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Finally Released! The James Webb Telescope Has Found The Object That Holds Our Universe Together

#jameswebbspacetelescope #jwst.
Finally Released! The James Webb Telescope Has Found The Object That Holds Our Universe Together.

Containing nearly 800,000 galaxies, this image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is overlaid with a map of dark matter, represented in blue. Researchers used Webb data to find the invisible substance via its gravitational influence on regular matter.

You see, Scientists using data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have made one of the most detailed, high-resolution maps of dark matter ever produced. It shows how the invisible, ghostly material overlaps and intertwines with “regular” matter, the stuff that makes up stars, galaxies, and everything we can see.

Published Monday, Jan. 26, in Nature Astronomy, the map builds on previous research to provide additional confirmation and new details about how dark matter has shaped the universe on the largest scales — galaxy clusters millions of light-years across — that ultimately give rise to galaxies, stars, and planets like Earth.

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Adherence to Different Dietary Patterns and Subsequent Risk of Total, Ischemic, and Hemorrhagic Stroke

In people with elevated cardiovascular risk at baseline, adherence to the Mediterranean and Mediterranean-DASH Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay diets was associated with a lower risk of stroke.

BACKGROUND: Adherence to healthy dietary patterns has been related to lower cardiovascular disease risk. However, few studies have examined prospective associations between adherence to different healthy dietary scores and the incidence of stroke and its subtypes. The aim of this study was to prospectively examine the associations between adherence to 4 recognized healthy dietary patterns and the risk of total and ischemic stroke in an existing dietary-based randomized controlled trial. METHODS: This is a secondary observational cohort analysis of 7,447 participants at high cardiovascular disease risk enrolled in the PREDIMED trial (Prevención Con Dieta Mediterranea).

What Can 50-Year-Old Chatbots Teach Us About Clinical Applications of AI?

Can a large language model (LLM) provide insights on the history of chatbots and their clinical applications? 🤖

In this episode of JAMA+ AI Conversations, JAMA+ AI Editor in Chief Roy Perlis, MD, MSc, interviews OpenAI’s ChatGPT (GPT-4o, voice mode) about the development and legacy of the first clinical chatbots, ELIZA and PARRY.

The discussion explores differing perspectives of their creators, as well as how foundational debates about technology and ethics continue to inform the present landscape of AI in mental health care.

🎧 Listen now.

JAMA+ AI Editor in Chief Roy Perlis, MD, MSc, conducted an interview with ChatGPT about the history of chatbots and their clinical applications, for JAMA+ AI Conversations.

Living ‘Mini Brains’ Meet Next-Generation Bioelectronics

A team led by Northwestern University and Shirley Ryan AbilityLab scientists have developed a new technology that can eavesdrop on the hidden electrical dialogues unfolding inside miniature, lab-grown human brain-like tissues, according to a study published the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering.

Known as human neural organoids — and sometimes called “mini brains” — these millimeter-sized structures are powerful models of brain development and disease. But until now, scientists could only record and stimulate activity from a small fraction of their neurons — missing network-wide dynamics that give rise to coordinated rhythms, information processing and the complex patterns of activity that define brain function.

For the first time, the new technology overcomes that stubborn limitation. The soft, three-dimensional (3D) electronic framework wraps around an organoid like a breathable, high-tech mesh. Rather than sampling select regions, it delivers near-complete, shape-conforming coverage with hundreds of miniaturized electrodes. That dense, three-dimensional interfacing enables scientists to map and manipulate neural activity across almost the entire organoid.

Testosterone therapy is associated with reduced risk of acute kidney injury, kidney failure with renal replacement therapy, and cardiovascular events in men with diabetes and hypogonadism

Testosterone deficiency is common in men with diabetes. Effects of testosterone therapy on kidney failure and cardiovascular outcomes in diabetic men remain poorly understood. Our aim was to assess whether testosterone therapy is associated with reduced risk of acute kidney injury and kidney failure requiring replacement therapy in men with diabetes and hypogonadism compared to matched untreated men with diabetes.

