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Category: biotech/medical – Page 9

Ants may hold solution to human superbug, researchers discover

Has a crucial component to the development of human medicine been hiding under our feet? Auburn University Assistant Professor of Entomology Clint Penick and a team of graduate students may have found that ants are far ahead of humans in antibiotic innovation. “In our study, we tested how ants use antibiotic compounds to fight off pathogens and asked why their chemical defenses remain effective over evolutionary time,” Penick said.

“Humans have relied on antibiotics for less than a century, yet many pathogens have already evolved resistance, giving rise to ‘superbugs.’ Ants, by contrast, have been using antibiotics for tens of millions of years, and they might hold the key to using these powerful drugs more wisely.”

Ants as a source of antibiotics The team looked at just six ant species, all found easily in the Southeastern United States.

Noradrenergic control of bone marrow and thymus by AgRP neurons is impaired in experimental multiple sclerosis

In this work, Vigo et al. demonstrate that norepinephrine (NE) promotes myeloid hematopoiesis in BM and regulates thymic Tregs via B3ARs in EAE. B3ARs are controlled by hypothalamic AgRP neurons, which are dysfunctional in EAE. Serum levels of AgRP are elevated in people with MS and correlate with disease severity.

Cold weather concerns: Doctor explains how winter affects children’s immunity and growth

Winter’s chill impacts children’s health, increasing illness and affecting growth due to reduced sunlight, indoor confinement, and dietary shifts. Experts advise parents to prioritize balanced nutrition, adequate sleep, and physical activity. Simple measures like hygiene, vaccinations, and sun exposure are crucial for keeping kids healthy and thriving throughout the colder months.

Symptoms of a heart attack may emerge weeks beforehand: What to know

A heart attack is a medical emergency that requires an immediate call to the emergency services. However, there are sometimes warning signs that can show up weeks in advance that should prompt you to visit your doctor.

Firstly, what exactly happens during a heart attack? A heart attack occurs when the vessels that supply the heart itself with oxygen and nutrients—known as coronary arteries—become blocked. One cause is calcium deposits building up in them, says the German Heart Foundation.

As this is a gradual process, symptoms often appear before the blockage occurs, when the vessels are already narrowed in what is referred to as coronary heart disease.

How Memories Form in the Brain: “Pulse Generators” Grow and Shrink

Memories and learning processes are based on changes in the brain’s neuronal connections and, as a result, in signal transmission between neurons. For the first time, DZNE researchers have observed an associated phenomenon in living brains – specifically in mice. This mechanism concerns the cellular pulse generator for neuronal signals (the “axonal initial segment”) and had previously only been documented in cell cultures and in brain samples. A team led by neuroscientist Jan Gründemann reports on this in the journal Nature Neuroscience, alongside experts from Switzerland, Italy, and Austria. Their study sheds light on the brain’s ability to adapt. Next, the researchers intend to investigate the significance of these findings in Alzheimer’s disease.

In the brain, neurons branch out and connect with each other to form a network through which electrical signals are actively exchanged. This network structure is an essential component of the brain’s “hardware” and is therefore fundamental to its function, especially with regard to learning processes and memory formation. However, this complex architecture and signal transmission across this network are not fixed; they can change as a result of experiences and events. This flexibility, also known as neuroplasticity, is the basis for the brain’s ability to adapt.

As memories are formed, the brain changes in measurable ways: synaptic “pulse generators” grow and shrink, revealing surprising insights from brain research.

Simple wipe test reveals hidden PFAS contamination on firefighter protective gear

The flames die down. The sirens fade. Firefighters peel off their gear, thinking the danger has passed. But in the quiet aftermath, another enemy lingers, an invisible film of “forever chemicals” clinging to jackets, pants and masks.

Researchers at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, have developed a way to see what the eye cannot.

A simple wipe test detected invisible cancer-linked “forever chemicals” on every set of firefighter gear examined, including breathing masks, according to new research from Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. The non-destructive method offers fire departments a practical way to identify and reduce exposure to per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), chemicals tied to increased cancer risk that can linger on gear long after a fire is out.

High risk of sleep apnea linked to poorer mental health in adults over 45

Researchers at Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and University of Ottawa found that high risk of obstructive sleep apnea was associated with approximately 40% higher odds of a composite poor mental health outcome at baseline and follow-up among adults aged 45–85 years in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.

Identifying factors associated with mental health outcomes is an important goal on several fronts. Mental health conditions rank among the leading contributors to global disease burden, with anxiety and depressive disorders described as most common. Individuals living with mental health conditions face higher risks of cardiometabolic diseases, unemployment, homelessness, disability, and hospitalizations. Economically, mental disorders carry an estimated $1 trillion annual global cost in lost productivity.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) involves repeated upper airway narrowing during sleep. Disturbed breathing can break up sleep (sleep fragmentation), trigger a stress response in the nervous system (sympathetic activation), and cause episodes of low oxygen in the blood (intermittent hypoxemia).

Too much screen time too soon? Study links infant screen exposure to brain changes and teen anxiety

Children exposed to high levels of screen time before age 2 showed changes in brain development that were linked to slower decision-making and increased anxiety by their teenage years, according to new research by Asst. Prof. Tan Ai Peng and her team from A*STAR Institute for Human Development and Potential (A*STAR IHDP) and National University of Singapore (NUS) Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, using data from the Growing Up in Singapore Towards Healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) cohort.

New robotic skin lets humanoid robots sense pain and react instantly

If you accidentally put your hand on a hot object, you’ll naturally pull it away fast, before you have to think about it. This happens thanks to sensory nerves in your skin that send a lightning-fast signal to your spinal cord, which immediately activates your muscles. The speed at which this happens helps prevent serious burns. Your brain is only informed once the movement has already started.

If something similar happens to a humanoid robot, it typically has to send sensor data to a central processing unit (CPU), wait for the system to process it, and then send a command to the arm’s actuators to move. Even a brief delay can increase the risk of serious damage.

But as humanoid robots move out of labs and factories and into our homes, hospitals and workplaces, they will need to be more than just pre-programmed machines if they are to live up to their potential. Ideally, they should be able to interact with the environment instinctively. To help make that happen, scientists in China have developed a neuromorphic robotic e-skin (NRE-skin) that gives robots a sense of touch and even an ability to feel pain.

Ethylene and oxygen found to drive periderm regeneration after plant injury

Plants have an extraordinary ability to sense tissue damage and quickly rebuild their protective outer layers, a process vital for survival amid environmental stresses. The periderm—a specialized protective tissue found in many woody plants—serves as a crucial barrier against water loss, pathogens, and mechanical injury. However, understanding how gaseous molecules enable plants to rapidly detect surface disruptions has long remained elusive.

In a new study published in Plant Communications on December 8, a research team led by Prof. Chen Yaning from the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography (XIEG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences reported new insights into gas-regulated wound signaling in plants. By examining recent advances in the field, the researchers showed that changes in the diffusion dynamics of ethylene and oxygen within plant tissues provide an efficient and rapid means of sensing breaches in surface defenses.

“When the plant’s outer barrier is damaged, endogenous ethylene gas escapes more readily into the atmosphere (efflux), while oxygen from the environment infiltrates the tissue (influx),” said Dr. Hassan Iqbal, first author of the study.

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