New method mass-produces antitumor cells to treat blood diseases and cancer

A Purdue University chemical engineer has improved upon traditional methods to produce off-the-shelf human immune cells that show strong antitumor activity, according to a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Cell Reports.

Air pollution and stress alter brain development and social behavior in male mice

Naval oceanographer Carina Block had a hunch that the jet exhaust fumes she and her fellow female sailors were regularly exposed to, combined with unavoidable job stress, was leading to adverse health outcomes for their children. A new study in mice backs up Block's suspicion, finding that air pollution along with housing insecurity while pregnant leads to autism-like social behavior and differently wired brains in male, but not female, pups. The immune system seems to be at fault.

Researchers explore treating cancer by sticking cells in place

Future treatments for advanced cancer could work by sticking cancer cells in place and preventing their spread around the body. A new study by researchers at the University of California, Davis, and the University of Washington shows how an antibody strengthens bonds between cells. The work is published Aug. 3 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

EPA announces flights to look for methane in Permian Basin

The Environmental Protection Agency says it will conduct helicopter overflights to look for methane "super emitters" in the nation's largest oil and gas producing region.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-science-news/epa-announces-flights-to-look-for-methane-in-permian-basin

Does China's research and development funding reach the right firms?

Chinese investments in research and development (R&D) have burgeoned since the turn of the century, increasing more than tenfold in absolute terms since 2000 and reaching a high of 2.4 percent of GDP in 2020. As the world's second biggest spender on R&D after the United States, China is certainly a force to be reckoned with on the global innovation landscape. Its fresh push toward innovation-led growth and stated ambition of becoming a technological innovation powerhouse by 2050 have prompted questions: is China on course to attain its goals, and will greater investments in R&D—as promised by Premier Li Keqiang—get it there?

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-science-news/does-chinas-research-and-development-funding-reach-the-right-firms

Investigating protein signature changes during heart disease caused by reductive stress

Two years ago, University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers and colleagues reported that reductive stress—an imbalance in the normal oxidation/reduction, or redox, homeostasis—caused pathological changes associated with heart failure in a mouse model. This was a follow-up to their 2018 clinical study that found about one in six heart failure patients shows reductive stress.