Health

Disturbed transmission via nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in chick fetuses impairs the hatchlings’ preference for animate objects—similar to what is seen in autism spectrum disorder in humans.

Asia Research News monitors the latest research news in Asia. Some highlights that caught our attention this week are a bioinspired tiny jumping robot, evidence of gender stereotypes in young children, and the first sighting of a new species of crab.

A novel branched lipid that has a high stability in storage and a high efficiency in the delivery of mRNA to cells has been developed.

Giants in History: Indian scientist and physician Upendranath Brahmachari (19 December 1873–6 February 1946) is best known for creating a drug called Urea Stibamine, used to safely and reliably treat visceral leishmaniasis (or Kala-azar), a severe infection caused by the Leishmania parasite.

Injury from falls lowers healthy life expectancy and quality of life, especially for older people. In Japan, patients discharged from acute care hospitals have higher incidences of falls. These falls occur more often indoors in places used frequently in daily life. A group of Osaka Metropolitan University researchers conducted a 6-month follow-up survey, after discharge from an acute care hospital, on falls and near-falls, of orthopedic disease patients with a fall history aged 65 or older. The results suggest that preventive intervention instructing patients using their home floor plans may help prevent falls during the early post-discharge period.

Researchers led by Osaka University show that a molecule called T-cadherin can be secreted in a soluble form. Soluble T-cadherin interacts with pancreatic insulin-producing β cells via the Notch signaling pathway to promote their proliferation and increase the production of insulin. Recombinant T-cadherin stimulated Notch signaling in isolated mouse pancreatic islets, which contain β cells, indicating that T-cadherin may have therapeutic potential for diabetes.

Focusing on the imperative of integrating science, policy and clinical practice to advance global One Health movement especially in the aftermath of COVID-19, the Congress will feature sharing by leading global scientists and policymakers on ways to address complex global health challenges.

Research in Singapore confirms a link between tiny particulates in air pollution and sudden cardiac arrests in the general population.

Asia Research News monitors the latest research news in Asia. Some highlights that caught our attention this week are jellyfish-like fossils, mythic diseases, and a transistor that can detect cancer cells.

As our brains develop, cells within it ‘eat’ neuronal elements to clear out debris, pathogens and help improve efficiency. A recent study showed that motor learning in mice helped enhance the engulfing of synapses by Bergmann glial cells. The discovery could have possible implications for explaining why synaptic shrinkage and loss occur in depression, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) tumors gain immunosuppression and chemoresistance through interactions between interleukin 34 and myeloid-derived suppressor cells, researchers find.

Call To Action urges G20 member countries and partners to mobilize adequate resources to close the TB funding gap and save lives.

A research group at Osaka Metropolitan University has developed a drug delivery system that activates a strong cellular immune response to attack cancer cells, using one-tenth of the amount of antigen needed in the group’s previous work. By incorporating positively charged cationic lipids into liposomes and adding negatively charged pH-responsive polysaccharides to the surface, the research group increased the uptake efficiency of liposomes encapsulating cancer antigens by dendritic cells by approximately five times, which increased cytokine production by about 100 times. This increased M1-type macrophages, which activate cancer immunity, and decreased M2-type macrophages, which promote cancer growth.

Asbestos is a toxic substance that is found in older buildings, as well as in cosmetics and products for children. As testing for its presence can be problematic, Hiroshima University Professor Akio Kuroda has been working on a novel solution.

Leading global scientists and policymakers will exchange learnings to promote multi-sectoral collaboration to address complex global health challenges

Small neighboring galaxy filled with dark matter detected with gamma rays, How a virus induces heart inflammation, Shedding light on the happy hormone, Microfossils may hold key evolution clues. Read all in the October's Editor's Choice plus Upcoming event KNOWLEDGE MARKETPLACE – Bangkok 2022: Exchanging of ideas for a Democratic Myanmar.

Investigations in Japan have uncovered some molecular mechanisms behind mitochondrial dysfunction in chronic heart failure.

