Earth
Transmissible cancers are incredibly rare in nature, yet have arisen in Tasmanian devils on at least two separate occasions. New research from the University of Cambridge identifies key anti-cancer drugs which could be trialled as a treatment for these diseases, which are threatening Tasmanian devils with extinction.
The research also found that the two Tasmanian devil transmissible cancers are very similar to each other, and likely both arose due to susceptibilities inherent to the devils themselves.
Electrical activity in a region of the parietal cortex underlies the detection of a transition between two complex sounds, finds a study of human participants published in eNeuro. The research provides insight into how the brain tunes into relevant changes in the environment to optimize behavior.
A new study at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland reports that autophagosome content is increased by resistance training in previously untrained young men, but this response may be blunted by aging.
Autophagy is a major catabolic route in cells responsible for the clearance of proteins and organelles. Pathological levels of autophagy are associated with muscle wasting, but physiological levels are important for cellular recycling.
An interdisciplinary team of scientists examining everything from glaciology to freshwater ecology discovered drastic changes over the past decade to the world's largest High Arctic lake. And from glacial melt to the declining lake ice to changes in lake ecology, the results from Lake Hazen on Ellesmere Island in Canada are alarming.
Researchers from the School of Medicine in Ribeirão Preto (FMRP), at the University of São Paulo (USP), in collaboration with international groups, have developed indices that provide information about the prognosis of cancers, aid in the choice of the most appropriate therapy to be used and identify potential targets for the development of new drugs. The article reporting these results - Machine Learning Identity Stemness Features Associated with Oncogenic Dedifferentiation - will be published on April 5 in Cell.
In a groundbreaking development, results from a recent clinical trial to treat lung cancer show that a novel immunotherapy combination is surprisingly effective at controlling the disease's progression. The study, published April 4 in the journal The Lancet Oncology, focused on non-small cell lung cancer, which is the most common form of lung cancer.
When fossil fuels are burned, carbon dioxide (CO2) is emitted. As the gas rises and becomes trapped in the atmosphere, it retains heat as part of a process called the greenhouse effect. The increased temperatures associated with the greenhouse effect can cause melting ice caps, higher sea levels and a loss of natural habitat for plant and animal species.
A new study supports the use of a brief, web-based program alone and in combination with a parent campaign for preventing alcohol consumption among adolescents transitioning from middle school to high school.
When young children see a peer cause harm, they often tattle to a caregiver. But why do children tattle? A new Social Development study reveals that even when children cannot be blamed for a transgression, they tattle about it nonetheless, likely because tattling may be a way for children to enforce norms on others and thus help maintain cooperation.
A global study lead by geographers at the University of Tartu has revealed that drained nitrogen-rich peatlands produce laughing gas, which degrades the ozone layer and warms the climate. To avoid this, swamp forests, fens and bogs need to be conserved.
Women who believe that their sex drive will change over time are better able to handle difficulties with sexual desire, according to a study from the University of Waterloo.
Siobhan Sutherland, a PhD candidate, and Uzma S. Rehman, a professor of psychology at Waterloo, conducted the research. They sought to determine how a woman's belief about sexual desire as either changing or unchanging over time affects her ability to cope with desire difficulties, such as problems getting in the mood or maintaining arousal.
Tungsten oxide attracts a great deal of attention on the part of scientists and industrialists due to its vast scope of applications for photo- and electrochromic devices, photosensitive materials and biomedicine. For example, it may be used as an X-ray contrast agent for computer tomography - an essential diagnostic tool for internal organ visualisation. Moreover, tungsten oxide has a strong antibacterial effect based on high photocatalytic activity, which may be further increased by UV irradiation and the use of smaller tungsten particles.
The Common Tern is most widespread tern species in North America, but its breeding colonies in interior North America have been on the decline for decades despite conservation efforts. The problem, at least in part, must lie elsewhere--and a new study from The Auk: Ornithological Advances presents some of the best information to date on where these birds go when they leave their nesting lakes each fall.
Dopamine, a signaling chemical in the brain, has the lofty job of controlling emotions, moods, movements as well as sensations of pleasure and pain. Dysfunction of this critical neurotransmitter is the cause of a number of diseases, most notably, Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's disease is caused by the death of dopamine-producing cells and most theories of disease risk involve the selective vulnerability of ageing dopamine neurons to genetic mutations or to environmental toxins, or both.
Writing in Nature today, a group of 12 scholars from across the developing world made an unprecedented call for developing countries to lead on the research and evaluation of solar radiation management (SRM) geoengineering.
Solar radiation management is a controversial idea for reducing some of the impacts of climate change. The leading proposal would involve spraying tiny reflective particles into the upper atmosphere, filtering the sun's energy to mimic the cooling effect of volcanoes.