A Curtin University-led study of ancient bones on South Australia's Kangaroo Island has provided new information about the Island's past fauna and an insight into how species may live there in the future. Published in Quaternary Science Reviews, the researchers analysed around 2,000 bone fragments with the aim of eventually being able to establish a more complete picture of past biodiversity on the Island. Lead researcher Dr Frederik Seersholm from Curtin's School of Molecular and Life Sciences said DNA studies on such a large scale have never been done on the Island before. "We identified 33 species, 10 of which are extinct on the island today. We also found DNA traces from both the ...

A research team led by Professor Hongzhe SUN, Norman & Cecilia Yip Professor in Bioinorganic Chemistry and Chair Professor from Research Divison for Chemistry and Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, in collaboration with Dr Richard Yi-Ysun KAO, Associate Professor from the Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, and Dr Aixin YAN, Associate Professor from School of Biological Sciences, the University of Hong Kong (HKU), discovers that silver (Ag)-based antimicrobials can effectively combat antibiotic resistant Staphylococcus aureus by targeting multiple biological pathways via functional disruption of key proteins and can be further exploited to enhance the efficacy of conventional antibiotics ...

Microalgae are "simple" organisms of single cells, yet they pack a mighty potential punch when it comes to helping humanity achieve carbon neutrality, according to researchers from the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology (QIBEBT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Their metabolic activities play fundamental roles in global carbon cycling and convert carbon dioxide into a wide variety of high-value macromolecules. Now, the QIBEBT researchers have developed a way to rapidly determine exactly which microalgae -- out of the millions of variations -- can most readily convert carbon dioxide into valuable compounds that can be used for fuels, food and drugs. They published ...

Fragrances are functional molecules with a pleasant scent that are widely used in aqueous products (cosmetics and detergents) and on surfaces such as textiles, leather and wallpaper. However, maintaining gentle and continuous scent on these items is an ongoing challenge in the field of flavours and fragrances. Profragrances are delivery systems used to control the release of the volatile compounds in fragrances. They have fragile chemical bonds that can be stimulated by ambient conditions such as light, temperature, pH value and even oxygen. Drawing on these molecular profragrances, ...

Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from human activities have risen drastically over the last century and a half and are seen as the primary cause of global warming and abnormal weather patterns. So, there has been considerable research focus, in a number of fields, on lowering our CO2 emissions and its atmospheric levels. One promising strategy is to chemically break down, or 'reduce,' CO2 using photocatalysts--compounds that absorb light energy and provide it to reactions, speeding them up. With this strategy, the solar powered reduction of CO2, where no other artificial source of energy is used, becomes ...

Scientists have used a compound made from a starch derivative and baking soda to help convert mechanical to electrical energy. The approach, developed by scientists at Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Technology (DGIST), with colleagues in Korea and India, is cost-effective and biocompatible, and can help charge low-energy electronics like calculators and watches. The details were published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials. "Triboelectric nanogenerators harvest mechanical energy and convert it into an electric current," explains DGIST robotics engineer Hoe Joon Kim. "But many of the materials used in these devices are considered a biohazard and are not suitable for wearable ...

Meningiomas, which originate in the meninges surrounding the brain, are the most common type of benign brain tumours. The primary treatment for meningiomas is neurosurgery. Since the risks associated with surgical treatment increase as people get older and develop other diseases, over 80-year-old patients with brain tumours are not operated on almost anywhere in the world. In Finland, the life expectancy and functional capacity of the elderly population have improved in recent decades, while the number of elderly brain tumour patients who are in good condition is continuously growing. This is why surgeries have increased in prevalence at the Neurosurgery Clinic of the Helsinki University Hospital in the treatment of elderly patients who have lost their ...

Tropical cyclones (TCs) can bring strong wind, heavy rain, and storm surge. Meteorologists are concerned that the effects of global warming may change how these storms impact humans. Scientists use global climate models (GCMs) in climate change studies to simulate future changes in temperature, precipitation, etc. However, due to their coarse resolutions, many models cannot properly simulate small-scale weather and climate systems like TCs, which means that they cannot capture all the dynamic processes within a TC. A study led by Prof. Gao Xuejie from the Institute ...

Dissatisfaction with married life raises the risk of dying from a cerebrovascular accident: A new Tel Aviv University study reveals that perceiving marriage as unsuccessful is a significant predictor of death from a CVA and premature death among men, no less that well-known risk factors such as smoking and lack of physical activity. The study was based on extensive health data from more than 30 years of research that tracked the deaths of 10,000 Israeli men. The study was led by researchers from the School of Public Health at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University: Prof. Uri Goldbort from the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, who initiated and managed the long-term study; Dr. Shahar Lev-Ari, the head ...

