Precision editing of gut bacteria reduces cancer in mice

UT Southwestern researchers have shown that precision editing of the bacterial populations in the gut reduces inflammation-associated colorectal cancer in mice.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/precision-editing-of-gut-bacteria-reduces-cancer-in-mice

Research cruise explores carbon cycle in deep ocean in Atlantic

A University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science-led research cruise leaves for the deep Atlantic Ocean 50 miles southeast of Bermuda on Monday for a week of science at sea aboard the 171-foot R/V Atlantic Explorer. Scientists will be sampling the depths of the ocean and analyzing bacterial diversity and function to better understand the marine carbon cycle in the ocean.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/research-cruise-explores-carbon-cycle-in-deep-ocean-in-atlantic

Researchers show how side hit to the head could damage brain, lead to concussion

Play contact sports for any length of time and at one point or another you're probably going to have your 'bell rung' by a powerful blow to the head from a hard hit or fall. Rising awareness of the severe, abiding repercussions of strong impacts to the head—concussions, mild traumatic brain injury, neurological disorders—have led scientists to focus on what exactly happens inside a skull during a big hit.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/researchers-show-how-side-hit-to-the-head-could-damage-brain-lead-to-concussion

Poor methodology reporting makes radiation oncology studies impossible to replicate

Nearly 80 percent of radiation oncology studies funded by the National Institutes of Health involve investigating the effects that radiation has on tumor cells and healthy tissue in pre-clinical settings, such as experiments done in cell cultures or mice. A majority of these radiation biology studies, however, have serious flaws in how their irradiation methodology is described, which makes them very difficult to replicate, according to a new finding from the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM).

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/poor-methodology-reporting-makes-radiation-oncology-studies-impossible-to-replicate

Sustained police effort explains higher arrests for gun murders

The primary reason gun fatalities result in arrests more frequently than nonfatal shootings is police devote more time and resources to the fatal cases, a new study by scholars at Duke and Northeastern universities finds.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/sustained-police-effort-explains-higher-arrests-for-gun-murders

Black male educators sound alarm regarding lack of diversity in P-12 classrooms

A diverse and inclusive education workforce can play a critical role in ensuring that students receive a robust, quality educational experience. While students of color comprise more than half of P-12 classroom populations in the United States, overcoming the shortage of educators of color has been a decades-long dilemma for U.S. schools.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/black-male-educators-sound-alarm-regarding-lack-of-diversity-in-p-12-classrooms

Human trafficking victims' unlikeliness to report crimes tied to police officers' bias

Police are increasingly called on to combat crimes related to sex and labor trafficking. A new study sought to determine how the victims of these crimes are served by police. Based on researchers' review of human trafficking investigations and interviews with police and service providers in three communities in Northeast, West, and South United States, the study concluded that victims of human trafficking often do not trust the police and rarely seek their assistance. The study also found that these views are due in part to victims' beliefs that police are not trained adequately and hold biases and stereotypes about them. The authors offer recommendations to improve police responses to these victims.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/human-trafficking-victims-unlikeliness-to-report-crimes-tied-to-police-officers-bias

Hidden chemistry in flowers shown to kill cancer cells

Researchers at the University of Birmingham have shown that it's possible to produce a compound with anti-cancer properties directly from feverfew—a common flowering garden plant.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/hidden-chemistry-in-flowers-shown-to-kill-cancer-cells

Microbiologists solve the mystery of the compass needle in magnetic bacteria

Bacteria of the species Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense are unicellular organisms that can align their locomotion precisely with the Earth's magnetic field. They owe this ability to tiny magnetite crystals called magnetosomes. In the spiral-shaped bacterial cell, the crystals form a stable, straight chain that acts like a compass needle. Microbiologists at the University of Bayreuth, together with research partners at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Martinsried and at LMU Munich, have now discovered that the shape and position of the magnetosome chain are largely determined by the protein MamY. In the journal Nature Microbiology they now present their latest findings.

