Culture
A well-trained athlete sprinting 100 yards performs a highly stereotyped, repetitive motor pattern. Neuroscientists understand that these rhythmic motor programs, such as walking, swimming and running, are produced by neural circuitry that generates repetitive patterns that are similar from cycle to cycle. Over a century ago, experiments on spinal cord led to the proposal that a simple neural network can produce such a rhythmic oscillatory firing pattern. These oscillatory networks are now known as central pattern generators.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The livelihoods of millions of people living along the world's biggest river systems are under threat by a range of stressors caused by the daily economic, societal and political activity of humans - in addition to the long-term effects of climate change, researchers report.
A new study finds that clinicians can use patient data, such as a history of co-occurring health conditions and medication, to predict the 5- and 10-year life expectancy of older people with diabetes.
The ability to make such predictions, the researchers say, may help clinicians and patients develop personalized treatment goals that balance risks and benefits.
The results appear June 19 in the journal Diabetes Care.
Drs. Kevin Griffith and Paul Conlin of the VA Boston Healthcare System led the study.
Early signs of being more susceptible to type 2 diabetes as an adult can be seen in children as young as 8 years old, decades before it is likely to be diagnosed, according to a new study published in Diabetes Care today [19 June 2020].
The research looked at the effects of a genetic risk score for developing type 2 diabetes as an adult on metabolism measured from blood samples taken from the participants in the study when they were aged 8, 16, 18, and 25 years.
In a paper published by the Royal Society, a team of Bristol researchers observed the exploratory behaviour of ants to inform the development of a more efficient mathematical sampling technique.
Animals like ants have the challenge of exploring their environment to look for food and potential places to live. With a large group of individuals, like an ant colony, a large amount of time would be wasted if the ants repeatedly explored the same empty areas.
The outer or inner boundaries of organs in the human body are lined with so-called epithelial sheets. These are layers of epithelial cells that can individually change their 3D shape -- which is what happens during biological processes like organ development (morphogenesis), physiological equilibrium (homeostatis) or cancer formation (carcinogenesis). Of particular interest is the process of cell extrusion, where a single cell loses its 'top' or 'bottom' surface and is subsequently pushed out of the layer.
In a study that could help one day give a literal meaning to food for thought, researchers from Kyushu University in Japan have reported that a protein fragment that makes its way into the brain after being ingested can reduce memory degradation in mice treated to simulate Alzheimer's disease.
Everybody loves freebies, whether it's a tasty treat handed out at the supermarket or a month of Netflix. These campaigns are a great way to bring attention to a new product or service, and marketers use them to target new customers and grow their customer base.
But offering free trials to existing customers might seem like a waste of time, after all, your customers are already sold on your product.
Global food production is incredibly efficient, and the world's farmers produce enough to feed the global population. Despite this abundance, a quarter of the global population do not have regular access to sufficient and nutritious food. A growing and more affluent population will further increase the global demand for food and create stresses on land, for example, through deforestation.
Prof. LI Chuanfeng, XU Jinshi, and XU Xiaoye from University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), collaborating with Prof. CHEN Jingling from Nankai University, realized the non-contacing exchange of the polarization of two photons, revealing the unique quantum characteristics of the "Quantum Cheshire Cat".
The study, published in Nature Communications, deepens the understanding of the fundamental problem of physics, "what is physical reality."
Earth's geographical surfaces have been formed over millions of years, and various current theories aim to explain their formation. The most popular theory, called the "plate tectonics theory," states that Earth's outermost layer is a dynamic system consisting of slowly moving plates, also known as "tectonic" plates. As theses plates move, they come close to each other and collide, or drift away from or slide past the other, causing tension or rupture along their boundaries. If two colliding plates face enormous compression force along the rupture line, a slab of the earth would uplift.
Researchers at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC) developed a mouse model that enables them to look inside a working muscle and identify the proteins that allow the sarcomere to contract, relax, communicate its energy needs, and adapt to exercise. Specifically, they were able to map proteins in defined subregions of the sarcomere, starting from the "Z-disc," the boundary between neighboring sarcomeres. This in and of itself was a significant step forward in the study of striated muscle.
New research from the University of Cincinnati shows kidney failure resulting from acute kidney injury (AKI) leads to a higher risk of death in the first six months compared to kidney failure from diabetes or other causes and that risk is even higher for women.
AKI occurs when kidneys stop working properly and can range from minor loss of kidney function to complete failure. AKI often happens as a complication of another serious illness. The UC study highlights the need for developing customizable treatment strategies targeting factors that enhance kidney recovery.
(Boston)--In an effort to improve the survival of patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms, a type of leukemia, researchers inhibited a specific protein (alpha5beta1 integrin) to decrease the number of large bone marrow cells (megakaryocytes) in an experimental model. An increase in megakaryocyte numbers is thought to be the cause of many problems observed in this disease. This type of treatment approach has never been attempted before.
Higher rates of severe COVID-19 infections in Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) populations are not explained by socioeconomic or behavioral factors, cardiovascular disease risk, or by vitamin D status, according to new research led by Queen Mary University of London.
The findings, published in the Journal of Public Health, suggest that the relationship between COVID-19 infection and ethnicity is complex, and requires more dedicated research to explain the factors driving these patterns.