Research has found that training stroke survivors to walk at a faster speed during recovery can help improve the brain function that enables people to walk and perform another task simultaneously, known as dual-task walking. The research, led by academics at Oxford Brookes University, was funded by the Stroke Association. People who've had a stroke often struggle to walk and do tasks that involve thinking at the same time, for example, activities such as walking and holding a conversation, or planning what to do next. To effectively walk in the community, cognitive effort is needed to navigate safely and deal with distractions. Many people fail to regain this ability after a stroke. Dual-task ...

Vitamin B12 is essential for proper functioning of the nervous system and blood cells and also plays an important role in DNA synthesis in all our cells. Vitamin B12 deficiency causes fatigue, muscle weakness, headaches, and sometimes even serious neurological symptoms. Usually, the necessary amounts of B12 are absorbed from food in our digestive tract; however, in 0.1-2% of individuals, the epithelial lining of the stomach fails to produce a glycoprotein intrinsic factor that is needed for proper absorption of B12. This leads to vitamin B12 deficiency and a certain type of anemia called pernicious anemia. Pernicious ...

The research team used data from world renowned health study Children of the 90s, to answer three research questions: Is school enjoyment patterned by biological sex at birth, socioeconomic background of cognition? How does school enjoyment relate to GCSE achievement? Does school enjoyment relate to social or sex differences in GCSE achievement? The team found that pupil's school enjoyment measured at six years old is patterned by their sex and cognitive ability but not their family's socioeconomic background. For example, girls were twice as likely to report enjoying school than boys. School enjoyment strongly related to GCSE achievement at age 16 even after consideration of their socioeconomic background ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Workers in the service industry are often pressured by their employers to give friendly "service with a smile." New research suggests that when those employees also rely on tips to earn a living, it creates a power dynamic between the employee and customer that may increase the likelihood of sexual harassment on the job. Alicia Grandey, liberal arts professor of psychology at Penn State, said the findings could give insight into how companies can help reduce sexual harassment from customers, including raising employees' hourly wages. "It may not be necessary to completely eliminate customer tips, but rather reduce the dependence on tips by offering a livable wage," Grandey said. "Based on our results, if employees were ...

WASHINGTON (June 21, 2021)--Previous research has suggested that the stress of discrimination may play a role in the development of health problems that disproportionately affect lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals. A study published today finds that when lesbian, gay and bisexual adults are exposed to even mild anti-gay prejudice, it triggers bodily changes such as increases in blood pressure that can contribute to heart disease. "This study provides strong evidence that when LGB people experience anti-gay prejudice, their bodies respond with increases in heart rate and blood pressure, and in the stress hormone cortisol," David M. Huebner, a professor of prevention and community health at the George Washington University and lead author of the study, said. "When the body responds ...

Lesbian, gay and bisexual people who encounter homophobic attitudes experience increases in heart rate, blood pressure and stress hormones, potentially putting them at risk for multiple health problems, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. "This study shows the potentially toxic impact discriminatory attitudes can have on lesbian, gay and bisexual people's health," said lead author David M. Huebner, PhD, associate professor of prevention and community health at The George Washington University. "This is just one more, among many, corrosive effects of homophobia." In the study, published in the journal Health Psychology, researchers looked at 134 lesbian, gay and bisexual ...

Relationships are often undermined by everyday frustrations like work stress or financial anxiety, but how do couples handle a challenge as unprecedented as the COVID-19 pandemic? People who blamed their stress on the pandemic more than on their partner were happier in their relationship, a new study in Social Psychological and Personality Science reports. Previous research has shown that romantic partners tend to be more critical toward each other when experiencing common stress, but major events like natural disasters are not always associated with poor relationship functioning. Because these significant stressors ...

Durham, NC - A team led by researchers at Newcastle University, UK has successfully created a model of the cells found in the lungs that can be used to replicate how COVID-19 infects the airways. This information, reported today in the STEM CELLS journal, paves the way for broader studies of viral lung infections using a cost-effective system that can easily be manufactured on a large scale. COVID-19, which to date has resulted in more than 3.5 million deaths worldwide, has brought on an urgent need for airway models that can be used to develop effective therapies. While the use of in vitro (outside the body) models generated from primary pulmonary epithelial cells that mimic the human ...

