Culture
Researchers discovered that a specific brain region monitors food preferences as they change across thirsty and quenched states. By targeting neurons in that part of the brain, they were able to shift food choice preferences from a more desired reward (think: chocolate cake) to a less tasty one (think: stale bread).
Their findings, published in the journal Science Advances, built upon the same team's discovery two years ago that neural activity in this brain region called the ventral pallidum is related to the preference for different food options.
New data from a Canadian-led team of astronomers, including researchers from the McGill Space Institute and McGill University Department of Physics, strongly suggest that magnetars - a type of neutron star believed to have an extremely powerful magnetic field - could be the source of some fast radio bursts (FRBs). Though much research has been done to explain the mysterious phenomenon, their source has thus far remained elusive and the subject of some debate.
First detection of an intense radio burst from a Galactic magnetar
Rising sea levels will affect coasts and human societies in complex and unpredictable ways, according to a new study that examined 12,000 years in which a large island became a cluster of smaller ones.
Researchers reconstructed sea-level rise to produce maps of coastal changes at thousand-year intervals and found that today's Isles of Scilly, off the UK's south-west coast, emerged from a single island that only became the current configuration of more than 140 islands less than 1,000 years ago.
The arthropods have been among the most successful animals on Earth since the Cambrian Period, about 520 million years ago. They are the most familiar and ubiquitous, and constitute nearly 80 percent of all animal species today, far more than any other animals.
But how did arthropods evolve and what did their ancestors look like? These have been a major conundrum in animal evolution puzzling generations of scientists for more than a century.
New York University researchers have created a "developmental atlas" of gene expression in neurons, using gene sequencing and machine learning to categorize more than 250,000 neurons in the brains of fruit flies. Their study, published in Nature, finds that neurons exhibit the most molecular diversity during development and reveals a previously unknown type of neurons only present before flies hatch.
A new study suggests that it is possible to design drugs that can target a type of shape-shifting protein involved in Alzheimer's disease, which was previously thought to be undruggable.
A team of researchers, led by the University of Cambridge, have identified a new mechanism of targeting amyloid-beta, a protein fragment that clumps together and kills healthy brain cells in people with Alzheimer's disease.
Exposure to high temperatures in pregnancy is associated with an increase in adverse pregnancy outcomes, especially preterm birth and stillbirth, and among women in lower socioeconomic groups, finds a study published by The BMJ today.
Although the effects may appear small in size, the researchers say the findings "could have a major impact on public health as exposure to high temperatures is common and escalating." Moreover, conditions such as preterm birth often have lifelong implications for affected newborns.
Some claim that machine learning technology has the potential to transform healthcare systems, but a study published by The BMJ finds that machine learning models have similar performance to traditional statistical models and share similar uncertainty in making risk predictions for individual patients.
The NHS has invested £250m ($323m; €275m) to embed machine learning in healthcare, but researchers say the level of consistency (stability) within and between models should be assessed before they are used to make treatment decisions for individual patients.
November 4, 2020 (ATLANTA) - As wildlife populations decline around the globe, understanding the natural and human-induced factors that influence their growth is critical for determining the risk of population declines and developing effective conservation strategies.
PHILADELPHIA - Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disorder that develops as the body's immune system attacks the central nervous system. Specifically, it attacks the protective layer surrounding nerve cells, called the myelin sheath. Current MS therapies aim to counter this inflammatory response by suppressing the immune system, which can lead to serious side effects like a higher risk of infection, and even cancer.
What The Study Did: Researchers investigated whether loosening of state firearm restrictions in Missouri were associated with changes in rates of suicide by firearms among young people ages 14 to 24.
Authors: Apurva Bhatt, M.D., of the University of Missouri-Kansas City/Center for Behavioral Medicine in Kansas City, is the corresponding author.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.24303)
What The Study Did: Rates and characteristics of needle stick and other sharps injuries among resident physicians and other staff at a large health care center were examined in this study.
Authors: John G. Zampella, M.D., of the New York University Grossman School of Medicine in New York, is the corresponding author.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2020.4112)
More than 250 million people suffer from COPD, a progressive inflammatory lung disease. On the list of the most frequent causes of death worldwide, COPD ranks third behind heart attacks and stroke. The primary cause of COPD is exposure to cigarette smoke. Ninety percent of COPD patients are or have been chronic smokers. Other risk factors include exposure to air pollution. Despite intensive research efforts, there is no cure for COPD. Resulting fibrosis and lung epithelial cell death are key features of COPD, preventing patients from breathing effectively.
Two population screen and treat programmes commonly prescribed to prevent older people falling have no impact on reducing fractures, researchers from the University of Warwick and University of Exeter have concluded.
They belong to the bark beetle family, and they are the only animals in nature, along with leaf-cutter ants and some termites, that practice agriculture: ambrosia beetles. These insects, which are about two millimetres in size, carry fungal spores into their nests and sow them in specially created tunnels in the wood. They then care for the growing fungal cultures that serve as food for them.