Asia Research News monitors the latest research news in Asia. Some highlights that caught our attention this week are scaling up production of a zombie fungus, the critical eye of female dogs, and enlightenment available on your smartphone.

Osaka Metropolitan University researchers interviewed active para-athletes with lower-limb disabilities who compete at an international level, about diet and nutrition. The research team found that what para-athletes considered an ideal diet was not necessarily optimized for improving athletic performance, and even when para-athletes understood diets geared towards athletic performance, characteristics of their disabilities impose barriers to implementing dietary changes. Understanding these concerns and struggles is important for nutritionists who support para-athletes in sports nutrition.

Osaka Metropolitan University researchers conducted a study of human mobility to find effective lifestyle changes that enable people to exist with the novel coronavirus COVID-19, while maintaining social and economic activities. They found that restricting the human mobility in specific areas according to the state of the pandemic, rather than uniformly controlling human mobility, could be effective in reducing the number of new COVID-19 infections.

When a cancer spreads, the invasion of tumor cells into the lymph nodes present various barriers to effective treatment. Harnessing a lymphatic drug delivery system, where drugs are injected directly into sentinel lymph nodes under ultrasound guidance, a collaborative research group has developed a novel drug formulation that enhances the therapeutic response of carboplatin, a commonly used chemotherapy medication.

Researchers develop a ground-breaking model to estimate bait vaccination effectiveness in wild animals based on the proportion of immunized animals in a population and the number of vaccine applications.

Good hand hygiene has been found to be an effective way to prevent the spread of infectious organisms and the most important defence against disease, but studies have shown that many parents have inadequate knowledge, reporting skills, and parenting practices related to seasonal influenza. Previous research has shown a positive relationship between parents’ and children’s health practices. The research by Dr Peggy Or Pui-lai, Assistant Professor at the Department of Health and Physical Education, The Education University of Hong Kong, investigated whether there was any correlation between flu infection among parents and their kindergarten-age children, and the effectiveness of using hand hygiene interventions in kindergartens to lower kindergarten children’s absenteeism attributable to seasonal flu.

Researchers from Osaka University have developed a skin-like device to measure brain activity via electroencephalography, which uses electrodes to measure electrical activity on the scalp (reflecting underlying brain activity). The device has other useful applications, such as measuring heart rate and blood oxygen levels. Wearable devices that can remotely assess brain health in everyday settings are likely to improve healthcare for millions of people worldwide.

The National Health Innovation Centre, Singapore (NHIC) has launched a Clinical Innovation and Adoption Initiative to nurture promising healthtech projects for adoption and scaling across healthcare clusters in Singapore.

The Malaysia Technology Expo (MTE) 2022: SDG International Innovation Awards & Expo (SDGIIAE) returns for its 2nd edition and the awards encourage the development of innovative solutions for local and global challenges.

Giants in History: Japanese chemist Takamine Jokichi (3 November 1854 – 22 July 1922) founded the Tokyo Artificial Fertilizer Company, where he isolated a starch-digesting enzyme (named takadiastase) from the fungus Aspergillus oryzae.

Vaccines have become the most important weapon in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, but antibody levels after vaccination decay quickly over time. Therefore, an accurate and affordable antibody rapid test is urgently needed to adjust the revaccination strategy. A research team led by City University of Hong Kong (CityU) recently invented an accurate rapid-testing device that can quantify and display the antibody level as a length of a visual bar, like a mercury thermometer, in as few as 20 minutes, enabling convenient mass screening or individual monitoring of immune protection against COVID-19.

- DGIST Professor Jin Ho Chang and Jae Youn Hwang's joint research team revealed for the first time in the world that the depth focused light can be increased by using a bubble layer temporarily created using ultrasound. - The collaborative research of ultrasound and optical imaging experts is expected to overcome the physical limitations of optical imaging and treatment depth.

Researchers from Hokkaido University and Toppan have developed a method to detect build-up of amyloid β in the brain, a characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease, from biomarkers in blood samples.