First-in-human clinical trial of CAR T cell therapy with new binding mechanism shows promising early responses

Early results from a Phase I clinical trial of AT101, a new CAR T cell therapy that uses a distinct binding mechanism to target CD19, show a 100 percent complete response (CR) rate at the higher dose levels studied in the trial.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/12/231210233253.htm

Battle of the AIs in medical research: ChatGPT vs Elicit

A research team has focused on generative AI as an information-gathering tool in the medical field. The results showed that one of the generative AIs suggested mostly fictitious references, while the other suggested multiple references with the same level of accuracy as the researchers. It is advised to use different generative AIs depending on the type of information needed.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/12/231209010034.htm

What happens when the brain loses a hub?

Neuroscientists have obtained the first direct recordings of the human brain in the minutes before and after a brain hub crucial for language meaning was surgically disconnected. The results reveal the importance of brain hubs in neural networks and the remarkable way in which the human brain attempts to compensate when a hub is lost, with immediacy not previously observed.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/12/231208190015.htm

Major breakthrough for severe asthma treatment

A landmark study has shown that severe asthma can be controlled using biologic therapies, without the addition of regular high-dose inhaled steroids which can have significant side effects.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/12/231208133135.htm

Climate change will increase wildfire risk and lengthen fire seasons

Wildfires are some of the most destructive natural disasters in the country, threatening lives, destroying homes and infrastructure, and creating air pollution. In order to properly forecast and manage wildfires, managers need to understand wildfire risk and allocate resources accordingly.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/12/231208133115.htm

Coral reefs in peril from record-breaking ocean heat

Record breaking marine heatwaves will cause devastating mass coral bleaching worldwide in the next few years, according to a coral reef scientist.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/12/231208133107.htm

ChatGPT often won't defend its answers -- even when it is right

ChatGPT may do an impressive job at correctly answering complex questions, but a new study suggests it may be absurdly easy to convince the AI chatbot that it's in the wrong.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/12/231207210847.htm

Molecular fossils shed light on ancient life

Paleontologists are getting a glimpse at life over a billion years in the past based on chemical traces in ancient rocks and the genetics of living animals. New research combines geology and genetics, showing how changes in the early Earth prompted a shift in how animals eat.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/12/231207161517.htm

Ancient DNA analysis reveals how the rise and fall of the Roman Empire shifted populations in the Balkans

Despite the Roman Empire's extensive military and cultural influence on the nearby Balkan peninsula, a DNA analysis of individuals who lived in the region between 1 and 1000 CE found no genetic evidence of Iron Age Italian ancestry. Instead, a new study has revealed successive waves of migrations from Western Anatolia, central and northern Europe, and the Pontic-Kazakh Steppe during the Empire's reign.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/12/231207161343.htm

It turns out, this fossil 'plant' is really a fossil baby turtle

Researchers re-examined a plant fossil found decades ago in Colombia and realized that it wasn't a plant at all: it's a fossilized baby turtle. It's a rare find, because juvenile turtles' shells are soft and often don't fossilize well.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/12/231207160838.htm

Catalyst for electronically controlled C--H functionalization

Scientists chipping away at one of the great challenges of metal-catalyzed C--H functionalization with a new method that uses a cobalt catalyst to differentiate between bonds in fluoroarenes, functionalizing them based on their intrinsic electronic properties. And their method is fast -- comparable in speed to those that rely on iridium.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/12/231207160405.htm

Researchers develop grassroots framework for managing environmental commons

A team of sustainability scientists recently announced that they have developed a community-based framework, founded on extensive local and traditional knowledge, to help assess and respond to the kinds of ecological threats that are widely dispersed across a varied landscape and whose solutions are not immediately obvious. The framework, which was developed to address watershed issues in Honduras's Lake Yojoa, is widely applicable to a broad range of threats facing ecological commons wherever they may occur around the world.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/12/231206150542.htm

Fungus-fighting protein could help overcome severe autoimmune disease and cancer

A protein in the immune system programmed to protect the body from fungal infections is also responsible for exacerbating the severity of certain autoimmune diseases such as irritable bowel disease (IBS), type 1 diabetes, eczema and other chronic disorders, new research has found.  The discovery could pave the way for new and more effective drugs, without the nasty side effects of existing treatments. In addition to helping to manage severe autoimmune conditions, the breakthrough could also help treat all types of cancer.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/12/231206150538.htm

Bowtie resonators that build themselves bridge the gap between nanoscopic and macroscopic

Two nanotechnology approaches converge by employing a new generation of fabrication technology. It combines the scalability of semiconductor technology with the atomic dimensions enabled by self-assembly.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/12/231206115926.htm

Climate change shown to cause methane to be released from the deep ocean

New research has shown that fire-ice -- frozen methane which is trapped as a solid under our oceans -- is vulnerable to melting due to climate change and could be released into the sea.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/12/231206115915.htm

Greenhouse gases in oceans are altered by climate change impact on microbes

The ocean is a global life-support system, and climate change causes such as ocean warming, acidification, deoxygenation, and nitrogen-deposition alter the delicate microbial population in oceans. The marine microbial community plays an important role in the production of greenhouse gases like nitrous oxide and methane. Scientists have explored the climate change impact on marine microbes. Their research helps raise awareness about climate change severity and the importance of ocean resources.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/12/231206115904.htm

Repeated blast exposures may harm the brain health of military personnel

The brains of special warfare community personnel repeatedly exposed to blasts show increased inflammation and structural changes compared with a control group, potentially increasing the risk of long-term, brain-related disease, according to a new study.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/12/231206115901.htm

New findings reveal important insights into age-related nonresolving inflammation

Aging is associated with chronic, nonresolving inflammation, or 'inflammaging,' that can lead to tissue dysfunction. New findings reveal insights into the cellular programs and factors that promote the resolution of inflammation during aging. These findings may lead to the development of new strategies to limit age-related organ decline.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/12/231206115858.htm

New protein linked to early-onset dementia identified

Scientists have identified abnormal aggregates of a protein called TAF15 in the brains of individuals with early-onset dementia, known as frontotemporal dementia, where the cause was not previously known.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/12/231206115845.htm

Limitations of asteroid crater lakes as climate archives

In southern Germany just north of the Danube, there lies a large circular depression between the hilly surroundings: the Nördlinger Ries. Almost 15 million years ago, an asteroid struck this spot. Today, the impact crater is one of the most useful analogues for asteroid craters on early Mars. Studying the deposits of the former lake that formed in the crater is particularly informative. These deposits have been of great interest ever since NASA began exploring Martian craters for signs of water and life on Mars.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/12/231205170654.htm