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Ethnically diverse research identifies more genetic markers linked to diabetes

Eurekalert - May 31 2021 - 00:05
By ensuring ethnic diversity in a largescale genetic study, an international team of researchers, including a University of Massachusetts Amherst genetic epidemiologist, has identified more regions of the genome linked to type 2 diabetes-related traits.
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Unraveling DNA packaging

Eurekalert - May 31 2021 - 00:05
Researchers at Kanazawa University report in the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters how high-speed atomic force microscopy can be used for studying DNA wrapping processes. The technique enables visualizing the dynamics of DNA-protein interactions, which in certain cases resembles the motion of inchworms.
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Diabetes remission diet also lowers blood pressure and reduces need for medication

Eurekalert - May 31 2021 - 00:05
New research published in Diabetologia has shown that if people achieve and maintain substantial weight loss to manage their type 2 diabetes, many can also effectively control their high blood pressure and stop or cut down on their anti-hypertensive medication.
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Study suggests tai chi can mirror healthy benefits of conventional exercise

Eurekalert - May 31 2021 - 00:05
A new study shows that tai chi mirrors the beneficial effects of conventional exercise by reducing waist circumference in middle-aged and older adults with central obesity.
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Tai chi about equal to conventional exercise for reducing belly fat in middle aged and older adults

Eurekalert - May 31 2021 - 00:05
A randomized controlled trial found that tai chi is about as effective as conventional exercise for reducing waist circumference in middle-aged and older adults with central obesity. Central obesity, or weight carried around the midsection, is a major manifestation of metabolic syndrome and a common health problem in this cohort. The findings are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Emotional regulation technique may be effective in disrupting compulsive cocaine addiction

Eurekalert - May 31 2021 - 00:05
An emotion regulation strategy known as cognitive reappraisal helped reduce the typically heightened and habitual attention to drug-related cues and contexts in cocaine-addicted individuals, a study by Mount Sinai researchers has found
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Using fossil plant molecules to track down the Green Sahara

Eurekalert - May 31 2021 - 00:05
Researchers have developed a new concept to explain the phenomenon known as Green Sahara. They demonstrate that a permanent vegetation cover in the Sahara was only possible under two overlapping rainy seasons. Dr. Enno Schefuß of MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences of the University of Bremen, Dr. Rachid Cheddadi of the University of Montpellier, and their colleagues have now published their study in the journal PNAS.
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Newly discovered African 'climate seesaw' drove human evolution

Eurekalert - May 31 2021 - 00:05
A scientific consortium led by Dr Stefanie Kaboth-Bahr of the University of Potsdam has found that ancient El Niño-like weather patterns were the primary drivers of environmental change in sub-Saharan Africa over the last 620 thousand years - the critical timeframe for the evolution of our species. The group found that these ancient weather patterns had more profound impacts in sub-Saharan Africa than glacial-interglacial cycles more commonly linked to human evolution.
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Researchers report reference genome for maize B chromosome

Eurekalert - May 31 2021 - 00:05
Dr. HAN Fangpu's group from Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with their collaborators, reported a reference sequence for the supernumerary B chromosome in maize.
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Duetting songbirds 'mute' the musical mind of their partner to stay in sync

Eurekalert - May 31 2021 - 00:05
Researchers say that the auditory feedback exchanged between wrens during their opera-like duets momentarily inhibits motor circuits used for singing in the listening partner, which helps link the pair's brains and coordinate turn-taking for a seemingly telepathic performance. The study also offers fresh insight into how humans and other cooperative animals use sensory cues to act in concert with one another.
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Extreme CO2 greenhouse effect heated up the young Earth

Eurekalert - May 31 2021 - 00:05
Although sun radiation was relatively low, the temperature on the young Earth was warm. An international team of geoscientists has found important clues that high levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere were responsible for these high temperatures. It only got cooler with the beginning of plate tectonics, as the CO2 was gradually captured and stored on the emerging continents.
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New 'Swiss Army knife' cleans up water pollution

Eurekalert - May 31 2021 - 00:05
Phosphate Elimination and Recovery Lightweight (PEARL) membrane, a porous nanocomposite substrate, selectively sequesters up to 99% of phosphate ions from polluted water. Tunable membrane will address other environmental challenges through incorporation of specific nanomaterials. New tech meets need for sustainable, scalable and cost-effective solution that works outside the lab.
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Overconfidence in news judgement

Eurekalert - May 31 2021 - 00:05
Individuals who falsely believe they are able to identify false news are more likely to fall victim to it.
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Brain activity reveals when white lies are selfish

Eurekalert - May 31 2021 - 00:05
You may think a little white lie about a bad haircut is strictly for your friend's benefit, but your brain activity says otherwise. Distinct activity patterns in the prefrontal cortex reveal when a white lie has selfish motives, according to new research published in JNeurosci.
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Lundquist investigators in global study expanding genomic research of different ancestries

Eurekalert - May 31 2021 - 00:05
The Lundquist Institute announced that its investigators contributed data from several studies, including data on Hispanics, African-Americans and East Asians, to the international MAGIC collaboration, composed of more than 400 global academics, who conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis led by the University of Exeter. Now published in Nature Genetics, their findings demonstrate that expanding research into different ancestries yields more and better results, as well as ultimately benefitting global patient care.
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Scientists discover a new genetic form of ALS in children

Eurekalert - May 31 2021 - 00:05
In a study of 11 medical-mystery patients, an international team of researchers led by scientists at the National Institutes of Health and the Uniformed Services University (USU) discovered a new and unique form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Unlike most cases of ALS, the disease began attacking these patients during childhood, worsened more slowly than usual, and was linked to a gene, called SPTLC1, that is part of the body's fat production system.
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Global warming already responsible for one in three heat-related deaths

Eurekalert - May 31 2021 - 00:05
Between 1991 and 2018, more than a third of all deaths in which heat played a role were attributable to human-induced global warming, according to a new article in Nature Climate Change.
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Isolating an elusive missing link

Eurekalert - May 31 2021 - 00:05
ICIQ scientists from the Lloret-Fillol group have, for the first time, isolated and fully characterised an elusive intermediate in the Water Oxidation Reaction.The paper will help scientists working on photosystem II to better understand the mechanism of the oxygen-oxygen bond formation in the Water Oxidation Reaction. The work has been published in Nature Chemistry.
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Medical AI models rely on 'shortcuts' that could lead to misdiagnosis of COVID-19

Eurekalert - May 31 2021 - 00:05
University of Washington researchers examined multiple models recently put forward as potential tools for accurately detecting COVID-19 from chest X-rays. The team found that, rather than learning genuine medical pathology, these models rely instead on shortcut learning to draw spurious associations between medically irrelevant factors and disease status.
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Ethnic diversity helps identify more genomic regions linked to diabetes-related traits

Eurekalert - May 31 2021 - 00:05
The international MAGIC collaboration, made up of more than 400 global academics, conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis led by the University of Exeter. Now published in Nature Genetics, their findings demonstrate that expanding research into different ancestries yields more and better results, as well as ultimately benefitting global patient care.
Categories: Content