PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Pigs show potential for 'remarkable' level of behavioral, mental flexibility in new study

Researchers teach four animals how to play a rudimentary joystick-enabled video game that demonstrates conceptual understanding beyond simple chance

Pigs show potential for 'remarkable' level of behavioral, mental flexibility in new study
2021-02-11
(Press-News.org) Pigs will probably never be able to fly, but new research is revealing that some species within the genus Sus may possess a remarkable level of behavioral and mental flexibility. A study published in END

[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Pigs show potential for 'remarkable' level of behavioral, mental flexibility in new study

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

The Lancet: New report details devastating impact of the Trump administration's health-harming policies, calls for sweeping reforms

2021-02-11
Peer reviewed / Review and opinion First comprehensive assessment of damage to health inflicted by former President Trump cites decades of policy failures made worse by the Trump administration, resulting in 461,000 unnecessary US deaths annually before the COVID-19 pandemic, and tens of thousands of unnecessary COVID-19 and pollution-related deaths attributable to his actions. Lancet Commission calls for immediate rollback of Trump's health-harming policies and additional sweeping reforms to reverse the deteriorating health of the US population: "The path away from Trump's politics of anger and despair cannot lead through past policies." The first comprehensive assessment of the health effects of Donald Trump's presidency is published today ...

Biosensors monitor plant well-being in real time

Biosensors monitor plant well-being in real time
2021-02-11
Researchers at Linköping University, Sweden, have developed biosensors that make it possible to monitor sugar levels in real time deep in the plant tissues - something that has previously been impossible. The information from the sensors may help agriculture to adapt production as the world faces climate change. The results have been published in the scientific journal iScience. The primary source of nutrition for most of the Earth's population is mainly plants, which are also the foundation of the complete ecosystem on which we all depend. Global population ...

Tiny population of neurons may have big role in depression

Tiny population of neurons may have big role in depression
2021-02-11
A tiny population of neurons known to be important to appetite appear to also have a significant role in depression that results from unpredictable, chronic stress, scientists say. These AgRP neurons reside exclusively in the bottom portion of the hypothalamus called the arcuate nucleus, or ARC, and are known to be important to energy homeostasis in the body as well prompting us to pick up a fork when we are hungry and see food. Now Medical College of Georgia scientists and their colleagues report the first evidence that, not short-term stress, like a series of tough college exams, rather chronic, unpredictable stress like that which erupts in our personal and professional lives, induces changes in the function of AgRP neurons that may contribute to depression, they ...

Why portraying humans as healthy machines can backfire

2021-02-11
Researchers from University of Amsterdam and Stanford University published a new paper in the Journal of Marketing that examines explores how human-as-machine representations affect consumers--specifically their eating behavior and health. The study, forthcoming in the Journal of Marketing, is titled "Portraying Humans as Machines to Promote Health: Unintended Risks, Mechanisms, and Solutions" and is authored by Andrea Weihrauch and Szu-Chi Huang. To combat obesity, governments, marketers, and consumer welfare organizations often encourage consumers ...

More deaths in England and Scotland may be due to obesity and excess body fat than smoking

2021-02-11
Obesity and excess body fat may have contributed to more deaths in England and Scotland than smoking since 2014, according to research published in the open access journal BMC Public Health. Between 2003 and 2017 the percentage of deaths attributable to smoking are calculated to have decreased from 23.1% to 19.4% while deaths attributable to obesity and excess body fat are calculated to have increased from 17.9% to 23.1%. The authors estimate that deaths attributable to obesity and excess body fat overtook those attributable to smoking in 2014. Jill Pell, at the University of Glasgow, United Kingdom, the corresponding author said: "For several decades smoking has been a major target of public ...

'Left behind' adolescent women must be prioritised within sustainable development agenda

2021-02-11
The needs of millions of overlooked, 'left behind' adolescent women must become a more significant priority within international efforts to end poverty by 2030, a UK Government-commissioned report is urging. The University of Cambridge report, which was commissioned by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, argues that there is an urgent need to do more to support marginalised, adolescent women in low and middle-income countries; many of whom leave education early and then face an ongoing struggle to build secure livelihoods. Amid extensive evidence which highlights the difficulties these women face, it estimates that almost a third of adolescent ...

'Gamechanger' drug for treating obesity cuts body weight by 20%

2021-02-11
One third (35%) of people who took a new drug for treating obesity lost more than one-fifth (greater than or equal to 20%) of their total body weight, according to a major global study involving UCL researchers. The findings from the large-scale international trial, published today in the New England Journal for Medicine, are being hailed as a "gamechanger" for improving the health of people with obesity and could play a major part in helping the UK to reduce the impact of diseases, such as COVID-19. The drug, semaglutide, works by hijacking the body's own appetite regulating system in the brain leading to reduced hunger and calorie intake. Rachel Batterham, Professor of Obesity, Diabetes and Endocrinology ...

