Earth
Boosting a single molecule in the brain can change "dispositional anxiety," the tendency to perceive many situations as threatening, in nonhuman primates, researchers from the University of California, Davis, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison have found. The molecule, neurotrophin-3, stimulates neurons to grow and make new connections.
By moving beyond the surface level and literally digging deep, scientists at the University of California, Davis, found that compost is a key to storing carbon in semi-arid cropland soils, a strategy for offsetting CO2 emissions.
This novel open-source computational framework, combined with targeted high-coverage sequencing data promotes the R&D of Non-Invasive Prenatal genetic Screening (NIPT) to make it completely affordable and routinely applicable in clinics. The developed data analysis method uses high-coverage sequencing data from targeted genomic regions to detect fetal trisomies and the parental origin of the trisomic chromosome from the mother's blood sample in the first trimester of pregnancy.
A new species of giant penguin - about 1.6 metres tall - has been identified from fossils found in Waipara, North Canterbury.
The discovery of Crossvallia waiparensis, a monster penguin from the Paleocene Epoch (between 66 and 56 million years ago), adds to the list of gigantic, but extinct, New Zealand fauna. These include the world's largest parrot, a giant eagle, giant burrowing bat, the moa and other giant penguins.
New Rochelle, NY, August 13, 2019-Researchers have developed a guide to help labs standardize the production of mature hepatic-like cells (HPCs) from stem cells and easily compare gene expression of HPCs to actual human liver tissue. This moderately high throughput protocol can enable a relatively quick assessment of the efficacy of stem cell differentiation and help guide the optimization of differentiation conditions in regenerative medicine applications.
Metastasis, in which cancer cells break free from the primary tumor and form tumors at other sites, worsens the prognosis for many cancer patients. The lymph nodes -- glands of the immune system located throughout the body -- are typically the traveling cells' first destination. Now, researchers have developed a strategy to target metastases in lymph nodes for destruction, before they can cause cancer at other locations. They report their results in ACS Nano.
Research conducted at the University of Hawaiʻi (UH) at Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) on a marine sponge in Kāneʻohe Bay, O?ahu revealed a unique feeding strategy, wherein the sponge animal acquires important components of its diet from symbiotic bacteria living within the sponge.
First study to examine three mechanisms by which very frequent use of social media may harm mental health suggests efforts should be made to reduce young people's exposure to harmful content, and the impact it has on healthy activities (such as sleep and exercise). Authors suggest that direct effects, such as on brain development, are unlikely and so interventions to simply reduce social media use might be misplaced.
ITHACA, N.Y. - New research from Cornell University details how two highly lethal viruses have greater pathogenic potential when their proteins are combined.
A research team led by Hector Aguilar-Carreno, associate professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, has found a potentially similar scenario with a pair of viruses, in a study published in the Journal of Virology.
A simple, reversible chemical treatment can segregate X-bearing sperm from Y-bearing sperm, allowing dramatic alteration of the normal 50/50 male/female offspring ratio, according to a new study by Masayuki Shimada and colleagues at Hiroshima University, published on August 13 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology. The study was performed in mice, but the technique is likely to be widely applicable to other mammals as well.
The first Americans - humans who crossed onto the North American continent and then dispersed throughout Central and South America - all share common ancestry. But as they settled different areas, the populations diverged and became distinct. A new study from North Carolina State University shows that facial differences resulting from this divergence were due to the complex interaction of environment and evolution on these populations and sheds light on how human diversification occurred after settlement of the New World.
A molecule called tRNA, or transfer ribonucleic acid, is an essential component of the human genome that acts as a translator. It reads the genetic code and translates it into proteins - one of the key building blocks of the human body.
When researchers and clinicians investigate the genome's relation to disease, they have traditionally focused on mutations in the code for proteins. But now researchers at Western University have shown that the genes encoding tRNAs can also have mutations that cause the code to be misread, and in greater numbers than previously thought.
Scientists have discovered how diatoms – a type of alga that produce 20 percent of the Earth’s oxygen – harness solar energy for photosynthesis.
The Rutgers University-led discovery, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could help lead to more efficient and affordable algae-based biofuels and combat climate change from fossil fuel burning.
St. Paul, MN (August, 2019)--The tarnished plant bug is a profligate pest, which means it can feed on many different species, including cotton. Over the last 10 years, the tarnished plant bug has become one of the most important pests of cotton in North Carolina and Virginia.
It's well known that keeping blood glucose levels in check can help individuals avoid or manage diabetes, but new research led by biologists at The University of Texas at Dallas suggests that restricting blood glucose levels might also keep certain cancers at bay.