Participants were recruited from the TriNetX Research Collaborative network. We identified 26,027 diabetic men with hypogonadism treated with testosterone and matched them 1:1 using propensity score matching to 26,027 untreated diabetic men with hypogonadism. Primary outcomes were acute kidney injury and kidney failure requiring replacement therapy (dialysis or transplantation). Secondary outcomes included myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, atrial fibrillation, and all-cause mortality. Cox proportional hazard models were used over a mean follow-up of 3.3 years.

Men had a mean age of 58 years (SD 12), with 71% being non-Hispanic White. Testosterone-treated men had significantly lower risk of acute kidney injury (HR: 0.93 [95% CI 0.87–0.98], p = 0.01) and kidney failure with replacement therapy (HR: 0.81 [95% CI 0.72–0.92], p = 0.001) compared to untreated men. Testosterone therapy was also associated with reduced risk of myocardial infarction (HR: 0.85 [95% CI 0.78–0.93], p 0.0001), ischemic stroke (HR: 0.88 [95% CI 0.80–0.97], p = 0.01), atrial fibrillation (HR: 0.91 [95% CI 0.85–0.98], p = 0.01), and all-cause mortality (HR: 0.85 [95% CI 0.79–0.91], p 0.0001).

Astrocytes are critical for fear memory

The team used a mouse model to understand how fear learning as a mechanism takes place in the brain, how fear-related memories can be retrieved, and the contribution of neurons versus astrocytes to fear learning.

Using fluorescent activity sensors, the team watched astrocytes respond in real time as fear memories were formed and later retrieved. As those memories were extinguished, astrocyte activity diminished. When the researchers then selectively increased or suppressed the signals astrocytes send to neighboring neurons, the strength of fear memories shifted in parallel, demonstrating that astrocytes are not just passive bystanders, but active participants in shaping fear.

Change in astrocyte activity also influenced neural circuits. When the astrocyte activity was disrupted, neurons could no longer form normal fear-related activity patterns and effectively transmit information about appropriate defensive reactions to brain regions that help control defensive behavior. These findings challenge neuron-centric models of fear by showing that fear memories aren’t produced by neurons alone.

The impact of disrupting astrocytes rippled beyond the amygdala. The manipulations also influenced how fear signals were relayed to the prefrontal cortex, a brain region that is key for decision-making. This suggests that astrocytes not only influence encoding of fear memories by the amygdala, but also how the brain uses those memories to determine appropriate responses to fearful situations.

Knowing that astrocytes play a key role in the retrieval of fear memories will reshape therapeutic interventions for disorders driven by persistent fearful memories such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorders and phobias, the author said. If astrocytes help determine whether fear memories are expressed or successfully extinguished, then targeting astrocyte-related pathways, rather than neural pathways, could eventually complement neuron-focused therapies.

Picture a star-shaped cell in the brain, stretching its spindly arms out to cradle the neurons around it. That’s an astrocyte, and for a long time, scientists thought its job was caretaking the brain, gluing together neurons, and maintaining neural circuits.

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Inositol Requiring Enzyme 1α Mediates Hypertension and Vascular Remodeling

A single genetic “switch” may be the secret to how the body’s cleanup crew grows up and keeps our organs running smoothly.

Scientists at the University of Liège have identified a crucial genetic regulator that allows macrophages to fully mature and help maintain healthy organs. This regulator, known as MafB, acts as a “molecular switch” that turns specific genes on or off at the right time and in the right cells.

By carefully controlling this genetic activity, MafB enables the development of macrophages that defend the body and support normal organ function. When MafB is missing, macrophages do not work as they should and lose their ability to carry out their protective duties.

Russia forges nuclear steel to brave 1112°F for next-gen reactors

It could solve the corrosion and thermal challenges of lead-cooled reactors.

The development of this steel was conducted under the “Breakthrough” (Proryv) project, which focuses on the implementation of a closed nuclear fuel cycle using fast neutron reactors.

The new steel provides corrosion resistance and thermal stability at temperatures up to 600°C (1,112°F).

According to Sergei Logashov, Director of the Institute of Materials Science at CNIITMASH, the material was designed using computer modeling and data from heavy liquid metal coolant systems.

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