Curated News: Scientific Reports

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Massachusetts Eye and Ear researchers have shown that mifepristone, a drug currently FDA-approved for chemical abortion, prevents the growth of vestibular schwannoma (also known as acoustic neuroma) cells. This sometimes-lethal intracranial tumor typically causes hearing loss and tinnitus. The findings, published online today in Scientific Reports, suggest that mifepristone is a promising drug candidate to be repositioned for the treatment of these tumors.

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Differences between signed and spoken languages are significant, yet the underlying neural processes we use to create complex expressions are quite similar for both, a team of researchers has found.

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A team of researchers has developed a wearable, non-invasive system to monitor electrical activity in the stomach over 24 hours—essentially an electrocardiogram but for the gastro-intestinal (GI) tract.

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Based on experimental evidence physicists publish revolutionary new theory on brain learning that contradicts the most common assumption in neuroscience, will transform our understanding of brain function, and open new horizons for advanced deep learning algorithms.

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Trust among surgical teams can be measured using EEG activity, according to new Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center research published in Scientific Reports. The research team used brain activity patterns to objectively assess the level of trust between mentor and trainee during robot-assisted surgery.

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Two former New Mexico State University biology graduate students are currently publishing their dissertation research investigating how the selection of mates may have contributed to the development of sophisticated cognitive abilities in birds.

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Drug therapies that target a specific molecule have changed the way patients are treated for cancer and greatly improved survival rates. However, some patients do not respond to these therapies because the drug is not reaching the tumor cells effectively. In a new study published in Scientific Reports, Moffitt Cancer Center researchers combined single-cell imaging of cancer cells in mice with mathematical modeling to determine which drug characteristics are the most important for efficient drug uptake.

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For the past 40 years, the total number of Adélie Penguins, one of the most common on the Antarctic peninsula, has been steadily declining—or so biologists have thought. A new study however, is providing new insights on this species of penguin.

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Research led by Jared Martin, a psychology graduate student at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, shows that smiles meant to convey dominance are associated with a physical reaction — a spike in stress hormones — in their targets. On the other hand, smiles intended as a reward, to reinforce behavior, appear to physically buffer recipients against stress.

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For years, researchers have attempted to harness the full potential of gene therapy, a technique that inserts genes into a patient’s cells to treat cancer and other diseases. However, inserting engineered DNA molecules into cells is difficult. A team of engineers at Washington University in St. Louis has developed a new method that could make the process easier.

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Yarn weaved from carbon nanotubes monitors brain control of organ functions in rats, paves way for disease diagnosis and treatment at single nerve level.

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In two recent publications, teams of researchers led by Penn State provide new understanding of why synthetic two-dimensional materials often perform orders of magnitude worse than predicted, and how to improve their performance in future electronics, photonics, and memory storage applications.

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About 25 years ago, University of Florida scientist Nan-Yao Su set out to develop a bait to kill termites. He came up with Sentricon™ and found it worked better than any other termite-killing method to date. Now, scientists know more about why the bait works so efficiently and how to improve it to kill termite colonies faster.

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Which is better for bird diversity: Arabica or Robusta beans?

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Engineers at Rutgers University–New Brunswick and Oregon State University are developing a new method of processing nanomaterials that could lead to faster and cheaper manufacturing of flexible thin film devices – from touch screens to window coatings, according to a new study. The “intense pulsed light sintering” method uses high-energy light over an area nearly 7,000 times larger than a laser to fuse nanomaterials in seconds.

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Fatigue in cancer survivors is significantly reduced by placebo pill, even when it is known it is a fake pill.

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Overhead far-UVC light, a type of ultraviolet light that is harmless to humans, effectively killed airborne flu virus, found researchers at Columbia University. The lighting may offer a new weapon against the spread of flu virus in public spaces.

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Researchers have detailed, for the first time, the normal human transcriptome of the blood-nerve barrier. This barrier — a tight covering of endothelial cells — maintains the microenvironment of peripheral nerves. Knowledge of the transcriptome will aid research in peripheral nerve disease.

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Rutgers engineers have invented a “4D printing” method for a smart gel that could lead to the development of “living” structures in human organs and tissues, soft robots and targeted drug delivery.

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A team of scientists led by University of Wisconsin-Madison entomologist Sean Schoville sequenced the Colorado potato beetle's genome, probing its genes for clues to its surprising adaptability to new environments and insecticides. The new information sheds light on how this insect jumps to new plant hosts and handles toxins, and it will help researchers explore more ways to control the beetle.

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A synthetic protein that disrupts the ability of bacteria to perform basic life functions—moving, eating, attaching to hosts—could be a key to fighting infectious disease and preventing bacteria from evolving into drug-resistant pathogens.

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In both cell cultures and mouse models, a drug used to treat Hepatitis C effectively protected and rescued neural cells infected by the Zika virus — and blocked transmission of the virus to mouse fetuses. Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues in Brazil and elsewhere, say their findings support further investigation of using the repurposed drug as a potential treatment for Zika-infected adults, including pregnant women.

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Contrary to long-established dogma, the eye can host an active immune response that could both heal injury and contribute to loss of vision.

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Scientists at the University of Southampton have discovered a way of enhancing the capabilities of an emerging nanotechnology that could open the door to a new generation of electronics.

