Scientists

Currently, when an organ transplant is performed, the patient has to take immunosuppressive drugs to prevent his or her system from rejecting the new organ. These drugs must be taken for life and have numerous side effects. In a phase 1 clinical trial, researchers gave patients receiving a liver transplant regulatory dendritic cells derived from the original donor, with the hypothesis that these cells could 'teach' the recipient's immune system to tolerate the new organ. The research, published in Science Translational Medicine, suggests that this treatment could reduce or even eliminate the need for long-term use of immunosuppressants.

Living as a private renter is associated with faster biological ageing than owning a home, according to a study using a UK database with data available on 1,420 people. The team, whose research is published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, used DNA methylation data - chemical modifications - to measure people's biological age, and says this correlation is stronger than the association between biological ageing and unemployment, or having been a smoker. Apart from blood samples from the database, the research also used historical data from a national survey.

Research has compiled data on brewing hop yields and alpha content - which gives beer its bitter aroma and affects quality - between 1971 and 2018 in hop-growing areas of Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovenia. The results, published in the journal Nature Communications, show that, compared to 1994, hop production has decreased by 0.2 tonnes per hectare per year and alpha bitterness content has fallen by 0.6%. Combining the data with climate models, the authors estimate that by 2050 hop yields and alpha content will fall by 4 - 18% and 20 - 31% respectively. According to the models, the cause will be higher temperatures and more frequent and severe droughts due to climate change.

On the occasion of World Mental Health Day on 10 October, the Science Media Centre Spain organised an information session on the mental health of young people and the threat posed by deepfakes and cyberbullying. At the meeting, experts Esther Calvete and Irene de la Vega explained their risks and possible repercussions, their characteristics and some tools to reduce their frequency and impact.

The Neurology Commission of the New World Stroke Organization and The Lancet has estimated that stroke deaths will increase from 6.6 million in 2020 to 9.7 million in 2050, with a widening gap between low- and middle-income and high-income countries. The economic analysis indicates that the treatment, rehabilitation and indirect costs of stroke would double from $891 billion in 2020 to as much as $2.3 trillion in 2050.

Some people may experience long-term symptoms - or 'lingering colds' - after suffering acute respiratory infections that tested negative for covid-19, research concludes. The study, published in the journal EClinicalMedicine, highlights the most common symptoms of these conditions, such as cough, stomach pain and diarrhoea more than four weeks after the initial infection.

A US research team has identified several genes that may be associated with a strict vegetarian diet. Some of these genes have "important roles in lipid metabolism and brain function", according to the paper, which suggests that these differences could explain the ability to subsist on a vegetarian diet in those who carry these genes. The study, published in the journal PLoS ONE, used data from the UK Biobank to compare a group of more than 5,000 vegetarians with a group of more than 320,000 non-vegetarians.

Early-life adversity, such as separation from the mother, can alter the neurological functioning of mice, causing some to experience panic and anxiety later in life. A study shows that these changes can be passed on for at least two generations and that inhalation of a drug, the diuretic amiloride, can reverse them. According to the authors, this treatment could be used in the future to alleviate panic disorders and related conditions in humans. The results are published in the journal Science Advances.

A study published in Nature has analyzed the presence of human settlements in flood-prone areas and their evolution worldwide since 1985. Until 2015, there was an increase of up to 122% in these settlements in flood-prone areas. According to their data, in many regions, the growth in the most hazardous areas is far outpacing development in non-exposed areas, especially in East Asia.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023 to Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus, and Alexei I. Ekimov "for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots." Quantum dots are tiny nanoparticles that diffuse their light from televisions and LED lights, and can also guide surgeons when removing tumor tissue, among many other applications.