Comment

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 15, 2022 at 6:20am

Spider silk could stabilize cancer-suppressing protein

You know the relationship between crab and the cancer. But do you know how spider and cancer are related now?

The p53 protein protects our cells from cancer and is an interesting target for cancer treatments. The problem is, however, that it breaks down rapidly in the cell. Researchers  have now found an unusual way of stabilizing the protein and making it more potent. By adding a spider silk protein to p53, they show that it is possible to create a protein that is more stable and capable of killing cancer cells. The study is published in the journal Structure.

p53 plays a key role in the body's defense against cancer, in part by discovering and preventing genetic mutations that can lead to cancer. If a cell is lacking functional p53, it quickly becomes a cancer cell that starts to divide uncontrollably. Researchers around the world are therefore trying to develop cancer treatments that in some way target p53.

The problem is that cells only make small amounts of p53 and then quickly break it down as it is a very large and disordered protein. 

Researchers have been inspired by how nature creates stable proteins and have used spider silk protein to stabilize p53. Spider silk consists of long chains of highly stable proteins, and is one of nature's strongest polymers.

The researchers attached a small section of a synthetic spider silk protein onto the human p53 protein. When they then introduced it into cells, they found that the cells started to produce it in large quantities. The new protein also proved to be more stable than ordinary p53 and capable of killing cancer cells. Using electron microscopy, computer simulations, and mass spectrometry, they were able to show that the likely reason for this was the way the spider silk part managed to give structure to p53's disordered sections.

The researchers now plan to study the protein's structure in detail and how its different parts interact to prevent cancer. They also hope to find out how the cells are affected by the new potent p53 protein and how well they tolerate its spider-silk component. Creating a more stable variant of p53 in cells is a promising approach to cancer therapy, and now we have a tool for this that's worth exploring.

 Michael Landreh, A 'spindle and thread'-mechanism unblocks p53 translation by modulating N-terminal disorder, Structure (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2022.02.013. www.cell.com/structure/fulltex … 0969-2126(22)00049-1

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-spider-silk-stabilize-cancer-suppress...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 14, 2022 at 8:56am

Physicists show how frequencies can easily be multiplied without special circuitry

Digital technologies and devices are  responsible for about ten percent of global electricity consumption, and the trend is rising sharply. It is therefore necessary to develop more efficient components for information processing.

A new discovery by physicists could make certain components in computers and smartphones obsolete. The team has succeeded in directly converting frequencies to higher ranges in a common magnetic material without the need for additional components. Frequency multiplication is a fundamental process in modern electronics. The team reports on its research in the latest issue of Science.

Non-linear electronic circuits are typically used to generate the high-frequency gigahertz signals needed to operate today's devices. The research team has now found a way to do this within a magnetic material without the electronic components that are usually used for this. Instead, the magnetization is excited by a low-frequency megahertz source. Using the newly discovered effect, the source generates several frequency components, each of which is a multiple of the excitation frequency. These cover a range of six octaves and reach up to several gigahertz. 

The discovery could also help make digital technologies more energy efficient in the future. 

Chris Koerner, Rouven Dreyer, Martin Wagener, Niklas Liebing, Hans G. Bauer, Georg Woltersdorf. Frequency multiplication by collective nanoscale spin-wave dynamics. Science, 2022; 375 (6585): 1165 DOI: 10.1126/science.abm6044

https://researchnews.cc/news/12096/Physicists-show-how-frequencies-...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 13, 2022 at 2:39pm

Baby Receives Heart Transplant With a Life-Changing Twist to Counter Organ Rejection

A baby in North Carolina has received a first-of-its-kind heart transplant that may prevent his body from rejecting the organ without the need for lifelong drugs to suppress the immune system. The child, Easton Sinnamon, is the first person to receive a heart transplant along with implantation of thymus tissue from the same donor, according to a statement from Duke University, where the procedure was performed. Because the thymus plays an important role in immune system function – in particular, teaching the body to recognize its own cells and tissues versus foreign invaders – it's possible that this combination transplant could allow the child's body to accept the new heart as part of itself instead of treating it as a foreign organ.

Much more research is needed to see if this combination transplant allows Easton to live without immunosuppressive drugs – which are typically necessary in transplant patients to stop the body from rejecting the organ — as well as whether it could work for other transplant recipients.

