Culture
By using two different transparent soil substitutes, scientists have shown that soil bacteria rely on fungi to help them survive dry periods, says a study published today ineLife.
The findings indicate that these soil-like substrates may enable researchers to observe the complex interactions of the myriad microscopic creatures that live in soil. This ability is crucial to help us better understand the role that soil and soil microbes play in healthy ecosystems.
Gene therapies are being approved for use in Canada, but could strain healthcare budgets and exacerbate existing treatment inequities across the country. However, there are opportunities to control spending, streamline approvals and support fair access through innovation, coordination and collaboration, according to a new expert panel report from the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA).
THE University of Huddersfield's Archaeogenetics Research Group has mapped out the dispersal of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, responsible for the current worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, putting Europe centre-stage as the main source of the spread.
The group's findings, recently published in a special issue of the peer-reviewed journal Microorganisms, confirm that the virus originated in China and most likely jumped into humans from horseshoe bats. But that it is Europe, not China, which has been the main source for spreading the disease around the world.
Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommends vaccinating key populations, such as people at risk of severe illness or death, those at risk of transmitting the virus and essential workers, during the initial rollout of a COVID-19 vaccine in Canada. The preliminary guidance, developed for the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), is published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
Bankers and environmentalists alike are increasingly calling for capital markets to play a bigger role in the war on carbon. In the absence of a meaningful global price on carbon, however, capital continues to flow freely toward fossil fuels and other carbon-intensive industries. The movement for fossil fuel divestment has been trying since 2012 to reverse this trend. A strong media presence and divestment pledges from high-profile investors notwithstanding, the movement has had little, if any, impact on the market valuation or bottom line of fossil fuel companies to date.
Palm oil contains abundant quantities of vitamin E compounds, which include tocopherols and tocotrienols. These compounds have anti-oxidant effects, which protect cells from damage from toxic chemical produced by metabolic processes. While tocopherol is a widely known and researched compound, there remains much to learn about tocotrienols.
A new study published by the British Journal of General Practice has found that patients' abilities to see their preferred GP has fallen greater in English practices that have expanded, compared with those that stayed about the same size.
At the same time, English practices that have expanded have not achieved better access to care or provided better overall experience. Being able to see the same GP is highly valued by many patients and previous studies have suggested that it may lead to fewer hospital admissions and fewer deaths.
Oncotarget recently published "Heterogeneity of CEACAM5 in breast cancer" which reported that Here, we examined a repository of 110 cryopreserved primary breast carcinomas by immunohistochemistry to assess the distribution of CEACAM5 in tumor subtypes.
Artificial night-time lighting has a diverse range of effects across the natural world and should be limited where possible, researchers say.
A team led by the University of Exeter brought together more than 100 studies and found "widespread" impacts on animals and plants.
Changes to animals' bodies and behaviour - especially hormone levels and patterns of waking and sleeping - were consistently found.
Researchers at MIT and the University of Waterloo have developed a high-power, portable version of a device called a quantum cascade laser, which can generate terahertz radiation outside of a laboratory setting. The laser could potentially be used in applications such as pinpointing skin cancer and detecting hidden explosives.
The digital age brims with promise for the world's half-billion smallholder farmers. Smartphones with the right apps can tell farmers when it's likely going to rain, how to identify and eradicate pests, and negotiate the prices for a bountiful harvest delivered by a combination of hard work and big data.
While digital technologies are steadily reaching more farmers, for each one plugged into the latest weather forecast or selling produce at the tap of a screen, millions more are sidelined as the digital revolution whizzes by.
The fabled Silk Road - the 4,000-mile stretch between China and Western Europe where trade flourished from the second century B.C. to the 14th century A.D. - is responsible for one of our favorite and most valuable fruits: the domesticated apple (Malus domestica).
Snack-packing travelers would pick apples at one spot, eat them and toss their cores many miles away. The seeds grew into trees in their new locations, cross-bred with the wild species, and created more than 7,000 varieties of apples that exist today.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- As health care costs balloon in the U.S., experts say it may be important to analyze whether those costs translate into better population health. A new study led by a Penn State researcher analyzed existing data to find a dividing line - or "threshold - for what makes a treatment cost-effective or not.
CHICAGO (November 2, 2020): Firearm violence impacts not only individuals and their communities, but also the health care providers who treat them. For surgeons, treating these victims and understanding the impact of firearm violence as a public health issue requires both technical and non-technical skills. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine, St.
In nature, healthy plants are awash with bacteria and other microbes, mostly deriving from the soil they grow in. This community of microbes, termed the plant microbiota, is essential for optimal plant growth and protects plants from the harmful effects of pathogenic microorganisms and insects. The plant root microbiota is also thought to improve plant performance when nutrient levels are low, but concrete examples of such beneficial interactions remain scarce. Iron is one of the most important micronutrients for plant growth and productivity.