173 articles from TUESDAY 4.10.2022

The cell sentinel that neutralizes hepatitis B

The hepatitis B virus (HBV) is responsible for one of the most serious and common infectious diseases. Transmitted through biological fluids, it attacks the liver cells. The chronic form of the disease can lead to serious complications, including cirrhosis and liver cancer. There is no effective treatment for the chronic form of the disease, which can only be prevented by vaccination. After...

Mechanism used by metastatic cancer cells to infiltrate the liver found

Metastasis -- when cancer spreads to form new tumors -- causes approximately 90% of cancer-related deaths. Because metastatic cancer cells circulate in the blood, the liver -- which filters the blood -- is considered the most vulnerable organ, so treatments that prevent liver metastasis are urgently needed. A team of researchers discovered a mechanism that allows metastatic cancer cells to...

Retiring increases amount of sleep and decreases physical activity

Researchers used accelerometers to study how the 24-hour movement behaviors, i.e. sleep, sedentary behavior, light physical activity and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity change in relation to each other when a person retires. The results show an increase in the amount of sleep, which contributed to decreased amount of physical activity.

The last 12,000 years show a more complex climate history than previously thought

We rely on climate models to predict the future, but models cannot be fully tested as climate observations rarely extend back more than 150 years. Understanding the Earth's past climate history across a longer period gives us an invaluable opportunity to test climate models on longer timescales and reduce uncertainties in climate predictions. In this context, changes in the average surface...

Collision may have formed the Moon in mere hours, simulations reveal

Most theories claim the Moon formed out of the debris of a collision between the Earth and an object about the size of Mars, called Theia, coalescing in orbit over months or years. A new simulation puts forth a different theory -- the Moon may have formed immediately, in a matter of hours, when material from the Earth and Theia was launched directly into orbit after the impact.

Study provides further evidence that immune cell dysregulation is a driver of COVID-19 severity

In one of the largest single-center COVID-19 cohort studies to date, researchers have identified a key driver of COVID-19 disease severity. The findings suggest that lung damage is linked to the loss of immune cells called macrophages that normally reside in the lung and organize tissue repair, followed by an influx of new macrophages from the blood into the lung that cause inflammation.

Moss genome study identifies two new species

A team from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Duke University and other institutions studying Sphagnum moss have identified two new species in North America, and they are learning how evolution may affect the species' role in carbon storage.

The last 12,000 years show a more complex climate history than previously thought

We rely on climate models to predict the future, but models cannot be fully tested as climate observations rarely extend back more than 150 years. Understanding the Earth's past climate history across a longer period gives us an invaluable opportunity to test climate models on longer timescales and reduce uncertainties in climate predictions.

AI boosts usability of paper-making waste product

In a new and exciting collaboration with the Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, researchers in the CEST group have published a study demonstrating how artificial intelligence (AI) can boost the production of renewable biomaterials.

Pain relief without side effects and addiction

New substances that activate adrenalin receptors instead of opioid receptors have a similar pain relieving effect to opiates, but without the negative aspects such as respiratory depression and addiction.

NASA's Roman mission delivers detectors to Japan's PRIME Telescope

Billy Keim, a NASA technician, removes a 16-megapixel detector from its shipping container internal fixture as engineer Stephanie Cheung coordinates the activity. NASA's future Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will be fitted with 18 of these infrared detectors, which have now been flight-approved.

The cell sentinel that neutralizes hepatitis B

The hepatitis B virus (HBV) is responsible for one of the most serious and common infectious diseases. Transmitted through biological fluids, it attacks the liver cells. The chronic form of the disease can lead to serious complications, including cirrhosis and liver cancer. There is no effective treatment for the chronic form of the disease, which can only be prevented by vaccination. After...

Antarctic glaciers vulnerable to rising temperatures

On the East Antarctic Plateau there are huge glaciers under the sea. In order to improve future scenarios related to rising sea levels, scientists need to understand the ways in which these glaciers will respond to rising temperatures in the atmosphere and in the ocean.

Study investigates chemical composition of the young massive cluster NGC 1569-B

Using the Keck Observatory, astronomers from the Radboud University in the Netherlands and elsewhere have conducted spectroscopic observations of a young massive cluster known as NGC 1569-B. Results of the observational campaign, published September 23 on the arXiv pre-print server, yield important insights into the chemical composition of this cluster.