If the approach proves successful, it could potentially "be applied to all solid organs down the road

Novel Procedure Could Change Future of Transplant

Tests taken 172 days after the transplant show that the thymus tissue is working to produce immune cells known as T-cells in Easton's body, according to Duke University.

Although Easton is currently taking immunosuppressive drugs to prevent organ rejection, his doctors will attempt to taper him off the drugs in the next few months to see if his body treats the new organ as "self."

https://www.livescience.com/infant-heart-thymus-transplant

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 13, 2022 at 12:49pm

Bioengineers  tackle ovarian and colorectal cancer with disease-fighting implants

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 12, 2022 at 11:59am

Study: Cancer drugs might be able to target tuberculosis

An unexpected link between tuberculosis and cancer may lead to new drug treatments for the bacterial disease that kills more than 1.5 million people each year, according to a study led by researchers .

The study found that lesions called granulomas in the lungs of people with active tuberculosis infections are packed with proteins known to tamp down the body's immune response to cancer cells or infection. Some types of cancer drugs target these immunosuppressive proteins. Because these medications are widely used in cancer patients, the researchers expect that clinical trials can be launched quickly to test whether they can combat tuberculosis infection.

The study suggests that unless you address the presence of these immunosuppressive proteins, you're not going to get an effective recruitment of the immune system to fight the bacteria.

Erin F. McCaffrey et al, The immunoregulatory landscape of human tuberculosis granulomas, Nature Immunology (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41590-021-01121-x

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-03-cancer-drugs-tuberculosis.ht...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 11, 2022 at 11:48am

Scientists discover part of the origins of metastasis

Metastatic cells occur in many forms of cancer. They originate in primary tumors and then break away and migrate. They travel through the tissues surrounding them, through blood vessels or lymphatic channels. Along the way, they may attach to one or more organs—such as the lungs, brain, bones or liver—and form new tumors also called metastases. This spread reduces patients' chances of recovery.

Scientists at the University of Geneva have discovered some of the mechanisms by which these cells arise. This is due to cells that have narrowly escaped cell death (apoptosis) following a chemotherapeutic treatment. Those cells reprogram themselves to acquire metastatic skills. Thanks to this study, these cells—called PAME by the researchers—now appear as new therapeutic targets. These results can be read in the journal Cell Reports.

Thanks to recent research, the scientists have discovered that the experience of imminent death within the primary tumor pushes certain cells to acquire pro-metastatic states. This near-death experience occurs in particular in the context of certain treatments aimed at depriving cancer cells of energy or oxygen. The team observed that these cells, which should have died, reprogram themselves and then present a high metastatic risk. These cells are called PAME for "post-apoptotic pro-metastatic cells."

To reach these conclusions, the UNIGE team used tumor samples taken from two colon cancer patients. Tumor cells from these samples were then transplanted into mice, where they grew and formed new tumors. These cells were subjected to an imminent death experience causing endoplasmic reticulum stress similar to that caused by certain chemotherapeutic drugs. This allowed the development of PAME cells.

The scientists also discovered that PAMEs trigger a storm of cytokines—proteins and other factors that ensure cell-to-cell communication—inducing adjacent cells to become PAME-induced migratory cells (PIMS). These PIMs then associate with PAMEs and help them migrate to form metastases.

The present results open up promising new prospects for therapeutic management, including the prevention of the development of pro-metastatic fields generated by certain treatments.

Arwen Conod, Marianna Silvano, Ariel Ruiz i Altaba. On the origin of metastases: Induction of pro-metastatic states after impending cell death via ER stress, reprogramming, and a cytokine storm. Cell Reports, 2022; 38 (10): 110490 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.110490

https://researchnews.cc/news/12034/Scientists-discover-part-of-the-...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 11, 2022 at 11:42am

Kids have low levels of COVID antibodies

Children are half as likely as adults to produce antibodies following COVID-19, according to a small study in Australia. There is growing evidence that kids mount a stronger and faster response to a SARS-CoV-2 infection. This might mean that they fend off the virus so quickly that it doesn’t have time to trigger antibody production. Because antibodies are probably important guards against reinfection, the findings raise questions about how well protected children might be against future infections.

