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Boosting Weak Immune System: Scientists find an unusual weapon against Virus

An overview of how the method proposed by the Sieweke group boosts weak immune system. (A) M-CSF cytokine works in the bone marrow to promote generation of monocytes and macrophages, without disturbing the formation of other immune cells; (B) Monocytes and macrophages activate natural killer cells to enable them to target virus-infected cells and kill them through cell–cell contact and the release of toxic agents.

Infections with cytomegalovirus (CMV) are extremely common and often pose no major threat to the vast majority of people. They can however be deadly for people whose immune system is weakened, e.g., after bone marrow transplantation. Current treatments against CMV infections are very limited and can have severe side effects. Researchers led by Prof...

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Dopamine control: Turning off One Ion Channel made Mice Smarter. Turning Off another made them more Motivated.

A graphic illustration of two ion channels in the brain that control dopamine release.

A mosaic expression of two ion channels in dopamine neurons of a mouse’s brain. Researchers have found a way to control dopamine release. Larry Zweifel

Researchers have identified two ion channel switches that regulate the release of dopamine in the brain, a first step that might one day lead to therapeutics for a wide range of diseases and disorders that currently have few solutions.

The switches help regulate learning and motivational state in mice. Humans also have hundreds of these channels, which govern many chemical and hormonal processes that influence behavior and mood. The University of Washington School of Medicine research team hopes to identify drugs to target these channels. Those drug candidates could then be tested in clinical trials.

“The ability to precisely mani...

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A New Mechanism Encouraging the Brain to Self-Repair After an Ischemic Stroke

Lipid metabolism triggering brain-autonomous neural repair after ischemic stroke
The neurons around an injured brain region will play major roles in promoting functional recovery through nervous system development, synapse organization, and remyelination; however, the molecular mechanisms triggering such a broad range of neural repair after brain injury remained unknown. Our study demonstrated that the secretion of PLA2G2E from perilesional neurons with ischemic stress generated DGLA and 15-HETrE, which triggered these recovery processes through the neuronal Padi4-dependent induction of cluster formation associated with neural repair after ischemic brain injury.

Partial recovery after ischemic stroke is possible, but the mechanisms involved in this process remain unclear...

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Sun ‘Umbrella’ tethered to Asteroid might help Mitigate Climate Change

sun umbrella tethered to asteroid
(Photo credit: Brooks Bays/UH Institute for Astronomy)

Earth is rapidly warming and scientists are developing a variety of approaches to reduce the effects of climate change. István Szapudi, an astronomer at the University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy, has proposed a novel approach—a solar shield to reduce the amount of sunlight hitting Earth, combined with a tethered, captured asteroid as a counterweight. Engineering studies using this approach could start now to create a workable design that could mitigate climate change within decades.

The paper, “Solar radiation management with a tethered sun shield,” is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

One of the simplest approaches to reducing the global temperature is to shade the Earth from a fracti...

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