Scientists find a way to break pancreatic cancer’s protective shield

Researchers found that blocking IL1RAP could disrupt a powerful inflammatory network that helps pancreatic cancer survive treatment. In preclinical experiments, the approach reduced tumor-protecting cells and fibrosis while boosting the activity of cancer-fighting T cells. That could make chemotherapy and immunotherapy more effective.

from Top Health News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/EHtGYS5

66-million-year-old feather in dinosaur poop may reveal why birds survived the asteroid

A feather discovered inside 66-million-year-old fossilized dinosaur poop may help explain why modern birds survived the asteroid catastrophe. The extinct bird it came from had more primitive insulating feathers, suggesting superior plumage may have helped the ancestors of living birds endure the deadly impact winter.

from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/OWrQTj8

The secret to longer life may be hidden in bat DNA

Long-lived bats appear to combine powerful immune defenses with unusual strategies for eliminating damaged cells, potentially helping them avoid cancer and disease for decades. Researchers hope these genetic tricks could eventually reveal new ways to protect human health during aging.

from Top Health News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/JHVnWA0

One sugary drink a day linked to more than double the risk of stomach cancer

People who drank at least one sugar-sweetened beverage a day had roughly 2.45 times the risk of gastric cancer compared with those who rarely consumed them, according to a decades-long study of more than 112,000 U.S. adults. Artificially sweetened drinks showed no similar association, though researchers stress that the findings do not prove sugary beverages cause cancer.

from Top Health News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2bsq795

Astronomers detect ancient hydrogen signal that could help map the Universe

Astronomers have detected an exceptionally faint hydrogen radio signal from billions of light-years away using South Africa’s MeerKAT telescope. Instead of finding galaxies one at a time, the technique measures their combined hydrogen glow across enormous stretches of space. The successful detection shows that astronomers may soon be able to create much larger 3D maps of the Universe.

from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/q54MSBQ

MIT scientists develop injectable “mini livers” that work inside the body

MIT engineers have developed injectable “mini livers” designed to help support people whose failing livers can no longer perform essential jobs. Instead of replacing the damaged organ, the approach injects liver cells together with tiny hydrogel spheres and supportive cells, creating a pocket of functioning tissue that can connect to the bloodstream.

from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/HnGqeCj

An important step towards detecting fractons in quantum spin liquids

A more realistic quantum model has revealed evidence that strange, nearly immobile quasiparticles called fractons could exist in solid materials. Their inability to move freely could make them promising building blocks for unusually robust quantum information storage.

from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/bTRnQ1o