--

Radiocarbon dating says: it’s a fake

Radiocarbon dating has unmasked two forged paintings in France. The paintings were supposedly impressionist and pointillist works from around the early twentieth century. Heritage scientists clipped tiny threads from canvases and plucked what appeared to be a paintbrush bristle trapped in the paint — all were dated to within the past 70 years. Radiocarbon dating is gaining steam in the forensic analysis of artwork, thanks to advances that require smaller samples than ever before — “just a few crumbs of dust, basically”, says chemist Laura Hendriks.

--

“By the end of university introductory physics classes, women who r...

Women feel less recognized by their teachers as being ‘physics people’ compared with men, reveals research by physicist Chandralekha Singh and her collaborators. Physicists can help by offering better support, she says.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 11, 2022 at 11:38am

Universal mechanism of methane formation discovered

The formation of the greenhouse gas methane is based on a universal mechanism. An interdisciplinary research team  found out that methane arises in the cells of organisms by a purely chemical process. The studies provide, inter alia, an explanation for why methane is released not only through the activity of special microorganisms but—as observed for quite some time now—also by plants and mushrooms. The current findings are an important step towards understanding aerobic methane formation in the environment.

It was long assumed that methane is only formed through so-called ancient bacteria or archaea when they decompose organic substances in the absence of oxygen. When scientific observations showed that plants, mushrooms, algae and cyanobacteria also form methane in the presence of oxygen, this was initially attributed to enzymatic activities.

Up until now, however, no enzyme responsible for doing that has been found in any of these organisms. Now the scientists have succeeded in showing that methane can also be formed without such a catalyst—with the aid of a purely chemical mechanism.

This mechanism is driven by reactive oxygen species (ROS) that arise through the metabolic activity of cells. In interplay with the essential element iron, such oxygen compounds, in all organisms, are involved in a chemical reaction which, through various steps, leads to the formation of highly reactive metabolites. These substances promote the splitting-off of a methyl radical of sulfur and nitrogen compounds. Methane is formed through the subsequent reaction with hydrogen atoms. With the aid of the bacteria Bacillus subtilis, the researchers were able to show that the extent of methane formation directly relates to metabolic activity: The more active the cell, the more methane is formed.

Leonard Ernst et al, Methane formation driven by reactive oxygen species across all living organisms, Nature (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04511-9

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-universal-mechanism-methane-formation...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 11, 2022 at 11:32am

Living in more polluted areas increases risk for poor mental wellbeing

People  who live in more polluted areas, such as near busy roads, are at a higher risk of poor mental wellbeing, new research has found.

The study examined four types of air pollutants—nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and two types of particulate matter, those with diameters of less than 10 and 2.5µm (micrometers)—and linked these to individual-level health data.

It found a connection between air pollution and people reporting low mental wellbeing affects such as feeling unhappy, being under stress and not being able to concentrate.

It also found a potential link between increasing concentration of sulfur dioxide and particulate matter and elevated scores of poor mental wellbeing for people from a Pakistani/Bangladeshi origin in comparison with British-White people, and for non-UK born individuals in comparison with those born in the UK.

Nitrogen dioxide is mainly produced from traffic exhaust around busy roads, while sulfur dioxide is mainly an industrial type of pollutant. Nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide are gaseous types of pollutants. Particulate matter is related to both traffic exhaust and industrial processes and it is made up of microscopic solid or liquid matter suspended in the atmosphere.

Mary Abed Al Ahad et al, Air pollution and individuals' mental well-being in the adult population in United Kingdom: A spatial-temporal longitudinal study and the moderating effect of ethnicity, PLOS ONE (2022). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264394

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-polluted-areas-poor-mental-wellbeing....

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 11, 2022 at 11:18am

The researchers used global maps of the current growing areas of 25 major crops, including wheat, barley and soybean, which together account for over three quarters of croplands worldwide. They developed a mathematical model to look at all possible ways to distribute this cropland across the globe, while maintaining overall production levels for each crop. This allowed them to identify the option with the lowest environmental impact.

Relocating croplands could drastically reduce the environmental impacts of global food production, Nature Communications Earth & Environment, DOI: 10.1038/s43247-022-00360-6

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-relocating-farmland-clock-twenty-year...

Part 2

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• …
• 274
• 275
• 276
• 277
• 278
• …
• 843
• Next ›
• Page