Pregnant and lactating dogs share patterns of some blood metabolites - including glucose and fatty acid concentrations - with pregnant women, according to study of 27 dogs representing 21 breeds

The catastrophic Australian bushfires in 2019-2020 contributed to ocean cooling thousands of miles away, ultimately nudging the Tropical Pacific into a rare multi-year La Niña event that dissipated only recently. The research was led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and in Science Advances.  La Niña events tend to impact the winter climate over North America, causing drier and warmer than average conditions in the southwest U.S., wetter weather in the Pacific Northwest, and colder temperatures in Canada and the northern U.S. Because the emergence of La Niña can ...

Stephanie Lacour’s specialty is the development of flexible electrodes that adapt to a moving body, providing more reliable connections with the nervous system. Her work is inherently interdisciplinary. So when a neurosurgeon asked Lacour and her team to come up with minimally invasive electrodes for inserting through a human skull, they came up with an elegant solution that takes full advantage of their expertise in compliant electrodes, and inspired by soft robotics actuation.  The results are published in Science Robotics. The challenge? To insert a large cortical electrode array through a small hole in the skull, deploying the device in a space that measures about ...

In an effort to improve fairness or reduce backlogs, machine-learning models are sometimes designed to mimic human decision making, such as deciding whether social media posts violate toxic content policies.  But researchers from MIT and elsewhere have found that these models often do not replicate human decisions about rule violations. If models are not trained with the right data, they are likely to make different, often harsher judgements than humans would. In this case, the “right” data are those that have been labeled by humans who were explicitly asked whether items defy a certain rule. Training involves showing a machine-learning ...

Triathlons such as Ironman and Norway's Norseman competition epitomize human endurance with competitors undertaking nearly 150 miles of running, swimming and biking in grueling conditions. But behind the training and resilience may be basic rules of ecology that help determine the victor long before contestants leave the starting line, according to research from Dartmouth. An analysis of nearly 200 Ironman contestants over two decades suggests that performance — specifically in the marathon portion of the event — is linked to how an athlete’s physique is adapted to shedding or retaining heat in certain climates. Published in the journal PLOS ...

A new study in the journal PLOS ONE examines how individuals coped with stressors during the COVID-19 pandemic and which strategies were associated with higher quality of life. The study’s findings provide important insights for both individuals and institutions as they prepare for and respond to future large-scale traumatic events. It was based on responses from more than 1,000 Americans on their experiences and behaviors during the pandemic. The research found that problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies were associated with higher quality of life, while avoidant coping had a negative correlation.  Problem-focused coping involves ...

HOUSTON ― The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights showcases the latest breakthroughs in cancer care, research and prevention. These advances are made possible through seamless collaboration between MD Anderson’s world-leading clinicians and scientists, bringing discoveries from the lab to the clinic and back. Recent developments include a combination therapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, new insights into the evolution of anaplastic thyroid cancer, a promising new treatment approach for PTEN/p53-deficient pancreatic cancer, a novel pan-species artificial intelligence model to detect cancer cells, a ...

A new analysis suggests that about one in seven households across the U.S. may face financial hardship in paying for access to water and wastewater services. Lauren Patterson and colleagues at Duke University, North Carolina, present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS Water. U.S. households pay utilities for access to water for drinking, cooking, cleaning, and sanitation, as well as for wastewater services. However, in recent years, the cost of these services has increased alongside a widening income gap, fueling affordability concerns. ...

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a highly contagious disease that affects millions of people each year around the world, resulting in an estimated 160,000 deaths. In the United States, severe RSV causes 6,000 to 10,000 deaths among people 65 years of age or older. On May 3, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Arexvy, an RSV vaccine developed by pharmaceutical company GSK plc, formerly GlaxoSmithKline plc. It is the first RSV vaccine to be approved in the United States, and according to GSK’s press release, the first for older adults to be approved anywhere in the world. This is a ...

3D printers form objects by layering melted plastic or metal, but this only works on large scales. What you need to fabricate microdevices for which the layering step is not feasible? What if it were possible to print directly into the bulk of an existing three-dimensional material? The research groups of Lynford Goddard and Paul Braun, professors at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, have been collaborating to develop such a process. They use the technique of multiphoton lithography to print inside an existing ...

Purdue April Consumer Food Insights report explores role of dollar stores in food landscape A market for an expanded grocery selection at dollar stores potentially exists, especially with consumers who live less than 10 minutes away, according to data reported in the April Consumer Food Insights report. The survey-based report out of Purdue University’s Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability assesses food spending, consumer satisfaction and values, support of agricultural and food policies, and trust in information sources. Purdue experts conducted and evaluated ...