Indonesia, home to the largest tropical rainforest in Southeast Asia and over 17,500 islands, is a country packed with biodiversity and endangered species. However, scientists studying the region’s species and ecosystems are getting banned from Indonesia, and conservation plans are being blocked. In a letter publishing in the journal Current Biology on July 10, a team of conservation researchers with long-term experience in Indonesia discuss scientific suppression and other research challenges they have witnessed while working in the region. They offer suggestions for how to promote nature conservation, protect data ...

Nitric oxide (NO) is a fascinating and versatile molecule, important for all living things as well as the environment. It is highly reactive and toxic, organisms use it as a signaling molecule, it depletes the ozone layer in our planet’s atmosphere, and it is the precursor of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O). Moreover, NO might have played a fundamental role in the emergence and evolution of life on Earth, as it was available as a high-energy oxidant long before there was oxygen. Thus, despite its toxicity, it makes perfect sense that microbes use NO to grow. However, research on the topic is scarce and, to date, microbes growing on it have not been cultivated. ...

Observations of a wild colony of macaques over three years show same-sex sexual behaviour among males is widespread and may be beneficial. The results, published today in Nature Ecology and Evolution, suggest same-sex sexual behaviour (SSB) has evolved and may be a common feature of primate reproduction. Conducted by researchers at Imperial College London, the observations and genetic data form the first long-term study of SSB in males within one species. Their study challenges the beliefs of some that SSB is a rare behaviour in non-human ...

In a peer-reviewed opinion paper publishing July 10 in the journal Patterns, researchers show that computer programs commonly used to determine if a text was written by artificial intelligence tend to falsely label articles written by non-native language speakers as AI-generated. The researchers caution against the use of such AI text detectors for their unreliability, which could have negative impacts on individuals including students and those applying for jobs. “Our current recommendation ...

The summer of 2022 was the hottest summer ever recorded in Europe and was characterised by an intense series of record-breaking heat waves, droughts and forest fires. While Eurostat, the European statistical office, already reported unusually high excess mortality for those dates, until now the fraction of mortality attributable to heat had not been quantified. This is precisely what has been done in a study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by the "la Caixa" ...

Brain tissue is one of the most intricate specimens that scientists have arguably ever dealt with. Packed with currently immeasurable amount of information, the human brain is the most sophisticated computational device with its network of around 86 billion neurons. Understanding such complexity is a difficult task, and hence making progress requires technologies to unravel the tiny, complex interactions taking place in the brain at microscopic scales. Imaging is therefore an enabling tool in neuroscience. The new imaging and virtual reconstruction technology developed by Johann Danzl’s group at ISTA is a ...

About The Study: In this cross-sectional study, more than one-fourth of children had delayed or missed preventive care due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings may guide targeted interventions to enhance timely pediatric preventive care among different racial and ethnic groups.  Authors: Maya Tabet, Ph.D., M.S., of the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis, is the corresponding author.  To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/  (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.22588) Editor’s ...

About The Study: The findings of this study showed an association between exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic and delayed childhood development at age 5. Variations in development widened during the pandemic regardless of age. It is important to identify children with developmental delays associated with the pandemic and provide them with support for learning, socialization, physical and mental health, and family support.  Authors: Koryu Sato, M.P.H., of Kyoto University in Kyoto, Japan, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed ...

About The Study: Based on U.S. nationally representative data, the estimated learning disability prevalence was 8.83% among children and adolescents ages 6 to 17 from 1997 to 2021, which was slightly higher than that from a previous National Health Interview Survey study from 2009 to 2017 (7.74%). These data indicate that learning disability is a common chronic condition among U.S. children, affecting about 9 in 100 overall. In this population-based study, no significant annual change was found.  Authors: Wenhan ...

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE EMBARGOED UNTIL 16:00 LONDON TIME (GMT) ON MONDAY 10 JULY 2023 Paper available at: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1TzS8tT1_Z4knsHs38gp4LOlLKiPvOUEy?usp=sharing In-person mindfulness courses help improve mental health for at least six months, study shows Adults who voluntarily take part in mindfulness courses are less likely to experience symptoms of anxiety and depression for at least six months after completing the programmes, compared to adults who do not take ...

About The Study: This randomized clinical trial found that treatment with abatacept, cenicriviroc, or infliximab showed no significant difference of time to recovery compared with placebo for patients hospitalized with COVID-19 pneumonia. Authors: William G. Powderly, M.D., of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jama.2023.11043) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest ...

The frequency and severity of wildfires have become increasingly alarming in recent years, substantially due to the effects of climate change. Rising global temperatures, altered weather patterns, and prolonged droughts are all consequences of climate change that contribute to the heightened risk of wildfires. The 2019-2020 Australian wildfires demonstrated that compound climatic events – long-lasting record high temperatures combined with record low precipitation – can lead to unprecedented ...

This study has attracted the attention of the international scientific community and opens up unprecedented perspectives in the formation of frequency combs: it predicts the existence of two-dimensional optical rules, more complex than the one-dimensional ones used so far and offering unprecedented versatility in a wide range of applications. Applications in communications, spectroscopy, or computing Frequency combs have a wide range of applications, particularly in the field of communications. According to the authors of the study, these combs allow large amounts of information to be transmitted through optical fibres in a ...

