A deep dive into macroalgae genetics has uncovered the genetic underpinnings that enabled macroalgae, or “seaweed,” to evolve multicellularity. Three lineages of macroalgae developed multicellularity independently and during very different time periods by acquiring genes that enable cell adhesion, extracellular matrix formation, and cell differentiation, researchers report April 12 in the journal Molecular Plant. Surprisingly, many of these multicellular-enabling genes had viral origins. The study, which increased the total number of sequenced macroalgal genomes from 14 to 124, is the first to investigate ...

Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer. With global incidence rates rising, new, more effective treatments are necessary to alleviate the health burden of the disease. Important advances in recent years include doctors using genetic tests to look for specific mutations they can target for more personalised, effective treatment. Around 1 in 2 melanoma patients will have mutations in the BRAF gene. This gene normally makes a protein which helps control cell growth, but mutations can cause the cells to grow and divide uncontrollably instead, happening in many different types of cancer including ...

It is one of the world’s most spectacular sights – huge flocks or “flamboyances” of flamingos around East Africa’s lakes – as seen in the film Out of Africa or David Attenborough’s A Perfect Planet. But new research led by King’s College London has revealed how the lesser flamingo is at danger of being flushed out of its historic feeding grounds, with serious consequences for the future of the species. For the first time satellite earth observation data has been used to study all the key flamingo feeding lakes in Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania over two decades and it identified how rising ...

About The Study: In this study of National Immunization Survey–Child data, improvements in vaccination timeliness were observed from the 2011 to the 2021 survey. However, widening disparities by socioeconomic indicators signal that increased efforts to facilitate timely vaccination among children in lower-income families are needed.  Authors: Sophia R. Newcomer, Ph.D., M.P.H., of the University of Montana, Missoula, is the corresponding author.  To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this ...

About The Study: Researchers observed an abrupt increase in permanent contraception procedures among adults ages 18 to 30 following Dobbs. The increase in procedures for female patients was double that for male patients. These patterns offer insights into the gendered dynamics of permanent contraceptive use and may reflect the disproportionate health, social, and economic consequences of compulsory pregnancy on women and people with the capacity to become pregnant.  Authors: Jacqueline E. Ellison, Ph.D., of the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website ...

About The Study: The results of this study suggest that endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty is cost saving compared with semaglutide in the treatment of class II obesity. On price threshold analyses, a 3-fold decrease in the price of semaglutide is needed to achieve nondominance.  Authors: Christopher C. Thompson, M.D., M.Sc., of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, 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.2024.6221) Editor’s Note: Please ...

The first study to evaluate the effect of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling on permanent contraception procedures among young adults nationwide was published today in a JAMA Health Forum research letter. The study, authored by policy researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health and Boston University, underscores how the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling changed preferences for permanent contraception among people ages 18 to 30, who are more likely to have abortions and are also more likely to experience sterilization regret compared to people over 30. The study is also the first to assess how the Dobbs ruling ...

Approximately one in seven couples face difficulties conceiving a child naturally. Half of these cases are due to male infertility – either caused by the complete absence or low number of mature sperm. In today’s clinical practice, over half of these cases remain unexplained, hindering optimal counselling, treatment, and prevention of potential comorbidities. Known genetic factors account for ~10% of male infertility; however, it is believed that a large portion of unexplained cases of spermatogenic failure are caused by genetic defects that ...

In cellular biology, unraveling the complexities of cellular function at the molecular level remains a paramount endeavor. Significant scientific focus has been placed on understanding the interactions at organelle contact sites, especially between mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). These sites are critical hubs for the exchange of essential biomolecules, such as lipids and calcium, which are vital for maintaining cellular homeostasis. Disruptions in this inter-organelle communication are implicated in the onset ...

A fleeting visit of the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission to Venus has revealed surprising insights into how gases are stripped away from the upper layers of the planet’s atmosphere.  Detections in a previously unexplored region of Venus’s magnetic environment show that carbon and oxygen are being accelerated to speeds where they can escape the planet’s gravitational pull. The results have been published today in the journal Nature Astronomy. Lina Hadid, CNRS researcher at the Plasma Physics Laboratory (LPP) and lead author of the study said: “This is the first time ...

Vancouver, BC – The International Neuromodulation Society (INS) announces its 16th Scientific World Congress in the breathtaking city of Vancouver, Canada, from May 11-16, 2024. This event, "Neuromodulation: Harnessing the Power of the Nervous System," is set to gather over 1,500 experts from over 40 countries –– with researchers presenting more than 460 abstracts –– all dedicated to advancing research, clinical application, and development in the field of neuromodulation.  This multidisciplinary program will draw clinicians, engineers, scientists, post-doctoral fellows, current students, and device manufacturers, and attendees ...

The IOF Committee of Scientific Advisors (CSA) Medal of Achievement has been presented to Dr Patricia Clark at the World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis & Musculoskeletal Diseases (WCO-IOF-ESCEO 2024), being held in London, UK from April 11-14, 2024. The CSA Medal of Achievement honours individuals who have significantly advanced the field of osteoporosis through their original and outstanding scientific contributions, and whose work has helped to increase understanding and awareness of osteoporosis. Candidates are nominated by members ...

Today, the European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases (ESCEO) and the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) have awarded the ESCEO-IOF Pierre Delmas Medal to Professor Claudia Campusano, MD, MSc., Professor of Medicine and Endocrinology at the Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de los Andes in Santiago, Chile.  The ESCEO-IOF Pierre Delmas Medal was presented at the World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases, taking place in London, UK from April 11 to 14, 2024. The award recognizes a researcher who has made outstanding ...

