Mild thyroid disorders can cause serious heart problems

Johannes W. Dietrich works in the section diabetology, endocrinology and metabolism of Medical Clinic I in the RUB Clinic St. Josef Hospital.
Credit: Curtesy of Johannes W. Dietrich

A systematic evaluation of 32 studies with 1.3 million participants reveals new relationships.

It has been known for more than 200 years that severe over functions of the thyroid gland can lead to disturbances in the heart rhythm and thus to sudden cardiac death. So far, it has been unclear what risk is associated with only slight over- or under-functions. A systematic evaluation of 32 studies with 1.3 million participants shows that even slight deviations in thyroid function can increase the risk of serious cardiovascular diseases. "This puts our understanding of the interaction between the thyroid and the heart on a new footing and shows the way to personalized prevention," said private lecturer Dr. Johannes Dietrich from the medical clinic in St. Josef Hospital, Clinic of the Ruhr University Bochum (RUB). The researchers worked in the journal Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine.

For the work, the cardiac and hormone researchers of the RUB cooperated with the Tan Tock Seng Hospital, the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine and the Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore.

Scientists Created a Material Promising for Improving Brightness of Screens

One of the assembled organic LEDs based on push-pull systems.
Photo credit: Ruslan Gadirov / TSU

Scientists at the Postovsky Institute of Organic Synthesis, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Ural Federal University have developed, synthesized, and studied a series of new fluorophores - push-pull systems (compounds with pronounced electron-donor and electron-acceptor parts) based on cyanopyrazine. Ural chemists in cooperation with colleagues from Tomsk State University showed that the presence of a cyano group in the substance significantly increases the efficiency of organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) based on it. This opens the prospect of creating new materials to enhance the brightness of displays of smartphones, computers and televisions. An article describing the research and its results was published in the journal Dyes and Pigments.

In previous research work, chemists demonstrated that one of the most promising compounds as an acceptor (attracting electrons) part in push-pull systems is the pyrazine ring (another name is 1,4-diazine), a compound of nitrogen, hydrogen and carbon that has a significant electron-accepting effect.

A revolutionary method to observe cell transport

Nanobodies (grey) with magnetic probes (red stars) target the desired membrane protein.
Credit: Bordignon, Enrica

Membrane proteins are key targets for many drugs. They are located between the outside and inside of our cells. Some of them, called ‘‘transporters’’, move certain substances in and out of the cellular environment. Yet, extracting and storing them for observation is particularly complex. A team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), in collaboration with the University of Zurich (UZH), has developed an innovative method to study their structure in their native environment: the cell. The technique is based on electron spin resonance spectroscopy. These results, just published in the journal Science Advances, may facilitate future development of new drugs.

In living organisms, each cell is surrounded by a cell membrane (or ‘‘cytoplasmic membrane’’). This membrane consists of a double layer of lipids. It separates the contents of the cell from its direct environment and regulates the substances that can enter or leave the cell. The proteins attached to this membrane are called ‘‘membrane proteins’’.

Located at the interface between the outside and inside of the cell, they carry various substances across the membrane - into or out of the cell - and play a crucial role in cell signaling, i.e. in the communication system of cells that allows them to coordinate their metabolic processes, development and organization. As a result, membrane proteins represent more than 60% of current drug targets.

Using Carbon-Carbon Clumping to Detect the Signature of Biotic Hydrocarbons

The mystery of the origin of hydrocarbons found in extraterrestrial environment may finally be resolved, thanks to a technique developed by researchers at Tokyo Tech based on a 13C-13C abundance analysis. By measuring the abundance of clumped 13C-13C isotope in the hydrocarbons, it can be inferred if a hydrocarbon was produced via biological processes. This could open doors to distinguishing such hydrocarbons from abiotic ones, aiding our search for extra-terrestrial life.

An important signature of life is the existence of organic molecules that have originated from biological processes. The most common organic molecule found in all life forms are hydrocarbons. However, they need not be of biotic origin, i.e., produced from thermal decomposition of sedimentary organic matter or microbes. So, while hydrocarbons have been found in several places outside Earth, they are not necessarily indicative of extra-terrestrial life. These hydrocarbons could well have formed from abiotic, or non-biological processes. Therefore, finding out whether a hydrocarbon is of biotic or abiotic origin is key to inferring the existence of life. Unfortunately, this has proved to be a tremendously challenging task so far.

