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Plant species that have evolved to withstand elevated levels of carbon dioxide grow poorly when moved to a plant community with a different make up, according to a new study in Nature Communications.

"In an effort to save certain species, there has been an interest in the movement of plants or animals to more climatically suitable habitats," said University of British Columbia ecologist Elizabeth Kleynhans, lead author of the study. "Our research indicates how one species adapts in one community may not transfer to other communities."

Since the 1970s, sexual assault hotlines have grown in popularity in North America as conduits for survivors, their loved ones and professionals to unite for immediate support. Today, there are more than 1,000 crisis hotline affiliates in the United States alone. Yet, despite their widespread use, much remains unknown or unclear about their service efficacy.

A new study that for the first time examined the internal anatomy of a fossil human relative's heel bone, or calcaneus, shows greater similarities with gorillas than chimpanzees.

The study, titled: Trabecular architecture in the StW 352 fossil hominin calcaneus and published in the Journal of Human Evolution, was undertaken by a team of international researchers from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, Duke University, University of Southern California and Indiana University in the US.

Archaeologists from the Universities of York, Cambridge and UCL have identified rare human bones from the UK dating to the Late Mesolithic era (around 4000 BC, just prior to the arrival of farming in Britain) using an innovative new bone collagen analysis technique.

Surprisingly, there is a near absence of human remains in Britain from this period. However, a small island in the Inner Hebrides - Oronsay - is unique as it holds the remains of six human individuals.

The Insect Biogeography and Biodiversity research group led by Dr Benoit Guénard at the School of Biological Sciences, the University of Hong Kong (HKU) has recently described and named a new species of ant from Hong Kong, Paratopula bauhinia, or the rare "Golden Tree Ant" in Asian Myrmecology, a peer-reviewed, yearly journal dedicated to the study of Asian ants.

Aug. 10, 2016--Reducing outdoor concentrations of two air pollutants, ozone (O3) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5), to levels below those set by the U.S.

Wine growers and nurseries would benefit from detecting the dangerous crown gall disease in their vines before it breaks out. Such an early diagnosis is not available at present and cannot be expected soon.

This conclusion is drawn by Dr. Rosalia Deeken from the Biocenter of the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) in Bavaria, Germany, and Professor Ute Hentschel-Humeida who worked here before relocating to Kiel. The scientists are convinced that the currently available methods are incapable of diagnosing crown gall disease reliably at an early stage.

The established theory about the route by which Ice Age peoples first reached the present-day United States has been challenged by an unprecedented study which concludes that their supposed entry route was "biologically unviable".

The first people to reach the Americas crossed via an ancient land bridge between Siberia and Alaska but then, according to conventional wisdom, had to wait until two huge ice sheets that covered what is now Canada started to recede, creating the so-called "ice-free corridor" which enabled them to move south.

Blood stem cell transplantation, widely known as bone marrow transplantation, is a powerful technique that potentially can provide a lifelong cure for a variety of diseases. But the procedure is so toxic that it is currently used to treat only the most critical cases.

Being hospitalized with infection was associated with an increased risk of suicide death and the highest risk of suicide was among those individuals with hepatitis and HIV or AIDS, according to a study published online by JAMA Psychiatry.

While psychological predictors of suicide have been studied extensively, less attention has been paid to the effect of biological factors, such as infection.

Black-billed magpies and American crows, both members of the clever corvid family of birds, have adapted comfortably to life in urban and suburban communities. In Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the two species often nest nearby each other in backyards and parks. Nesting near their much larger crow cousins affords magpies a margin of extra safety from a common enemy--ravens, an even larger corvid species.

Having both parents and grandparents with major depressive disorder (MDD) was associated with higher risk of MDD for grandchildren, which could help identify those who may benefit from early intervention, according to a study published online by JAMA Psychiatry.

It is well known that having depressed parents increases children's risk of psychiatric disorders. There are no published studies of depression examining three generations with grandchildren in the age of risk for depression and with direct interviews of all family members.

Researchers in the Department of Earth Sciences have shown that high-latitude bivalves live longer and grow slower than those in the tropics. Their findings are the subject of an article in the "Proceedings of the Royal Society B" (The Royal Society, 2016).

David Moss, a Ph.D. student in the Earth sciences department, located in the College of Arts and Sciences, is the article's lead author.

In a study published online by JAMA Surgery, Hance A. Clarke, M.D., Ph.D., F.R.C.P.C., of Toronto Western Hospital, Toronto, Canada, and colleagues measured rates of ongoing opioid use up to 1 year after major surgery.

Exposure to opioids is largely unavoidable after major surgery because they are routinely used to treat postoperative pain. Nonetheless, continued long-term opioid use has negative health consequences including opioid dependence. There are limited data on the risk of previously opioid-naive individuals developing persistent postoperative opioid use.

In a study published online by JAMA Surgery, Michelle R. Lent, Ph.D., of the Geisinger Clinic, Danville, Pa., and colleagues evaluated the association between preoperative clinical factors and long-term weight loss after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB).