Curated News: PNAS

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Newswise: Spanish-Language Social Media Increases Latinos’ Vulnerability to Misinformation
Released: 20-Nov-2024 9:10 AM EST
Spanish-Language Social Media Increases Latinos’ Vulnerability to Misinformation
University of California San Diego

Latinos who rely on Spanish-language social media for news were 11-20 percentage points more likely to believe false political narratives, finds study from NYU and UC San Diego.

Newswise: A New Milestone in the Study of Octopus Arms
Released: 12-Nov-2024 5:00 PM EST
A New Milestone in the Study of Octopus Arms
University Of Illinois Grainger College Of Engineering

Newly published research by Grainger Engineers in Mechanical Science and Engineering describes an unprecedented computational model that captures the intricate muscular architecture of an octopus arm.

Newswise: Scientists Determine Why Some Patients Don’t Respond Well to Wet Macular Degeneration Treatment, Show How New Experimental Drug Can Bridge Gap
Released: 6-Nov-2024 9:00 AM EST
Scientists Determine Why Some Patients Don’t Respond Well to Wet Macular Degeneration Treatment, Show How New Experimental Drug Can Bridge Gap
Johns Hopkins Medicine

A new study from researchers at Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins Medicine explains not only why some patients with wet age-related macular degeneration (or “wet” AMD) fail to have vision improvement with treatment, but also how an experimental drug could be used with existing wet AMD treatments to save vision.

Newswise: New Computational Method Links One Mammal’s Striking Longevity and Resistance to Cancer With ‘Dark Genome’
Released: 29-Oct-2024 4:00 PM EDT
New Computational Method Links One Mammal’s Striking Longevity and Resistance to Cancer With ‘Dark Genome’
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center

The Roswell Park team has developed a new method to measure mutation loads across species, revealing the role of the "dark genome" — ancient, virus-like genes that affect cellular function. The findings support further exploration of antiviral drugs as potential tools to target the dark genome in controlling cancer.

Newswise: Discovery of Critical Iron-Transport Protein in Malaria Parasites Could Lead to Faster-Acting Medications
Released: 28-Oct-2024 3:00 PM EDT
Discovery of Critical Iron-Transport Protein in Malaria Parasites Could Lead to Faster-Acting Medications
University of Utah Health

New research from University of Utah Health has identified a promising target for new antimalarial drugs: a protein called DMT1, which allows single-celled malaria parasites to use iron. Preventing DMT1 activity causes parasites to die unusually quickly.

Newswise: Protein Shakeup: Researchers Uncover New Function of a Protein That May Unlock Age-Related Illnesses
Released: 17-Oct-2024 8:35 PM EDT
Protein Shakeup: Researchers Uncover New Function of a Protein That May Unlock Age-Related Illnesses
McMaster University

McMaster University researchers have discovered a previously unknown cell-protecting function of a protein, which could open new avenues for treating age-related diseases and lead to healthier aging overall.

Newswise: Democrats and Republicans Agree on One Thing: Censoring Hate Speech
Released: 17-Oct-2024 11:45 AM EDT
Democrats and Republicans Agree on One Thing: Censoring Hate Speech
University of Notre Dame

In an era of intense polarization, Democrats and Republicans have historically, and mistakenly, believed that members of the other party prioritize protecting certain types or victims of hate speech over others based on stereotypes or their affiliation with those potentially vulnerable groups. New research from the University of Notre Dame, however, revealed that partisans generally agree on what to censor when it comes to the target, source and severity of hate speech.

Newswise: Plenty More Fish in the Sea?
Environmental Protections Account for Around 10 Percent of Fish on Coral Reefs
Released: 10-Oct-2024 9:05 AM EDT
Plenty More Fish in the Sea? Environmental Protections Account for Around 10 Percent of Fish on Coral Reefs
Wildlife Conservation Society

New research from the University of Sydney, WCS, and partners shows that international conservation efforts account for approximately 10 percent of fish on coral reefs.

Released: 8-Oct-2024 12:00 PM EDT
Getting the Body to Function Properly
Universite de Montreal

Researchers led by Jacques Drouin and his team at the IRCM discover an inter-cellular communication mechanism behind the balance of hormones needed to keep a human healthy.

