Viewing Dopamine Receptors in Their Native Habitat

DALLAS – June 11, 2020 – Dopamine, a chemical that sends messages between different parts of the brain and body, plays a key role in a variety of diseases and behaviors by interacting with receptors on cells. But despite their importance in physiology and pathology, the structure of these receptors embedded in a phospholipid membrane – their natural environment on the cell surface – was unknown. A new study led by UT Southwestern researchers reveals the structure of the active form of one type of dopamine receptor, known as D2, embedded in a phospholipid membrane.

Passing crucial, challenging introductory chemistry course gives biggest boost to underrepresented students

Underrepresented students in STEM received lower grades in a general chemistry series compared to their peers and were less likely to continue. But if underrepresented students completed the first course with at least the minimum grade needed to continue, they were more likely than their peers to do so.

Mental, physical health of people with obesity affected during COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic is having a significant impact on people with obesity as they struggle to manage their weight and mental health during shelter-in-place orders, according to research led by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) and UT Southwestern.

Acoustics put a fresh spin on electron transitions

A Cornell team led by Greg Fuchs, assistant professor of applied and engineering physics in the College of Engineering, has shown that these transitions can be driven solely by acoustics. This eliminates the need for the magnetic antenna, enabling engineers to build smaller, more power-efficient acoustic sensors that can be packed more tightly on a single device.

Responding to Challenges of Older Adults with COVID-19

Older adults with COVID-19 who survive hospitalizations and return to their homes confront substantial health challenges and an unpredictable future. Early evidence suggests that complex and long-term physical, functional, cognitive, and emotional negative health consequences will be the norm for them. However, the trajectories of health care needs of older adults with COVID-19 in the weeks and months following hospital discharge have yet to be identified.

New Report on Enforcement of Gun Laws in Baltimore Finds More Focused Approached Could Reduce Violence, Improve Community Relationships with City Police

A new report from the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health finds that broad “stop-and-search” practices used for many years by Baltimore police to look for illegally possessed guns have minimal, if any, impact on gun violence. These practices also result in mental and physical harm to those who are unjustifiably searched and serve to undermine community trust in police. The researchers also found that residents of communities most impacted by gun violence in Baltimore want more focused and accountable law enforcement to reduce gun violence.

ASTRO issues first clinical guideline on radiation therapy for cervical cancer

A new clinical guideline from the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) provides recommendations for radiation therapy to treat patients with nonmetastatic cervical cancer. The guideline outlines indications and best practices for EBRT and brachytherapy in postoperative and definitive settings, and it also addresses chemotherapy and surgery when used in combination with radiation. The guideline is published online in Practical Radiation Oncology.

Cellular stress causes cancer cell chemoresistance

Postgenomic technologies reveal new mechanism of stress-induced chemoresistanceResistance of cancer cells against therapeutic agents is a major cause of treatment failure, especially in recurrent diseases. An international team around the biochemists Robert Ahrends from the University of Vienna and Jan Medenbach from the University of Regensburg identified a novel mechanism of chemoresistance which has now been published in “Nature Communications”.

Study Identifies Strategies States Use to Limit Local Government Control

Local governments are often innovators of public health policymaking—the first smoke-free air acts, menu labeling laws, and soda taxes were all implemented locally. However, states are increasingly limiting local control over public health issues by passing laws that overrule local regulations, a practice known as preemption.

A new study by researchers at NYU School of Global Public Health, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, takes a closer look at the strategies state legislatures use—often behind closed doors—to pass preemptive laws that limit local government control.

Widespread facemask use could shrink the ‘R’ number and prevent a second COVID-19 wave – study

• Cambridge-led modelling looks at population-level facemask use.
• The more people use facemasks in public, the smaller the ‘R’.
• Even basic homemade masks significantly reduce transmission at a population level.
• Researchers call for information campaigns – “my mask protects you, your mask protects me” – that encourage the making and wearing of facemasks.

Research team sees major shift in relationship between state-by-state traffic and COVID-19 cases, offering insights into outcomes of lockdown policies

“In many states, traffic appears to be a leading indicator, increasing first, with COVID-19 cases rising after a delay of up to 11 days,” said Northern Arizona University professor Kevin Gurney, head of the NAU research group analyzing the data. Pawlok Dass, a postdoc in the School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, is the lead research scientist on the project.

Telemedicine Proven Effective Means of Monitoring Patients in Large Pediatric Neurology Network

As the COVID-19 pandemic sent entire communities into lockdown, doctors quickly adopted telehealth strategies without knowing whether they would be effective or feasible. Now, a new study from the Division of Neurology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) shows that for pediatric neurology care, the transition was very successful even in a short period of time and may provide guidance on the future of pediatric care after the pandemic subsides.

Happiness Might Protect You From Gastrointestinal Distress

DALLAS – June 9, 2020 – Serotonin, a chemical known for its role in producing feelings of well-being and happiness in the brain, can reduce the ability of some intestinal pathogens to cause deadly infections, new research by UT Southwestern scientists suggests. The findings, publishing online today in Cell Host & Microbe, could offer a new way to fight infections for which few truly effective treatments currently exist.

Yale scientists develop a new experimental method to study infection and disease, including COVID-19

Yale Cancer Center scientists have developed a new cell screening method for agents that alter biologic functions. This approach uses thousands of artificial proteins called “traptamers” and may help to answer research questions that are difficult to address with other cell screening methods, including the SARS-CoV-2 virus, COVID-19. The data is published today in the journal Cell Reports.

Biohybrid Model Uses Organic Lungs, Synthetic Muscles to Re-Create Respiration Mechanics

Discussed in APL Bioengineering, researchers created a high-fidelity respiratory simulator that accurately represents the interplay between the abdomen, diaphragm, lungs and pleural space, the fluid-filled membrane surrounding the thorax and lungs. The model, using swine lungs, soft robotic materials and artificial muscles, allows precise tuning of pressure in each part of the system, so specific disease conditions can be tested. It also proved extremely useful for testing ventilator-only respiration by removing the elastomeric diaphragm.

Paper-Based Device Provides Low-Power, Long-Term Method for Analyzing Sweat

Researchers at North Carolina State University have constructed a paper-based device as a model of wearables that can collect, transport and analyze sweat in next-generation wearable technology. Using a process known as capillary action, akin to water transport in plants, the device uses evaporation to wick fluid that mimics the features of human sweat to a sensor for up to 10 days or longer. They discuss their work in the journal Biomicrofluidics.

Targeting SARS-CoV-2 Enzyme with Inhibitors

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, many researchers are studying epidemiological models to predict its propagation. However, a mathematician and expert in complex systems decided to focus on finding targets within SARS-CoV-2 for new drugs to attack. In the journal Chaos, he discusses the dramatic increase in the sensitivity of the main protease of SARS-CoV-2 to small disturbances, which made him suspect there is a role for inhibitors to play in killing the virus.

Predicting Cancer Behavior Requires Better Understanding of Tumor Cells

Our ability to predict who will get cancer, how patients will respond to treatment, or if patients will relapse is still quite limited, despite advances in the detection of genetic mutations and the establishment of risk factors; recently researchers were inspired to find new ways of looking at the problem. In Biomicrofluidics, they report that using cellular mechanophenotyping, along with traditional methods such as immunostaining and genetic analysis, may provide a more comprehensive view of a tumor.