Lifeboat Foundation

There are various studies that have explored the role of the body’s circadian rhythm in regulating immune activity. Disruptions in the circadian rhythms exacerbate inflammation. Researchers from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) University of Medicine and Health Sciences have previously studied how the immune cells called macrophages are affected without an internal body clock. Now, new research by RCSI describes how macrophages work differently at various times of day and could pave the way for time-targeted treatments for inflammatory diseases. The research also illuminates a key role for mitochondria in driving daily changes in immune activity.

The findings are published in The FASEB Journal in an article titled, “Time-of-day control of mitochondria regulates NLRP3 inflammasome activation in macrophages.”

Macrophages release interleukin-1 (IL-1) cytokines in response to inflammatory stimuli, and the NLRP3 inflammasome mediates IL-1-family cytokine release via pyroptosis. Mitochondria play a multifaceted role regulating NLRP3 inflammasome activity. However, whether the macrophage clock regulates the NLRP3 inflammasome via mitochondrial control remains unclear.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly useful for the prediction of emergency events such as heart attacks, natural disasters, and pipeline failures. This requires state-of-the-art technologies that can rapidly process data. In this regard, reservoir computing, specially designed for time-series data processing with low power consumption, is a promising option.

It can be implemented in various frameworks, among which physical reservoir computing (PRC) is the most popular. PRC with optoelectronic artificial synapses that mimic human synaptic elements are expected to have unparalleled recognition and real-time processing capabilities akin to the human visual system.

However, PRC based on existing self-powered optoelectronic synaptic devices cannot handle time-series data across multiple timescales, present in signals for monitoring infrastructure, natural environment, and health conditions.

A UCLA study found that a diet low in omega-6 and high in omega-3 fatty acids, along with fish oil supplements, can significantly slow the growth of prostate cancer cells in men opting for active surveillance, potentially reducing the need for future aggressive treatments.

Researchers from UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have found new evidence that dietary changes may slow cancer cell growth in men with prostate cancer undergoing active surveillance—a treatment approach that involves closely monitoring the cancer without immediate medical intervention.

Prostate Cancer and Dietary Intervention.

As astronauts venture further into space, their exposure to harmful radiation rises. Researchers from Columbia University are simulating the effects of space radiation here on Earth to determine its impact on human physiology using multi-organ tissue chips. Their work documents the differential effects seen in tissues after acute and prolonged radiation exposure and identifies multiple genes of interest that could help inform the development of future radioprotective agents.

Their study appears in Advanced Science.

“As deep space exploration continues to unfold, it is vital to understand the physiological damage caused by space radiation to better mitigate its effects. By exposing multi-organ models to simulated cosmic radiation, this study has laid the groundwork to aid in this effort,” commented Jermont Chen, Ph.D., a program director in the Division of Discovery Science and Technology at NIBIB.

The Russian Ministry of Health has announced that it has developed a vaccine against cancer that will be distributed to Russian patients for free from early 2025.

According to TASS, the Russian state-owned news agency, Andrey Kaprin—the General Director of the Radiology Medical Research Center of the Russian Ministry of Health—recently announcement the development on Russian radio.

The vaccine will apparently be used to treat cancer patients, rather than given to the general public to prevent cancer—and it will be personalized to each patient.

People with breathing problems during sleep may have a larger hippocampus, the area of the brain responsible for memory and thinking, according to a study published in the December 18, 2024, online issue of Neurology.

The study, which included mostly Latino people, also found that those with lower oxygen levels during sleep had changes in the deep parts of the brain, the white matter, a common finding of decreased brain health that develops with age.

Sleep disordered breathing is a range of conditions that cause abnormal breathing during sleep, including snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea is when a person stops breathing five or more times per hour. When breathing stops, it can lower oxygen levels, affecting the brain.

A NASA-led study reveals that the pattern of rainfall throughout the year—specifically the frequency and intensity of rain events—is nearly as significant to global vegetation health as the total amount of annual rainfall.

The research indicates that less frequent but heavier rainfalls can benefit plants in arid regions like the U.S. Southwest, while potentially harming those in wetter ecosystems such as the Central American rainforests due to longer intervals of dryness.

Continue reading “NASA Finds Rain’s Timing Is a Game-Changer for Plants Worldwide” »

DDW Editor Reece Armstrong speaks to Ellie Mahjubi, Vice President, Protein and cell analysis at Thermo Fisher Scientific, about how spatial biology is impacting drug discovery and development research.

RA: What’s the future and potential for spatial biology?

EM: Technological advancements in spatial biology are providing unprecedented insights into single cells within their spatial context, facilitating the analysis of cell types, functional states, cell interaction networks, as well as tissue microenvironments and architecture. These innovations promise to significantly advance basic research and enhance our understanding of human health and disease.

Nearly a quarter of Portuguese adults have allergies that cause a runny nose. This respiratory disease, formally called allergic rhinitis and frequently associated with asthma, is a common problem around the world, and the upper airway is a key target for research into the underlying disease processes.

Now a global team of researchers has discovered that patients with allergy-induced sniffles and asthma have different fungal colonies or mycobiomes in their noses, suggesting potential lines of inquiry for future treatments.

“We showed that allergic rhinitis samples displayed a significantly higher fungal diversity and a different fungal community structure compared to those of healthy controls,” said Dr. Luís Delgado of the University of Porto, Portugal, one of the authors of the article in Frontiers in Microbiology. “This may suggest that allergic rhinitis increases the diversity and changes the composition of the upper airway’s microbiome.”