* This article was originally published here

Food quality control made faster and easier

Scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Leibniz-Institute for Food Systems Biology have developed a new methodology for the simultaneous analysis of odorants and tastants. It could simplify and accelerate the quality control of food in the future.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/food-quality-control-made-faster-and-easier

Skin in balance: Joint forces of polarity and cell mechanics

The cell polarity protein Par3 controls mechanical changes in the skin and plays an important role in cell division. Malfunction can lead to DNA damages. The balance of the system is of great importance—while too much differentiation leads to loss of stem cells and therefore premature aging, too many cell divisions can be a cause of skin cancer. The new study by a team around Sandra Iden about how polarity regulators control cellular mechanics in the skin has now been published in Nature Communications.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/skin-in-balance-joint-forces-of-polarity-and-cell-mechanics

Scientists say 10 warmest UK years have all been since 2002

Britain's weather service says the country's 10 hottest years since the 19th century have all occurred since 2002, as climate change makes the U.K. warmer and wetter.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/scientists-say-10-warmest-uk-years-have-all-been-since-2002

Glowing cholesterol helps scientists fight heart disease

A newly developed technique that shows artery clogging fat-and-protein complexes in live fish gave investigators from Carnegie, Johns Hopkins University, and the Mayo Clinic a glimpse of how to study heart disease in action. Their research, which is currently being used to find new drugs to fight cardiovascular disease, is now published in Nature Communications.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/glowing-cholesterol-helps-scientists-fight-heart-disease

Blood pressure control less likely among those treated in low-income areas

People enrolled in a large clinical hypertension management trial were half as likely to control their blood pressure if they received care at clinics and primary care practices in low-income areas, according to new research in Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/blood-pressure-control-less-likely-among-those-treated-in-low-income-areas

First pictures of enzyme that drives new class of antibiotics

Understanding how antibiotic scaffolds are constructed in nature can help scientists prospect for new classes of antibiotics through DNA sequencing and genome mining. Researchers have used this knowledge to help solve the X-ray crystal structure of the enzyme that makes obafluorin—a broad spectrum antibiotic agent made by a fluorescent strain of soil bacteria. The new work from Washington University in St. Louis and the University at Buffalo is published July 31 in the journal Nature Communications.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/first-pictures-of-enzyme-that-drives-new-class-of-antibiotics

EPA clears path for proposed copper and gold mine near Alaska's Bristol Bay

Federal officials said Tuesday they would not block a proposed copper and gold mine near Alaska's Bristol Bay despite objections by critics who contend it would imperil a fishery and harm wetlands and streams.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/epa-clears-path-for-proposed-copper-and-gold-mine-near-alaskas-bristol-bay

Vaquita porpoise about to go extinct, researchers warn

The vaquita porpoise, one of the world's most endangered animals, could become extinct within a year if fishing nets continue being used illegally, a university in Scotland warned on Wednesday.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/vaquita-porpoise-about-to-go-extinct-researchers-warn

Researchers raise the heat on molten metals to forge future technologies

Solid-state materials are important for developing new technologies, from renewable energy applications to electronics. Manufacturing these advanced materials often requires metal-flux synthesis, a complex process that relies heavily on costly trial-and-error.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/researchers-raise-the-heat-on-molten-metals-to-forge-future-technologies

Biodiversity highest on Indigenous-managed lands

More than one million plant and animal species worldwide are facing extinction, according to a recent United Nations report. Now, a new UBC-led study suggests that Indigenous-managed lands may play a critical role in helping species survive.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/biodiversity-highest-on-indigenous-managed-lands

Overturning the truth on conservation tillage

Just as we blend, cut, and fold ingredients together to follow a recipe, farmers use equipment to stir together soil and crop residue (stalks and roots of previous crops) before planting. This mechanical action is called tillage.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/overturning-the-truth-on-conservation-tillage

Many North American indigenous youth experience symptoms of depression during adolescence

