Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection can convert a harmless, inhaled protein antigen into an allergen, according to a study published March 7 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Rafaela Holtappels from the University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, and colleagues. According to the authors, the findings suggest that CMV airway infection significantly enlarges the…
A host protein called Serum Amyloid A (Saa) is a major factor mediating the effects of the microbiota on the function of immune cells called neutrophils, according to a study published March 7 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by John Rawls of Duke University School of Medicine, and colleagues. Experiments in zebrafish showed that…
While spectroscopic measurements are normally averaged over myriad molecules, a new method developed by researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) provides precise information about the interaction of individual molecules with their environment. This will accelerate the identification of efficient molecules for future photovoltaic technologies, for example. An international team led by the TUM…
In January 2019, an international team of scientists working off the tip of southern Chile got their first live look at what might be a new species of killer whale. Called Type D, the whales were previously known only from a beach stranding more than 60 years ago, fishermen’s stories, and tourist photographs. Genetic samples…
Hydrogen is a highly attractive, but also highly explosive energy carrier, which requires safe, lightweight and cheap storage as well as transportation systems. Scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel, have now developed a chemical storage system based on simple and abundant organic compounds. As reported in the journal Angewandte Chemie, the liquid hydrogen…
A team of researchers led by the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has developed a simple method that could turn ordinary semiconducting materials into quantum machines — superthin devices marked by extraordinary electronic behavior. Such an advancement could help to revolutionize a number of industries aiming for energy-efficient electronic systems —…
Prior antibiotic exposure and use of acid suppressing medications known as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) may increase the risk for hospitalized children to contract dangerous Clostridioides difficile infections, according to a study published today in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. “In pediatric patients, hospital-acquired infections…
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) reduces symptoms of severe obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) during stimulation of either the ventral capsule (VC) or anteromedial subthalamic nucleus (amSTN), according to a study in Biological Psychiatry. DBS of the regions reduced OCD symptoms to a similar extent, but produced distinct effects on specific symptoms — VC stimulation drastically improved mood,…
The prevalence of concussions in sports is well known. So, too, is the challenge clinicians and others face when they have to decide when an athlete can return to the game after a head injury. While most athletes recover from a sports-related concussion in about seven to 10 days, some need more time. This predicament…
Rainy weather is becoming increasingly common over parts of the Greenland ice sheet, triggering sudden melting events that are eating at the ice and priming the surface for more widespread future melting, says a new study. Some parts of the ice sheet are even receiving rain in winter — a phenomenon that will spread as…