Catalogue Search | MBRL
Are you sure you want to remove the book from the shelf?
{{itemTitle}}
6,810
result(s) for
"Berger, R"
Sort by:
The skull in the rock : how a scientist, a boy, and Google Earth opened a new window on human origins
The story behind one of the most significant archaeological discoveries of all time, explaining its significance for understanding human evolution and how it is shaping the thinking of the scientific community.
Book
Cell diversity and network dynamics in photosensitive human brain organoids
In vitro
models of the developing brain such as three-dimensional brain organoids offer an unprecedented opportunity to study aspects of human brain development and disease. However, the cells generated within organoids and the extent to which they recapitulate the regional complexity, cellular diversity and circuit functionality of the brain remain undefined. Here we analyse gene expression in over 80,000 individual cells isolated from 31 human brain organoids. We find that organoids can generate a broad diversity of cells, which are related to endogenous classes, including cells from the cerebral cortex and the retina. Organoids could be developed over extended periods (more than 9 months), allowing for the establishment of relatively mature features, including the formation of dendritic spines and spontaneously active neuronal networks. Finally, neuronal activity within organoids could be controlled using light stimulation of photosensitive cells, which may offer a way to probe the functionality of human neuronal circuits using physiological sensory stimuli.
Long-term cultures of human brain organoids display a high degree of cellular diversity, mature spontaneous neuronal networks and are sensitive to light.
Enlightening organoids
Three-dimensional cellular models of the human brain, or organoids, enable the
in vitro
study of cerebral development and disease, but exactly which cells are generated and how much of the brain's complexity they recreate is undefined. To investigate in depth the nature of cells in human cerebral organoids differentiated from pluripotent stem cells, Paola Arlotta and colleagues carried out droplet-based single-cell expression analysis on cells isolated from over 30 organoids at developmental stages ranging from 3 to 9 months and beyond. They identify a wide diversity of neurons and progenitors and show that the more mature organoids formed dendritic spines as well as electrically active networks, which responded to light stimulation. The authors suggest that organoids may facilitate the study of circuit function using physiological sensory mechanisms. Elsewhere in this issue, Sergiu Paşca and colleagues show that re-assembling ventral and dorsal forebrain spheroids obtained separately
in vitro
allows the migration of human interneurons and the formation of functional synapses.
Journal Article
Almost human : the astonishing tale of Homo naledi and the discovery that changed our human story
\"In 2013, Lee Berger ... caught wind of a cache of bones in a hard-to-reach underground cave in South Africa. He put out a call around the world for petite collaborators--men and women small and adventurous enough to be able to squeeze through 8-inch tunnels to reach a sunless cave 40 feet underground. With this team of 'underground astronauts,' Berger made the discovery of a lifetime: hundreds of prehistoric bones, including entire skeletons of at least 15 individuals, all perhaps two million years old. Their features combined those of known prehominids like Lucy, the famous Australopithecus, with those more human than anything ever before seen in prehistoric remains\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
VAST (Volume Annotation and Segmentation Tool): Efficient Manual and Semi-Automatic Labeling of Large 3D Image Stacks
Recent developments in serial-section electron microscopy allow the efficient generation of very large image data sets but analyzing such data poses challenges for software tools. Here we introduce Volume Annotation and Segmentation Tool (VAST), a freely available utility program for generating and editing annotations and segmentations of large volumetric image (voxel) data sets. It provides a simple yet powerful user interface for real-time exploration and analysis of large data sets even in the Petabyte range.
Journal Article
Cave of bones : a true story of discovery, adventure, and human origins
\"This thrilling book takes the reader into South African caves to discover fossil remains that reframe the human family tree\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Spectroscopy of short-lived radioactive molecules
Molecular spectroscopy offers opportunities for the exploration of the fundamental laws of nature and the search for new particle physics beyond the standard model
1
–
4
. Radioactive molecules—in which one or more of the atoms possesses a radioactive nucleus—can contain heavy and deformed nuclei, offering high sensitivity for investigating parity- and time-reversal-violation effects
5
,
6
. Radium monofluoride, RaF, is of particular interest because it is predicted to have an electronic structure appropriate for laser cooling
6
, thus paving the way for its use in high-precision spectroscopic studies. Furthermore, the effects of symmetry-violating nuclear moments are strongly enhanced
5
,
7
–
9
in molecules containing octupole-deformed radium isotopes
10
,
11
. However, the study of RaF has been impeded by the lack of stable isotopes of radium. Here we present an experimental approach to studying short-lived radioactive molecules, which allows us to measure molecules with lifetimes of just tens of milliseconds. Energetically low-lying electronic states were measured for different isotopically pure RaF molecules using collinear resonance ionisation at the ISOLDE ion-beam facility at CERN. Our results provide evidence of the existence of a suitable laser-cooling scheme for these molecules and represent a key step towards high-precision studies in these systems. Our findings will enable further studies of short-lived radioactive molecules for fundamental physics research.
