Curated News: PLOS

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NIBIB-funded scientists used computers to model the formation of tuberculosis granulomas in the lung -- the non-active (latent) form of infection found in 2 billion individuals worldwide (11 million in the U.S.) that can activate to become a life-threatening infection. Employing a computer model aims to speed analysis of TB’s complex life-cycle and to identify potential new antibiotics, antibiotic targets, and biomarkers that can predict transition to active infection.

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An epidemiological study analyzing the association of butter consumption with chronic disease and mortality finds that butter was only weakly associated with total mortality, not associated with heart disease, and slightly inversely associated (protective) with diabetes.

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Vision loss due to glaucoma or optic nerve damage is generally considered irreversible. Now a new prospective, randomized, multi-center clinical trial demonstrates significant vision improvement in partially blind patients after 10 days of noninvasive, transorbital alternating current stimulation (ACS). In addition to activation of their residual vision, patients also experienced improvement in vision-related quality of life such as acuity, reading, mobility or orientation. The results are reported in PLOS ONE.

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Der Verlust der Sehkraft durch Glaukom oder Schädigung des Sehnervs gilt als irreversibel. Jetzt zeigt eine prospektive, randomisierte, multizentrische, klinische Studie signifikante Verbesserungen des Sehvermögens in teilweise erblindeten Patienten nach 10 Tagen Behandlung mit nicht-invasiver, transorbitaler Wechselstromstimulation (alternating current stimulation, ACS). Die Behandlung führte zu der Aktivierung von Restsehleistungen und sehbezogenen Verbesserungen der Lebensqualität wie Sehschärfe, Lesen, Mobilität und Orientierung. Diese aktuellen Ergebnisse wurden in PLOS ONE berichtet.

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Big data has a bright future in personalized medicine, as demonstrated by an international competition centered at Rice University that suggested ways forward for treatment of patients with leukemia.

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Big data has a bright future in personalized medicine, as demonstrated by an international competition centered at Rice University that suggested ways forward for treatment of patients with leukemia.

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David Killilea, PhD, a staff scientist at Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI), co-authored a study into the causes of kidney stones. The study was conducted by the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), in collaboration with the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in Marin County and Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI). Published in the prestigious scientific journal PLOS ONE, the study revealed that high levels of zinc in the body may contribute to kidney stone formation.

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Researchers at Johns Hopkins have found that an old drug once mostly used to treat amebiasis — a disease caused by a parasite — and induce vomiting in cases of poisoning appears to also halt replication of cytomegalovirus (CMV), a herpesvirus that can cause serious disease in immunocompromised individuals, including those with HIV or organ transplant recipients.

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Loyola scientists have solved a mystery that has long baffled HIV researchers: How does HIV manage to enter the nucleus of immune system cells? The discovery, reported in the journal PLOS Pathogens, could lead to effective new drugs to treat HIV/AIDS.

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Vocal cords are able to produce a wide range of sound frequencies because of the larynx’s ability to stretch vocal cords and the cords’ molecular composition.

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Natural selection favors people who help close kin at their own expense: It can increase the odds the family’s genes are passed to future generations. But why assist distant relatives? Mathematical simulations by a University of Utah anthropologist suggest “socially enforced nepotism” encourages helping far-flung kin.

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When new HIV particles bud from an infected cell, the enzyme protease activates to help the viruses infect more cells. Modern AIDS drugs control the disease by inhibiting protease. Now, University of Utah researchers showed that if they delay the budding of new HIV particles, protease itself will destroy the virus instead of helping it spread. That that might lead to new AIDS drugs in a decade.

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A study appearing in the journal PLOS ONE this week shows that bioluminescence -- the production of light from a living organism -- is more widespread among marine fishes than previously understood.

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Scientists from Columbia University’s Center for Radiological Research have shown that a narrow wavelength of ultraviolet light safely killed drug-resistant MRSA bacteria in mice, suggesting its potential to reduce surgical site infections.

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Scientists from Columbia University’s Center for Radiological Research have shown that a narrow wavelength of ultraviolet light safely killed drug-resistant MRSA bacteria in mice, suggesting its potential to reduce surgical site infections.

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A new UW-Madison analysis of a group of bacteria called Streptomyces reveals the way some strains of the microbe developed advanced abilities to tear up cellulose, and points out more efficient ways we might mimic those abilities to make fuel from otherwise unusable plant material.

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A new study led by researchers at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and the Genetic Disease Screening Program of the California Department of Public Health sheds light on some of those genetic mutations and the impact for those who carry them.

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A small survey of residents of a Florida Keys neighborhood where officials hope to release genetically modified mosquitos to potentially reduce the threat of mosquito-borne illnesses such as Zika finds a lack of support for the control method, according to new research from former and current students at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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Dartmouth College scientists have discovered that marine microalgae can completely replace the wild fish oil currently used to feed tilapia, the second most farmed fish in the world and the most widely farmed in the United States.

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A study led by biomedical researchers at Indiana University has found evidence that an enzyme known as NMNAT2 may help protect against the debilitating effects of certain degenerative brain diseases, including Alzheimer's.

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Although researchers have been seeking the origins of preterm birth for many years, the causes are still relatively unknown. By studying the electrical activity that causes contractions, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis and their collaborators have developed a multiscale model they believe may aid in predicting preterm birth.

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Although researchers have been seeking the origins of preterm birth for many years, the causes are still relatively unknown. By studying the electrical activity that causes contractions, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis and their collaborators have developed a multiscale model they believe may aid in predicting preterm birth.

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A weedy plant found on the roadside in northern Australia has stems ripe for biofuel production. Scientists from the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Cell Walls at the University of Adelaide have discovered that a variety of sorghum growing wild in Australia, Arun, has the potential to yield over 10,000 litres of bioethanol per hectare per year.

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Data from cohort studies helps reconstruct African-American heritage from before Civil War.

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Drexel scientists have discovered an unusual mechanism for how two antimalarial drugs kill Plasmodium parasites. Amidst growing concerns about drug resistance, these findings could help to develop more effective drugs against the disease.

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Researchers led by Lixin Wang, assistant professor of earth sciences in the School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, have identified critical information about the environmental variables and agronomic factors that determine the vulnerability of maize and wheat production to drought.

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In a computational analysis of the words used by more than 65,000 consenting Facebook users in some 10 million messages, it was discovered that women use language that is warmer and more agreeable than men.

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Many young adults with abdominal obesity exhibit a readily detectable risk factor for chronic kidney disease (CKD), yet the vast majority don’t know they’re at risk, according to a study of nationwide health data led by Albert Einstein College of Medicine researchers that was published online today in the journal PLOS ONE.

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Pawpawsaurus's hearing wasn't keen, and it lacked the infamous tail club of Ankylosaurus. But first-ever CT scans of Pawpawsaurus's skull indicate the dino's saving grace from predators may have been an acute sense of smell.

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A study published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases presents a cost-effectiveness tool that can help guide decisions regarding resource allocation to fund interventions targeted at curtailing the ongoing Zika virus outbreak. Analyses using the tool suggest that proposed funds to combat Zika in the US and other countries would be cost-effective, based on quantification of the serious health conditions associated with Zika infection.

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A new study suggests that triclosan, an antimicrobial and antifungal agent found in many consumer products ranging from hand soaps to toys and even toothpaste, can rapidly disrupt bacterial communities found in the gut.

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A new study suggests that triclosan, an antimicrobial and antifungal agent found in many consumer products ranging from hand soaps to toys and even toothpaste, can rapidly disrupt bacterial communities found in the gut.

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A University of Washington team has demonstrated that poplar trees growing in rocky, inhospitable terrain harbor bacteria within them that could provide valuable nutrients to help the plant grow.

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Fifty-nine finfish species have ‘disappeared’ from fishermen’s catches in the world’s most species rich and vulnerable marine region, new research has shown.

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Fifty-nine finfish species have ‘disappeared’ from fishermen’s catches in the world’s most species rich and vulnerable marine region, new research has shown.

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The importance of friendships and family support in helping prevent depression among teenagers has been highlighted in research from the University of Cambridge. The study, published in the open access journal PLOS ONE, also found that teenagers who had grown up in a difficult family environment were more likely than their peers to be bullied at school.

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The importance of friendships and family support in helping prevent depression among teenagers has been highlighted in research from the University of Cambridge. The study, published in the open access journal PLOS ONE, also found that teenagers who had grown up in a difficult family environment were more likely than their peers to be bullied at school.

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New study explores the effect baby vocalizations have on adult cognition.

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Unlike panting, dilating blood vessels in beaks to cool off conserves water in arid habitats.

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Unlike panting, dilating blood vessels in beaks to cool off conserves water in arid habitats.

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Spiclypeus shipporum had sideways-protruding horns over the eyes, enriches known fossil diversity of Judith River Formation.

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Spiclypeus shipporum had sideways-protruding horns over the eyes, enriches known fossil diversity of Judith River Formation.

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First density estimate of ocelots in Brazilian Amazon.

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First density estimate of ocelots in Brazilian Amazon.

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Exposure to bright light alters your metabolism, reports a new study. Scientists found bright light exposure increased insulin resistance compared to dim light exposure in both the morning and the evening. In the evening, bright light also caused higher peak glucose (blood sugar) levels. Over time, excess blood glucose can result in increased body fat, weight gain and a higher risk for diabetes.

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Holidays abroad may hold the key to tackling Scotland's vitamin D deficiency, research suggests.

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Holidays abroad may hold the key to tackling Scotland's vitamin D deficiency, research suggests.

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People with depression are significantly less likely to recover well after treatment for colorectal cancer compared to those without depression, according to new research by Macmillan Cancer Support and the University of Southampton.

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With more than 36.9 million people infected globally, HIV continues to be a major public health issue. Those living with the virus are at an increased risk for other non-AIDS diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer, and though it’s not entirely clear why, this has been associated with inflammation and abnormal blood clotting.A new study – the largest of its kind – involving researchers from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), published recently in PLOS ONE, provides direct evidence that altered coagulation caused by the HIV virus, which can be related to inflammation, is not fully halted by HIV treatment and is associated with increased risk of non-AIDS diseases.

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An unprecedented number of juvenile sea stars have been observed off the Oregon coast over the past several months – just two years after one of the most severe marine ecosystem epidemics in recorded history nearly wiped the population out.