A devastating hurricane transformed a monkey society by changing the pros and cons of interacting with others, new research shows. Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017, killing more than 3,000 people. It also destroyed 63% of vegetation on Cayo Santiago (also known as Monkey Island), which is home to a population of rhesus macaques. Even now, tree cover remains far below pre-hurricane levels and – in this hot part of the world – that makes shade a scarce and precious resource for the macaques. The new study, led by the universities of Pennsylvania and Exeter and published in the journal Science, shows the storm ...

Researchers widely observe yet seldom publish about same-sex sexual behavior in primates and other mammals - often because it is perceived to be rare ### Article URL:  https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0304885 Article Title: Same-sex sexual behaviour among mammals is widely observed, yet seldomly reported: Evidence from an online expert survey Author Countries: Canada, USA Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work. END ...

Chimpanzees appear to consume plants with medicinal properties to treat their ailments, according to a study publishing on June 20 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Elodie Freymann from the University of Oxford, UK, and colleagues. Many plants produce compounds that have medicinal effects on humans and other animals. Wild chimpanzees eat a variety of plant matter, including some that is nutritionally poor but may treat or lessen the symptoms of illness. However, it is hard to determine whether chimpanzees self-medicate, by intentionally seeking out plants with properties that help their specific ailments, or passively consume plants ...

Hydrogen is a promising chemical and energy vector to decarbonize our society. Unlike conventional fuels, hydrogen utilization as a fuel does not generate carbon dioxide in return. Unfortunately, today, most of the hydrogen that is produced in our society comes from methane, a fossil fuel. It does so in a process (methane reforming) that leads to substantial carbon dioxide emissions. Therefore, the production of green hydrogen requires scalable alternatives to this process. Water electrolysis offers a path to generate green hydrogen which can be ...

Supermassive black holes pose unanswered questions for astronomers around the world, not least “How do they grow so big?” Now, an international team of astronomers, including researchers from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, has discovered a powerful rotating, magnetic wind that they believe is helping a galaxy’s central supermassive black hole to grow. The swirling wind, revealed with the help of the ALMA telescope in nearby galaxy ESO320-G030, suggests that similar processes are involved both in black hole growth and the birth of stars.   Most galaxies, including our own Milky Way have a supermassive black hole at their centre. How ...

Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a rare progressive liver disease that damages bile ducts and significantly increases the risk of bile duct cancer, particularly a type called cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). This cancer is aggressive, and curative surgery is uncommon. Liver transplantation is a potential treatment option for some PSC-CCA patients, especially if the cancer is caught early. Early diagnosis is essential for successful treatment. PSC can affect people of all ages but primarily strikes men in their 30s and 40s. It is often accompanied by inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The disease can progress to liver failure and increase the risk of colorectal cancer ...

This study is led by Professor Junnian Zheng and Ming Shi from the Cancer Institute of Xuzhou Medical University, together with the team of Professor Guiyun Cui and Wei Zhang from the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University. The team reported for the first time using BCMA-CD19 bispecific CAR T cells for treating relapsed/refractory CIDP.   Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP) is an uncommon condition with sudden onset symptoms, including nerve damage affecting movement, sensation, speech, breathing, and heart rate. ...

Advances in organoids and embryonic models of human development have the potential to prompt social and existential questions—e.g., what defines human individuality? However, bioethicist Insoo Hyun of Harvard Medical School and the Museum of Science in Boston says that these models have the potential to strengthen rather than weaken the concept of human individuality when considered within the philosophical frameworks of “personhood” and sentience. In a commentary publishing June 20 in the journal Cell, Hyun argues that despite huge advances, we are a long way off from developing technologies that would ...

Last year on a Friday evening, chemical biology researcher Josh Smalley was in the lab when he received a call inviting him to appear on the 14th and latest season of The Great British Bake Off. Starting as one of a group of 12 amateur bakers, Smalley made it all the way to the final round, where the top 3 contestants compete for the winning spot. In an essay published in the journal Cell Chemical Biology on June 20, Smalley describes the overlap between chemistry and baking and how his training in one ...

Scientists have discovered a new cause of why people who lack a specific blood group are genetically predisposed to be overweight or obese. A team of international researchers, led by the University of Exeter, discovered that people with a genetic variant that disables the SMIM1 gene have higher body weight because they expend less energy when at rest. SMIM1 was only identified 10 years ago, whilst searching  for the gene encoding a specific blood group, known as Vel. One in 5,000 people  lack both copies of the gene, making them Vel-negative. The findings from the new research suggest that this group is also more likely to be overweight, a conclusion ...

The discovery of a new, ancient, predatory reptile dubbed Parvosuchus aurelioi — part of a group of crocodile-like reptiles called pseudosuchians — in Brazil is described in a paper in Scientific Reports. The specimen, which dates to approximately 237 million years ago, during the Middle-Late Triassic, is the first small predatory reptile of its kind to be found in this country. Prior to the dominance of the dinosaurs, pseudosuchians were a common form of ancient quadruped reptile during the Triassic Period (252 – 201 million years ago), with some species amongst ...

About The Study: The findings of this study suggest that increased maternal mental health symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic are associated with subsequent changes in regional brain growth in newborn offspring.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Nickie Andescavage, M.D., email nniforat@childrensnational.org. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.17924) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including ...

About The Study: In this case-control study of Chinese older adults, adhering to a healthy lifestyle appears to be important even at late ages, suggesting that constructing strategic plans to improve lifestyle behaviors among all older adults may play a key role in promoting healthy aging and longevity.  Corresponding Authors: To contact the corresponding authors, email Xiang Gao, M.D., Ph.D. (xiang_gao@fudan.edu.cn) and Xiaoming Shi, M.D., Ph.D. (shixm@chinacdc.cn). To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.17931) Editor’s Note: Please see ...

