Africa's forested areas – an estimated 14 % of the global forest area – are continuing to decline at an increasing rate – mostly because of human activities to convert forest land for economic purposes. As natural forests are important CO2 and biodiversity reservoirs, this development has a significant impact on climate change and effects the integrity of nature. To intervene in a targeted manner in the interests of climate protection and biodiversity, there has been a lack of sufficiently good data and detailed knowledge ...

Diverse research is more impactful in the business management field, with female influence growing stronger in the past decade, finds a new study from the University of Surrey.   The study analysed all articles published in the last 10 years (January 2012 to December 2022) in the influential Journal of Management Studies.   The empirical analysis examined three key aspects of teams’ diversity:   Internationality (how international is mix of authors),   Interdisciplinarity (how many different fields of study they come from),   Gender ...

Irvine, Calif., Feb. 15, 2024 – Throughout human history, technologies have been used to make peoples’ lives richer and more comfortable, but they have also contributed to a global crisis threatening Earth’s climate, ecosystems and even our own survival. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, the University of Kansas and Oregon State University have suggested that industrial civilization’s best way forward may entail embracing further technological advancements but doing so with greater awareness of their potential drawbacks.   In a paper titled “Scientists’ Warning on Technology,” published recently in the Journal of Cleaner ...

– By Julie Bobyock Wetlands are Earth’s largest natural source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that is about 30 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at warming the atmosphere. A research team from the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) analyzed wetland methane emissions data across the entire Boreal-Arctic region and found that these emissions have increased approximately nine percent since 2002.  Livestock and fossil fuel production are well studied for their role in releasing tons of methane per year into the atmosphere. Although more uncertain, quantifying natural wetlands emissions is important to predicting climate ...

Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers and has one of the lowest survival rates in the world. Cytokines, which are small signaling proteins, such as interleukin-12 (IL-12), have demonstrated considerable potential as robust tumor suppressors. However, their applications are limited due to a multitude of severe side effects. In a paper published Jan. 11 by Nature Nanotechnology, Biomedical Engineering Professor Ke Cheng and his research group demonstrate that using nanobubbles, ...

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has announced eight recipients of the 2024 Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award, established to support “high-risk, high-reward” ideas with the potential to significantly impact the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of cancer. Five extraordinary early-career researchers will receive initial grants of $400,000 over two years, and each will have the opportunity to receive two additional years of funding (for a potential total of $800,000). This year, this “Stage 2” continuation ...

  For Immediate Release Contact: Erik Molvar, Western Watersheds Project, 307-399-7910 Roger Rosentreter, Bureau of Land Management, Botanist (Retired), 208-991-8815 Don Mansfield, Emeritus Professor of Biology, College of Idaho, 208-871-8170   Scientific Report Reveals Livestock Grazing as the Key Factor in Cheatgrass Spread HAILEY, Ida. (February 15, 2024) – A scientific report released today illuminates the causes of cheatgrass spread and compares the effectiveness ...

WASHINGTON  –  The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), in collaboration with Kansas State University, announce the discovery of slab waveguides based on the two-dimensional material hexagonal boron nitride. This milestone has been reported in the journal Advanced Materials.   Two-dimensional (2D) materials are a class of materials which can be reduced to the monolayer limit by mechanically peeling the layers apart. The weak interlayer attractions, or van der Waals attraction, allows the layers to be separated via the so-called ...

The American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) is pleased to announce that Alex Rich and Efraín Rodríguez-Ocasio have been selected to receive the 2024 AIBS Emerging Public Policy Leadership Award (EPPLA). The award recognizes graduate students in the biological sciences who have demonstrated leadership skills and an aptitude for working at the intersection of science and public policy.   Alex Rich is a Ph.D. student in neuroscience at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Her research focuses on decision-making and disordered ...

By integrating an ensemble of privacy-preserving algorithms, a KAUST research team has developed a machine-learning approach that addresses a significant challenge in medical research: How to use the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate discovery from genomic data while protecting the privacy of individuals.[1] “Omics data usually contains a lot of private information, such as gene expression and cell composition, which could often be related to a person’s disease or health status,” says KAUST’s Xin Gao. “AI models trained on this data – particularly deep learning models – have the potential to retain private ...

You’d think the complex flavor in a quality cup of tea would depend mainly on the tea varieties used to make it. But a study appearing in the journal Current Biology on February 15 shows that the making of a delicious cup of tea depends on another key ingredient: the collection of microbes found on tea roots. By altering that assemblage, the authors showed that they could make good-quality tea even better. “Significant disparities in microbial communities, particularly nitrogen metabolism-related microorganisms, were identified in the roots of tea plants with varying qualities through ...

Cell Press, Cell Signaling Technology (CST), and the Elsevier Foundation are proud to announce the winners of the 4th annual Rising Black Scientists Awards: Jaye Wilson of Yale University, Kevin Brown Jr. of California State University San Marcos, Senegal Mabry of Cornell University, and Akorfa Dagadu of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This year had the greatest number of submissions thus far, with the winners being selected from a pool of more than 350 applicants from across the life, health, physical, earth, environmental, and data sciences. Essays from the winners and honorees appear in the journals Cell and ...

Researchers report February 15 in the journal Cell that ancient viruses may be to thank for myelin—and, by extension, our large, complex brains. The team found that a retrovirus-derived genetic element or “retrotransposon” is essential for myelin production in mammals, amphibians, and fish. The gene sequence, which they dubbed “RetroMyelin,” is likely a result of ancient viral infection, and comparisons of RetroMyelin in mammals, amphibians, and fish suggest that retroviral infection and genome-invasion ...

