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Category: biotech/medical – Page 15

Innovative materials boost stretchable digital displays’ performance

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) power the high-end screens of our digital world, from TVs and phones to laptops and game consoles.

If those displays could stretch to cover any 3D or irregular surfaces, the doors would be open for technologies like wearable electronics, medical implants and humanoid robots that integrate better with or mimic the soft human body.

“Displays are the intuitive application, but a stretchable OLED can also be used as the light source for monitoring, detection and diagnosis devices for diabetes, cancers, heart conditions and other major health problems,” said Wei Liu, a former postdoctoral researcher in the lab of University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME) Assoc. Prof. Sihong Wang.

Schizophrenia-spectrum disorders may originate in specific brain regions that show early structural damage

Researchers at the University of Seville have identified the possible origins of structural damage in the brains of patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs). These are regions that show the greatest morphological alterations in the early stages of the disease compared to neurotypical people of the same sex and age. The study also found that people with SSD have significant reductions in structural similarity between different regions of the temporal, cingulate and insular lobes.

The research is published in the journal Nature Communications.

Possible therapeutic approach to treat diabetic nerve damage discovered

Nerve damage is one of the most common and burdensome complications of diabetes. Millions of patients worldwide suffer from pain, numbness, and restricted movement, largely because damaged nerve fibers do not regenerate sufficiently. The reasons for this are unclear.

A research team led by Professor Dr. Dietmar Fischer, Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Cologne’s Faculty of Medicine, and Director of the Center for Pharmacology at University Hospital Cologne, has now identified a central mechanism that explains limited regeneration in diabetes.

Building on this, the researchers have developed a promising therapeutic approach that can be used to increase regeneration. Their findings were published in the Science Translational Medicine journal under the title “Failure of nerve regeneration in mouse models of diabetes is caused by p35-mediated CDK5 hyperactivity.”

Meteorite crater hosts methane-making microbes—a clue to life on Mars?

Scientists have discovered living microbes producing methane in the fractured rocks deep inside Sweden’s Siljan impact crater, offering insights into Earth’s earliest life and the search for life beyond our planet.

This breakthrough not only sheds light on one of Earth’s most ancient metabolic processes —methanogenesis—but also strengthens the link between meteorite impact structures and microbial survival in extreme environments. The findings are published in the journal mBio.

Methanogenesis is considered one of the earliest metabolisms on Earth, and its presence in deep subsurface environments has long intrigued scientists. Now, for the first time, active microbial methane production has been confirmed in a terrestrial impact crater. Using cultures enriched from fluids 400 meters below the surface, the team demonstrated methane generation from several carbon sources, including indigenous oil.

Ultrafast UV-C laser pulses generated and detected using 2D materials

Scientists have developed a new platform for the generation and detection of ultrashort UV-C laser pulses on femtosecond timescales. This breakthrough could unlock new opportunities for transforming optical wireless communication systems, material processing applications and medical imaging.

Scientists from the University of Nottingham’s School of Physics and Astronomy and Imperial College London developed the new platform. The source produces pulses of femtosecond duration, less than 1 trillionth of a second. These pulses are detected at room temperature by sensors based on ultrathin (two-dimensional, 2D) materials. The paper is published in the journal Light: Science & Applications.

Professor Amalia Patané, from the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Nottingham, led the development of the sensors. “This work combines for the first time the generation of femtosecond UV-C laser pulses with their fast detection by a new class of 2D semiconductors. These can operate over a wide range of pulse energies and repetition rates, as required for many applications,” says Patané

Your Brain Goes Through 5 Distinct Epochs, Massive Study Finds

The human brain is not a hard-wired machine but a malleable organ that is regularly re-shaping itself.

Neuroscientists at the University of Cambridge in the UK and the University of Pittsburgh in the US have now identified four major turning points in brain wiring between birth and death.

Like chapters of our lives, each of these neurological ‘epochs’ marks a new era of development or decline.