A team of international researchers has revealed a new, simple clinical test to detect Calcium Release Deficiency Syndrome (CRDS), a life-threatening genetic arrhythmia that causes dangerously fast heartbeats and can lead to severe complications such as sudden cardiac arrest and death. The new diagnostic method monitors for changes in electrocardiography (ECG) after a brief period of a fast heartbeat and a pause, which can occur naturally or be induced by artificially pacing the heart. This research was co-led by Jason Roberts, a scientist at the Population ...

New Haven, Conn. — Patients with pancreatic cancer who received chemotherapy both before and after surgery experienced longer survival rates than would be expected from surgery followed by chemotherapy, according to a new study from researchers at Yale Cancer Center (YCC) and Yale School of Medicine. The study, published June 20 in JAMA Oncology, included patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), which accounts for 90% of pancreatic cancers. An aggressive cancer with a high mortality rate, PDAC is predicted ...

A new study presents video evidence that at least one species of terrestrial leech can jump, behavior that scientists have debated for more than a century. Researchers from the American Museum of Natural History, Fordham University, and City University of New York (CUNY)’s Medgar Evers College published the footage and corresponding analysis today in the journal Biotropica. “We believe this is the first convincing evidence that leeches can jump and do so with visible energy expenditure,” said lead author Mai Fahmy, a visiting scientist at the Museum and a postdoctoral researcher ...

1. A team of researchers from NIMS, Hokkaido University and Meiji Pharmaceutical University has developed a gel electret capable of stably retaining a large electrostatic charge. The team then combined this gel with highly flexible electrodes to create a sensor capable of perceiving low-frequency vibrations (e.g., vibrations generated by human motion) and converting them into output voltage signals. This device may potentially be used as a wearable healthcare sensor. 2. Interest in the development of soft, lightweight, power-generating materials has been growing in recent years for use in soft electronics designed for various purposes, such as ...

When E. coli detects damage to its genetic material, it sends out an SOS signal that alters activity inside the cells. “The bacteria go into full emergency mode,” says PhD candidate Olaug Elisabeth Torheim Bergum at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Imagine that you have a very sore throat. You're sick, your throat hurts, and a visit to the doctor confirms that the pain is due to a bacterial infection. You get a prescription for antibiotics, which quickly sorts out your sore throat. You are pleased that the treatment ...

DETROIT (June 20, 2024)— Mental health experts from across the globe will gather to share insights, best practices, and innovations for preventing suicide during the 5th Zero Suicide International Summit June 24-25 in Liverpool, England. Named for the innovative, evidence-based suicide intervention model developed at Henry Ford Health, the Zero Suicide International Summit is presented by the Detroit-based healthcare system in partnership with Zero Suicide Alliance (ZSA) and The Kevin and Margaret Hines Foundation. The Zero Suicide model was developed at Henry Ford Health in 2001.  Within a year of implementing the ...

It reads. It talks. It collates mountains of data and recommends business decisions. Today’s artificial intelligence might seem more human than ever. However, AI still has several critical shortcomings.  “As impressive as ChatGPT and all these current AI technologies are, in terms of interacting with the physical world, they’re still very limited. Even in things they do, like solve math problems and write essays, they take billions and billions of training examples before they can do them well, " explains Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) NeuroAI Scholar Kyle Daruwalla.  Daruwalla ...

Changing climate will make home feel like somewhere else Interactive app shows how climate change will make places around the world  feel like they are closer to the equator FROSTBURG, MD (June 20, 2024)—The impacts of climate change are being felt all over the world, but how will it impact how your hometown feels? An interactive web application from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science allows users to search 40,581 places and 5,323 metro areas around the globe to match the expected future climate in each city with the current climate of another location, ...

What do you get when you cross Norse mythology with a 78-million-year-old ancestor to the Triceratops? Answer: Lokiceratops rangiformis, a plant-eating dinosaur with a very fancy set of horns.   The new dinosaur was identified and named by Colorado State University affiliate faculty member Joseph Sertich and University of Utah Professor Mark Loewen. The dinosaur’s name, announced today in the scientific journal PeerJ, translates roughly to “Loki’s horned face that looks like a caribou.”  Loewen and Sertich, co-lead authors of the PeerJ study, dubbed the new species Lokiceratops (lo-Kee-sare-a-tops) ...

In democracies where civilian control is followed, the power to make crucial decisions, like those of national security, is mainly exercised by elected officials, allowing the citizens who elect them to influence such decisions indirectly. This role can give people a sense of participation in matters of national importance, potentially associated with their political trust. The military, in such cases, advises and helps these elected leaders in serving the nation, rather than assuming leadership itself. A balance between civilians and military organizations is, therefore, crucial for any democracy to thrive, and it is pointed out that civilian control is a requisite of democracy. Existing ...

Indolo[2,3-a]quinolizidine is a common structural motif in various natural products. Its molecular structure contains the indole ring, a functional group in tryptophan. Tryptophan, an essential amino acid, is required for the production and maintenance of our body’s proteins, muscles, enzymes, and neurotransmitters. Many natural products are derived from it. Over 3,000 monoterpene indole alkaloids (MTIAs), which are natural products consisting of indole rings, have been found in plants, and some of them have been used as medicines. For example, vinblastine has been used as an anticancer drug, and reserpine is used to treat high blood pressure.  The ...

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – June 20, 2024 – Women who have their ovaries removed before menopause, particularly before the age of 40, have reduced white matter integrity in multiple regions of the brain later in life. White matter refers to the nerve fibers that connect neurons in different areas of the brain. The findings appear online today in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association. “We know that having both ovaries removed before natural menopause causes abrupt endocrine dysfunction, which increases ...