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Marine plants and seaweeds in shallow coastal ecosystems can play a key role in alleviating the effects of ocean acidification, and their robust population in shoreline environments could help preserve declining shellfish life, according to a study by University of California, Irvine ecologists.

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A new study from WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) and partners reveals for the first time the ways in which wild weather swings and extreme icing events are negatively impacting the largest land mammal of the Earth’s polar realms—the muskoxen. The paper demonstrates that while this denizen of the Arctic and other cold-adapted species have spectacular adaptations, the previously unknown effects of rain-on-snow events, winter precipitation, and ice tidal surges are costly for the animals, if not deadly.

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New research reports that hyperreactive brain networks could play a part in the hypersensitivity of fibromyalgia.

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In the January 12, 2017 Scientific Reports, a research team describes early tests of a minimally-invasive way to assess myelin damage—the hallmark of multiple sclerosis—using positron emission tomography (PET). This approach could be used to follow MS lesions over time.

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Scientists at the Keck School of Medicine of USC use enzymes responsible for marine animal bioluminescence to help researchers test whether cancer immunotherapies work.

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Duke Health researchers found baseball players with higher scores on vision and motor tasks completed on large touch-screen machines called Nike Sensory Stations had better on-base percentages, more walks and fewer strikeouts -- collectively referred to as plate discipline -- compared to their peers.

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Neurons are the basic computational building blocks that compose our brain. According to the neuronal computational scheme used for over a century, each neuron functions as a centralized excitable element. Using new types of experiments on neuronal cultures, scientists have demonstrated that this assumption regarding brain activity is mistaken. Their results call for a re-examination of neuronal functionalities beyond the traditional framework and, in particular, for an examination into the origin of degenerative diseases.

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A global-scale analysis of human birth rate cycles co-led by Indiana University reveals that online interest in sex rises at Christmas and certain other holidays, with more babies born nine months later.

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Sunil Agrawal, professor of mechanical engineering and of rehabilitation and regenerative medicine at Columbia Engineering, working with Movement Disorders faculty from the department of neurology at Columbia University Medical Center, find that a single session of perturbation-based training, using their Tethered Pelvic Assist Device, increased stability of patients during walking while exposed to unexpected perturbations. (Scientific Reports)

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Canola oil is one of the most widely consumed vegetable oils in the world, yet surprisingly little is known about its effects on health.

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Researchers have demonstrated for the first time that extracellular vesicles – tiny protein-filled structures – isolated from amniotic fluid stem cells (AFSCs) can be used to effectively slow the progression of kidney damage in mice with a type of chronic kidney disease.

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Shining light on a growing semiconductor modifies its interface with the surface and could improve the optical properties of each.

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A pilot study collected physiological information from six healthy young male volunteers as they went about their normal daily lives. Thousands of indicators were measured with wearable devices and smart phone apps. The study showed the feasibility to detect the chronobiome of an individual -- a collection of physiological traits in a 24-hour rhythmic pattern -- despite the ‘noise’ of everyday life.

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Lactic acid bacteria, commonly used as probiotics to improve digestive health, can offer protection against different subtypes of influenza A virus, resulting in reduced weight loss after virus infection and lower amounts of virus replication in the lungs, according to a study led by Georgia State University.

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A blood test using infrared spectroscopy can be used to diagnose two types of cancer, lymphoma and melanoma, according to a study led by Georgia State University.

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An alternative animal model that mimics key features of the Zika virus infection, including its lingering presence in bodily fluids, has been developed at Texas Biomedical Research Institute in San Antonio.

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Saint Louis University researchers report that a new drug reduces fibrosis (scarring) and prevents loss of muscle function in an animal model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

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An online database built by Iowa State University scientists provides a new tool with which researchers can study human biology. The database is freely accessible to anyone on the web, where it allows scientists to study the functions and structure of RNA with greater speed and ease than in the past.

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Weizmann Institute and colleagues at the University of Copenhagen identify new dates for a 15,000-year-old site in Jordan, challenging some prevailing assumptions about the beginnings of permanent settlements

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A team of researchers from Environment Canada and Climate Change Canada and McMaster University have found that fish living downstream from a wastewater treatment plant showed changes to their normal behaviour—ones that made them vulnerable to predators—when exposed to elevated levels of antidepressant drugs in the water.

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New supercomputer simulations have revealed the role of transport proteins called efflux pumps in creating drug-resistance in bacteria, research that could lead to improving the drugs’ effectiveness against life-threatening diseases and restoring the efficacy of defunct antibiotics.

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Scientists at the Universities of Birmingham and Amsterdam hope to have found a new neurobiological marker to help recognise patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

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A Tulane University researcher has found that a decline in the number of wood thrushes is probably due to deforestation in Central America.

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The latest work from Raymond "Bob" Rowland, Kansas State University professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology, is helping to eradicate the devastating PRRS virus.

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The study utilized data from 74 mother-infant pairs in the McMaster pilot cohort called Baby & Mi. Participants came from low-risk populations in Hamilton and Burlington, Ontario. The gut bacteria development of the infants was tested at four points over the first 12 weeks of life, including at three days, 10 days, six weeks and 12 weeks.

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Scientists at UdeM's Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine design better molecules that make it harder for plasmids to move between bacteria.