Culture
While the microbes in a single drop of water could outnumber a small city's population, the number of viruses in the same drop--the vast majority not harmful to humans--could be even larger. Viruses infect bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes, and they range in particle and genome size from small, to large and even giant. The genomes of giant viruses are on the order of 100 times the size of what has typically been associated with viruses, while the genomes of large viruses may be only 10 times larger.
Humans began transporting and growing banana in Vanuatu 3000 years ago, a University of Otago scientist has discovered.
The discovery is the earliest evidence of humans taking and cultivating banana in to what was the last area of the planet to be colonised.
In an article published this week in Nature Human Behaviour, Dr Monica Tromp, Senior Laboratory Analyst at the University of Otago's Southern Pacific Archaeological Research (SPAR), found microscopic particles of banana and other plants trapped in calcified dental plaque of the first settlers of Vanuatu.
A protein typically associated with neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's might help scientists explore how gliomas, a type of cancerous brain tumor, become so aggressive.
The new study, in mouse models and human brain tumor tissues, was published in Science Translational Medicine and found a significant expression of the protein TAU in glioma cells, especially in those patients with better prognoses.
Most diseases have a genetic component. To better understand disease, researchers led by the Garvan Institute of Medical Research are analysing genetic information to determine what keeps us healthy.
In a world first, the team has compiled a genome reference database of thousands of healthy older Australians, which has the potential to predict disease-linked gene variants more accurately than has been previously possible.
WASHINGTON--Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) experience poor health and quality of life into their late forties, according to new research published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
PCOS is a common yet underdiagnosed condition affecting 6-18 percent of women at reproductive age, but its side effects extend beyond infertility and menstrual irregularities. Women with PCOS experience psychological issues like anxiety and depression that continue well beyond fertile age.
ANN ARBOR--While conducting fieldwork in Puerto Rico's central mountainous region in 2016, University of Michigan ecologists noticed tiny trails of bright orange snail excrement on the undersurface of coffee leaves afflicted with coffee leaf rust, the crop's most economically important pest.
A new study shows how a common stomach bacterium is able to keep its corkscrew-like shape as it grows. Disrupting the shape could point the way for future, more-specialized antibiotics that prevent the bacterium from being harmful.
The Florida Everglades evokes images of fanboats skimming over swamps, while alligators peer through the waters and clouds of insects hover just above. Described as a "river of grass" that stretches some 580,000 square miles across southern Florida, they encompass a wide range of ecosystems ranging from wetlands to tree islands to cattails.
Just in time for the New Year, a new Cal Poly study shows that if you want to lose weight and keep it off, building healthy dietary, self-monitoring and psychological coping strategies may be the keys to success.
Results published today in Obesity found that some of the most effective behaviors and psychological strategies reported by those maintaining their weight loss included choosing healthy food, tracking what you eat and using positive self-talk.
An international team of scientists report in the journal Genome Biology results from a pilot project, co-led by Robert Waterhouse, Group Leader at the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics and University of Lausanne, to kick-start the global sequencing initiative of thousands of arthropods. Comparative analyses across 76 species spanning 500 million years of evolution reveal dynamic genomic changes that point to key factors behind their success and open up many new areas of research.
Friends and foes, arthropods rule the world
In 2018, 1.7 million people died from lung cancer worldwide, a number equivalent to the population of Barcelona. The high mortality rate of lung cancer reflects the need for the development of treatments that are more efficient.
The damage visible and infrared light can do to our skin has been revealed for the first time in new research by scientists at Newcastle University, UK.
The detrimental effects of exposure to the sun's rays are well documented, and the main aim of sunscreens is to protect the skin against dangerous ultraviolet radiation (UV).
However, experts at Newcastle University have now scientifically proven that UV rays are not the only type that can penetrate deep into the skin, as visible and infared light can also harm our skin's cells.
Recent tragedies on Everest have exposed growing resentment felt by some Sherpas towards foreign climbers and the foreign companies profiting from the mountain. One source of dispute has been Sherpa concern that some climbers are not fit enough to cope with the altitude.
Worldwide, more than 23 percent of the population suffer from chronic low back pain (CLBP). This makes CLBP the most prevalent chronic pain disorder, associated with immense costs to the health care system. The problems are often attributed to risks at the workplace, but are usually related to physical factors such as incorrect posture or sitting for too long. In a meta-analysis, researchers from TU Dresden were able to show that psychosocial areas of work life such as workload, job control and social support significantly contribute tothe development of the disease, as well.
CLEVELAND, Ohio (January 22, 2020)--If you're having difficulty identifying the right word to express yourself clearly or remembering a story correctly, you may blame menopause. A new study suggests that physiologic hot flashes are associated with decreased verbal memory and with alterations in brain function during encoding and retrieval of memory, especially in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. Study results are published online in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS).