The A&P Professor Science & Education Updates - Issue #158

Life Science

T cells, biology textbooks teach us, are the soldiers of the immune system, constantly on the ready to respond to a variety of threats, from viruses to tumors. However, without rest and maintenance T cells can die and leave their hosts more susceptible to pathogens, Yale scientists report May 27 in the journal Science.

Mitochondrial dysfunction has long been associated with aging, making preventing or reversing the organelle’s decay a high priority for longevity researchers.

Until recently, we knew of only two percent of the possible interactions between mammals and viruses, or the "virome." However, a new artificial intelligence (AI) technique has identified potential new host-virus interactions, increasing the size of the known virome by a factor of 15.

Plague may seem like an ancient disease, but the bacterium that causes it persists in rodents and fleas around the world. Researchers are warning that it could resurface in a form that our antibiotics can't treat and cause another pandemic

Research by Dr. Silvia de Santis and Dr. Santiago Canals, both from the Institute of Neurosciences UMH-CSIC (Alicante, Spain), has made it possible to visualize for the first time and in great detail brain inflammation using diffusion-weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

This detailed "X-ray" of inflammation cannot be obtained with conventional MRI, but requires data acquisition sequences and special mathematical models. Once the method was developed, the researchers were able to quantify the alterations in the morphology of the different cell populations involved in the inflammatory process in the brain.

An estimated 70% of primary care physicians reported in a survey that they would still prescribe antibiotics to treat asymptomatic infections based solely on a positive urine specimen.

This is despite long-held medical guidelines recommending against this practice, according to a new study published today in JAMA Network Open, which was led by University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers.

Scientists have identified a new disease in a ground-breaking discovery that could help patients with unexplained liver and kidney problems.

A doctor's blog for folks interested in healthy food & lifestyles to promote good microbiomes & gut health.

Teaching & Learning

Asked about professors’ choices in instructional materials, fairness in grading and other factors, students rate professors highly. But there’s still work to be done.

New data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center show total enrollment declined 4.1 percent since last spring. Community colleges are once again the sector hit the hardest.

TAPP News & Notes

Can bolstering student confidence, while using gamification to provide some fun, spaced retrieval practice be an answer?