Researchers explore how to protect gut integrity to improve outcomes in blood cancers

Researchers explore how to protect gut integrity to improve outcomes in blood cancers
2021-02-11
MUSC Hollings Cancer Center researchers found that a single strain of bacteria may be able to reduce the severity of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), as reported online in February 2021 in JCI Insight. Bone marrow transplant can be a lifesaving procedure for patients with blood cancers. However, GVHD is a potentially fatal side effect of transplantation, and it has limited treatment options. This proof-of-concept study demonstrates that better treatment options may be on the horizon for patients with GVHD. Xue-Zhong Yu, M.D., associate director of Basic Science at Hollings Cancer Center, and lead ...

Researchers release analysis of largest, most diverse genetic data set

2021-02-10
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and their colleagues published a new analysis today in the journal Nature from genetic sequencing data of more than 53,000 individuals, primarily from minority populations. The early analysis, part of a large-scale program funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, examines one of the largest and most diverse data sets of high-quality whole genome sequencing, which makes up a person's DNA. It provides new genetic insights into heart, lung, blood and sleep disorders and how these conditions impact people with diverse racial and ...

'Farfarout'! Solar system's most distant planetoid confirmed

Farfarout! Solar systems most distant planetoid confirmed
2021-02-10
A team, including an astronomer from the University of Hawai?i Institute for Astronomy (IfA), have confirmed a planetoid that is almost four times farther from the Sun than Pluto, making it the most distant object ever observed in our solar system. The planetoid, nicknamed "Farfarout," was first detected in 2018, and the team has now collected enough observations to pin down the orbit. The Minor Planet Center has now given it the official designation of 2018 AG37. Farfarout's name distinguished it from the previous record holder "Farout," found by the same team of astronomers in 2018. The team includes UH Mānoa's David Tholen, Scott S. Sheppard of ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

ACP’s Best Practice Advice addresses use of cannabis, cannabinoids for chronic noncancer pain

Beyond photorespiration: A systematic approach to unlocking enhanced plant productivity

How a small number of mutations can fuel outbreaks of western equine encephalitis virus

Exposure to wildfire smoke linked with worsening mental health conditions

Research uncovers hidden spread of one of the most common hospital-associated infections

Many older adults send their doctors portal messages, but who pays?

Fine particulate matter from 2020 California wildfires and mental health–related emergency department visits

Gender inequity in institutional leadership roles in US academic medical centers

Pancreatic cells ‘remember’ epigenetic precancerous marks without genetic sequence mutations

Rare combination of ovarian tumors found in one patient

AI-driven clinical recommendations may aid physician decision making to improve quality of care

Artificial intelligence has potential to aid physician decisions during virtual urgent care

ACP and Annals of Internal Medicine present breaking scientific news at ACP’s Internal Medicine Meeting 2025

New study reveals polymers with flawed fillers boost heat transfer in plastics

Signs identified that precede sudden arrhythmic death syndrome in young people

Discovery of bacteria's defence against viruses becomes a piece of the puzzle against resistance

Pre-eclampsia is associated with earlier onset and higher incidence of cardiovascular risk factors

Warwick astronomers discover doomed pair of spiralling stars on our cosmic doorstep

Soil conditions significantly increase rainfall in world’s megastorm hotspots

NK cells complexed with bispecific antibody yield high response rates in patients with lymphoma

Planetary health diet and mediterranean diet associated with similar survival and sustainability benefits

Singapore launches national standard to validate antimicrobial disinfectant products

Molecular stool test could improve detection of tuberculosis in adults with HIV

Suspected fibrocartilaginous embolus in Asian small-clawed otter (Aonyx cinereus)

Enhancing heat transfer using the turbulent flow of viscoelastic fluids

Exercise as an anti-ageing intervention to avoid detrimental impact of mental fatigue

UMass Amherst Nursing Professor Emerita honored as ‘Living Legend’

New guidelines aim to improve cystic fibrosis screening

Picky eaters by day, buffet by night: Butterfly, moth diets sync to plant aromas

Pennington Biomedical’s Dr. Leanne Redman honored with the E. V. McCollum Award from the American Society for Nutrition

[Press-News.org] Pigs show potential for 'remarkable' level of behavioral, mental flexibility in new study
Researchers teach four animals how to play a rudimentary joystick-enabled video game that demonstrates conceptual understanding beyond simple chance