UC-San Francisco, research reveals new non-coding genetic variants associated with Alzheimer’s disease functioning in microglia – brain cells already implicated in the progression of this often-fatal neurodegenerative condition.

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The team, led by Imperial College London researchers, uncovered the wiring in mouse brains that leads them to begin nesting in preparation for sleep. Published today in Nature Neuroscience, the study reveals that preparing properly for sleep is likely a hard-wired survival feature – one often neglected or overridden by humans.

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If you happen to come across plants of the Balanophoraceae family in a corner of a forest, you might easily mistake them for fungi growing around tree roots. Their mushroom-like structures are actually inflorescences, composed of minute flowers.

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Palaeontologists at University College Cork (UCC) in Ireland have discovered X-ray evidence of proteins in fossil feathers that sheds new light on feather evolution.

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Scientists revealed the intercellular choreography that governs protein regulation, including how unwanted proteins are tagged for degradation, an important player in human health and disease.

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A team led by researchers at the University of Washington has developed system of robotic self-deploying microphones, which lets users control sound in a room, muting certain areas and creating “active zones” in others.

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The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights showcases the latest breakthroughs in cancer care, research and prevention. These advances are made possible through seamless collaboration between MD Anderson’s world-leading clinicians and scientists, bringing discoveries from the lab to the clinic and back.

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A Ludwig Cancer Research study has shown that combining adoptive T cell therapy (ACT) with an innovative, personalized cancer vaccine under development at the Lausanne Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research can benefit patients with late-stage, drug-resistant ovarian cancer.

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IIASA researchers and colleagues highlight the value of integrating remote sensing and data sharing for timely agricultural information critical for food security and sustainability planning in a new paper.

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Hearing the sound of a newborn’s wail can trigger the release of oxytocin, a brain chemical that controls breast-milk release in mothers, a new study in rodents shows.

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The world’s first study of the increase in pollution from landscape fires across the globe over the past two decades reveals that over 2 billion people are exposed to at least one day of potentially health-impacting environmental hazard annually – a figure that has increased by 6.8 per cent in the last ten years.

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A 455-million-year-old fossil fish provides a new perspective on how vertebrates evolved to protect their brains, a study has found.

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Half a million years ago, earlier than was previously thought possible, humans were building structures made of wood, according to new research by a team from the University of Liverpool and Aberystwyth University.

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In exploring an aspect of how killer T cells generate the raw materials required for their proliferation, a Ludwig Cancer Research study has uncovered an unexpected link between the immune cells’ metabolism, regulation of gene expression, persistence and functional efficacy that could be exploited using existing drugs to improve cancer immunotherapy.

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A team of leading clinicians, engineers, and neuroscientists has made a groundbreaking discovery in the field of treatment-resistant depression.

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In 1998, scientists reported being able to derive cells from human embryos that could develop into almost any cell in the body. In 2007, the field took a huge leap when scientists discovered they could reprogram human adult skin cells to act like these embryonic stem cells.

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Surprising findings from a study in Nature Medicine suggest that the burden of C. diff infection may be less a matter of hospital transmission and more a result of characteristics associated with the patients themselves.

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Researchers are gaining new insights into neurological diseases by studying circular RNAs (circRNAs) in brain cells.

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There has been a real race among scientists to create a technology that enables easy protein sequencing. Professor of Chemical Biology Giovanni Maglia of the University of Groningen has now found the missing piece in the puzzle: a way to transport a protein through a nanopore, which allows sequencing of proteins in a simple, handheld device.

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Cancer is most treatable in its early stages, so finding innovative and non-invasive methods to diagnose cancer early on is crucial for fighting the disease.

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In living organisms, cells have a very high capacity to process and communicate information by moving molecules or ions through tiny channels that span the cell membrane.

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Zachary Schug, Ph.D., assistant professor at The Wistar Institute, has published a new paper in the journal Nature Cancer demonstrating a double-acting mechanism for fighting a particularly aggressive, difficult-to-treat form of breast cancer.

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Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have discovered that certain nano-based cancer therapies may be less effective in younger patients, highlighting the need for further investigation into the impact of aging on the body’s ability to respond to treatment.

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How microbiota — microbes that live on human surfaces — impact cancer development and therapy has become an expansive area of research.

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An international team of scientists led by microbiologist Alexander Loy from the University of Vienna has discovered a new intestinal microbe that feeds exclusively on taurine and produces the foul-smelling gas hydrogen sulfide.

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The targeted use of ultrasound technology can bring about significant changes in brain function that could pave the way towards treatment of conditions such as depression, addiction, or anxiety, a new study suggests.

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Traditional MRI scans provide qualitative images that necessitate subjective interpretation by medical professionals.

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One in three people exposed to SARS-CoV2 is infected, and as many as two in five with the Omicron variant. In the case of immunity — conferred by vaccination, infection or a combination of the two — this rate drops to one in ten.

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Soft inflatable robots have emerged as a promising paradigm for applications that require inherent safety and adaptability. However, the integration of sensing and control systems in these robots has posed significant challenges without compromising their softness, form factor, or capabilities.

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Bacteria are nearly ubiquitous and have tremendous impacts on human and ecological health. And yet, they remain largely mysterious to us. Princeton MOL faculty Zemer Gitai, Britt Adamson and Ned Wingreen launched a joint effort to develop new tools to help us better understand bacteria.

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Scientists have confirmed that human brains are naturally wired to perform advanced calculations, much like a high-powered computer, to make sense of the world through a process known as Bayesian inference.

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A team of scientists with Oak Ridge National Laboratory has investigated the behavior of hafnium oxide, or hafnia, because of its potential for use in novel semiconductor applications.

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Top modeling experts detail how to improve energy system models so that they properly account for the technical characteristics of energy storage and how storage interacts with the grid.

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Lab-based studies reveal how carbon atoms diffuse on the surface of interstellar ice grains to form complex organic compounds, crucial to reveal the chemical complexity in the universe.

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In the 25 years since the Nobel Prize was awarded for discovering the role that nitric oxide (NO) plays in the cardiovascular system, researchers have been racing to learn more about how this mysterious signaling molecule works to repair blood vessels damaged by a heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular event.

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One of the biggest crises in Earth history was marked by a revolution in the shellfish – brachiopods, sometimes called ‘lamp shells’ were replaced everywhere ecologically by the bivalves, such as oysters and clams. This happened as a result of the devastating end-Permian mass extinction which reset the evolution of life 250 million years ago.

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Protected nature areas are considered fundamental for maintaining biodiversity and countering its loss. But how effectively do established protected areas work and prevent negative trends? Research at the University of Helsinki shows mixed effects of protected areas on various species.

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Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered an intracellular mechanism that converts protective intestinal cells into disease-driving pathogenic cells, a finding that could lead to improved treatments for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).