How heart failure disrupts the cell’s powerhouse

From left: Shingo Takada, Hokkaido University and Hokusho University; Shintaro Kinugawa, Kyushu University; and Hisataka Sabe, Hokkaido University
Photos credits: Shingo Takada, Shintaro Kinugawa, Hisataka Sabe

Chronic heart failure causes the cell’s powerhouses to dysfunction, in part due to overconsumption of an important intermediary compound in energy production. Supplementing the diet to compensate for this could prove a promising strategy for treating heart failure. The findings were published in the journal PNAS by Hokkaido University scientists and colleagues in Japan.

Mitochondria are small organelles found in almost every cell and are responsible for converting carbohydrates, fats and proteins into energy to power biochemical reactions. Chronic heart failure is known to be associated with mitochondrial dysfunction, but much is still unknown about how this happens at the molecular level.

A research team consisting of molecular biologist Hisataka Sabe (Hokkaido University), cardiovascular medicine specialists Shingo Takada (Hokkaido University and Hokusho University) and Shintaro Kinugawa (Kyushu University) and their colleagues studied the biochemical processes that occur in mice with chronic heart failure caused by surgically blocking part of the blood supply to their hearts. They specifically looked at heart cells outside the boundaries of dead tissue.

Aging, Frailty, and our Microbiomes

Photo Credit: Magda Ehlers

We humans tend to think we live independently, capable of ensuring our own health and wellbeing. As researchers are increasingly aware, however, our microbiomes—the trillions of microbes that live on and within us—play central roles in our health and susceptibility to different diseases. And as we age, our microbiomes change too, with important health implications over time.

Jackson Laboratory (JAX) Associate Professor Julia Oh, Ph.D., studies the microbiome, particularly the microbes that colonize the skin. While prior research has explored the gut microbiome in the context of aging, to date there has been little insight into the changes that occur in other microbial communities of our body, like the mouth and skin. To further investigate, Oh and her team collaborated with UConn Center on Aging Professors Julie Robison, Ph.D., and George Kuchel, M.D., to study the microbiome of the skin, oral, and gut of older adults compared to younger adults.

Because of the unique design of their study, where they sampled frail older adults inhabiting skilled nursing facilities as well as community-dwelling older adults, they found that the greatest microbiome differences between the groups were associated with increased frailty, not chronological age. A second surprising finding was that microbiome differences between cohorts were most pronounced in the skin, rather than the gut or mouth. Moreover, the skin harbored the greatest number of potential risk factors for infectious disease. The researchers presented their findings in “Associations of the skin, oral and gut microbiome with aging, frailty and infection risk reservoirs in older adults,” published in Nature Aging.

“This was an extraordinary multidisciplinary effort between our clinical and research team at UConn Center on Aging and The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine,” says Oh. “We believe this exciting study is an important step to understanding how the microbiome contributes to aging and chronic diseases, in turn allowing us to identify potential interventional targets to improve health across lifespan.”

Why late-night eating leads to weight gain, diabetes

The science behind the study is underpinned by research done at Northwestern more than 20 years ago that found a relationship between the internal molecular clock and body weight, obesity and metabolism in animals.
Credit: Diana Titenko

Health benefits come from eating during the daytime, demonstrating a potential link to energy release

The science behind the study is underpinned by research done at Northwestern more than 20 years ago that found a relationship between the internal molecular clock and body weight, obesity and metabolism in animals.

Northwestern Medicine scientists have uncovered the mechanism behind why eating late at night is linked to weight gain and diabetes.

The connection between eating time, sleep and obesity is well-known but poorly understood, with research showing that overnutrition can disrupt circadian rhythms and change fat tissue.

New Northwestern research has shown for the first time that energy release may be the molecular mechanism through which our internal clocks control energy balance. From this understanding, the scientists also found that daytime is the ideal time in the light environment of the Earth’s rotation when it is most optimal to dissipate energy as heat. These findings have broad implications from dieting to sleep loss and the way we feed patients who require long-term nutritional assistance.

