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Experiment evaluates the effect of human decisions on climate reconstructions
    The first double-blind experiment analysing the role of human decision-making in climate reconstructions has found that it can lead to substantially different results.  
  
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Simple blood test can accurately reveal underlying neurodegeneration
    A new study of over 3000 people led by King's College London in collaboration with Lund University, has shown for the first time that a single biomarker can accurately indicate the presence of underlying neurodegeneration in people with cognitive issues.  
  
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Controlling insulin production with a smartwatch
    ETH Zurich researchers have developed a gene switch that can be operated with the green LED light emitted by commercial smartwatches. This revolutionary approach could be used to treat diabetes in the future.  
  
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Tiny particles power chemical reactions
    MIT engineers discovered a way to generate electricity using tiny carbon particles that can create an electric current simply by interacting with an organic solvent in which they're floating.  
  
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Pandemic prevention measures linked to lower rates of Kawasaki disease in children
    Rates of Kawasaki disease -- a condition that creates inflammation in blood vessels in the heart and is more common in children of Asian/Pacific Island descent -- have substantially decreased in South Korea during the COVID-19 pandemic.The decrease could be due to mask-wearing, hand-washing, school closures and physical distancing, suggesting Kawasaki disease may be prompted by infectious agents.The cause of Kawasaki disease is unknown, though it may be an immune response to acute infectious illness.  
  
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Applying mathematics takes 'friendship paradox' beyond averages
    In network science, the famous "friendship paradox" describes why your friends are (on average) more popular, richer, and more attractive than you are. But a slightly more nuanced picture emerges when we apply mathematics to real-world data.  
  
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An 'atlas' of the brain's choroid plexus across the lifespan
    Choroid plexus tissue, anchored in each of the brain's ventricles and bathed in cerebrospinal fluid, is a small but influential player in the brain. It's now been spatially inventoried with single-cell RNA sequencing, cataloguing its cell types and gene expression patterns in each ventricle during early development, adulthood, and old age.  
  
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How a Vietnamese raw pork snack could help us keep food fresh, naturally
    Nem Chua is eaten raw but doesn't cause food poisoning when prepared correctly.    Food scientists went to explore why - and discovered a powerful new bacteria-killer.  On World Food Safety Day (7 June), a new study reveals the ideal growth conditions to potentially make the bacteriocin at industrial scales.  
  
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Hospitalized individuals with active cancer more likely to die from COVID-19
    New research indicates that patients hospitalized with active cancer were more likely to die from COVID-19 than those with a history of cancer or those without any cancer diagnosis. The findings published by Wiley early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, also indicate those with active blood cancers have the greatest risk of death due to COVID-19.  
  
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Postpartum mental health visits 30% higher during COVID-19 pandemic
    Mental health visits for new mothers were 30% higher during the COVID-19 pandemic than before the pandemic, particularly in the first 3 months after giving birth, found new research in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.210151  
  
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ALPALGA: The search for mountain snow microalgae
    The life of the microscopic algae that inhabit snow at high elevations is still relatively unknown. Researchers from the CNRS, CEA, Météo-France, INRAE and the l'Université Grenoble Alpes have therefore created the ALPALGA consortium to study this little-known world, threatened by global warming. Scientists will publish their initial results in Frontiers in Plant Science on June 7, 2021, describing for the first time the distribution of dozens of mountain microalgae species according to elevation.  
  
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New insights into survival of ancient Western Desert peoples
    Researchers at the University of Adelaide have used more than two decades of satellite-derived environmental data to form hypotheses about the possible foraging habitats of pre-contact Aboriginal peoples living in Australia's Western Desert.  
  
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The ACCOLADE study on C3 glomerulopathy
    C3 glomerulopathy is a rare disease in which the deposition of C3 protein causes severe inflammation of the glomeruli, which can progress to end stage kidney disease requiring dialysis or transplantation. A new study demonstrates that the inflammatory C5a receptor can be selectively blocked with avacopan. This targeted intervention in the immune system is much less risky than general immunosuppression.  
  
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Mechanisms of kidney protection by gliflozins
    SGLT2 inhibitors (gliflozins) are oral anti-diabetic drugs. They not only reduce blood sug-ar, but also improve cardiovascular and renal outcomes -- not only in type 2 diabetics, but also in non-diabetics. This benefit cannot be due to lower blood sugar levels per se; however, it is not yet known how these positive effects are actually mediated. A recent study has now discovered correlations with the hematocrit value.  
  
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Healthy environment, healthy kidneys!
    Climate change represents one of the greatest global health threats of our time. In choosing Healthy Environment, Healthy Kidneys as the theme for the 2021 fully virtual Congress, the ERA-EDTA highlights the central role of nephrologists and other health professionals in advocacy for global efforts to reduce emissions and protect against climate change.  
  
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Nucleosome breathing from atomistic time snapshots
    Computer simulations visualize in atomic detail how DNA opens while wrapped around proteins.  
  
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Acoustic waves give a bounce to real-time seismic imaging
    Geologic structures and deposits below planetary surfaces can be mapped faster than ever.  
  
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Regulation of protein homeostasis by cardiac glycosides
    The unfolded protein response (UPR) is a pivotal mechanism to mitigate protein homeostasis through transcriptional or translational control. On the other hand, since dysregulation of UPR has been associated with various human diseases, the compounds modulating UPR can clarify the pathological significance of the UPR.  
  
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Global travelers pick up numerous genes that promote microbial resistance
    Research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis shows that international travelers often return home with new bacterial strains jostling for position among the thousands that normally reside within the gut microbiome. Such travel is contributing to the rapid global increase and spread of antimicrobial resistance.  
  
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Climate change increases extreme rainfall and the chance of floods
    An international research team have concluded that increases in extreme rainfall and associated flooding are projected to continue as global temperatures continue to rise. Efforts to limit warming to +1.5C will help limit changes in extreme rainfall, though some societal adaptations will still be required.  
  
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