Fresh Science Trends

Laurence Zitvogel,   Nicola Segata,   Jonathan Peled  and  Maria Rescigno   Abstract Simple Summary The microbiome in cancer immunotherapy: Diagnostic tools and therapeutic strategies Cancer immunotherapy is a treatment modality that involves the stimulation of the patient’s immune system to fight off tumors. Although efficient in limiting the disease progression of several solid tumors, including lung cancer and melanoma, some patients may have poor outcomes. This review focuses on the role of the gut microbiota (the microbial community residing in the gastrointestinal tract) in immunity and cancer immunotherapy. Manipulation of the gut microbiota with dietary interventions or fecal microbiota transplantation to enhance response to immunotherapy could pave the way for personalized therapies with improved efficacy. Chaired by  Luca Danelli The microbiota can influence the immune system and modulate response to cancer immunotherapy. In this webinar, our spe...

  Picture: A Heart, Source:  Magic Design™: Free Online AI Design Tool New Insights into the Heart's Circadian Mechanism Scientists have uncovered a new cellular mechanism that allows the mammalian heart to align with circadian rhythms, shedding light on why some individuals may face increased cardiac risks. Circadian rhythms, biological processes that operate on a 24-hour cycle, govern crucial bodily functions such as sleep-wake cycles, metabolism, and cognition. The heart, long known to follow this biological clock, experiences changes like elevated heart rates in the morning and reduced rates at night. However, the precise cellular processes driving these fluctuations have remained elusive. Discovery of an Ion Transport System Researchers at the MRC Laboratory for Molecular Biology at the University of Cambridge, led by circadian biologist Alessandra Stangherlin, have identified an ion transport system in mouse heart cells that plays a pivotal role. This system enables h...

  Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Summary of Honey's Microbiology and Implications on Human Health 1. Honey Composition and Microbial Relationship Honey is composed mainly of sugars (fructose, glucose), water, and organic compounds. Microbial diversity in honey stems from bee digestive tracts, environmental sources (soil, plants, air), and hive conditions. Factors affecting microbial composition include: Honeybee microbiome Floral nectar sources Geographical hive location Environmental conditions Microbial examples in honey: Beneficial microbes: Lactic acid bacteria (e.g., Lactobacillus , Bifidobacterium ) contribute to acidity, probiotics, and antimicrobial properties. Undesirable microbes: Yeasts (e.g., Saccharomyces , Candida ) in high-moisture honey can lead to spoilage. 2. Honeybee Microbiome's Role Honeybee gut microbiomes (e.g., Enterobacter , Serratia ) are crucial for honey's chemical properties and bee health. Disturbance in this microbio...

Date: December 20, 2024 Source: Royal Astronomical Society Summary: One of the biggest mysteries in science -- dark energy -- doesn't actually exist, according to researchers looking to solve the riddle of how the Universe is expanding. For the past 100 years, physicists have generally assumed that the cosmos is growing equally in all directions. They employed the concept of dark energy as a placeholder to explain unknown physics they couldn't understand, but the contentious theory has always had its problems. Now a team of physicists and astronomers are challenging the status quo, using improved analysis of supernovae light curves to show that the Universe is expanding in a more varied, 'lumpier' way. One of the biggest mysteries in science -- dark energy -- doesn't actually exist, according to researchers looking to solve the riddle of how the Universe is expanding. For the past 100 years, physicists have generally assumed that the cosmos is growing equally in all...

 I'd like to plot the blog down in postulates so that it would be considerably easier to study and understand. Heart Failure: Causes, Types, Diagnosis, and Management Heart failure is a condition in which the heart cannot effectively circulate blood to the body's organs. Depending on the underlying cause, heart function may sometimes return to normal with appropriate treatment. Heart Attack In Women Silent Killer Types of Heart Failure Systolic Heart Failure (Reduced Pumping Function): The most common type, characterized by a reduced ability of the heart to pump blood. Symptoms include: Shortness of breath. Fluid retention, causing swelling in the legs or abdomen. Fatigue or subtle signs in some individuals. Diastolic Heart Failure (Impaired Relaxation): In this type, the heart's pumping ability remains normal, but relaxation is impaired, leading to circulation issues. Diagnosing Heart Failure Heart failure is diagnosed by assessing the heart's pumpi...

