PRESS RELEASE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE EMBARGOED UNTIL 10 AM LONDON TIME (GMT) ON FRIDAY 1 DECEMBER 2023 Images and paper available at: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1JRhAD1ESL6NZN7acEoZQcXCA9w50Gczr?usp=drive_link   Phonetic information – the smallest sound elements of speech – may not be the basis of language learning in babies as previously thought Babies don’t begin to process phonetic information reliably until seven months old – which researchers say is too late to form the foundation of language Instead, babies learn from rhythmic information – the changing emphasis of syllables in speech – which unlike phonetic ...

The scorching heatwaves of 2023's summer and autumn shook the world, raising a pertinent question: Will this lead into the warmest winter the globe has ever witnessed? After a summer and autumn marked by extreme temperatures and a consistent global warming trend across oceans and landmasses, concerns mounted about what might follow. The global average temperature during June to October 2023 surpassed the 1991-2020 average by 0.57℃. August and September soared even higher, surpassing historical averages by 0.62℃ and 0.69℃, respectively, eclipsing the records set in 2016. From hottest ...

Vibrio bacteria, named for their vibrating swimming motion, span approximately 150 known species. Most Vibrio live in brackish or salt water, either swimming free or living as pathogens or symbionts in fish, crustaceans, molluscs, and corals. Because Vibrio thrive at relatively high temperatures, outbreaks in marine animals are expected to become ever more frequent under global warming. For example, over the past few decades, Vibrio have been implicated in the ‘bleaching’ of subtropical and tropical corals around the world. Now, researchers from Spain and Turkey have shown that Vibrio bacteria also play a role in outbreaks of mortality of an unrelated ...

BOSTON – Individuals can improve their brain care and reduce their risk of developing brain diseases such as dementia and stroke by focusing on a list of 12 steps covering modifiable physical, lifestyle, and social-emotional components of health. The list was developed and validated in research published in Frontiers in Neurology by investigators from the McCance Center for Brain Health at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and their collaborators in the United States and Europe. For the study, the scientists ...

Obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular metabolic diseases and neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia. Long-term exercise improves memory and spatial cognition, reduces age-related cognitive decline, and maintains brain volume, but the mechanisms are not fully understood.   Recently, a study from Febbraio lab at Monash University reported that voluntary exercise training (VET) improves long-term memory in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice, increases hippocampal neurogenesis ...

A research group led by the Nagoya University Museum and Graduate School of Environmental Studies in Japan has clarified differences in the physical characteristics of rocks used by early humans during the Paleolithic. They found that humans selected rock for a variety of reasons and not just because of how easy it was to break off. This suggests that early humans had the technical skill to discern the best rock for the tool. The researchers published the results in the Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology.  As Homo sapiens moved from Africa to Eurasia, they used stone tools made of rocks, such as obsidian and flint, to cut, slice, and craft ranged weapons. Because ...

A simple-to-apply, needle-free vaccine patch is being developed to protect people from the potentially deadly mosquito-borne Zika virus. A prototype using The University of Queensland-developed and Vaxxas-commercialised high-density microarray patch (HD-MAP) has delivered a University of Adelaide-developed vaccine and elicited an effective immune response to Zika virus in mice. UQ alum and Vaxxas researcher Dr Danushka Wijesundara said Zika virus was a risk to people across the Pacific, Southeast Asia, India, Africa and South and Central America. “We can change the way we combat Zika virus with the ...

As artificial intelligence technologies improve, they increase the efficiency and capabilities of research across the scientific spectrum. Because of the rapid pace of the field, AI tools must be developed sustainably, a guiding principle for the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory throughout its 40 years of AI research. Now, its extensive array of resources are supporting the nation as it harnesses the power of these transformative technologies. In October, President Biden ...

Researchers at the University of Sydney Nano Institute have invented a compact silicon semiconductor chip that integrates electronics with photonic, or light, components. The new technology significantly expands radio-frequency (RF) bandwidth and the ability to accurately control information flowing through the unit. Expanded bandwidth means more information can flow through the chip and the inclusion of photonics allows for advanced filter controls, creating a versatile new semiconductor device. Researchers expect the chip will have application in advanced radar, ...

Micrometeorites originating from icy celestial bodies in the outer Solar System may be responsible for transporting nitrogen to the near-Earth region in the early days of our solar system. That discovery was published today in Nature Astronomy by an international team of researchers, including University of Hawai'i at Mānoa scientists, led by Kyoto University. Nitrogen compounds, such as ammonium salts, are abundant in material born in regions far from the sun, but evidence of their transport to Earth's orbital region had been poorly understood. "Our recent findings suggests the possibility that a greater amount of nitrogen compounds than previously ...

Artificial intelligence (AI) may attempt to mimic the human brain, but it has yet to fully grasp the complexity of what it means to be human. While it may not truly understand feelings or original creativity, it can help us better understand ourselves — especially our physical bodies in health and in disease, according to a series of articles recently published by the journal Quantitative Biology.   The peer-reviewed papers — a variety of editorials, perspectives and commentaries on AI for life science — assess the rapid development of AI and recent attention ...

CureSHANK will award a total of $250,000 aimed at stimulating research on SHANK3-related epilepsy, prevalent in PMS patients.  The grants, CureSHANK Research to Cure Grant: Epilepsy (R2C Epilepsy), will provide targeted funding to support SHANK3-related epilepsy research projects.  The awards aim to improve mechanistic and clinical knowledge of SHANK3-related epilepsy.    The PMS community lives under the long shadow of epilepsy: it is responsible for many deaths of both children and young adults with PMS, and it is among the disorder's most distressing symptoms. Nearly one-third of individuals living with PMS are diagnosed with epilepsy, often evolving ...

