Osaka, Japan – For many of us, when we think of microbiomes, our first thoughts are probably about the beneficial microorganisms that live in our guts. But now, researchers from Japan and US have discovered how the microbes living in fruit flies can enhance their reproduction. In a recently published study in Communications Biology, the research group has revealed that microbes in the fruit fly microbiome are involved in controlling the germline stem cells that form eggs, as well as subsequent egg maturation, in female fruit ...

Sleep loss does more than just make us tired. It can undermine our emotional functioning, decrease positive moods and put us at higher risk for anxiety symptoms, according to a study published by the American Psychological Association that synthesized more than 50 years of research on sleep deprivation and mood. “In our largely sleep-deprived society, quantifying the effects of sleep loss on emotion is critical for promoting psychological health,” said study lead author Cara Palmer, PhD, of Montana State University. “This study represents ...

A tactile perception system capable of providing human-like multimodal tactile information to objects like robots and wearable devices that require tactile data in real time has been developed. The research team led by Research Director Hyuneui Lim of the Nano-Convergence Manufacturing Systems Research Division and Principle Researcher Youngdo Jung of the Department of Nature-Inspired System and Application of the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (Chairman Seog-hyeon Ryu, hereinafter referred to as the “KIMM”), an institute under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Science and ICT, developed a real-time and ...

While many holiday traditions involve feasts of turkey, soba noodles, latkes or Pan de Pascua, this year, the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is bringing you a holiday chicken. The so-called Running Chicken Nebula, home to young stars in the making, is revealed in spectacular detail in this 1.5-billion-pixel image captured by the VLT Survey Telescope (VST), hosted at ESO’s Paranal site in Chile. This vast stellar nursery is located in the constellation Centaurus (the Centaur), at about 6500 light-years from Earth. Young stars within this nebula emit intense radiation that makes the surrounding hydrogen gas glow in shades ...

Increased sedentary time as a child through adolescence is directly linked to childhood obesity, but new research has found light physical activity may completely reverse the adverse process. The study - conducted in collaboration with between University of Exeter, University of Eastern Finland, University of Bristol, and University of Colorado and published in Nature Communications – is the largest and longest follow-up to objectively measure physical activity and fat mass, using the University of Bristol’s Children of the 90s data (also known as the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children). ...

Researchers at Osaka Metropolitan University are proving that diamonds are so much more than just a girl’s best friend. Their groundbreaking research focuses on gallium nitride (GaN) transistors, which are high-power, high-frequency semiconductor devices used in mobile data and satellite communication systems. With the increasing miniaturization of semiconductor devices, problems arise such as increases in power density and heat generation that can affect the performance, reliability, and lifetime of these devices. Therefore, effective thermal management is crucial. Diamond, ...

Nearly every organism on Earth follows a natural circadian rhythm that is coded by your cell’s clock genes, which do exactly as you suspect from the name: regulate your body’s rhythm on a 24-hour basis. Most cells in mammalian bodies have cilia of some sort, which are hair-like structures that perform a variety of functions such as movement for motile cilia and aiding in structure in function for non-motile, or primary, cilia. The primary cilia also act as a sensory organ for the cell, a function which has illuminated ...

Christmas desserts from The Great British Bake Off are more likely to use ingredients that are associated with reductions, rather than increases, in the risk of death or disease, suggests research published in the Christmas issue of The BMJ. As the holiday season approaches, the age-old debate resurfaces: can we indulge in Christmas desserts without feeling the pang of guilt? Can we look past the negative headlines of what butter and sugar do to our bodies, and enjoy a piece of Christmas cake in heavenly peace? To answer this Christmas conundrum, researchers set out to determine ...

Sales of emergency contraception are estimated to rise by around 10% in the US in the week after the New Year holiday, suggesting that this period is associated with increased risks of unprotected sex compared with other holidays, finds a study published in the Christmas issue of The BMJ. Other holidays such as Valentine’s Day and Independence Day were also associated with an increase in sales, but to a lesser extent. Although this annual spike in sales might seem humorous, the researchers point out that as many US states have increased restrictions on abortion ...

Aquaporin (Aqp) 10 water channels in humans allow the free passage of water, glycerol, urea, and boric acid across cells. However, Aqp10.2b in pufferfishes allows only the passage of water and glycerol and not urea and boric acid. Researchers from the Tokyo Institute of Technology sought to understand the evolutionary timeline that resulted in the variable substrate selection mechanisms among Aqp10s. Their results indicate that Aqp10.2 in ray-finned fishes may have reduced or lost urea and boric acid permeabilities through evolution. Aquaporins ...

Scientists at the CNRS and the University of Montpellier1 have discovered that flowering plants growing in farmland are increasingly doing without insect pollinators. As reproduction becomes more difficult for them in an environment depleted in pollinating insects, the plants are evolving towards self-fertilisation. These findings are published in a paper in the journal New Phytologist dated December 20, 2023. By comparing field pansies growing in the Paris region today with pansies from the same localities resurrected in the laboratory from seeds collected2 between 1992 and 2001, the research team found that today's flowers are 10% smaller, produce 20% less nectar, and are less ...

Dec. 20, 2023 Contact: Derek Smith, 734-546-3632, smitdere@umich.edu; Nicole Casal Moore, 734-709-1651, ncmoore@umich.edu   ANN ARBOR—Lights could soon use the full color suite of perfectly efficient organic light-emitting diodes, or OLEDs, that last tens of thousands of hours, thanks to an innovation from physicists and engineers at the University of Michigan. The U-M team's new phosphorescent OLEDs, commonly referred to as PHOLEDs, can maintain 90% of the blue light intensity for 10-14 times longer than other designs that emit similar deep blue colors. That kind ...

