This study created a highly accurate machine learning model to predict acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD) using data from 878 patients. By integrating biochemical, demographic, and pulmonary function parameters with stepwise Cox regression and random survival forest algorithms, the model outperformed traditional methods, demonstrating excellent predictive performance and stability.

A new study by researchers in China reveals that combining biochar, a charcoal-like soil enhancer, with a beneficial soil bacterium can help boost the growth and health of cut chrysanthemums, a commercially important flower troubled by soil disease from long-term monoculture. This simple, eco-friendly approach could hold promise for sustainable farming of many crops facing similar challenges.

In a visionary commentary that bridges the gap between theory and practice, leading environmental scientists from China are pioneering a new approach to assessing the health of aquatic ecosystems. Titled "Aquatic Ecosystem Health Assessment in China Based on Metacommunity Theory: From Theory to Practice," this insightful piece is co-authored by Prof. Xiaowei Jin from the China National Environmental Monitoring Centre and Prof. Fengchang Wu from the State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, both based in Beijing, China. Their work offers a fresh perspective on how metacommunity theory can be applied to real-world environmental challenges.

Researchers at WashU Medicine have developed a noninvasive medicine delivered through the nose that successfully eliminated deadly brain tumors in mice. The medicine is based on a spherical nucleic acid, a nanomaterial that travels along a nerve from the nose to the brain, where it triggers an immune response to eliminate the tumor.

All the cells in an organism have the exact same genetic sequence. What differs across cell types is their epigenetics—meticulously placed chemical tags that influence which genes get expressed in each cell. If epigenetic changes regulate our genetics, what is regulating them? Salk scientists have now used plant cells to discover that a type of epigenetic tag, called DNA methylation, can be regulated by genetic mechanisms. Prior to this study, scientists had only understood how DNA methylation was regulated by other epigenetic features, so the discovery that genetic features can also guide DNA methylation patterns is a major paradigm shift. Their findings could inform future epigenetic engineering strategies aimed at generating methylation patterns predicted to repair or enhance cell function, with many potential applications in medicine and agriculture.

Sugar-based liquid solvents store injection-based therapeutics such as insulin and vaccines. Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Mohammad Halim is seeking to extend their useful life cycle.