Monday 17 June 2019

Looming insect invasion threatens California wine and avocados

UC Riverside is testing whether a sesame seed-sized wasp can control a pest that could seriously damage California crops including wine, walnuts, and avocados.

* This article was originally published here

Topical cream shows promise in treatment of skin pigmentation disease, vitiligo

A nationwide phase II clinical trial, coordinated out of Tufts Medical Center in Boston, has found that a topical cream was extremely effective in reversing the effects of vitiligo, a relatively common autoimmune disease that causes loss of skin pigmentation. Topical application of the medicated cream, ruxolitinib, which is currently used as an oral treatment for certain blood disorders, resulted in substantial improvement of facial vitiligo symptoms in nearly half of the trial's participants. Results of the clinical trial were presented by David Rosmarin, MD, Dermatologist at Tufts Medical Center and Primary Investigator for the study, on Saturday, June 15, at the World Congress of Dermatology in Milan, Italy.

* This article was originally published here

Antioxidant puts up fight, but loses battle against protein linked to Alzheimer's disease

New research may explain why an antioxidant that protects the brain is also associated with deterioration in areas susceptible to Alzheimer's disease.

* This article was originally published here

Rules of brain architecture revealed in large study of neuron shape and electrophysiology

To understand our brains, scientists need to know their components. This theme underlies a growing effort in neuroscience to define the different building blocks of the brain—its cells.

* This article was originally published here

How to reinvigorate exhausted immune cells and stop cancer along the way

The human immune system relies on a delicate balance of finely tuned cell types that keep germs and cancerous cells in check. In cancer and chronic infections this balance can be disrupted, resulting in immune system dysfunction or "exhaustion." An important protein called TOX, which varies in amount in different immune cell types, controls the identity of the cells that become exhausted, according to researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. With this knowledge, investigators now have a way to accurately identify immune cells that are exhausted in a tumor or site of an infection, which could allow clinicians to improve the effectiveness of patients' immune response to cancer treatments by reinvigorating exhausted T cells. This work is published this week in Nature.

* This article was originally published here

Genetic study of the causes of excess liver iron may lead to better treatment

High levels of iron in the liver are linked to a number of serious health conditions including cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiovascular as well as liver disease. But measuring liver iron is difficult and until recently could only be done through an invasive biopsy.

* This article was originally published here

Teaching artificial intelligence to connect senses like vision and touch

In Canadian author Margaret Atwood's book The Blind Assassin, she says that "touch comes before sight, before speech. It's the first language and the last, and it always tells the truth."

* This article was originally published here

Dust storms on Mars

Dust is a critical component in the Martian atmosphere. It influences the atmosphere's circulation by heating or cooling it and is in turn redistributed around the planet by atmospheric winds. In this dust cycle, dust storms play a particularly important role. Storms are traditionally classified into local, regional and planet-encircling dust storms, with small, local storms occurring throughout the year but global storms being most active during the northern fall and winter seasons. A dust storm that spreads over a large enough region and that lasts long enough can significantly affect the visibility, thermal structure and atmospheric circulation. Such major dust storms often result from dust storm sequences that follow specific trajectories and display coherent development histories.

* This article was originally published here

UN says Ebola outbreak in Congo still not a global emergency

The World Health Organization on Friday said the Ebola outbreak in Congo—which spilled into Uganda this week—is an "extraordinary event" of deep concern but does not yet merit being declared a global emergency.

* This article was originally published here