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Will making ‘replication studies’ easier to find help science self-correct?
A global capital for AI safety is emerging — and it’s not in Silicon Valley
Why do astronauts’ bodies waste away? Space-station study points to mitochondria
Helium escaping from the atmosphere of a nearby rocky exoplanet orbiting in a habitable zone
Science, Ahead of Print.
Preferred synthesis of armchair transition metal dichalcogenide nanotubes
Science, Ahead of Print.
De novo design of orthogonal far-red, orange, and green fluorophore-binding proteins for multiplexed imaging
Science, Ahead of Print.
A cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase–like scaffold organizes monoterpenoid indole alkaloid biosynthesis
Science, Ahead of Print.
Scientists finally solved how a common gut bacterium triggers colon cancer
Researchers solved a long-standing mystery behind how a bacterial toxin associated with colorectal cancer damages the colon. The toxin first binds to a receptor called claudin-4, giving it access to attack the cells' protective barrier. After identifying this weak point, the team designed a decoy protein that successfully blocked the toxin in mice. The discovery could pave the way for new therapies to prevent inflammation and colon tumors.
Alzheimer’s trial results lend momentum to strategies targeting tau
First drug to lower the protein and slow cognitive decline creates buzz despite puzzling data
More than 400 sick as CDC searches for the source of a mystery outbreak
A growing Cyclospora outbreak has sickened more than 400 people in four states, and investigators are still searching for the contaminated food responsible. The CDC warns the actual number of cases is likely much higher and urges anyone with symptoms to seek medical care.
DNA from African graves provides surprising window into slave trade
Adults and children were taken from deep within continent’s interior, genetic material from remote island of St. Helena suggests
Astronomers spot first atmosphere around a potentially habitable alien world
Detecting escaping helium from LHS 1140b is important step in search for life beyond our Solar System
Common constipation drug may help clear depression brain fog
An existing constipation drug may have an unexpected new use: helping clear the "brain fog" that often lingers after depression. In a small clinical trial, people with a history of depression who took the medication prucalopride for about a week performed better on tests of memory, attention, and thinking speed than those who received a placebo. The drug targets a serotonin receptor found in both the gut and the brain, and researchers saw no significant side effects.
The hidden skeleton “gatekeeper” inside brain cells could help fight Alzheimer's
Researchers have discovered that a microscopic skeleton inside neurons does much more than hold cells together. It acts as a gatekeeper that controls what brain cells absorb and when they absorb it. When this protective structure weakens, neurons rapidly take in harmful proteins associated with Alzheimer's disease, suggesting that stabilizing it could become a promising new strategy for preventing brain cell damage.
Tree-killing beetle is spreading to urban forests around the world
As researchers piece together the pest’s global trek, countries are working to contain the growing threat
Did U.S. scrutiny of foreign research drive prominent geneticist to decline authorship?
George Church moved to paper’s acknowledgements section, triggering exodus
Development of an RNA aptamer as a therapeutic agent for synucleinopathies
The aggregation of α-synuclein (αSyn), a 140-mer protein, has been implicated in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease, multiple system atrophy, and dementia with Lewy bodies. KTKEGV pseudo-repeats (KRs) in the sequence of αSyn are key mediators of its prion-like propagation and neurodegeneration. Despite the availability of symptomatic treatments, no current therapy effectively delays disease progression. Here we report a 77-nucleotide RNA aptamer called 1R6, obtained through in vitro...
Cell-type signatures of Alzheimer's disease shared across population groups
Genomic studies at single-cell resolution have identified several cell types associated with clinical and pathological traits in Alzheimer's disease^(1-9), but have not examined associations that are shared across populations. To bridge this gap, here we use single-nucleus RNA sequencing and assay for transposase-accessible chromatin with sequencing to profile cortical and subcortical regions in post-mortem brain-tissue samples from Latin, white (excluding Latin) and African American (excluding...
Immunotherapy with a short-lived anti-PD-L1 antibody in Alzheimer's disease: a phase 1b, randomized, double-blind trial
While Alzheimer's disease (AD) is initiated by amyloid plaque accumulation, its progression involves local neuroinflammation that the brain cannot resolve when age-related dysfunction of the systemic immune system limits peripheral immune support. Preclinical studies using rodent models showed that transient systemic blockade of programmed death-ligand 1 is associated with reduced neuroinflammation, neuroprotection and attenuation of disease progression. Based on the underlying mechanism, a new...
Chronological age as a major determinant of systemic metabolic remodeling in women
Chronological aging is a major source of interindividual biological variability, yet the metabolic background that accompanies aging in women remains incompletely defined. Using large-scale plasma metabolomic and lipidomic profiling across the adult female lifespan, this study identifies coordinated metabolic signatures that progressively emerge with aging and dominate systemic metabolic variability independently of body mass index and estradiol status. Aging was associated with consistent...