A laser that could ‘reshape the landscape of integrated photonics’

A team of researchers led by Qiang Lin, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Rochester, has developed the first multi-color integrated laser that emits high-coherence light at telecommunication wavelengths, allows laser-frequency tuning at record speeds, and is the first narrow linewidth laser with fast configurability at the visible band.
Credit: University of Rochester / J. Adam Fenster

How do you integrate the advantages of a benchtop laser that fills a room onto a semiconductor chip the size of a fingernail?

A research team co-led by Qiang Lin, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Rochester, has set new milestones in addressing this challenge, with the first multi-color integrated laser that:

• Emits high-coherence light at telecommunication wavelengths
• Allows laser-frequency tuning at record speeds
• Is the first narrow linewidth laser with fast configurability at the visible band

The project, described in Nature Communications, was co-led by John Bowers, distinguished professor at University of California/Santa Barbara, and Kerry Vahala, professor at the California Institute of Technology. Lin Zhu, professor at Clemson University, also collaborated on the project.

New cervical cancer screening test can predict cell changes well in advance

The new test is part of a research program aimed at predicting the risk of developing four types of cancer from a single cell sample from the cervix.
Credit: Mart Production

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet, among others, have developed a screening test for cervical cancer that can predict cell changes several years before they are visible under the microscope. The test is also better at identifying high-grade cell changes in gynecological cell samples than today's methods. It shows a study published in the journal Genome Medicine.

The method has the potential to improve today's screening program and enable a previous intervention to prevent cancer, says Karin Sundström, doctor at Karolinska University Hospital and senior researcher at Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institutet.

The test was developed by an international research team from Karolinska Institutet, Innsbruck University in Austria and University College London (UCL) in the United Kingdom. It is part of a research program aimed at predicting the risk of developing four types of cancer (breast, ovarian, uterine and cervical cancer) from a single cell sample from the cervix. Previous studies have shown that the test may detect the risk of breast and ovarian cancer by analyzing a regular cell sample from the cervix.

Disease Outbreaks Influence the Color of Wolves Across North America

 Members of the Druid Peak Pack in Yellowstone National Park engage in a game of chase. The gray colored wolf on the left represents the homozygous gray phenotype, while the black colored wolf on the right represents the K-locus black phenotype.
Credit: Daniel Stahler/NPS

New research from the University of Oxford, Yellowstone National Park, and Penn State, published today in the journal Science, may have finally solved why wolves change color across the North American continent.

If you were to travel from Arctic Canada and head south down the Rocky Mountains into the US toward Mexico, the further south you go, the blacker wolves there are. The reasons why have long puzzled scientists.

Professor Tim Coulson from the Department of Biology, University of Oxford who led the work explains, ‘In most parts of the world black wolves are absent or very rare, yet in North America they are common in some areas and absent in others. Scientists have long wondered why. We now have an explanation based on wolf surveys across North America, and modelling motivated by extraordinary data collected by co-authors who work in Yellowstone.’

Sickly Shades of Grey: Disease Outbreaks Influence the Color of Wolves Across North America. Depending on the variant of the gene a wolf has, its coat can either be black or grey.

Ural Scientists Created Nanoparticle Growth Technology

The new material is suitable for solar cells, biosensors, and other systems working on quantum principles.
Photo credit: Vladimir Petrov

Physicists at Ural Federal University and their colleagues from the Institute of Electrophysics, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Institute of Ion Plasma and Laser Technologies, Academy of Sciences, have developed a technology for growing nonspherical nanoparticles that are synthesized by ion implantation. With the new technique, it is possible to grow nanoparticles of different shapes and thus obtain the necessary properties and control them. The technology is applicable to different metals, both noble metals such as gold, silver, platinum, and "ordinary", the scientists assure. A description of the technology and the results of the first experiments - copper implantation in ceramics - are presented in the Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids.

"By changing the shape of nanoparticles from spherical to non-spherical, we were able to increase the range of optical absorption. This, in turn, is the basis for further converting the absorbed energy into electricity and heat. As a result, we can get more functional sensors and increase their sensitivity range. If such nanoparticles are built into lasers, their power will increase. If we talk about sensors, their sensitivity will increase. As for sensors, their response time will change. This is all due to the peculiarity of plasmon resonance, which leads to the fact that around the nanoparticles there is an amplified electric field," explains study co-author Arseny Kiryakov, Associate Professor at the Department of Physical Techniques and Devices for Quality Control at UrFU.

