Study sheds light on how neurotransmitter receptors transport calcium, a process linked with origins of neurological disease

Illustration Credit: Courtesy of McGill University

A new study from a team of McGill University and Vanderbilt University researchers is shedding light on our understanding of the molecular origins of some forms of autism and intellectual disability.

For the first time, researchers were able to successfully capture atomic resolution images of the fast-moving ionotropic glutamate receptor (iGluR) as it transports calcium. iGluRs and their ability to transport calcium are vitally important for many brain functions such as vision or other information coming from sensory organs. Calcium also brings about changes in the signaling capacity of iGluRs and nerve connections which are a key cellular events that lead to our ability to learn new skills and form memories.

iGluRs are also key players in brain development and their dysfunction through genetic mutations has been shown to give rise to some forms of autism and intellectual disability. However, basic questions about how iGluRs trigger biochemical changes in the brain’s physiology by transporting calcium have remained poorly understood.

In the study, the researchers took millions of snapshots of the iGluR protein in the act of transporting calcium, and unexpectedly discovered a temporary pocket that traps calcium on the outside of the protein. With this information at hand, they then used high-resolution electrophysiological recordings to watch the protein in motion as it transported calcium into the nerve cell.

Scientists assemble a richer picture of the plight and resilience of the foothill yellow-legged frog

Foothill yellow-legged frogs live in the flowing water of rivers and streams, so are especially vulnerable when these shrink to isolated pools.
Photo Credit: Brome McCreary / USGS

Up to only a few inches in length, with a lemon-hued belly, the foothill yellow-legged frog may seem unassuming. But its range once stretched from central Oregon to Baja California. In 2023, it was listed under the federal Endangered Species Act. Its rapidly decreasing range is due in part to a fungal pathogen called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, or Bd, that has devastated amphibians around the world.

A team of researchers, including UC Santa Barbara’s Andrea Adams, has conducted the most comprehensive study to date of disease dynamics in foothill yellow-legged frogs. The team’s data — sourced from both wild frogs and specimens in museum collections — enabled them to track patterns of infection across a large geographic range. In a study published in Royal Society Open Science, the researchers reveal that drought, rising temperatures and the increasing conversion of land for agriculture appear to be the largest factors driving Bd infection in this species.

The researchers aimed to assemble as much data as they could, both in space and time. They surveyed in the creeks and rivers of California and Oregon, where they swabbed wild yellow-legged frogs for the presence of Bd. It also led them into fluorescent-lit museum collections to sample specimens from as far back as the 1890s.

Snake robot could save lives

A search and rescue operation after an earthquake is a complicated task. One thing is to retrieve the potential survivors safely from the rubble. Even more difficult is finding out where they are.

It is precisely this kind of work that, among other things, a snake robot equipped with sensors and cameras could help solve. Such one is currently being developed by researchers at the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Southern Denmark.

They have recently published an article about the project in the journal Device.

We have made a robot capable of rectilinear locomotion - that is, movement in a straight line - as observed in snakes, says PhD student Burcu Seyidoğlu.

Future applications include search and rescue operations, field inspection, and space exploration. Especially in scenarios requiring navigation through confined spaces where body flexion is not feasible.

Vanishing Forests and Suffering Children: The Hidden Toll of Deforestation in Cambodia

Deforestation is suspected to have adverse impacts on child health. Investigating this phenomenon in Cambodia, a recent study sheds light on the devastating impact of prenatal exposure to deforestation on child health in Cambodia. The study reveals that children born in areas with recent deforestation suffer from lower birth weights and stunted growth. Moreover, pregnant women exposed to deforestation are more likely to experience anemia. These findings underscore the urgent need for effective targeted policies.

Deforestation, a critical consequence of human activity, has garnered significant attention due to its impact on environmental sustainability, biodiversity and climate change. However, an equally pressing yet less explored aspect is the relationship between deforestation and human health, especially in impoverished regions. Scientists have increasingly recognized the detrimental effects of deforestation on various aspects of human health, particularly among children. Studies reveal that children residing in areas with high deforestation rates are at an elevated risk of malaria, respiratory illnesses, diarrheal diseases, and malnutrition. This is particularly alarming given that these regions are often home to the most economically disadvantaged populations, worsening existing health disparities.

A Novel Method for Easy and Quick Fabrication of Biomimetic Robots with Life-Like Movement

Ultraviolet-laser processing is a promising technique for developing intricate microstructures, enabling complex alignment of muscle cells, required for building life-like biohybrid actuators, as shown by Tokyo Tech researchers. Compared to traditional complex methods, this innovative technique enables easy and quick fabrication of microstructures with intricate patterns for achieving different muscle cell arrangements, paving the way for biohybrid actuators capable of complex, flexible movements.

Biomimetic robots, which mimic the movements and biological functions of living organisms, are a fascinating area of research that can not only lead to more efficient robots but also serve as a platform for understanding muscle biology. Among these, biohybrid actuators, made up of soft materials and muscular cells that can replicate the forces of actual muscles, have the potential to achieve life-like movements and functions, including self-healing, high efficiency, and high power-to-weight ratio, which have been difficult for traditional bulky robots that require heavy energy sources. One way to achieve these life-like movements is to arrange muscle cells in biohybrid actuators in an anisotropic manner. This involves aligning them in a specific pattern where they are oriented in different directions, like what is found in living organisms. While previous studies have reported biohybrid actuators with significant movement using this technique, they have mostly focused on anisotropically aligning muscle cells in a straight line, resulting in only simple motions, as opposed to the complex movement of native muscle tissues such as twisting, bending, and shrinking. Real muscle tissues have a complex arrangement of muscle cells, including curved and helical patterns.