Columbia researchers have found that a rare type of lipid is a key driver of ferroptosis, a form of cell death discovered by Columbia professor Brent Stockwell. The findings provide new detail on how cells die during ferroptosis and could improve understanding of how to stop ferroptosis in contexts where it is harmfully occurring– in neurodegenerative diseases, for example– or induce it in contexts where it could be useful, such as using it to kill dangerous cancer cells. The new research found that a rare type of ...

The first accurate maps of outbreaks of potato blight — a disease caused by the fungus-like pathogen Phytophthora infestans that was responsible for the Irish potato famine between 1845 and 1852 — in the USA between 1843 and 1845 are presented in a study published in Scientific Reports. The findings improve our understanding of the spread of potato blight before the disease reached Europe. Jean Ristaino and colleagues mapped outbreaks of potato blight in North America between 1843 and 1845 by analysing historic agricultural reports published in the USA during this period. The authors found that the disease was first reported ...

An innovative treatment significantly increases the survival of people with malignant mesothelioma, a rare but rapidly fatal type of cancer with few effective treatment options, according to results from a clinical trial led by Queen Mary University of London.  The phase 3 clinical trial, led by Professor Peter Szlosarek at Queen Mary and sponsored by Polaris Pharmaceuticals, has unveiled a breakthrough in the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), a rare and often rapidly fatal form ...

About The Study: In this study of primary-care patients with obesity, all weight management treatments (nutrition counseling, very low-calorie meal replacement, anti-obesity medications, and bariatric surgery) increased the patient-level probability of achieving 5% or greater weight loss, but current rates of utilization are low and insufficient to reduce weight at the population level.  Authors: Dina H. Griauzde, M.D., M.Sc., of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, 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.2023.56183) Editor’s ...

About The Study: Moderate or severe and penetrating traumatic brain injury (TBI) were associated with the subsequent development of brain cancer in this study of more than 1.9 million veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. However, mild TBI was not associated with later brain cancer diagnoses.  Authors: Ian J. Stewart, M.D., of the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland, 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.2023.54588) Editor’s ...

North Carolina State University researchers used text analytics on both historic and modern writing to reveal more information about the effects and spread of the plant pathogen – now known as Phytophthora infestans – that caused the 1840s Irish potato famine and that continues to vex breeders of potatoes and tomatoes. The study examined keyword terms like “potato rot” and “potato disease” after digitizing historic farm reports, news accounts and U.S. Patent Office agricultural records from 1843 ...

Large national study finds that video visits, texting and mailing pills are all effective, as the U.S. Supreme Court considers limiting access to telemedicine abortion. Medication abortion can be delivered safely and effectively through telemedicine, according to new research from UC San Francisco that comes as the U.S. Supreme Court is about to hear a case that could severely restrict access to one of the two pills that are used to induce abortions.    Researchers analyzed data from more than 6,000 patients who obtained abortion ...

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — Researchers at UC Davis have identified changes in the gut microbiome that can result in an inability to digest sorbitol. Sorbitol, a sugar alcohol, is used in sugar-free gum, mints, candy and other products. It is also found naturally in apricots, apples, pears, avocadoes and other foods. At high levels, sorbitol can cause bloating, cramps and diarrhea. For some people, even a small amount causes digestive upset, a condition known as sorbitol intolerance. A new study with mice found that taking antibiotics, combined with a high-fat diet, reduced the number of Clostridia gut microbes, which can break down sorbitol. ...

With age, cells can experience senescence, a state where they stop growing but continue releasing inflammatory and tissue-degrading molecules. When a person is young, the immune system responds and eliminates senescent cells, often referred to as zombie cells. However, zombie cells linger and contribute to various age-related health problems and diseases. Mayo Clinic researchers, in two studies, shed light on the biology of aging cells. In a study published in Aging Cell, Mayo Clinic researchers analyzed zombie ...

Contributed by Arianna Soldati, GSA Science Communication Fellow Our planet’s lithosphere is broken into several tectonic plates. Their configuration is ever-shifting, as supercontinents are assembled and broken up, and oceans form, grow, and then start to close in what is known as the Wilson cycle. In the Wilson cycle, when a supercontinent like Pangea is broken up, an interior ocean is formed. In the case of Pangea, the interior ocean is the Atlantic. This ocean has a rift in the middle, and passive margins on the side, which means no seismic or volcanic activity occurs along its shores. Destined to keep expanding, an Atlantic-type ...

When an enemy invades, defenders are ferried to the site to neutralise the marauders. In the human body, a protein carrier called SPNS2 transports S1P molecules from endothelial cells to rally immune cell response in infected organs and tissues. Using specially-developed nanobodies that bind to SPNS2 and enlarge the entire structure, the enlarged SPNS2 structure allows the S1P molecules to be viewed via cryogenic electron microscopy.  Scientists from the Immunology Translational Research Programme at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, ...

WASHINGTON, February 15, 2024—The American Educational Research Association (AERA) has announced the selection of 24 exemplary scholars as 2024 AERA Fellows. The AERA Fellows Program honors scholars for their exceptional contributions to, and excellence in, education research. Nominated by their peers, the 2024 Fellows were selected by the Fellows Committee and approved by the AERA Council, the association’s elected governing body. They will be inducted during a ceremony at the 2024 Annual Meeting in Philadelphia on April 12. With this cohort, there will be a total of 762 AERA ...