An international research team found evidence that heart muscle can regenerate after heart failure in some people with artificial hearts Date:  December 20, 2024 Source:  University of Arizona Health Sciences Summary: P hysician-scientists found that a subset of artificial heart patients can regenerate heart muscle, which may open the door to new ways to treat and perhaps someday cure heart failure. A research team co-led by a physician-scientist at the University of Arizona College of Medicine -- Tucson's Sarver Heart Center found that a subset of artificial heart patients can regenerate heart muscle, which may open the door to new ways to treat and perhaps someday cure heart failure. The results were published in the journal Circulation. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart failure affects nearly 7 million U.S. adults and is responsible for 14% of deaths per year. There is no cure for heart failure, though medications can slow its progression. T...

Analysis of nearly 2,000 people living in remote villages in Honduras reveals who’s spreading gut microorganisms to whom. Friends share more than just food when they dine together.Credit: Getty A shared meal, a kiss on the cheek: these social acts bring people together — and bring their microbiomes together, too. The more people interact, the more similar the make-up of their gut microorganisms is, even if individuals don’t live in the same household, a study1 shows. The study also found that a person’s microbiome is shaped not only by their social contacts but also by the social contacts’ connections. The work is one of several studies2 that raise the possibility that health conditions can be shaped by the transmission of the microbiome between individuals, not just by diet and other environmental factors that affect gut flora. In the quest to understand what shapes a person’s microbiome, social interactions are “definitely a piece of the puzzle that I think has been missing until rec...

Study of 1950s sugar rationing in the United Kingdom also suggests risk to babies whose mums ate a high-sugar diet during pregnancy. Candy-floss effect: a childhood diet rich in sugar has been linked to higher risk of high-blood pressure and other conditions in adulthood. Credit: Getty It’s tough news to hear on Halloween: a sugary diet in the first two years of life is linked to a  higher risk of diabetes  and high blood pressure decades later, according to an analysis of UK sugar rationing in the 1950s. The amount of sugar a child consumed after turning six months old seemed to have the biggest effect on the risk of developing a chronic disease later in life. But people exposed to more sugar in the womb also had a higher risk of  diabetes  and high blood pressure compared to those who were conceived when access to sugar was limited. Economist Tadeja Gračner was pregnant with her first child and on doctor-ordered bed rest when she and her colleagues first arrived at...

Researchers at the Complexity Science Hub and Santa Fe Institute have developed a model to calculate how quickly or slowly an organism should ideally learn in its surroundings. An organism's ideal learning rate depends on the pace of environmental change and its life cycle, they say. Every day, we wake to a world that is different, and we adjust to it. Businesses face new challenges and competitors and adapt or go bust. In biology, this is a question of survival: every organism, from bacteria to blue whales, faces the challenge of adapting to environments that are constantly in flux. Animals must learn where to seek nourishing food, even as those food sources change with the seasons. However, learning takes time and energy -- an organism that learns too slowly will lag behind environmental changes, while one that learns too quickly will waste effort trying to track meaningless fluctuations. The new mathematical model provides a quantitative answer to the question: What is the optim...

Claims about food and immunity are everywhere. Now scientists are exploring exactly how nutrition acts on the immune system to boost health and treat disease. Reboot your immune system with intermittent fasting. Help your ‘good’ bacteria to thrive with a plant-based diet. Move over morning coffee: mushroom tea could bolster your anticancer defences. Claims such as these, linking health, diet and immunity, bombard supermarket shoppers and pervade the news. Beyond the headlines and product labels, the scientific foundations of many such claims are often based on limited evidence. That’s partly because conducting rigorous studies to track what people eat and the impact of diet is a huge challenge. In addition, the relevance to human health of results from studies of animals and cells isn’t clear and has sometimes been exaggerated for commercial gain, feeding scepticism in nutrition science. In the past five or so years, however, researchers have developed innovative approaches to nutritio...