Curated News: PNAS

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Released: 12-Apr-2021 9:05 AM EDT
FSU engineering researchers visualize the motion of vortices in superfluid turbulence
Florida State University

In a new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Florida State University researchers managed to visualize the vortex tubes in a quantum fluid, findings that could help researchers better understand turbulence in quantum fluids and beyond.

Released: 8-Apr-2021 8:05 AM EDT
Moffitt Investigators Identify Sting Gene Methylation That Allows Melanoma to Evade the Immune System
Moffitt Cancer Center

A dysfunctional immune system significantly contributes to the development of cancer. Several therapeutic strategies to activate the immune system to target cancer cells have been approved to treat different types of cancer, including melanoma.

Released: 5-Apr-2021 4:00 PM EDT
Researchers Identify Genes Behind Uterine Leiomyosarcoma Which May Be Treated Using Precision Medicine
Yale Cancer Center/Smilow Cancer Hospital

In a new study, Yale Cancer Center researchers have defined the genetic landscape of uterine leiomyosarcomas (uLMS).

5-Apr-2021 3:00 PM EDT
To intervene or not to intervene? That is the future climate question
Michigan State University

Nine of the hottest years in human history have occurred in the past decade. Without a major shift in this climate trajectory, the future of life on Earth is in question, which poses a new question: Should humans, whose fossil fueled society is driving climate change, use technology to put the brakes on global warming? Michigan State University community ecologist Phoebe Zarnetske is co-lead of the Climate Intervention Biology Working Group, a team of internationally recognized experts in climate science and ecology that is bringing science to bear on the question and consequences of geoengineering a cooler Earth.

31-Mar-2021 2:05 PM EDT
How Would Geoengineering Impact Nature?
Stony Brook University

Should humans use technology to put the brakes on global warming? Stratospheric aerosol intervention (SAI) is a climate intervention that has been studied as a way to help cool the Earth. But what would be the consequences to natural systems of SAI? This question is being examined by a large scientific research team.

Released: 2-Apr-2021 10:40 AM EDT
Understanding itch: New insights at the intersection of the nervous system & immune system
Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Eczema, or atopic dermatitis (AD), is sometimes called "the itch that rashes." Often, the itch begins before the rash appears, and, in many cases, the itchiness of the skin condition never really goes away.

25-Mar-2021 3:10 PM EDT
New nondestructive optical technique reveals the structure of mother-of-pearl
University of Wisconsin–Madison

A new, nondestructive optical technique will unlock more knowledge about nacre, and in the process could lead to a new understanding of climate history.

Released: 23-Mar-2021 4:05 PM EDT
Penguin hemoglobin evolved to meet oxygen demands of diving
University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Experiments on ancient proteins reveal evolution of better oxygen capture, release

Released: 23-Mar-2021 10:00 AM EDT
Making molecular movies of a biological process of energy conversion
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

An international team of scientists have observed a sunlight-fueled atomic “pump” working in the cells of a marine bacterium. The imaging was done with an advanced technique called time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallography.

Released: 22-Mar-2021 5:05 PM EDT
Explosive Origins of 'Secondary' Ice—and Snow
Brookhaven National Laboratory

Where does snow come from? This may seem like a simple question to ponder as half the planet emerges from a season of watching whimsical flakes fall from the sky--and shoveling them from driveways. But a new study on how water becomes ice in slightly supercooled Arctic clouds may make you rethink the simplicity of the fluffy stuff. It describes definitive, real-world evidence for "freezing fragmentation" of drizzle as a major source of ice in slightly supercooled clouds. The findings have important implications for forecasting weather and climate.

Released: 22-Mar-2021 3:35 PM EDT
The bacteria that look after us and their protective weapons
University of Seville

Patricia Bernal, a Ramón y Cajal researcher at the Department of Microbiology of the University of Seville's Faculty of Biology, is working with the bacterium Pseudomonas putida, a biological control agent found in the soil and in plant roots and which, as such, has the ability to protect plants from pathogen attacks (organisms that cause diseases) also known as phytopathogens.