Study Finds No Benefit to Taking Fluvoxamine for COVID-19 Symptoms

A study led by the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI) in partnership with Vanderbilt University found no symptomatic or clinical benefit to taking the antidepressant fluvoxamine 50 mg twice daily for 10 days for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 symptoms.

“There was no evidence of improvement in time to recovery in participants who took this dose of fluvoxamine versus those who took a placebo,” said Adrian Hernandez, M.D., the study’s administrative principal investigator and executive director of the DCRI.

Findings appear on medRxiv, a pre-publication server, and have been submitted to a peer-reviewed journal.

Researchers looked at the rate of sustained recovery, defined as three days without symptoms, in ACTIV-6. While 75% of participants were still reporting symptoms on day 7, the majority (82%) of these participants reported no limitation in activities.

How a Small Protein Plays a Large Role in Mitochondrial Function

Rebecca Voorhees
Credit: Caltech

Caltech researchers have discovered an unexpected role for a protein in human cells, solving a longstanding mystery about how the composition of mitochondrial membranes is regulated.

Multiple studies have previously shown that mutations in the protein MTCH2 are associated with a wide range of disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and leukemia, but it has been unclear what exactly MTCH2 was doing to have such a major effect on the cell's function. This new work shows that MTCH2 is critical for the construction of a cell's mitochondria, specifically for carefully inserting proteins into the mitochondrial outer membrane.

The research was conducted in the laboratory of Rebecca Voorhees, assistant professor of biology and biological engineering and a Heritage Medical Research Institute Investigator, and was a close collaboration with the laboratory of Jonathan Weissman at the Whitehead Institute at MIT. A paper describing the study appears in the journal Science on October 21.

Wildfires drive L.A.’s mountain lions to take deadly risks

  A National Park Service researcher displays the scorched paws of the adult male mountain lion known as P-64. While an NPS tracking collar showed that P-64 survived the Woolsey Fire, he died several weeks later of starvation.
Credit: Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area

When the Woolsey Fire roared through the Santa Monica Mountains in fall 2018, it torched half of the available habitat for the area’s mountain lions — a population already hemmed in by freeways and an ocean.

Most survived the blaze, but in a study published today in Current Biology, scientists from UCLA and the National Park Service found that the animals, no longer able to utilize burned areas, engaged in risky behaviors that increased the likelihood of dangerous encounters with human-built infrastructure and rival mountain lions.

Conflicts with other cougars, particularly males, can be deadly, said lead study author Rachel Blakey, a researcher with UCLA’s La Kretz Center for California Conservation Biology. So can crossing busy roads and freeways, something the researchers found occurred with greater frequency in the 15 months after the fire, jumping from about three crossings a month to five.

“The mountain lions we live alongside in L.A. are already taking their chances with roads and other mountain lions,” Blakey said. “The Woolsey Fire, by further limiting the space they have, really intensified those risks.”

A 10,000-Year-Old Infant Burial Provides Insights Into the Use of Baby Carriers and Family Heirlooms in Prehistory

 Team of researchers including Claudine Gravel-Miguel from Arizona State University, Jamie Hodgkins from the University of Colorado Denver work at the excavation of Arma Veirana.
Credit: University of Colorado Denver

If you’ve taken care of an infant, you know how important it is to find ways to multitask. And, when time is short and your to-do list is long, humans find ways to be resourceful—something caregivers have apparently been doing for a very, very long time.

The authors of a new article published in the Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory argue that they have found evidence of the use of baby carriers 10,000 years ago at the Arma Veirana site in Liguria, Italy. The research, led by Arizona State University’s Claudine Gravel-Miguel, PhD, also includes the University of Colorado Denver’s Jamie Hodgkins, PhD, an Associate Professor of Anthropology, and a co-principal investigator on the excavation of Arma Veirana.

Because material used to make the first baby carriers is not preserved well in the archaeological record and because prehistoric baby burials are very uncommon, evidence for prehistoric baby carriers is extremely rare. The site—which includes the oldest documented burial of a female infant in Europe, a 40- to 50-days-old baby, nicknamed Neve—has both. Researchers used innovative analytical methods to extract hard-to-obtain information about perforated shell beads found at the site.