Culture
A global study of ancient dog DNA, led by scientists at the Francis Crick Institute, University of Oxford, University of Vienna and archaeologists from more than 10 countries, presents evidence that there were different types of dogs more than 11,000 years ago in the period immediately following the Ice Age.
The shells of crustaceans and wood waste such as branches pruned from trees usually end up in landfills. These waste materials are given a new lease of life to become nutritional supplements and medicine, with the help of a novel process developed by researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS).
Imagine that you are a job consultant. You are sitting across from your client, an unemployed individual.
After locating them in the system, up pops the following text on the computer screen; 'increased risk of long-term unemployment'.
Such assessments are made by an algorithm that, via data on the citizen's gender, age, residence, education, income, ethnicity, history of illness, etc., spits out an estimate of how long the person -- compared to other people from similar backgrounds -- is expected to remain in the system and receive benefits.
Ever since the astronomer Edwin Hubble demonstrated that the further apart two galaxies are, the faster they move away from each other, researchers have measured the expansion rate of the Universe (the Hubble constant) and the history of this expansion. Recently, a new puzzle has emerged, as there seems to be a discrepancy between measurements of this expansion using radiation in the early Universe and using nearby objects.
Our brains are wired to protect us from threats. For social animals like humans, threats often come from other members of our own species when there is conflict over food, mates, or territory. Animals with a strong sense of territory will attack anyone who enters their territory, but will flee if caught in the territory of another individual. In such animals, the decision to stand their ground and attack or to run away and escape depends on where the animal is. How is the decision between these two types of defensive responses made?
The fur of the platypus - an Australian species threatened with extinction - glows green under ultraviolet light, a new study finds. This is the first observation of biofluorescence in an egg-laying mammal (monotreme), suggesting this extraordinary trait may not be as rare as previously thought.
600,000 Danes take medicine containing statins. Statins lower the cholesterol level and thus helps prevent cardiovascular disease and blood clots. But there is a different side to the coin.
Treatment with statins may also have negative side effects, some of which are so severe that people suffering from elevated cholesterol choose to stop treatment. One of the main side effects is muscle pain, also called myalgia, which may lead to reduced quality of life, pain and inactivity due to the pain.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Your bag of mulch may not be what you think it is. In a new study, researchers at Penn State found that some bags labeled as "cypress" contain only 50% cypress, while other bags contained no cypress at all.
Philadelphia, October 29, 2020--Using sophisticated 3D genomic mapping and integrating with public data resulting from genome-wide association studies (GWAS), researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have found significant genetic correlations between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and stress and depression.
The gut is an unusually noisy place, where hundreds of species of bacteria live alongside whatever microbes happen to have hitched a ride in on your lunch. Scientists have long suspected that the gut's immune system, in the face of so many stimuli, takes an uncharacteristically blunt approach to population control and protection from foreign invaders--churning out non-specific antibodies with broad mandates to mow the gut's entire microbial lawn without prejudice.
ITHACA, N.Y. - In the dark of night, ogre-faced spiders with dominating big eyes dangle from a silk frame to cast a web and capture their ground prey. But these spiders also can capture insects flying behind them with precision, and Cornell University scientists have now confirmed how.
They look like microscopic bottle brushes: Polymers with a backbone and tufts of side arms. This molecular design gives them unusual abilities: For example, they can bind active agents and release them again when the temperature changes. With the help of neutrons, a research team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now succeeded to unveil the changes in the internal structure in course of the process.
In 2017 the term 'populism' made 'Word of the Year' according to The Cambridge Dictionary for its ubiquitous use across media headlines, in political speeches, campaigns, as well as across numerous academic publications and conferences.
Washington, DC--New work led by Carnegie's Matt Clement reveals the likely original locations of Saturn and Jupiter. These findings refine our understanding of the forces that determined our Solar System's unusual architecture, including the ejection of an additional planet between Saturn and Uranus, ensuring that only small, rocky planets, like Earth, formed inward of Jupiter.
COLUMBUS, Ohio - As COVID-19 cases begin climbing again in the United States, the possibility arises of a grim moral dilemma: Which patients should be prioritized if medical resources are scarce?
Researchers from the United States and China asked more than 5,000 people from 11 countries how they would make one version of that ethical decision. Study participants considered 15 possible scenarios, choosing which of two COVID-19 patients should get access to a ventilator that could save their life.