Studies of youth and their experiences with depression have tended not to include Indigenous youth. A new study that analyzed data on the development of depressive symptoms among Indigenous youth in the United States and Canada found that many of the youth had experienced these symptoms during adolescence. The study also identified the risks associated with developing symptoms of depression and how depressive symptoms were associated with alcohol use disorder.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/many-north-american-indigenous-youth-experience-symptoms-of-depression-during-adolescence

PE fitness tests have little positive impact for students

A new study reveals that school fitness tests have little impact on student attitudes to PE—contrary to polarised views on their merits—and for many students, fitness testing during PE may be wasting valuable class time when used in isolation from the curriculum.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/pe-fitness-tests-have-little-positive-impact-for-students

Increased risk of cardiovascular disease for healthy 75-year-olds who stop taking statins

Statins are known to reduce the risk of further problems in patients of any age who have already suffered heart problems or stroke. However, until now it has not been clear how effective their use is in preventing such events occurring in healthy people aged 75 and over, with no previous history of cardiovascular disease.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/increased-risk-of-cardiovascular-disease-for-healthy-75-year-olds-who-stop-taking-statins

Rare photo captures sea lion falling into mouth of whale

In a stunning photo, a wildlife photographer has captured a sea lion falling into the mouth of a humpback whale in what he calls a "once-in-a-lifetime" moment.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/rare-photo-captures-sea-lion-falling-into-mouth-of-whale

Glimmer of hope as Italy battles 'olive tree leprosy'

Working in an arid Italian field of crumbly soil, agronomists are battling a rampant bacterium that has already infected millions of olive trees and could threaten the entire Mediterranean basin.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/glimmer-of-hope-as-italy-battles-olive-tree-leprosy

DR Congo makes new push to fight year-old Ebola epidemic

An Ebola epidemic raging in eastern DR Congo marks its first year on Thursday in a mood of fear mingled with hope that fresh money and a change of leadership will turn the tide.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/dr-congo-makes-new-push-to-fight-year-old-ebola-epidemic

An ancient Egypt-to-Black Sea route? Adventurers to test theory

Were the ancient Egyptians able to use reed boats to travel as far as the Black Sea thousands of years ago?

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/an-ancient-egypt-to-black-sea-route-adventurers-to-test-theory

'80s tape, toy dino: Chinatown archaeological dig cut short

An archaeological dig in Boston's historic Chinatown has been cut short after it turned up a 1980s music cassette, a toy dinosaur and other bric-a-brac.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/80s-tape-toy-dino-chinatown-archaeological-dig-cut-short

'Love hormone' has stomach-turning effect in starfish

A hormone that is released in our brain when we fall in love also makes starfish turn their stomach inside out to feed, according to a new study from Queen Mary University of London.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/love-hormone-has-stomach-turning-effect-in-starfish

Early onset of menstruation associated with higher risk of type 2 diabetes

Diabetes is a global health concern expected to affect 693 million people worldwide by 2045. It's been well documented how diet and exercise influence risk of type 2 diabetes; however, a new study suggests that early menarche also is associated with a higher risk, but body mass index (BMI) may mediate this association. Study results are published online today in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS).

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/early-onset-of-menstruation-associated-with-higher-risk-of-type-2-diabetes

Warmer winters could lead to longer blue crab season in Chesapeake Bay

Scientists from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science are predicting that warmer winters in the Chesapeake Bay will likely lead to longer and more productive seasons for Maryland's favorite summer crustacean, the blue crab.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/warmer-winters-could-lead-to-longer-blue-crab-season-in-chesapeake-bay

Children born to older parents tend to have fewer behavior problems

Since 1995, parents in many Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries and in the United States have been having their first babies at a later age. Amid this trend in delayed childbearing, a new Dutch study considered the behavior problems of children born to older parents. Specifically, researchers looked at externalizing behaviors (e.g., aggression) and internalizing behaviors (e.g., anxiety, depression) of children born to older parents when the youth were 10 to 12 years old. They found that children of older parents tend to have fewer externalizing behavior problems than children of younger parents. The researchers also found that parents' age was unrelated to children's internalizing behaviors.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/children-born-to-older-parents-tend-to-have-fewer-behavior-problems