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    Potential New Therapy for Liver Diseases

    March 23, 2019, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    illustration of diseased liver
    Mechanical Stretch Increases Expression of CXCL1 in Liver Sinusoidal Endothelial Cells to Recruit Neutrophils, Generate Sinusoidal Microthombi, and Promote Portal Hypertension. Gastroenterology, 2019; DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2019.03.013

    Drug therapy may effectively treat a potentially life-threatening condition associated with cirrhosis and other chronic liver diseases, according to a new study by Mayo Clinic researchers. The study was posted in March on Gastroenterology, the online journal of the American Gastroenterological Association. Print publication is scheduled for July.

    While therapies have been available to treat some forms of liver disease, including hepatitis C and autoimmune hepatitis, options have been more limited for treating portal hypertension, a condition where th...

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    4D-printed materials can be Stiff as Wood or Soft as Sponge

    March 23, 2019, Categories  Physics, Chemistry/Nanotechnology

    Rutgers engineers’ unique smart materials change shape as temperatures change. The flexible, lightweight materials could lead to better shock absorption, morphing airplane or drone wings, soft robotics and tiny implantable biomedical devices. Their research is published in the journal Materials Horizons.

    3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, turns digital blueprints to physical objects by building them layer by layer. 4D printing is based on this technology, with one big difference: it uses special materials and sophisticated designs to print objects that change shape with environmental conditions such as temperature acting as a trigger, said senior author Howon Lee, an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering...

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    NASA’s Fermi Satellite Clocks ‘Cannonball’ Pulsar Speeding through Space

    March 23, 2019, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    The CTB 1 supernova remnant resembles a ghostly bubble in this image, which combines new 1.5 gigahertz observations from the Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope (orange, near center) with older observations from the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory’s Canadian Galactic Plane Survey (1.42 gigahertz, magenta and yellow; 408 megahertz, green) and infrared data (blue). The VLA data clearly reveal the straight, glowing trail from pulsar J0002+6216 and the curved rim of the remnant’s shell. CTB 1 is about half a degree across, the apparent size of a full Moon.
    Credit: Composite by Jayanne English, University of Manitoba, using data from NRAO/F. Schinzel et al., DRAO/Canadian Galactic Plane Survey and NASA/IRAS

    Astronomers found a pulsar hurtling through space at nearly 2...

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    High-fructose Corn Syrup boosts Intestinal Tumor Growth in Mice

    March 22, 2019, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Soft drink (stock image).
    Credit: © Wissam Santina / Fotolia

    Does sugar directly feed cancers, boosting their growth? The answer seems to be ‘Yes’ at least in mice according to a study led by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and Weill Cornell Medicine. Their study, published in Science, showed that consuming a daily modest amount of high-fructose corn syrup – the equivalent of people drinking about 12 ounces of a sugar-sweetened beverage daily – accelerates the growth of intestinal tumors in mouse models of the disease, independently of obesity. The team also discovered the mechanism by which the consumption of sugary drinks can directly feed cancer growth, suggesting potential novel therapeutic strategies.

    “An increasing number of observational studies have raised awareness ...

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