We often look to the smallest lifeforms for help solving the biggest problems: Microbes help make foods and beverages, cure diseases, treat waste and even clean up pollution. Yeast and bacteria can also convert plant sugars into biofuels and chemicals traditionally derived from fossil fuels — a key component of most plans to slow climate change. Now University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers have engineered bacteria that can produce two chemical products at the same time from underutilized plant fiber. And unlike humans, these ...

In the not-so-distant future, people might be able to tune in to their favorite news source for an update on their community health status, just as they check on the local weather forecast. The community health status is similar to the color-coded Doppler weather data that provides meteorologists with information about rain, snow or hail, its motion and intensity, which they can use to determine specific areas where dangerous weather conditions exist. Having this information has proven to be a valuable tool to protect life and property. “The new community ...

Scientists at NTNU’s Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience in Norway have discovered a pattern of activity in the brain that can serve as a template for building sequential experiences. “I believe we have found one of the brain’s prototypes for building sequences” says Professor Edvard Moser.He describes the activity pattern as “a fundamental algorithm that is intrinsic to the brain and independent of experience.” The breakthrough discovery was published in Nature 20. December 2023. The ability to organise elements into sequences ...

A new research paper was published in Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science) Volume 15, Issue 23, entitled, “Benidipine calcium channel blocker promotes the death of cigarette smoke-induced senescent cells and improves lung emphysema.” Smoking is the main risk factor for many lung diseases including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Cigarette smoke (CS) contains carcinogenic and reactive oxygen species that favor DNA mutations and perturb the homeostasis and environment of cells. CS induces lung cell senescence resulting in a stable proliferation arrest and a senescence-associated ...

Despite their promise, immunotherapies fail to treat many cancers, including over 80% of some of the most advanced breast cancers. And many of those patients who do respond still experience metastases eventually. New research from Stanford University and the Arc Institute has revealed a better way to predict and improve patient responses. A team led by Lingyin Li, associate professor of biochemistry at Stanford and Arc Core Investigator, found that a protein called ENPP1 acts as an on/off switch that controls breast cancer’s ability to both resist immunotherapy and metastasize. The study, published on ...

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have identified the most energy-efficient 2024 model year vehicles available in the United States, including electric and hybrids, in the latest edition of the Department of Energy’s Fuel Economy Guide. The annual online resource compares fuel costs for two-seaters up to large sedans, small and midsize station wagons, minivans, small and standard sport utility vehicles and small and standard pickup trucks. A quick reference top 10 list is searchable for make, model and class, too. “With the national average of gasoline over $3 per gallon, drivers need to know how much they can save by ...

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4 P.M. ET, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2023 MINNEAPOLIS – Signs of injury to the brain’s white matter called white matter hyperintensities, as seen on brain scans, may be tied more strongly to vascular risk factors, brain shrinkage, and other markers of dementia in former tackle football players than in those who did not play football, according to a study published in the December 20, 2023, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. “Studies have shown that athletes exposed to repetitive head impacts can have increased white matter hyperintensity burden in their brains,” ...

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- A Binghamton University team is one of just 18 nationally that will share in $100 million in U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) funding from the Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) Directorate to accelerate the pace and scale of translational research.  The Accelerating Research Translation (ART) program will provide $6 million to Binghamton as a cooperative agreement over four years to source and grow pivotal innovations that, with help from the technology transfer office, can go to market and have a positive impact on society. “Binghamton is quickly ...

When did archery arise in the Americas? And what were the effects of this technology on society? These questions have long been debated among anthropologists and archaeologists. But a study led by a University of California, Davis, anthropologist, is shining light on this mystery. Focusing on the Lake Titicaca Basin in the Andes mountains, anthropologists found through analysis of 1,179 projectile points that the rise of archery technology dates to around 5,000 years ago. Previous research held that archery in the Andes emerged around 3,000 years ago. The new research indicates that the adoption of bow-and-arrow technology coincided with both the expansion of ...

Ochsner Health Network, LLC (OHN), the Gulf South’s largest physician-led clinically integrated network, is pleased to report its 2022 – 2023 impact resulting from care delivered to nearly a half-million patients living throughout the Gulf South. The network’s all-new digital report boasts more than $56 million in total cost-of-care savings to our community’s most vulnerable populations, with $38 million in rewards to be shared among the network’s providers. “Our country’s healthcare system must evolve; our communities’ health must improve; and the rising costs of care must be reversed. Proudly, Ochsner Health Network remains ...

A new review paper was published in Oncotarget's Volume 14 on December 12, 2023, entitled, “Current perspectives on the management of refractory or relapsed classic hodgkin lymphoma in Brazil: Balancing efficacy, safety, and tolerability.” Classic Hodgkin lymphoma (CHL), which accounts for 90–95% of all cases of Hodgkin lymphoma, is the most frequent cancer in adolescents and the most frequent lymphoma in adolescents and young adults. Despite progressive improvements over past decades and the general sensitivity of ...

Young adults who are more familiar with e-cigarette marketing practices are more likely to have attitudes against vaping than those unaware of the industry’s marketing, according to a study led by Drexel University public health researchers published this month in the BMJ journal Tobacco Control. Expanding on ways cigarettes were marketed in the 1970s, such as using models and hosting smoking events, e-cigarette marketing includes more modern tactics, like paying social media influencers to promote vaping. The findings, from researchers at Drexel’s Dornsife School of Public Health and The National Institute ...

A surprising MIT study published in Nature at the end of 2016 helped to spur interest in the possibility that light flickering at the frequency of a particular gamma-band brain rhythm could produce meaningful therapeutic effects for people with Alzheimer’s disease. In a new review paper in the Journal of Internal Medicine, the lab that led those studies takes stock of what a growing number of scientists worldwide have been finding out since then in dozens of clinical and lab benchtop studies. Brain rhythms (also called brain “waves” or ...