Vittrup Man was born along the Scandinavian coast before moving to Denmark, where he was later sacrificed, according to a study published February 14, 2024 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Anders Fischer of the University of Gothenburg, Sweden and colleagues. Vittrup Man is the nickname of a Stone Age skeleton recovered from a peat bog in Northwest Denmark, dating to between 3300-3100 BC. The fragmented nature of the remains, including a smashed skull, indicate that he was killed in a ritualistic sacrifice, a common practice in this region at this time. After a DNA study found Vittrup Man’s genetic ...

Some people from an ancient community in what is now northern Italy were interred with animals and animal parts from species such as dogs, horses and pigs. The reasons remain mysterious, but might indicate an enduring companion relationship between these humans and animals, or religious sacrificial practices, according to a study published February 14, 2023 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Zita Laffranchi from the University of Bern, Stefania Zingale from the Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research Bozen, ...

Australian adults who report a good relationship that meets their original expectations tend to score higher in mental health, while adults who report loving their spouse but wished they had never entered the relationship and note relationship problems tend to score significantly lower in mental health, according to a survey of almost 7000 Australian adults published February 14, 2024 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Bernard Kwadwo Yeboah Asiamah-Asare and colleagues. Many recent studies have examined the possible social determinants of mental health. In this study, Yeboah Asiamah-Asare and colleagues looked specifically at how one’s ...

Just a few sites of exceptional fossil preservation may significantly distort the phylogenetic record for birds, scaly reptiles and dinosaurs ### Article URL:  https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0297637 Article Title: Quantifying the effects of exceptional fossil preservation on the global availability of phylogenetic data in deep time Author Countries: USA Funding: CHW: Richard Estes Memorial Award (No grant number); Society of Vertebrate Paleontology; www.vertpaleo.org; NO - CHW: Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Grant (No grant number); American Museum of Natural History; www.amnh.org; NO - CHW: EAR-PF 2305564; ...

Gender, culture, and age all appear to play a role in how emojis are interpreted, according to a study published February 14, 2024 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Yihua Chen, Xingchen Yang and colleagues from the University of Nottingham, UK. Stylized images of faces expressing different emotions, emojis can add both emotional nuance as well as potential ambiguity to electronic messages.   To understand how gender, age, and culture may influence emoji interpretation, Chen, Yang and colleagues recruited a group of 253 Chinese and 270 UK adults (51 percent women and 49 percent ...

Global health photography is often caught between photojournalistic intentions of accurately reflect local communities, and marketing directives to create attention-grabbing imagery, according to a study published February 14, 2024 in the open-access journal PLOS Global Public Health by Arsenii Alenichev from Oxford Population Health, the University of Oxford, United Kingdom, and colleagues. Standing at such representational crossroads, photographers are forced to engage with numerous—and often unresolvable — ethical and practical dilemmas. Photographers ...

Researchers at the Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO) and the 12 de Octubre University Hospital have developed a new cell-based immunotherapy to treat multiple myeloma   The new immunotherapy is based on STAb cells and has yet to pass clinical trials.   The study is published in Science Translational Medicine, with head of the H12O-CNIO Cancer Immunotherapy Clinical Research Unit Luis Álvarez-Vallina as senior author.   Immunotherapy is already improving treatment options for many cancer types, but research groups keep exploring ...

Laval, February 14, 2024 – A research team of Canadian and French scientists, led by INRS professor Maya Saleh, has been investigating immunotherapy resistance in certain patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) associated with steatotic liver disease. The findings are published in the journal Cell Reports. Hepatocellular carcinoma is associated with known risk factors such as chronic hepatitis B or C infection, alcohol abuse, and metabolic dysfunction. It is the most common type of liver cancer. ...

The 17th World Congress on Polyphenols Applications 2024, scheduled for September 19-20, 2024, at Università degli Studi di Milano Statale in Italy, has revealed its program. This congress aims to bridge the latest scientific research on polyphenols with their potential to promote health. Goals The Polyphenols Applications 2024 Congress aims to share novel insights into polyphenols and their impact on human health, with the goal of finding practical ways to enhance well-being. Highlighted Program Polyphenols in Health & Diseases: Understanding the effects of polyphenols on health. Polyphenols, Microbiota & ...

The 15th World Congress on Targeting Mitochondria is set to take place in Berlin from October 28-30, 2024, promising a platform for front-line discussions and major insights into mitochondrial research. Prof. Volkmar Weissig, president of the World Mitochondria Society stated: "In this 15th edition, we'll explore the fundamental and mechanistic research of mitochondria. But what really sets this year apart is our special focus on how mitochondria can be applied in real-world medical settings. We'll be ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE A novel three-drug combination achieved notable responses in patients with advanced HER2-negative breast cancer, according to new research directed by investigators from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. The treatment included a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor — a drug that causes a chemical change to stop tumor cells from dividing — with two types of immunotherapy known as checkpoint inhibitors, which unharness the power of the immune response against cancer.  The multicenter ...

More than one hundred key genes linked to DNA damage have been uncovered through systematic screening of nearly 1,000 genetically modified mouse lines, in a new study published today (14 February) in Nature. The work provides insights into cancer progression and neurodegenerative diseases as well as a potential therapeutic avenue in the form of a protein inhibitor. The genome contains all the genes and genetic material within an organism's cells. When the genome is stable, cells can accurately replicate and divide, passing on correct genetic ...

UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL:  Feb. 14, 2024, 11:45 AM EST Media Contacts: Karen Addis, APR, karen@addispr.com, +1 (301) 787-2394; Kerri Wade, MPA, kwade@smfm.org, +1 (202) 236-1780 National Harbor, Md. -- Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention demonstrate that Black women in the United States are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than are white women. Health disparities among people of color are the result of broader social and economic inequities rooted in racism and discrimination.  In a new study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s (SMFM) annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting™, researchers ...

Boston, MA (February 13, 2024) – Science and technology awards were announced during the SLAS2024 International Conference and Exhibition, the annual flagship event of the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening, which attracted a record-setting 7500 attendees and 400 exhibitors. Each year SLAS recognizes several exceptional presenters and exhibitors who represent the best of the Society’s programs and mission. The complete list of the 2024 award descriptions and winners follow: SLAS Innovation Award The most ...

Global warming may be interacting with regional rainfall and deforestation to accelerate forest loss in the Amazon, pushing it towards partial or total collapse.  Research published today [14 February 2024] in Nature, has identified the potential thresholds of these stressors, showing where their combined effects could produce a ‘tipping point’ - in which the forest is so fragile that just a small disturbance could cause an abrupt shift in the state of the ecosystem.  The study was led by the Federal University ...

About The Study: The findings of this survey study of U.S. adults suggest that cognitive symptoms are common among individuals with post–COVID-19 condition and associated with greater self-reported functional impairment, lesser likelihood of full-time employment, and greater depressive symptom severity. Screening for and addressing cognitive symptoms is an important component of the public health response to post–COVID-19 condition.  Authors: Roy H. Perlis, M.D., M.Sc., of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, is the corresponding ...

About The Study: In this study of 251,000 pregnant patients with Tennessee Medicaid and without opioid use disorder, a positive association was found between total prescription opioid dose dispensed and the odds of spontaneous preterm birth. These findings support guidance to minimize opioid exposure during pregnancy and prescribe the lowest dose necessary. Authors: Sarah S. Osmundson, M.D., M.S., of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, is the corresponding author.  To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media ...

New York, NY [February 14, 2024]—Researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in collaboration with the Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium of the National Institutes of Health, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and others, have unveiled a detailed understanding of immune responses in cancer, marking a significant development in the field. The findings were published in the February ...

There is now a new addition to the magnetic family: thanks to experiments at the Swiss Light Source SLS, researchers have proved the existence of altermagnetism. The experimental discovery of this new branch of magnetism is reported in Nature and signifies new fundamental physics, with major implications for spintronics. Magnetism is a lot more than just things that stick to the fridge. This understanding came with the discovery of antiferromagnets nearly a century ago. Since then, the family of magnetic materials has been divided into two fundamental phases: the ferromagnetic branch known for several millennia and the antiferromagnetic branch. The experimental proof of a third branch of ...

In the realm of quantum mechanics, the ability to observe and control quantum phenomena at room temperature has long been elusive, especially on a large or “macroscopic” scale. Traditionally, such observations have been confined to environments near absolute zero, where quantum effects are easier to detect. But the requirement for extreme cold has been a major hurdle, limiting practical applications of quantum technologies. Now, a study led by Tobias J. Kippenberg and Nils Johan Engelsen at EPFL, redefines the boundaries of what’s ...

The Amazon rainforest could approach a tipping point, which could lead to a large-scale collapse with serious implications for the global climate system. A new Nature study by an international research team including scientists from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact research (PIK) reveals that up to 47 percent of the Amazonian forest is threatened and identifies climatic and land-use thresholds that should not be breached to keep the Amazon resilient. “The Southeastern Amazon has already shifted from a carbon sink to a source –meaning that the current amount of human pressure is too high for the region to maintain its status as a rainforest over the long term. But ...

Nearly 150 years ago, scientists discovered that specialized blood cells serve a vital role in immune system protection against infection and illness. Certain groups of these white blood cells, now known as neutrophils, feature a nucleus that is structured strikingly different than most nuclei. The majority of cells feature round- or oval-shaped nuclei that are rigid, but neutrophils differ in that their nuclei adopt multiple lobular structures akin to that of flower petal arrangements. These unique nuclear shapes permit neutrophils to travel all over the body to identify and combat invading ...

A picture is worth a thousand words, as the saying goes, and research has shown that the human brain does indeed better retain information from images than from text. These days, we are taking in more visual content than ever as we peruse picture-packed news sites and social media platforms. And much of that visual content, according to new Berkeley Haas research published in the journal Nature, is reinforcing powerful gender stereotypes. Through a series of experiments, observations, and the help of large language models, professors Douglas Guilbeault and Solène Delecourt found that female and male gender associations are more extreme among Google Images than within text ...

Like other factors such as age, sex and genetics, smoking has a major impact on immune responses. This is the finding recently made by a team of scientists at the Institut Pasteur using the Milieu Intérieur cohort of 1,000 healthy volunteers, established to understand variability in immune responses. In addition to its short-term impact on immunity, smoking also has long-term consequences. For many years after they have quit the habit, smokers are left with effects on some of their bodies' defense mechanisms acquired while smoking. These findings, which for the first time reveal a long-term memory of the effects of smoking ...

Discovery of a pair of genes that work in perfect harmony to protect male fertility, could provide new insights into some unexplained cases of the most severe form of infertility, research suggests. Genetic analysis of cases of male infertility revealed that rare mutations in a gene, known as SPOCD1, disrupts the formation of healthy sperm during the earliest stages of their development. The gene was also found to work in partnership with a previously unknown gene, C19orf84, to protect the early-stage precursors to sperm, known as germ cells, from damage. The discovery of the essential role of these ...