HOUSTON ― Incorporating navy beans into the diet of colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors has the potential to positively impact both gut and host health by modulating markers linked to obesity and disease, according to new research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.  The findings published today in eBIOMedicine, part of The Lancet family of journals, revealed BE GONE trial participants who added a cup of navy beans daily to their regular meals saw positive changes in their gut microbiome, which is associated with cancer prevention and improved treatment outcomes. Changes included an increase ...

In early November of this year, aurora borealis were observed at surprisingly low latitudes, as far south as Italy and Texas. Such phenomena indicate the impacts of a solar coronal mass ejection on the Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere. Far more dramatic than this recent light show was, it was nothing compared to a huge solar storm in February 872. The resulting auroral display from that event ringed the globe and produced auroras observed in sites as close to the equator as Bombay and Khartoum. An international team consisting of scientists from nine counties has now published a detailed study of this historically important event, tracing its ...

Writing in the journal Nature ahead of COP28, a team of Met Office scientists has emphasised that – surprisingly – there is currently no formally agreed way of defining the current level of global warming relevant to the Paris Agreement. They have proposed a solution. While the global average temperature in a particular year is well-known, this will not be suitable as an indicator of whether the “Paris 1.5” has been breached or not, because the Paris Agreement refers to long-term warming, not individual years. But no alternative has yet been formally agreed. Without ...

Results of a qualitative research study into the uptake of PrEP - a drug which stops HIV infecting the body - suggests that more needs to be done to breakdown barriers to access for the potentially lifesaving medication. Research published in the Journal of Prevention and Health Promotion from a team at the University of Bath finds that knowledge and awareness among young men who have sex with other men about the drug is low and there is often stigma associated with being prescribed PrEP. Pre-exposure prophylaxis ‘PrEP’ refers to a pill that prevents HIV contraction in HIV-negative individuals. PrEP ...

A researcher from The University of Texas at Austin has received a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to study how changing aerosol pollution could influence climate change in the United States in the coming decades. Aerosols are tiny solid particles and liquid droplets that contribute to smog and are emitted from industrial factories, power plants and vehicle tailpipes, as well as natural sources like volcanic eruptions. These small particles can influence the Earth’s climate by reflecting or absorbing sunlight and changing the behavior of clouds. Geeta ...

Announcements in June 2022 of possible realignments of major east-west athletic conferences raised concern among many sleep and circadian physicians and scientists across the United States. As a result of such changes, student-athletes would suffer the negative consequences of increased travel—especially with travel that that crosses time zones and induces jet lag. Because of the concern over the demise of the Pac12, leading to more east-west trips, a group of sleep and circadian scientists and physicians have published a white paper ...

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and Arizona State University (ASU) have agreed to expand their joint efforts in clean energy research for the next five years. An agreement signed in October establishes a framework for both institutions to develop low-carbon processes for the energy and manufacturing sectors. One joint project works to improve and decarbonize methods to extract critical minerals needed for renewable energy generation, energy storage and high-tech electronics. Another effort will develop solutions to electrify process heating, a major pathway to decarbonizing heavy manufacturing. Researchers from INL and ASU have previously ...

Born tail first, bottlenose dolphin calves emerge equipped with two slender rows of whiskers along their beak-like snouts – much like the touch-sensitive whiskers of seals. But the whiskers fall out soon after birth, leaving the youngster with a series of dimples, known as vibrissal pits. Recently Tim Hüttner and Guido Dehnhardt, from University of Rostock, Germany, began to suspect that the dimples may be more than just a relic. Could they allow adult bottlenose dolphins to sense weak electric fields? Taking an initial close look, they realised that the remnant pits resemble ...

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Possessing more than two complete sets of chromosomes can be a hindrance to long-term survival of a plant lineage, yet scientists are also finding evidence it’s likely behind some evolutionary innovation.  Sudden inheritance of whole suites of extra gene copies can add redundancy to an organism's regular sets of functions, actually permitting some of those copies to evolve and express in entirely new ways.  In the case of the East Asian pitcher plant, this mutational freedom may have even fine-turned its ability to capture prey and satisfy its appetite for “meat.” That’s just one of the findings ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – For the first time, scientists have begun to figure out why the disfiguring skin lesions caused by cutaneous leishmaniasis don’t hurt. Researchers analyzed leishmaniasis lesions on mouse skin to detect metabolic signaling pathways that differed from uninfected mice. Results suggested the parasites that cause the disease change pain perception – presumably as a way to delay treatment and promote their own survival. “No one knows why these lesions are painless – ...

“In this article, we describe for the first time the impact of chronological aging on EVs production by human keratinocytes.” BUFFALO, NY- November 30, 2023 – A new research paper was published on the cover of Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science) Volume 15, Issue 22, entitled, “Chronological aging impacts abundance, function and microRNA content of extracellular vesicles produced by human epidermal keratinocytes.” The disturbance of intercellular communication is one of the hallmarks of aging. In their new study, researchers ...

As part of its ongoing quest to advance better brain health and performance, new research led by Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas investigated neural biomarkers associated with improvements on a brain health index. The study, “Toward Precision Brain Health: Accurate Prediction of a Cognitive Index Trajectory Using Neuroimaging Metrics,” was recently published in Cerebral Cortex A total of 48 participants aged 21–65 completed a simple task during a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) session, then once ...

Researchers at UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center have shown that inhibiting a specific protein using gene therapy can shrink hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in mice. Silencing the galectin 1 (Gal1) protein, which is often over-expressed in HCC, also improved the anti-cancer immune response and increased the number of killer T cells inside tumors. The study was published in Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B. “We’ve long known that Gal1 is a biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma,” said ...