Orangutans are dependent on their mothers longer than any other non-human animal, nursing until they are at least six years old and living with her for up to three more years, learning how to find, choose, and process the exceedingly varied range of foods they eat. But how do orangutans that have left their mothers and now live far from their natal ranges, where the available foods may be very different, decide what to eat and figure out how to eat it? Now, an international team of authors has shown that in such cases, migrants follow the rule ‘observe, and do as the locals do’. “Here we show evidence that migrant orangutan males ...

The process of converting DNA to proteins through an RNA is far from straightforward. Of the several types of RNA involved in the process of protein synthesis, a few may be edited mid-way. In mammals, RNA editing mostly involves converting adenosine (A) to inosine (I) through deamination, which can result in a wide range of effects. For example, A-to-I conversion can regulate gene expression in different ways and significantly alter the final synthesized protein. While RNA editing is an essential biological process, it is also a key underlying mechanism in some diseases, including cancer. Thus, scientists have created large-scale databases documenting RNA editing sites in various human ...

The community of microbial predators influences the composition of the bacterial community in wastewater. This explains seasonal variations in the microbial community that affect the efficiency of water treatment. This is the result of a study conducted by Nils Heck and PD Dr Kenneth Dumack from the University of Cologne’s Institute of Zoology. The study has been published under the title ‘Microeukaryotic predators shape the wastewater microbiome’ in the journal Water Research. In wastewater treatment plants, a precisely coordinated interaction of different microorganisms takes place in order to effectively ...

University of Virginia School of Medicine researchers have discovered how the cells that let us hear can repair themselves after being damaged. That important insight could benefit efforts to develop new and better ways to treat and prevent hearing loss. “Hair cells” found in the inner ear, are important both for our ability to hear and our sense of balance. They are known as hair cells because the cells are covered in hair-like structures that serve as mechanical antennas for sound detection. When auditory hair cells are killed, as we learn in school, they are ...

INDIANAPOLIS – Information on the nonmedical factors that influence health outcomes, known as social determinants of health, is often collected at medical appointments. But this information is frequently recorded as text within the clinical notes written by physicians, nurses, social workers, and therapists. Researchers from Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University Fairbanks School of Public Health recently published one of the first studies in which natural language processing was applied to social determinants of health. The researchers developed three new natural language processing algorithms to successfully extract information from text data related to housing ...

ROCKVILLE, Md. – July 10, 2023 – The Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP), the premier global molecular diagnostic professional society, today published consensus recommendations to aid in the design and validation of clinical CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 genotyping assays, promote standardization of testing across different laboratories, and improve patient care. The manuscript, “CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 Genotyping Recommendations: A Joint Consensus Recommendation of the AMP, Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium (CPIC), College of American Pathologists (CAP), Dutch Pharmacogenetics Working Group (DPWG) of the Royal Dutch Pharmacists ...

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, July 10, 2023 – First Ladies from countries across Africa and experts from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health will meet the week of July 10, 2023 to discuss current trends, critical research, and sustainable, evidence-based approaches to promote population health and well-being. From July 10th to the 13th, First Ladies and their senior advisors will participate in an executive leadership program to advance critical health and development issues in their countries and regions, including communicable and chronic disease ...

Artificial intelligence has transformed how industries and organizations operate, putting data professionals in high demand. To meet this increasing need, Carnegie Mellon University recently launched an online Graduate Certificate in Computational Data Science Foundations program. "Everything we teach will translate into skills that enable mobilization of data for significant impact in your organization," said Carolyn Rosé, the faculty program director and a professor in both the Human-Computer ...

SEATTLE, Wash. – A boom in alcohol sales during the pandemic appears to have had dire consequences for some as hospital admissions for alcohol-related hepatitis, a life-threatening liver inflammation, increased dramatically, according to a study of national hospitalization data. Researchers found increasing cases of the alcohol-related liver illness from 2016 through 2020, but the rise was particularly pronounced the year COVID-19 arrived in the U.S. in 2020, which saw a 12.4% increase over 2019 levels. It was worse in younger patients, ages 18 to 44, a group that had a nearly 20% ...

Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS) in Japan have discovered a compound that uses a chemical reaction to store ammonia, potentially offering a safer and easier way to store this important chemical. This discovery, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society on July 10, makes it possible not only to safely and conveniently store ammonia, but also the important hydrogen is carries. This finding should help lead the way to a decarbonized society with a practical hydrogen economy.   For society to make the switch from carbon-based to hydrogen-based energy, we need a safe way to store and transport hydrogen, which by itself ...

A lollipop might be a sweet reward for a kid who’s endured a trip to the doctor's office, but now, this candy could make diagnostic testing during a visit less invasive and more enjoyable. Researchers publishing in ACS’ Analytical Chemistry have shown, for the first time, that a lollipop-based saliva collection system can capture bacteria from adults and remain shelf-stable for up to a year. Study participants also preferred the candies over conventional collection systems. Throat swabs are commonly used to collect samples for the diagnosis of a wide variety of illnesses, including strep throat. A less-gag-inducing method is saliva sampling, in which technicians ...

Now that the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic has ended, scientists are looking at ways to surveil indoor environments in real time for viruses. By combining recent advances in aerosol sampling technology and an ultrasensitive biosensing technique, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have created a real-time monitor that can detect any of the SARS-CoV-2 virus variants in a room in about 5 minutes. The inexpensive, proof-of-concept device could be used in hospitals and health care facilities, schools and ...