Culture
Research by an international team of scientists led by University of New Mexico Professor Yemane Asmerom suggests contraction of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) during a warming Earth, leading in turn to drying of the Neotropics, including Central America, and aggravating current trends of social unrest and mass migration.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is progressive, but slow to develop -- or at least to reveal itself.
MISSOULA - Every social network has its fake news. And in animal communication networks, even birds discern the trustworthiness of their neighbors, a study from the University of Montana suggests.
The study, recently published in the top science journal Nature, is the culmination of decades' worth of research from UM alumni Nora Carlson and Chris Templeton and UM Professor Erick Greene in the College of Humanities and Sciences. It sheds a new light on bird social networks.
Seagrasses have long been known as some of Earth's most remarkable organisms--descendants of flowering land plants that have re-colonized the ocean by developing traits that allow them to grow, pollinate, and release seeded fruits while fully immersed in salty seawater.
Now, research by a joint Australian-U.S. team reveals that one group of seagrasses, Australian species of the genus Posidonia, have evolved yet another remarkable adaptation for ocean survival: a winged seed whose shape harnesses the force of underwater currents to hold it on the seafloor for rooting.
Memory performance and other cognitive abilities benefit from a good blood supply to the brain. This applies in particular to people affected by a condition known as "sporadic cerebral small vessel disease". Researchers of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and the University Medicine Magdeburg report on this in the journal "BRAIN". Their study suggests that blood perfusion of the so-called hippocampus could play a key role in age- and disease-related memory problems.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Influenza is a deadly virus, with about 290,000 to 650,000 deaths worldwide each year. When pandemics hit, the toll can soar: The Spanish flu of 1918 caused 40 million to 50 million deaths, the Asian flu of 1957 caused 2 million deaths, and the Hong Kong flu of 1968 caused 1 million deaths.
DALLAS, February 14, 2020 -- Consumption of cocoa may improve walking performance for patients with peripheral artery disease, according to the results of a small, preliminary, phase II research trial published today in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation Research.
The smallest proteins travel in our cells, completing deeply important tasks to keep our molecular mechanisms moving. They are responsible for transporting cargo, duplicating cells and more. Now, a research team based in Japan has uncovered more about how these proteins move.
DGIST identified causes of hypersensitivity accompanied by neurodevelopmental disorder such as autism-spectrum disorder (ASD). This is expected to make huge contributions to the early diagnosis of sensory-defective symptom brought with neurodevelopmental disorder and cancer as well as the improvement of anti-cancer drug side effects.
DGIST announced that the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences found the important mechanism of 'Abl1' gene, which is involved in the early developmental stage of inhibitory neuron for forming normal sensory circuits.
A world first review of the importance of nature play could transform children's play spaces, supporting investment in city and urban parks, while also delivering important opportunities for children's physical, social and emotional development.
Conducted by the University of South Australia the systematic review explored the impacts of nature play on the health and development of children aged 2-12 years, finding that nature play improved children's complex thinking skills, social skills and creativity.
EVANSTON, Ill. --- Using data from the Northwestern Juvenile Project, Linda Teplin of Northwestern University will examine the persistence and progression of substance use disorders -- including opioid use disorder -- in delinquent youth in a talk at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting in Seattle on Friday, Feb. 14.
Substance use disorders are the most common disorders among delinquent youth. However, little is known about the persistence and progression of these disorders during adulthood.
Researchers at Kobe University's Graduate School of Medicine have developed the world's first congenital pituitary hypoplasia (CPH) (*1,*2) model using patient-derived iPS cells. The research group consisting of Associate Professor TAKAHASHI Yutaka, medical researcher MATSUMOTO Ryusaku and Professor AOI Takashi et al. succeeded in using the model to illuminate the mechanisms underlying CPH. The team has been attempting to apply this model to other pituitary diseases and drug discovery.
What clues does our memory use to connect a current situation to a situation from the past? The results of a study conducted by researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, - working in collaboration with CY Cergy Paris University in France - contrast sharply with the explanations found until now in the existing literature. The researchers have demonstrated that similarities in structure and essence (the heart of a situation) guide our recollections rather than surface similarities (the general theme, for example, or the setting or protagonists).
Experts have been unable to explain why cells from bacteria to humans leak essential chemicals necessary for growth into their environment. New mathematical models reveal that leaking metabolites - substances involved in the chemical processes to sustain life with production of complex molecules and energy - may provide cells both selfish and selfless benefits.
Previously, biologists could only say that leaking is an inherent property of cell membranes caused by fundamental rules of chemistry.
A promising molecule has offered hope for a new treatment that could stop or slow Parkinson's, something no treatment can currently do.
Researchers from the University of Helsinki found that molecule BT13 has the potential to both boost levels of dopamine, the chemical that is lost in Parkinson's, as well as protect the dopamine-producing brain cells from dying.