Cellular senescence related gene signature predicts prognosis and immune features in skin cutaneous melanoma

Skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM) is the deadliest skin cancer, with rising global incidence. Cellular senescence plays an essential role in tumorigenesis, progression, and immune modulation in cancer, however, its role in SKCM prognosis and immunotherapy response remains unclear.

We analyzed 279 senescence-related genes (SRGs) in 469 patients with SKCM from The Cancer Genome Atlas. A cellular senescence-related signature (CSRS) was constructed using univariate and LASSO Cox regression analyses. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were used to evaluate its predictive performance. Consensus clustering based on SRG expression stratified patients into distinct subgroups. External validation was performed using the GSE65904 dataset. We further assessed the association between CSRS, immune cell infiltration, and immunotherapy response. Additionally, immunohistochemistry validated the expression of prognosis-related SRGs and functional assays explored the role of RuvB-like AAA ATPase 2 (RUVBL2) in SKCM cells.

The CSRS effectively stratified patients with SKCM into high-and low-risk groups with significantly different survival outcomes and immune profiles. Moreover, our results suggest that higher levels of cellular senescence may enhance immunosurveillance and promote tumor suppression via a senescence-associated secretory phenotype-dependent mechanism. Based on the expression profiles of 113 SRGs, patients were classified into three distinct clusters, with Cluster 1 associated with the poorest prognosis. Among the identified SRGs, RUVBL2 was markedly upregulated in SKCM cells and its knockdown inhibited cell proliferation.

Prevention and Reversal of Hypertension‐Induced Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction by a Plant‐Based Diet

Rac1 inhibition prevents axonal cytoskeleton dysfunction in transthyretin amyloid polyneuropathy.

Magalhães et al. reveal that Rac1 hyperactivation disrupts axonal cytoskeleton and transport in a mouse model of transthyretin amyloid polyneuropathy. They show that Rac1 inhibition prevents axonal degeneration and identify a patient-associated RACGAP1 variant suggesting a neuroprotective role for Rac1 inactivation.

How antibody therapy clears Alzheimer’s plaques: Key immune mechanism identified

Lecanemab, sold under the name Leqembi, is a monoclonal antibody therapy for Alzheimer’s disease that clears toxic amyloid plaques and delays cognitive decline. Researchers from VIB and KU Leuven have now demonstrated the mechanism behind it for the first time.

They showed that the “Fc fragment” of this monoclonal antibody is essential for engaging microglia—the immune cells of the brain—thus initiating the cellular machinery needed for plaque removal. This is the first direct mechanistic explanation for how this class of therapies works. It clarifies uncertainties in the field and offers a blueprint for developing safer, more effective Alzheimer’s treatments. The findings are published in Nature Neuroscience.

“Our study is the first to clearly demonstrate how this anti-amyloid antibody therapy works in Alzheimer’s disease. We show that the therapy’s efficacy relies on the antibody’s Fc fragment, which activates microglia to effectively clear amyloid plaques,” says Dr. Giulia Albertini, co-first author of the study. “The Fc fragment works as an anchor that microglia latch onto when they are near plaques, as a consequence of which these cells are reprogrammed to clear plaques more efficiently.”

Signpost of cancer linked to wound-healing properties

SerpinB3 turns out to be both a healing powerhouse and a cancer accomplice—revealing new possibilities for medicine. Researchers have uncovered that SerpinB3, typically linked to severe cancers, is also a key player in natural wound healing. The protein drives skin cell movement and tissue rebuilding, especially when paired with next-generation biomaterial dressings. Its newfound role explains why cancer cells exploit it and opens the door to new wound-healing therapies.

When a routine blood test shows high levels of a protein called SerpinB3, it often alerts doctors that something is seriously wrong. Elevated SerpinB3 can be associated with difficult-to-treat cancers or severe inflammatory diseases.

SerpinB3 is known as a key protein that helps reveal when the body’s barrier tissues, such as the skin and lungs, are under intense strain from cancer or long-term illness. It has typically been viewed as a sign that these protective surfaces are in trouble.

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