Measurements of low-energy electronic states of radium monofluoride validate predictions of the use of this short-lived radioactive molecule in exploring fundamental physics and provide evidence of its suitability for laser cooling.
Journal Article
Olaparib plus Bevacizumab as First-Line Maintenance in Ovarian Cancer
When used as maintenance therapy, the PARP inhibitor olaparib provided a significant progression-free survival benefit in women with ovarian cancer who had a response to primary chemotherapy, particularly in those whose tumors were deficient in homologous recombination (e.g.,
BRCA
-mutated tumors). Hematologic toxic effects were observed.
Journal Article
Sniffer dogs can identify lung cancer patients from breath and urine samples
Background
Lung cancer is the most common oncological cause of death in the Western world. Early diagnosis is critical for successful treatment. However, no effective screening methods exist. A promising approach could be the use of volatile organic compounds as diagnostic biomarkers. To date there are several studies, in which dogs were trained to discriminate cancer samples from controls. In this study we evaluated the abilities of specifically trained dogs to distinguish samples derived from lung cancer patients of various tumor stages from matched healthy controls.
Methods
This single center, double-blind clinical trial was approved by the local ethics committee, project no FF20/2016. The dog was conditioned with urine and breath samples of 36 cancer patients and 150 controls; afterwards, further 246 patients were included: 41 lung cancer patients comprising all stages and 205 healthy controls. From each patient two breath and urine samples were collected and shock frozen. Only samples from new subjects were presented to the dog during study phase randomized, double-blinded. This resulted in a specific conditioned reaction pointing to the cancer sample.
Results
Using a combination of urine and breath samples, the dog correctly predicted 40 out of 41 cancer samples, corresponding to an overall detection rate of cancer samples of 97.6% (95% CI [87.1, 99.9%]). Using urine samples only the dog achieved a detection rate of 87.8% (95% CI [73.8, 95.9%]). With breath samples, the dog correctly identified cancer in 32 of 41 samples, resulting in a detection rate of 78% (95% CI [62.4, 89.4%]).
Conclusions
It is known from current literature that breath and urine samples carry VOCs pointing to cancer growth. We conclude that olfactory detection of lung cancer by specifically trained dogs is highly suggestive to be a simple and non-invasive tool to detect lung cancer. To translate this approach into practice further target compounds need to be identified.
Journal Article
Distinct Profiles of Myelin Distribution Along Single Axons of Pyramidal Neurons in the Neocortex
Myelin is a defining feature of the vertebrate nervous system. Variability in the thickness of the myelin envelope is a structural feature affecting the conduction of neuronal signals. Conversely, the distribution of myelinated tracts along the length of axons has been assumed to be uniform. Here, we traced high-throughput electron microscopy reconstructions of single axons of pyramidal neurons in the mouse neocortex and built high-resolution maps of myelination. We find that individual neurons have distinct longitudinal distribution of myelin. Neurons in the superficial layers displayed the most diversified profiles, including a new pattern where myelinated segments are interspersed with long, unmyelinated tracts. Our data indicate that the profile of longitudinal distribution of myelin is an integral feature of neuronal identity and may have evolved as a strategy to modulate long-distance communication in the neocortex.
Journal Article
COVID-19 and the nervous system
A pandemic due to novel coronavirus arose in mid-December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and in 3 months’ time swept the world. The disease has been referred to as COVID-19, and the causative agent has been labelled SARS-CoV-2 due to its genetic similarities to the virus (SARS-CoV-1) responsible for the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic nearly 20 years earlier. The spike proteins of both viruses dictate tissue tropism using the angiotensin-converting enzyme type 2 (ACE-2) receptor to bind to cells. The ACE-2 receptor can be found in nervous system tissue and endothelial cells among the tissues of many other organs.
Neurological complications have been observed with COVID-19. Myalgia and headache are relatively common, but serious neurological disease appears to be rare. No part of the neuraxis is spared. The neurological disorders occurring with COVID-19 may have many pathophysiological underpinnings. Some appear to be the consequence of direct viral invasion of the nervous system tissue, others arise as a postviral autoimmune process, and still others are the result of metabolic and systemic complications due to the associated critical illness. This review addresses the preliminary observations regarding the neurological disorders reported with COVID-19 to date and describes some of the disorders that are anticipated from prior experience with similar coronaviruses.
Journal Article