Science Daily

Advances in organoids and embryonic models of human development have the potential to prompt social and existential questions --e.g., what defines human individuality? However, bioethicists say that these models have the potential to strengthen rather than weaken the concept of human individuality when considered within the philosophical frameworks of 'personhood' and sentience.

Scientists have discovered a new cause of why people who lack a specific blood group are genetically predisposed to be overweight or obese.

Patients with pancreatic cancer who received chemotherapy both before and after surgery experienced longer survival rates than would be expected from surgery followed by chemotherapy, according to a new study.

Research scientists found that a 'one-two punch' of combining the immunosuppressive drug ruxolitinib with existing checkpoint inhibitor therapies may be a more effective way to fight some cancers, including Hodgkin lymphoma. Checkpoint inhibitor therapies can be thought of as the molecular 'brake release' for the immune system. These drugs eliminate the protein barriers that impede the immune system from recognizing and targeting cancer cells in the body.

The carbon stored globally by plants is shorter-lived and more vulnerable to climate change than previously thought, according to a new study.

A devastating hurricane transformed a monkey society by changing the pros and cons of interacting with others, new research shows.

A team of scientists reports a new milestone for the sustainable production of green hydrogen through water electrolysis. Their new catalyst design harnesses so far unexplored properties of water to achieve, for the first time, an alternative to critical raw materials for water electrolysis at industrial-relevant conditions.

Certain drugs commonly used to treat enlarged prostate may also decrease the risk for dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), according to a new study. The researchers think that a specific side effect of the drugs targets a biological flaw shared by DLB and other neurodegenerative diseases, raising the possibility that they may have broad potential for treating a wide range of neurodegenerative conditions.

New research finds one copy of a protective genetic variant, APOE3 Christchurch, delayed onset of Alzheimer's disease for 27 members of a ~6,000-person family in Colombia at high risk for early-onset Alzheimer's in their 40s due to carrying the 'Paisa' (Presenilin-1 E280A) mutation. This work builds on a 2019 case report of a woman in this family who had two copies of the Christchurch variant and delayed Alzheimer's into her 70s. The new findings are the first to show that one copy of the variant confers some level of protection and increases the researchers' confidence that this genetic pathway should be targeted for therapeutics.

Researchers have developed a non-chemotherapy treatment regimen that is achieving full remissions for some people with aggressive B-cell lymphoma that has come back or is no longer responding to standard treatments. The five-drug combination targets multiple molecular pathways that diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) tumors use to survive.

Geologists studied Titan's shorelines and showed through simulations that coastlines of the moon's methane- and ethane-filled seas have likely been shaped by waves. Until now, scientists have found indirect and conflicting signs of wave activity, based on Cassini images of Titan's surface.

The international collaboration presented their first results with new data in four years, featuring a new low-energy sample of electron neutrinos and a dataset doubled in size.

Roughly one in four U.S. households have soil exceeding the new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's lead screening levels of 200 parts per million (ppm), halved from the previous level of 400 ppm, a new study found. For households with exposure from multiple sources, the EPA lowered the guidance to 100 ppm; nearly 40% of households exceed that level, the study also found.

Jupiter's iconic Great Red Spot has persisted for at least 190 years and is likely a different spot from the one observed by the astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini in 1665, a new study reports. The Great Red Spot we see today likely formed because of an instability in the planet's intense atmospheric winds, producing a long, persistent atmospheric cell, the study also finds.

In low- and middle-income countries, anemia reduction efforts are often touted as a way to improve educational outcomes and reduce poverty. A new study evaluates the relationship between anemia and school attendance in India, debunking earlier research that could have misguided policy interventions.

Using sound to stimulate certain brain waves has the potential to help those with dementia or cognitive decline sleep better, reveals a new study. Sleep disturbances are a common feature in dementia and may affect up to half of people living with the condition.

Viruses, including the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, can get passed from person to person via contaminated surfaces. But can some surfaces reduce the risk of this type of transmission without the help of household disinfectants? Wood has natural antiviral properties that can reduce the time viruses persist on its surface -- and some species of wood are more effective than others at reducing infectivity.

An international team of scientists has recently found that non-native species are expanding their ranges many orders of magnitude faster than native ones, in large part due to inadvertent human help. Even seemingly sedentary non-native plants are moving at three times the speed of their native counterparts in a race where, because of the rapid pace of climate change and its effect on habitat, speed matters. To survive, plants and animals need to be shifting their ranges by 3.25 kilometers per year just to keep up with the increasing temperatures and associated climactic shifts -- a speed that native species cannot manage without human help.

Autoimmune diseases cannot currently be cured, only treated, and this is also true for neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder, which affects the central nervous system. A study of how the treatment acts on the immune system shows that it shifts the balance of types of immune cells. This finding may represent a step toward the development of personalized medicine for autoimmune diseases.

The severity of anxiety and depressive symptoms in the planetary science community is greater than in the general U.S. population, according to a new study.