Newswise: Macaques Give Birth More Easily Than Women: No Maternal Mortality at Birth
7-Oct-2024 1:00 AM EDT
Macaques Give Birth More Easily Than Women: No Maternal Mortality at Birth
University of Vienna

An international research team led by the University of Vienna and the Medical University of Vienna has used long-term demographic data from Japanese macaques – a monkey species within the family of Old World monkeys – to show that, unlike humans, there is no maternal mortality in these primates linked to childbirth.

   
Released: 3-Oct-2024 11:30 AM EDT
Wider Use of Convalescent Plasma Might Have Saved Thousands More Lives During Pandemic
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

A new study led by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health estimates that thousands of lives could have been saved during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic if convalescent plasma had been used more broadly, particularly in outpatients at high risk for severe disease and in hospitalized patients during their first few days of admission.

Released: 27-Sep-2024 12:05 PM EDT
McMaster Researchers Discover What Hinders DNA Repair in Patients with Huntington’s Disease
McMaster University

Researchers with McMaster University have made an important Huntington’s Disease discovery. Members of the Truant Lab have found that the protein mutated in patients with Huntington’s Disease doesn't repair DNA as intended, impacting the ability of brain cells to heal themselves.

Newswise: Mouse Study Explores 3D Structure of DNA in Nerve Cells
Released: 26-Sep-2024 3:05 PM EDT
Mouse Study Explores 3D Structure of DNA in Nerve Cells
Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center

New mouse model research led by scientists at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, College of Medicine and Imperial College London explored how nerve cells repair themselves, which could lead to new treatments for nerve injuries.

Newswise: Molecular Simulations, Supercomputing Lead to Energy-Saving Biomaterials Breakthrough
Released: 6-Sep-2024 1:05 PM EDT
Molecular Simulations, Supercomputing Lead to Energy-Saving Biomaterials Breakthrough
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

A team led by scientists at ORNL identified and demonstrated a method to process a plant-based material called nanocellulose that reduced energy needs by a whopping 21%, using simulations on the lab’s supercomputers and follow-on analysis.

Newswise: What microscopic fossilized shells tell us about ancient climate change
Released: 26-Aug-2024 4:05 PM EDT
What microscopic fossilized shells tell us about ancient climate change
University of Utah

By analyzing foram shells recovered in drill cores, a study led by University of Utah geologists links rapid climate change that led to thermal maxima 50 million years ago to rising CO2 levels.

Newswise: Autism Spectrum Disorders Linked to Neurotransmitter Switching in the Brain
Released: 22-Aug-2024 6:05 PM EDT
Autism Spectrum Disorders Linked to Neurotransmitter Switching in the Brain
University of California San Diego

Neurobiologists studying the emergence of autism spectrum disorders have found evidence of altered early development of the nervous system. They linked environmentally induced forms of ASD to changes in neurotransmitters, the chemical messengers that allow neurons to communicate with each other.

Newswise: Macrophage mix helps determine rate and fate of fatty liver disease
Released: 22-Aug-2024 3:05 PM EDT
Macrophage mix helps determine rate and fate of fatty liver disease
Sanford Burnham Prebys

Formerly known as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) is an inflammatory disease characterized by liver scarring or fibrosis that progressively impairs liver function. It is a major risk factor for cirrhosis and liver cancer. And because treatment options are limited, MASH is the second leading cause for liver transplants in the United States after cirrhosis caused by chronic hepatitis C infection. A better understanding of the pathological processes that drive MASH is critical to creating effective treatments. In a new paper published August 19, 2024 in PNAS, a team of scientists from Sanford Burnham Prebys, the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and elsewhere, describe the complex interplay between diseased liver cells and macrophages — a type of white blood cell whose jobs include killing and removing harmful cells and pathogens and helping to spur normal healing.

Newswise: Targeting protein has potential to treat leukemia, lymphoma
Released: 1-Aug-2024 10:05 AM EDT
Targeting protein has potential to treat leukemia, lymphoma
UT Southwestern Medical Center

Targeting a protein called ZFP574 suppressed leukemia in a mouse model of the disease, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers showed in a new study. Their findings, published in PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences), could lead to new treatments for leukemias and lymphomas in cancer patients.

Newswise: Mini lungs make major COVID-19 discoveries possible
Released: 23-Jul-2024 2:05 PM EDT
Mini lungs make major COVID-19 discoveries possible
Sanford Burnham Prebys

Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys, University of California San Diego and their international collaborators have reported that more types of lung cells can be infected by SARS-CoV-2 than previously thought, including those without known viral receptors.

   


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