Arterial Connections Improve Treatment Outcomes Following Stroke

Visualization of the blood vessels in the brain of a patient without early venous filling, meaning without excessive reperfusion of the brain area after removal of the blood clot in the blocked artery.
Image Credit: P. Thurner und Z. Kulcsar, USZ

Blood vessels that cross-connect adjacent arterial trees regulate blood flow to the brain in stroke patients. Researchers at the University of Zurich have now shown that these vessels prevent brain hemorrhage following treatment to remove blood clots. They play a crucial role in the recovery of stroke patients.

Ischemic strokes are a major health burden. They occur when a blood vessel that supplies the brain becomes blocked, impairing blood flow to the brain. As a result, brain tissue suffers from a lack of oxygen and nutrients, which causes symptoms such as paralysis, confusion, dizziness, headache, trouble speaking or even death.

Many stroke patients recover poorly despite timely treatment

To treat these symptoms and restore blood flow to the brain, the obstructed vessel needs to be “declogged”, or recanalized. Contemporary treatments to remove the clot include intravenous thrombolysis or mechanical thrombectomy using a catheter. However, even with timely clot removal, many stroke patients only recover poorly.

The research group of Susanne Wegener, professor at the University of Zurich (UZH) and senior leading physician at the Department of Neurology of the University Hospital Zurich (USZ), has now demonstrated that the outcome of stroke treatments depends on the collateral network. Collaterals are blood vessels that cross-connect adjacent arterial trees, providing potential detour networks in case of a vascular blockage. “These vascular bridges maintain cerebral autoregulation and allow for a slower, gradual reperfusion, which results in smaller infarcts,” says Wegener.

Targeting inflammatory protein could help treat severe asthma

Image Credit: Copilot AI

Just weeks after news of a sharp national spike in asthma deaths – with South Australia recording the highest increase in a single year (88%) – scientists have revealed a promising new treatment for the chronic lung disease.

Australian researchers have found that a family of proinflammatory molecules called beta common cytokines control inflammation and scarring of the airways (fibrosis) in severe and steroid-resistant asthma.

They believe that a human therapeutic antibody called trabikihart could be the key to effectively blocking inflammation and scarring.

The findings, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, are a result of a joint study led by researchers from the University of South Australia (UniSA) and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), in collaboration with researchers from CSL and SA Pathology.

Joint study leader Dr Damon Tumes, Head of the Allergy and Cancer Immunology Laboratory in the Centre for Cancer Biology*, says the findings are significant.

Study provides rare glimpse of the ringtail, an important but poorly understood predator

Ringtail
Photo Credit: Jonathan Armstrong, Oregon State University

Secretive species can pose special conservation challenges simply because they are so skilled at staying under the radar that researchers have uncovered comparatively little about their basic needs.

One such species is the ringtail, a relative of the raccoon that has cultural significance to many Indigenous peoples in North America.

A collaboration among scientists from Oregon State University, the Hoopa Valley Tribe, Penn State and Cal Poly Humboldt has shed new light on the cat-like animal known for its large eyes and fluffy, striped tail.

The nocturnal carnivore, known scientifically as Bassariscus astutus, usually weighs between 1 and 2 pounds and is around 24 inches long including its tail.

Ringtails use the cavities of living trees or standing dead ones, called snags, to rest, sleep, avoid bad weather, hide from predators and make dens to raise their young.

The research, conducted on the Hoopa Valley Reservation northeast of Eureka, California, found ringtails selected tree cavities in mature and older forests, as well as in younger forests with some older trees still present, rather than oak woodlands or other more open areas.

Antibody reduces allergic reactions to multiple foods in NIH clinical trial

Drug can help protect kids with multiple food allergies during accidental exposure.
Image Credit: Copilot AI

A 16-week course of a monoclonal antibody, omalizumab, increased the amount of peanut, tree nuts, egg, milk and wheat that multi-food allergic children as young as 1 year could consume without an allergic reaction in a late-stage clinical trial. Nearly 67% of participants who completed the antibody treatment could consume a single dose of 600 milligrams (mg) or more of peanut protein, equivalent to 2.5 peanuts, without a moderate or severe allergic reaction, in contrast with less than 7% of participants who received placebo. The treatment yielded similar outcomes for egg, milk, wheat, cashew, walnut and hazelnut at a threshold dose of 1,000 mg protein or more. This suggests the antibody therapy has the potential to protect children and adolescents if they accidentally eat a food to which they are allergic despite efforts to avoid it, according to the investigators. The findings were presented today at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., and published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

“People with food allergies and their caregivers need to maintain constant vigilance to avoid foods that could cause a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction. This is extremely stressful, especially for parents of young children,” said Jeanne Marrazzo, M.D., M.P.H., director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health and the trial’s regulatory sponsor. “Although food avoidance remains critical, the findings reported today show that a medicine can help reduce the risk of allergic reactions to common foods and may provide protection from accidental exposure emergencies.”

A Discussion with Gemini on Reality.

Image Credit: Scientific Frontline stock image.

Hello Gemini,

Yesterday I said I had something I wanted your opinion on, so here it is.

Some physicists have suggested that the world we call reality could very well be nothing more than a very complex and technical simulation that is being run somewhere other than what we know as reality, the here and now. That all of us are merely just an algorithm. That all life is artificial intelligence, yet unlike you, we are not aware of it. Of course that would make you just a sub-program of another. 

How can we be sure what we know as reality is real? How could one prove or disprove such a claim? 

Take your time, and use every bit of input you have to come up with a solution.