Devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) is a transmissible cancer devastating the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) population. The cancer cell is the ‘infectious’ agent transmitted as an allograft by biting. Animals usually die within a few months with no evidence of antibody or immune cell responses against the DFTD allograft. This lack of anti-tumour immunity is attributed to an absence of cell surface major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-I molecule expression. While the endangerment of the devil population precludes experimentation on large experimental groups, those examined in our study indicated that immunisation and immunotherapy with DFTD cells expressing surface MHC-I corresponded with effective anti-tumour responses. Tumour engraftment did not occur in one of the five immunised Tasmanian devils, and regression followed therapy of experimentally induced DFTD tumours in three Tasmanian devils. Regression correlated with immune cell infiltration and antibody responses against DFTD cells. These data support the concept that immunisation of devils with DFTD cancer cells can successfully induce humoral responses against DFTD and trigger immune-mediated regression of established tumours. Our findings support the feasibility of a protective DFTD vaccine and ultimately the preservation of the species.

In the forthcoming decades, risks of summer fire may increase in Mediterranean Europe. A recent study published in Scientific Reports, led by researchers of the University of Barcelona in collaboration with several other research institutions, shows that the direct effect of climate change in regulating fuel moisture (droughts leading to larger fires) is expected to be dominant, regarding the indirect effect of antecedent climate on fuel load and structure -that is, warmer/drier conditions that determine fuel availability. The researchers drew this conclusion after analyzing a set of empirical models linking the summer Burned Area to the climatic indicators. These models are also promising for developing a seasonal forecast system supporting fire management strategies.

Women suffer from asthma symptoms more frequently and more severely than men

Women suffer more frequently and more severely from pollen and food allergies and therefore also from asthma. Firstly, female sex hormones increase the risk and symptoms of asthma and allergies and, secondly, hormone preparations such as the contraceptive pill play a role. These factors should be given more consideration than was previously the case. Erika Jensen-Jarolim from MedUni Vienna's Institute of Pathophysiology and Allergy Research stresses this point on the occasion of International Women's Day on 8 March.

New analysis reveals 24 compounds that can help reduce impact of harmful proteins in the brain

A study by Indiana University researchers has identified 24 compounds -- including caffeine -- with the potential to boost an enzyme in the brain shown to protect against dementia. The protective effect of the enzyme, called NMNAT2, was discovered last year through research conducted at IU Bloomington. The new study appears today in the journal Scientific Reports. "This work could help advance efforts to develop drugs that increase levels of this enzyme in the brain, creating a chemical 'blockade' against the debilitating effects of neurodegenerative disorders," said Hui-Chen Lu, who led the study. Lu is a Gill Professor in the Linda and Jack Gill Center for Biomolecular Science and the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, a part of the IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences.

A new European study has found that soil carbon loss is more sensitive to climate change compared to carbon taken up by plants. In drier regions, soil carbon loss decreased but in wetter regions soil carbon loss increased. This could result in a positive feedback to the atmosphere leading to an additional increase of atmospheric CO2 levels. Scientists analysed data from seven climate change experiments across Europe to show how European shrubland plant biomass and soil carbon loss is affected by summer drought and year-around warming. The research was led by Dr Sabine Reinsch and Professor Bridget Emmett from the UK-based Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) in collaboration with European and US climate scientists and published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports.

Courtesy of St George's University of London

Experts from St George’s University of London, and St George’s Hospital have joined forces to investigate whether a common and cheap malaria drug can be used also against cancer. The researchers and clinicians raised more than £50,000 through a crowd funding campaign to fund the second part of their trial into whether the drug artesunate can tackle colorectal cancer and now are recruiting patients to take part in their clinical studies. In all £54,247 was raised through crowd funding to investigate whether the drug can help cancer patients by reducing the multiplication of tumour cells and decreasing the risk of cancer spreading or recurring after surgery.

Heidelberg researchers develop a new algorithm for analysing image data

Precise knowledge of the connections in the brain – the links between all the nerve cells – is a prerequisite for better understanding this most complex of organs. Researchers from Heidelberg University have now developed a new algorithm – a computational procedure – that can extract this connectivity pattern with far greater precision than previously possible from microscopic images of the brain. Prof. Dr Fred Hamprecht, head of the "Image Analysis and Learning" working group at the Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing, expects such automated image data analysis to bring about great strides in the neurosciences. It will likely lead to a circuit diagram of the brain.

L’esposizione si svolgerà dall’8 marzo al 5 aprile 2017

presso la Milano Art Gallery, via G. Alessi n. 11 – Milano

Il vernissage è previsto per mercoledì 8 marzo alle ore 18.00

1)      Sua opera esposta in mostra;

2)      Nome e opera nel prestigioso catalogo della mostra;

3)      Una copia omaggio del catalogo

4)      Assistenza alla vendita da parte del personale incaricato;

5)      Biglietto invito personalizzato;

6)      Ideazione grafica e stampa della Sua biografia che sarà esposta durante la Mostra;

7)      Ideazione, stesura e pubblicazione del comunicato stampa della mostra col Suo nome;

8)      Cocktail per la serata inaugurale;

9)      Attestato di selezione alla mostra telematico;

10)  Fotografo professionista per la serata di inaugurazione e invio delle foto;

11)  Il Comitato selezionerà 4 artisti che rispettivamente vinceranno i seguenti premi:

1º premio - Mostra presso la “Milano Art Gallery” via G. Alessi n. 11 a Milano della durata di un mese, con l’esposizione di n. 25 opere

2º premio - Mostra presso la “Milano Art Gallery” della durata di un mese, con l’esposizione di n. 15 opere

3º premio - Mostra presso la “Milano Art Gallery” della durata di un mese, con l’esposizione di n. 10 opere

Premio speciale “Margherita” - Conferimento della pregiata targa di riconoscimento per i suoi meriti artistici

anasitalia.org/larte-e-donna-in-ricordo-di-margherita-hack/

New technique removes the cause of allergic asthma: Antibodies are suctioned off

Allergies are the commonest cause of asthma. The immune system over-reacts to harmless substances such as birch or grass pollen, for example, forming immunoglobulin E antibodies (IgE). Together with the inflammatory cells in the skin and mucous membranes, the "mast cells", IgE antibodies are responsible for certain allergic diseases, such as asthma and hay fever, for example, and are also partly responsible for the development of neurodermatitis. Scientists from MedUni Vienna have now successfully developed a technique for suctioning the IgE antibodies out of the blood, thereby significantly improving the quality of life for people who suffer from severe allergic asthma.

Land tamed through generations of hard work in Mustang is threatened by unanticipated freaky weather patterns in the recent years.

Food security is a global challenge especially in developing countries with a growing population and less land to cultivate. Erratic weather patterns due to global warming in the recent years have increased uncertainty in the productivity of agricultural produce particularly in mountainous regions. New research published in Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology, a journal hosted on the INASP-supported Nepal Journals Online platform, has shed light on the new aspects of climate change in Nepal's Himalayan region and has linked it with the state of food insecurity in the Trans-Himalayan land of Upper Mustang.