In a retrospective study believed to be one of the largest of its kind, researchers say they have successfully charted the health risks, growth patterns, and medical and surgical outcomes of 1,374 people with the most common form of dwarfism, called achondroplasia, seen over a 60-year period at four academic medical centers, including Johns Hopkins Medicine. The findings, according to the researchers, not only affirm some long-standing views and trends in the care of those with the condition, but also offer a standardized baseline, a blueprint investigators hope will serve to speed diagnosis and improve patients' quality of life and health. Achondroplasia is caused by a rare genetic mutation that alters the activity of the fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) gene involved in bone ...

The most severe mass extinction event in the past 540 million years eliminated more than 90 percent of Earth's marine species and 75 percent of terrestrial species. Although scientists had previously hypothesized that the end-Permian mass extinction, which took place 251 million years ago, was triggered by voluminous volcanic eruptions in a region of what is now Siberia, they were not able to explain the mechanism by which the eruptions resulted in the extinction of so many different species, both in the oceans and on land. Associate professor Laura Wasylenki of Northern Arizona ...

Alexandria, VA, and New Rochelle, NY, June 17, 2021--Catherine F. Sinclair, MD, has been appointed the next Editor-in-Chief of VideoEndocrinology™, published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. "I am honored and delighted to have been selected as the next EIC of VideoEndocrinology. I look forward to helping promote novel concepts and techniques in thyroidology and to assisting the wider community in navigating the rapidly evolving landscape of surgical and non-surgical management options for thyroid disease. I eagerly anticipate the opportunity to work with colleagues from multiple disciplines to showcase ...

A method for making ultrathin sensors for monitoring the health of crops could help farmers grow more food without putting extra demands on the land. Intensive agriculture is already contributing to widespread biodiversity loss and climate change, yet growing populations continue to put pressure on farmers to produce more food. The challenge now lies in increasing agricultural output without clearing more land or applying excessive fertilizers. Precision farming is a promising solution that involves real-time monitoring of plant needs and responding to them with just the right amount of water, light or nutrients. "Precision farming typically relies on soil-based sensors or drones fitted with special cameras," says Ph.D. student Abdullah ...

A SARS-CoV-2 lateral flow test that combines two bacterial enzymes with genetic sequences and a couple of probes is cheaper and easier to use than PCR tests while producing comparably reliable results. Called Vigilant and designed at KAUST, the test can detect very small amounts of viral RNA in a sample. "Several types of lateral flow tests are currently available or under research for detecting SARS-CoV-2," says KAUST Ph.D. student Tin Marsic. "Depending on how they work, they all have disadvantages, including detecting the virus only several days after infection or producing false positive and false negative results." PCR tests, which are conducted in laboratories, produce more reliable results but are expensive and require sophisticated ...

In recent years, the use of medical cannabis to treat sick kids is on the rise, although questions remain about the benefits and safety of such treatments. Now, a team of researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU) has completed a first-ever meta-analysis of pediatric patients treated with medical cannabis to better understand the risks and benefits of cannabis use among young patients. The meta-review was led by Professor Ilan Matok at HU's School of Pharmacy and the David R. Bloom Center for Pharmacy, along with and PhD candidate Nir Treves. They will present their findings at the 31st Annual International Cannabinoid Research Society Symposium (ICRS) being held in ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Instagram users who detect self-promotion or corporate marketing in a post embracing the body positivity movement may be turned off by that dual messaging, new research suggests. In the study, women viewed experimental Instagram posts that borrowed body positive messages from actual users and contained body positive hashtags, such as #bopo. The posts all featured the same initial body positive sentiment, but some posts also asked viewers to either like and follow their profiles and others advertised products or services. Researchers found that participants who spotted self-promotion or advertising considered the posts less morally appropriate and not altogether sincere in their support of the body positivity movement ...

DALLAS, June 21, 2021 — Health care experts urge increased awareness of obstructive sleep apnea among people with cardiovascular disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure, according to a new scientific statement from the American Heart Association, published today in Circulation, the Association’s flagship journal. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) occurs in 40% to 80% of people with cardiovascular disease, yet it is under-recognized and undertreated, according to the statement. OSA occurs when an upper airway obstruction causes repeated episodes of disrupted breathing during sleep. Symptoms include snoring, lapses in breathing, fragmented sleep and daytime sleepiness. In general, about 34% of middle-aged men and 17% of middle-aged women meet ...