Released: 17-Mar-2021 9:55 AM EDT
Magnetism Meets Topology on a Superconductor's Surface
Brookhaven National Laboratory

Scientists have found an energy band gap—an energy range where no electrons are allowed—opens at a point where two allowed energy bands intersect on the surface of an iron-based superconductor. This unusual electronic energy structure could be used for quantum information science and electronics.

Released: 16-Mar-2021 8:25 AM EDT
A new way to measure human wellbeing towards sustainability
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a blueprint to achieve a better life for all and to ensure that no one is left behind. The partly overlapping and contradictory objectives of the SDGs can however make it difficult to assess overall progress. A group of researchers have proposed a new, tailor-made metric that measures development based on long-term human wellbeing.

   
11-Mar-2021 8:05 AM EST
Scientists stunned to discover fossil plants beneath mile-deep Greenland ice—indicating risk of rapid sea-level rise
University of Vermont

Scientists found frozen plant fossils, preserved under a mile of ice on Greenland. The discovery helps confirm a new and troubling understanding that the Greenland Ice Sheet has melted entirely during recent warm periods in Earth’s history—like the one we are now creating with human-caused climate change.

Released: 11-Mar-2021 4:30 PM EST
Preterm birth, prolonged labor influenced by progesterone balance
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)

New research by the National Institutes of Health found that unbalanced progesterone signals may cause some pregnant women to experience preterm labor or prolonged labor. The study in mice — published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences — provides novel insights for developing treatments.

Released: 11-Mar-2021 12:30 PM EST
URI, Rensselaer collaborate on fast, accurate test with potential of verifying purity of pharmaceutical heparin
University of Rhode Island

Researchers from the University of Rhode Island and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have teamed up to perfect a fast, accurate test combining the use of a solid-state nanopore and machine learning to verify the identity and purity of synthetic heparan sulfate

   
Released: 10-Mar-2021 12:05 PM EST
Study of mosquito protein could lead to treatments against life-threatening viruses
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)

The mosquito protein AEG12 strongly inhibits the family of viruses that cause yellow fever, dengue, West Nile, and Zika and weakly inhibits coronaviruses, according to scientists at the National Institutes of Health and their collaborators. They found that AEG12 works by destabilizing the viral envelope, breaking its protective covering.

   
Released: 9-Mar-2021 4:40 PM EST
Capitalizing on measles vaccine’s successful history to protect against SARS-CoV-2
Ohio State University

A new SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate, developed by giving a key protein’s gene a ride into the body while encased in a measles vaccine, has been shown to produce a strong immune response and prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection and lung disease in multiple animal studies.

Released: 5-Mar-2021 4:10 PM EST
Decreases in Exercise Closely Linked with Higher Rates of Depression during the Pandemic
University of California San Diego

Exercise has long-been recommended as a cognitive-behavioral therapy for patients of depression, yet new evidence from the University of California of San Diego suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic changed the nature of the relationship between physical activity and mental health.

Released: 4-Mar-2021 12:05 PM EST
Animal aggression depends on rank within social hierarchies
Santa Fe Institute

New research shows that the more animals know about each other, the more they may be able to optimize their aggression.

Released: 3-Mar-2021 8:25 AM EST
A COSMIC Approach to Nanoscale Science
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

COSMIC, a multipurpose X-ray instrument at Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source, has made headway in the scientific community since its launch less than 2 years ago, with groundbreaking contributions in fields ranging from batteries to biominerals.

24-Feb-2021 5:05 PM EST
Scientists Use Lipid Nanoparticles to Precisely Target Gene Editing to the Liver
Tufts University

Scientists developed a highly efficient, targeted method for delivering gene editing machinery to specific tissues and organs, demonstrating the treatment of high cholesterol by targeting genes in the liver of mice, reducing cholesterol for over 3 months (and potentially more) with one treatment

   
Released: 1-Mar-2021 2:00 PM EST
Swapping Alpha Cells For Beta Cells to Treat Diabetes
UT Southwestern Medical Center

Blocking cell receptors for glucagon, the counter-hormone to insulin, cured mouse models of diabetes by converting glucagon-producing cells into insulin producers instead, a team led by UT Southwestern reports in a new study. The findings, published online in PNAS, could offer a new way to treat both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes in people.