The design and development of novel materials with superior properties demands a comprehensive analysis of their atomic and electronic structures. Electron energy parameters such as ionization potential (IP), the energy needed to remove an electron from the valence band maximum, and electron affinity (EA), the amount of energy released upon the attachment of an electron to the conduction band minimum, reveal important information about the electronic band structure of surfaces of semiconductors, insulators, and dielectrics. The accurate ...

Scientists have discovered that a type of fat accumulates as tissue ages and that this accumulation can be reversed through exercise. Researchers from Amsterdam UMC, together with colleagues from Maastricht UMC+, analysed both mice and human tissue before and after exercise allowing them to draw this conclusion. The results are published today in Nature Aging.   "The idea that we could reverse aging is something that was long considered science fiction, but these findings do allow us to understand a lot more about the ...

In October 2022, an international team of researchers, including Northwestern University astrophysicists, observed the brightest gamma-ray burst (GRB) ever recorded, GRB 221009A. Now, a Northwestern-led team has confirmed that the phenomenon responsible for the historic burst — dubbed the B.O.A.T. (“brightest of all time”) — is the collapse and subsequent explosion of a massive star. The team discovered the explosion, or supernova, using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).  While this discovery solves one mystery, another mystery deepens.  The researchers ...

An international research team led by a researcher from the University of Vienna has for the first time directly detected stellar winds from three Sun-like stars by recording the X-ray emission from their astrospheres, and placed constraints on the mass loss rate of the stars via their stellar winds. The study is currently published in Nature Astronomy. Astrospheres, stellar analogues of the heliosphere that surrounds our solar system, are very hot plasma bubbles blown by stellar winds into the interstellar medium, a space filled with gas and dust. The ...

Whether by way of Attenborough, Disney or National Geographic, the iconic scene is familiar to many. The ground trembles and clouds of dust swirl as enormous hordes of large animals thunder across the African savanna, cross rivers en masse and are picked off by lions, hyena and crocodiles. The annual migration of 1.3 million wildebeest through Tanzania’s Serengeti and Kenya’s Masai Mara attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists, and the phenomenon has put the Serengeti on UNESCO's list of World Heritage sites. Besides its majestic sight, the migration of this emblematic species ...

A Dartmouth-led study suggests that people who frequently consume seafood may face an increased risk of exposure to PFAS, the family of ubiquitous and resilient human-made toxins known as "forever chemicals." The findings stress the need for more stringent public health guidelines that establish the amount of seafood people can safely consume to limit their exposure to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, the researchers report in the journal Exposure and Health. This need is especially urgent for coastal regions such as New England where a legacy of industry and PFAS pollution bumps up against a cultural predilection for fish, the authors write. "Our recommendation ...

Embargoed until 8:30 a.m. Friday, 12 April, 2024 Central European Summer Time or GMT +2 12 April, 2024, Prague, Czech Republic—Re-perfusing the lungs of an organ donor after the heart has irreversibly stopped beating with a technique called normothermic regional perfusion (TA-NRP) could potentially increase the number of patients receiving lung transplants, according to researchers at the Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) in Prague.   TA-NRP uses a machine to pass blood through a donor’s abdomen and chest after the heart has irreversibly stopped beating (called ...

Retention ponds and wetlands constructed as part of major road schemes can reduce the quantities of tyre particles entering the aquatic environment by an average of 75%, new research has shown. The study analysed samples collected alongside some of the busiest routes in South West England and the Midlands, many used by more than 100,000 vehicles each day. Tyre particles were discovered in each of the 70 samples taken, confirming the findings of previous research which has shown them to pose a considerable ...

Softer tumours fuel more aggressive spread of triple-negative breast cancer Researchers have discovered how the mechanical properties of tumours can prime cancer cells to better survive their spread to other organs. A metabolic ‘survival switch’ controlled by the stiffness of triple-negative breast tumours can significantly influence how successfully their cancerous cells spread to other organs, according to new findings from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. The study in cell and ...

It's interesting to hear about the research led by Minyi Guo that was published in Frontiers of Computer Science on 12 Mar 2024. It seems like they are addressing the challenge of reducing storage overhead in blockchain systems while maintaining data consistency and tolerating malicious nodes. In traditional blockchain networks, full replication is used, where each node stores a complete copy of all blocks, and data consistency is maintained through a consensus protocol. However, this approach can be storage-intensive, especially as the blockchain grows over time. To address ...

Erhai Lake, covering 252 km2, located in Yunnan Province, is one of the seven largest freshwater lakes in China. However, over the last three decades, the lake has suffered pollution episodes. In order to solve this problem, the local government has taken many protective measures. These measures have achieved some results in the environmental protection of Erhai Lake, but also caused significant socioeconomic impact. The tension between environmental preservation and economic stability in Erhai has even been termed the ‘Erhai dilemma’. The ‘Erhai dilemma’ is representative of those of other lakes in Yunnan Province ...

Assessing the function of forest ecosystems requires a deep understanding of the mechanisms of soil nitrogen mineralization. A recent study conducted by a team of researchers has shed light on how soil N-cycling genes drive soil nitrogen mineralization during afforestation. The findings, published in the prestigious journal Soil Ecology Letters, provide valuable insights into the relationship between soil microbial communities, functional genes, and the rate of soil nitrogen mineralization.   The researchers collected soil samples from a chronosequence of Robinia pseudoacacia L (RP14, RP20, RP30, and RP45) at different stages of afforestation, along with a sloped farmland (FL) as ...