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Mullerian inhibiting substance, a reproductive hormone, keeps follicles dormant in the ovaries until they are ready to be activated, grow, and release eggs during ovulation. Understanding the mechanism of follicle development by this hormone could allow scientists, for the first time, to identify novel therapeutic targets to preserve follicles and eggs lost to aging or chemotherapy, to improve the harvesting of eggs during IVF, and to create a new hormonal contraceptive.

An influenza vaccine that is made of nanoparticles and administered through the nose enhances the body's immune response to influenza virus infection and offers broad protection against different viral strains, according to researchers in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University.

Researchers analyzed data on more than 20,000 patients admitted to hospitals for COVID-19. After controlling for patient age, sex, comorbidities, and severity of disease when the patient was admitted, they found that none of these factors fully explained the decline in mortality rates.

Silicon-based fiber optics are currently the best structures for high-speed, long distance transmissions, but graphene -- an all-carbon, ultra-thin and adaptable material -- could improve performance even more.

New work from a Stanford University-led team of researchers including Carnegie's Arthur Grossman and Tingting Xiang unravels a longstanding mystery about the relationship between form and function in the genetic material of a diverse group of algae called dinoflagellates. Their findings, published in Nature Genetics, have implications for understanding genomic organizational principles of all organisms.

ORNL story tips: Stealthy air leak detection, carbon to chemicals and recycling goes large.

People have become accustomed to having their temperature checked during the pandemic because fever is a key indicator of COVID-19. A new commentary written by faculty in Washington State University's College of Nursing proposes that taking a temperature is a less useful indicator of infection in older adults and that a pulse oximeter be used instead. It said a fever may be overlooked because older adults' baseline temperatures are lower.

A new Cornell University-led study examines how temperature affects fishing behavior and catches among inland fisher households in Cambodia, with important implications for understanding climate change.

A team of scientists has discovered the fossil of an organism with two distinct cell types that is likely the oldest of its kind ever recorded -- revealing multicellularity perhaps 400 million years before it first appeared in animals, they report in the journal Current Biology. The discovery in the Scottish Highlands suggests that cell differentiation and segregation occurred at least one billion years ago and may have occurred in freshwater lakes rather than the ocean.

Patients with one or more health conditions are more likely to be screened for colorectal cancer than those without comorbidities, according to new research in the Journal of Osteopathic Medicine. However, patients with five or more health conditions are also less likely to be screened than patients with two to four health conditions.

"We confirmed the longitudinal stability of social cognition deficits in cognitively-normal people with relapsing-remitting MS, mirroring the amygdala structural damage and psychological well-being," said Dr. Genova. "These results confirm that social cognition exerts a key role in MS, affecting individuals' everyday lives. Our research highlights the need to identify treatments to improve social cognition in this population."

The Bornean subspecies of Rajah scops owl (Otus brookii brookii), documented in the wild for the first time since 1892, may be its own unique species and deserving of a conservation designation. Published April 28 in The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center ecologist Andy Boyce reported the rediscovery and photographed this elusive subspecies in the mountainous forests of Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia.

Exposure to air pollution, even over the course of just a few weeks, can impede mental performance, according to a new study led by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. However, these adverse effects were lessened in people taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like aspirin. The study is among the first to explore short-term air pollution exposures and the use of NSAIDs to mitigate their effects. The results are published in the journal Nature Aging.

When talking to their children about race, white parents' use of phrases like "I don't see race" can send mixed messages to their children about racial socialization and racial ideology.

A comprehensive review by University of North Carolina researchers and colleagues highlights the optimal ways that focused, high-dose radiation can be delivered to various types of tumors while sparing normal tissue and mitigating long-term side effects. The review was reported as a special issue in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics.

A giant saber-toothed cat lived in North America between 5 million and 9 million years ago, weighing up to 900 pounds and hunting prey that likely weighed 1,000 to 2,000 pounds, scientists reported today in a new study.

Yale researchers have shown that developmental abnormalities, including those that lead to pregnancy loss and autism, are controlled by the genetics of the fetus and placenta -- and not the mother's intrauterine environment.

Biologists at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU in Munich) have significantly enhanced the tolerance of blue-green algae to high light levels -- with the aid of artificial evolution in the laboratory.

Flatfishes rapidly evolved into the most asymmetric vertebrates by changing multiple traits at once, according to a new Rice University study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

One-third of children and adolescents experienced mental health problems during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Switzerland. Parents and young adults also perceived considerable stress, yet the perceived stresses differed from those of children and adolescents, the first Switzerland-wide representative study by the University of Zurich and La Source School of Nursing Lausanne has shown.