22-Feb-2021 7:00 AM EST
Scientists Reveal Details of Antibodies that Work Against Zika Virus
Biophysical Society

ROCKVILLE, MD – The Zika outbreak of 2015 and 2016 is having lasting impacts on children whose mothers became infected with the virus while they were pregnant.

   
Released: 22-Feb-2021 8:05 PM EST
Don’t focus on genetic diversity to save our species
University of Adelaide

Scientists at the University of Adelaide have challenged the common assumption that genetic diversity of a species is a key indicator of extinction risk.

Released: 22-Feb-2021 3:05 PM EST
Scientists shed light on 140-year-old challenge in chemistry and physics
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

In recent research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers Babak Sadigh, Luis Zepeda-Ruiz and Jon Belof report on a new mechanism of solidification in copper that provides an atomistic view of Ostwald’s step rule and alters the fundamental understanding of nucleation at high pressure. They found that not only does the crystallization process proceed via a non-equilibrium phase, but that this phase can be kinetically stabilized by the temperature.

Released: 22-Feb-2021 3:00 PM EST
Three Longtime Antibiotics Could Offer Alternative to Addictive Opioid Pain Relievers
UT Southwestern Medical Center

DALLAS – Feb. 22, 2021 – Three decades-old antibiotics administered together can block a type of pain triggered by nerve damage in an animal model, UT Southwestern researchers report. The finding, published online today in PNAS, could offer an alternative to opioid-based painkillers, addictive prescription medications that are responsible for an epidemic of abuse in the U.S.

17-Feb-2021 4:25 PM EST
Experimental Treatment Appears to Subdue Type 1 Diabetes in Laboratory Mice
University of Utah Health

An experimental treatment can essentially reverse type 1 diabetes in certain types of laboratory mice, according to a series of studies led by University of Utah Health scientists. An injection of the therapeutic agent converts cells that normally control glucose production into ones that generate insulin.

18-Feb-2021 10:25 AM EST
Scientists launch a pre-emptive strike on deadly post-transplant infection
University of Cambridge

Around 80% of the UK population is currently infected with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and in developing countries this can be as high as 95%.

Released: 22-Feb-2021 1:00 PM EST
Rapid evolution may help species adapt to climate change and competition
Washington State University

Loss of biodiversity in the face of climate change is a growing worldwide concern. Another major factor driving the loss of biodiversity is the establishment of invasive species, which often displace native species.

Released: 19-Feb-2021 1:20 PM EST
Origin of life -- Did Darwinian evolution begin before life itself?
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (Munich)

Before life emerged on Earth, many physicochemical processes on our planet were highly chaotic.

Released: 18-Feb-2021 4:05 PM EST
New method converts methane in natural gas to methanol at room temperature
University of Illinois Chicago

Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago have discovered a way to convert the methane in natural gas into liquid methanol at room temperature.

Released: 16-Feb-2021 1:05 PM EST
Biologists devise new way to assess carbon in the ocean
University of Southern California (USC)

A new USC study puts ocean microbes in a new light with important implications for global warming.

Released: 12-Feb-2021 11:55 AM EST
Limited transmission of Covid-19 from open schools but teachers were affected
Uppsala University

Most countries introduced school closures during the spring of 2020 despite substantial uncertainty regarding the effectiveness in containing SARS-CoV-2.

Released: 11-Feb-2021 12:05 PM EST
At least 50% of COVID-19 infections come from people who aren’t showing symptoms
University of Chicago Medical Center

A new study out of the University of Chicago has found that during the initial wave of the COVID-19 outbreak in New York City, only 1 in 5 to 1 in 7 cases of the virus was symptomatic. The research team found that non-symptomatic cases substantially contribute to community transmission, making up at least 50% of the driving force of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Released: 11-Feb-2021 9:50 AM EST
Emissions of banned ozone-depleting substance back on decline
Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology

After a mysterious and sharp increase between 2012 and 2017 that could be traced to eastern China global emissions of a potent (and banned) substance notorious for depleting the Earth’s ozone layer – the protective barrier that absorbs the Sun’s harmful UV rays – have fallen rapidly in recent years and are now as low as never before since measurements began in this region in 2008, according to new atmospheric analyses published in "Nature" today.

