Shell-dwelling cichlids take intense care of their offspring, which they raise in abandoned snail shells. A team at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence used 3D-printed snail shells to find out what happens inside. The young and the mother each follow their own, but synchronized schedules: as soon as the larvae prefer light, they leave the shell on the ninth day after fertilization. The mother, in turn, follows a strict brood-care routine to prevent the young from emerging before…

New genetic risk factors for depression have been identified across all major global populations for the first time, allowing scientists to predict risk of depression regardless of ethnicity. The world’s largest and most diverse genetic study ever into major depression has revealed nearly 300 previously unknown genetic links to the condition, experts say. 100 of the newly discovered genetic variations – small differences in the DNA sequence that makes up a gene – were identified due to the inclusion of…

Low back pain is a leading cause of disability worldwide with many treatments, such as medication, often failing to provide lasting relief. Researchers from the University of Sydney’s Centre for Rural Health have uncovered a possible solution. Their study, published in JAMA Network Open, found integrating lifestyle support into back pain care could reduce disability and enhance quality of life. Study Evaluates Lifestyle-Based Outcomes The randomised controlled trial included 346 participants from across Australia, all of whom had chronic low back pain and…

A research team from the Medical Faculty of the University of Duisburg-Essen and the University Hospital Essen has developed a new cell culture model that can be used to better investigate the interaction between tumor cells and the tumor environment in retinoblastoma. Retinoblastoma is a rare eye cancer that primarily affects children. With the new model, the researchers hope to advance new eye-preserving therapies and sustainably improve treatment options for children with retinoblastoma. The new cell model was recently presented…

A new paper in Nicotine & Tobacco Research, published by Oxford University Press, finds that smoking has a negative effect on earnings among younger workers. This is particularly true among the less well educated. Smoking Kills. But How? The adverse health effects of smoking are well known. Smoking increases the risk of various cancers, respiratory issues, and cardiovascular diseases, with approximately 14% of all deaths in 2019 attributed to smoking. Despite smoking rates declining since the 1990s, in 2019 18% of…

Importance of RNA modifications for the development of resistance in fungi raises hope for more effective treatment of fungal infections. An often-overlooked mechanism of gene regulation may be involved in the failure of antifungal drugs in the clinic. This has been discovered by a German-Austrian research team led by the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology – Hans Knöll Institute (Leibniz-HKI). The study focused on the mold fungus 𝘈𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘴, which can cause life-threatening infections, especially in…

An international team of researchers, including scientists from the HSE Centre for Language and Brain, has identified the causes of impairments in expressing grammatical tense in people with aphasia. They discovered that individuals with speech disorders struggle with both forming the concept of time and selecting the correct verb tense. However, which of these processes proves more challenging depends on the speaker’s language. The findings have been published in the journal Aphasiology. What is Aphasia? Aphasia is a severe speech disorder, often…

The Fiber Gap: A Growing Concern in American Diets Fiber is well known to be an important part of a healthy diet, yet less than 10% of Americans eat the minimum recommended amount. A new study from Stanford Medicine might finally convince us to fill our plates with beans, nuts, cruciferous veggies, avocados and other fiber-rich foods. The research, which will be published in Nature Metabolism on Jan. 9 identified the direct epigenetic effects of two common byproducts of fiber digestion and found that…

HIRI researchers uncover control mechanisms of polysaccharide utilization in Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron. Researchers at the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) and the Julius-Maximilians-Universität (JMU) in Würzburg have identified a protein and a group of small ribonucleic acids (sRNAs) in Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, which regulate sugar metabolism. These discoveries shed light on how this gut microbe adapts to varying nutritional conditions. The findings deepen our understanding of this bacterium’s role in the human gut and may pave the way for new…

Scientists show how a mutated gene harms red and white blood cells. LA JOLLA, CA—Scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) have discovered how a mutated gene kicks off a dangerous chain of events during blood cell production. The study, published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveals how a mutated gene called ASXL1 is involved in a disease called clonal hematopoiesis, a precursor to malignant diseases such as myeloid malignancies and chronic monomyelocytic leukemia. “We know that…

Materials with negative thermal expansion as electrodes for lithium-ion batteries. Image Credit: Angewandte ChemieMost solids expand as temperatures increase and shrink as they cool. Some materials do the opposite, expanding in the cold. Lithium titanium phosphate is one such substance and could provide a solution to the problem of steeply declining performance of lithium-ion batteries in cold environments. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, a Chinese team has demonstrated its suitability for use in electrodes for rechargeable batteries. Temperatures Pose a…

Jülich scientists use novel RNA technology to selectively switch off tumours in the brain. An Adaptable Platform Technology That Destroys Glioblastoma Cancer Cells Using novel RNA technology to selectively switch off tumors in the brain, excerpt from infographic. Copyright: Forschungszentrum Jülich / Bernd HoffmannUsing a special RNA molecule, a team led by Jülich scientists has specifically attacked and destroyed glioblastoma cancer cells. The so-called selectively expressed RNA (seRNA) causes the diseased cells to produce a protein that leads to their…

Can strength and endurance training be beneficial for patients with a certain form of heart failure? A research team from Greifswald investigated this question together with seven other research centers in Germany. In the largest study of its kind to date, the effect of one year of training on the health of patients was examined. The research team was able to prove that those affected benefited from better performance and resilience in everyday life. The results have now been published…

Children and young people with high levels of mental health needs are struggling to receive the help they need, or to have their difficulties recognised, according to a new study. STADIA Decodes Young People’s Emotional Struggles The STADIA trial, which is published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, was led by experts from the School of Medicine at the University of Nottingham, and was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The large study, which spans different parts…

Microorganisms are everywhere and have been influencing the Earth’s environment for over 3.5 billion years. Researchers from Germany, Austria and Taiwan have now deciphered the role they play in the formation of lime – for the first time in the deep sea rather than in the laboratory. The basis was a five-meter-long lime core obtained during an expedition. The team of authors has now published their results in the journal Communications Earth & Environment. Correlation between Microorganisms and Mineral Formation…

First large cohort study at the Heart and Diabetes Center NRW awarded – Hilke Jung presents research project at the FoRUM conference of the Ruhr University Bochum A working group led by Prof. Dr. Vera von Dossow, Director of the Institute for Anaesthesiology and Pain Therapy at the Heart and Diabetes Center NRW (HDZ NRW), Bad Oeynhausen, has now demonstrated for the first time in a large retrospective cohort study that longer and more frequent phases of intraoperatively low blood…