Released: 9-Feb-2021 2:20 PM EST
Commodity farming accelerating climate change in the Amazon rainforest
University of Helsinki

Researchers report that large-scale commercial farms on deforested land in the southern Amazon result in higher temperature increases and less rainfall than small-scale farms.

Released: 9-Feb-2021 12:55 PM EST
21 per cent of all citations go to the elite
Aarhus University

In the span of only 15 years, a small academic elite has increased its share of academic citations significantly. In the year 2000, 14 per cent of all citations went to the top one percent of the most cited researchers.

Released: 8-Feb-2021 3:40 PM EST
Biologists uncover forests’ unexpected role in climate change
West Virginia University - Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

New research from West Virginia University biologists shows that trees around the world are consuming more carbon dioxide than previously reported, making forests even more important in regulating the Earth’s atmosphere and forever shift how we think about climate change.

4-Feb-2021 10:35 AM EST
Quality education essential to closing the growing global skills gap
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)

IIASA researchers present the first demographically consistent indicator for adult literacy skills – the Skills in Literacy Adjusted Mean Years of Schooling (SLAMYS).

Released: 4-Feb-2021 3:25 PM EST
Synthesized Very-Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Improved Retinal Function in Mice
University of Utah Health

A University of Utah Health ophthalmologist is investigating how lipids known as VLC-PUFAs could be used to prevent eye disease thanks to a new way to synthesize them for research.

Released: 4-Feb-2021 11:55 AM EST
Unusual 2019-2020 flu season linked to more transmissible strain
University of Georgia

The 2019-2020 flu season in the U.S. was unusual in a number of ways. Cases picked up in August rather than the more typical fall and early winter months, and it hit children particularly hard.

Released: 3-Feb-2021 2:10 PM EST
Seasons of Our Hormones
Weizmann Institute of Science

Weizmann Institute scientists analyzed around six million blood tests to obtain data on several types of hormones, discovering that some peak in winter/spring and others in summer. Peaks in stress or reproductive hormones may have “evolved to help us cope with seasonal changes in our surrounding environment.”

Released: 1-Feb-2021 3:50 PM EST
Lactobacillus Manipulates Bile Acids to Create Favorable Gut Environment
North Carolina State University

Probiotic Lactobacillus bacteria use enzymes situationally to manipulate bile acids and promote their own survival in the gut.

   
Released: 1-Feb-2021 3:00 PM EST
Marine Organisms Use Previously Undiscovered Receptors to Detect, Respond to Light
University of Washington

Single-celled organisms in the open ocean use a diverse array of genetic tools to detect light, even in tiny amounts, and respond. The discovery of these new genetic "light switches" could also aid in the field of optogenetics, in which a cell's function can be controlled with exposure to light.

29-Jan-2021 9:45 AM EST
CHOP Researchers Demonstrate How Defects in Mitochondria May Lead to Autism Spectrum Disorder
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Researchers have demonstrated that autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be caused by defects in the mitochondria of brain cells.

27-Jan-2021 3:05 PM EST
New clues emerge in how early tetrapods learned to live — and eat — on land
University of Chicago Medical Center

New research out of the University of Chicago has found evidence that the lobe-finned fish species Tiktaalik roseae was capable of both biting and suction during feeding, similar to modern-day gars. These results provide evidence that bite-based feeding originally evolved in aquatic species and was later adapted for use on land.

28-Jan-2021 8:20 AM EST
Mysterious Magnetic Fossils Offer Past Climate Clues
University of Utah

There are fossils, found in ancient marine sediments and made up of no more than a few magnetic nanoparticles, that can tell us a whole lot about the climate of the past, especially episodes of abrupt global warming. Now, researchers have found a way to glean the valuable information in those fossils without having to crush the scarce samples into a fine powder.

Released: 1-Feb-2021 12:30 PM EST
Latch, load and release: Advanced Photon Source helps reveal elastic motion that makes click beetles click
Argonne National Laboratory

A new study examines the forces behind the quick energy release beetles use for propulsion and provides guidelines for studying extreme motion and energy storage and release in animals.



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