Primate species with better colour vision are not more likely to have red skin or fur colouration, as previously thought. The findings, published this week in the Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, suggest that red skin and/or red-orange fur may be beneficial for use in social communication even in primate species that don't have particularly good colour vision. It's long been assumed that primates' colourful skin and fur is linked to their enhanced colour vision,  and the results may have implications for understanding why these traits exist in different species. Lead author Robert MacDonald from the University of Bristol explained: ...

Puberty in both girls and boys with type 1 diabetes has shifted forward over the last two decades, according to research presented at the 61st Annual European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology Meeting in The Hague. Additionally longer duration of diabetes, bigger waistlines, and lower blood sugar levels were associated with even earlier puberty onset. The findings of this large-scale study highlight a close relationship between type 1 diabetes and puberty onset and the utmost importance of managing diabetes and weight ...

Children exposed to higher levels of synthetic chemicals in everyday products, such as water-resistant clothes, umbrellas and food packaging, are more likely to mature later during puberty, according to research presented at the 61st Annual European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology Meeting in The Hague. The findings may help better regulate the industrial production and use of these chemicals on a national and international level. Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known ...

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have conducted a comprehensive life cycle, cost and carbon emissions analysis on 3D-printed molds for precast concrete and determined the method is economically beneficial compared to conventional wood molds. Precast concrete is used in building construction and produced by pouring the material into a reusable mold. For decades, these molds have been made from wood — a technique that requires a highly specialized skillset. As an alternative, molds made from fiber-reinforced polymer composites can be 3D printed. “We developed a techno-economic model that compared costs associated with each method, evaluating materials, equipment, ...

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining is a lifeline for many who live in Madre de Dios, a region in southeastern Peru, where poverty is high and jobs are scarce. But the economic development in this part of the Amazon basin comes at a cost, as it causes deforestation, build up of sediment in rivers, and mercury contamination in nearby watersheds, threatening public health, Indigenous peoples, and the future of the biodiversity hotspot. And much of the mining activity is unauthorized. Seeking to eliminate illegal artisanal and small-scale gold mining activity and its many negative impacts, the Peruvian government deployed “Operation Mercury” (Operation Mercurio) in February ...

Texas A&M University historian Dr. Daniel Schwartz has devoted the last decade of his professional life to preserving the past — specifically, the culture of a 2,000-year-old language known as Syriac. He and likeminded colleagues from around the world have been working across place, time and cyberspace to safeguard Syriac cultural heritage, painstakingly creating Syriaca.org, a cyberinfrastructure to link Syriac literature to their persons, places, manuscripts and key concepts. This spring, they received another big assist from the National ...

DALLAS (SMU) – The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) has awarded $2 million to recruit Annika Wylie to SMU and fund five years of her research, which focuses on the p53 gene, a naturally occurring tumor suppressor. CPRIT is the state agency mandated to create and expedite innovation in the area of cancer research and enhance the potential for a medical or scientific breakthrough in both prevention and cures. CPRIT is now a $6 billion, 20-year initiative – the largest state cancer research investment ...

New University of Arizona Health Sciences research recently published in the journal PAIN found that nearly 1 in 20 adults in the U.S. experience the co-occurrence of chronic pain and anxiety or depression, resulting in functional limitations in daily life. Prior research has shown that chronic pain along with symptoms of anxiety or depression are biologically linked. This study is one of the few to examine the national prevalence of chronic pain with anxiety or depression symptoms in adults. The results shed light on the fact that millions ...

Many of the nation’s most prominent cardiovascular organizations, representing tens of thousands of physicians, unite today to pursue the creation of a new Board for cardiovascular medicine. The proposed new Board would be independent of the American Board of Internal Medicine, where the cardiology certification process currently exists. Collectively, the American College of Cardiology (ACC), Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA), Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) and Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (SCAI) are working together to submit a ...

Skipping genetic counseling before or after taking a remote screening of inherited risk for ovarian or breast cancer does not increase distress, anxiety or depression, according to a study published Sept. 14 in JAMA Oncology. “The accepted idea was that you needed genetic counseling before taking a genetic test,” said Dr. Elizabeth Swisher, a gynecologic oncologist at UW Medicine and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Washington School of Medicine. “But we’re finding out that many of these protocols actually represent ...

Cleveland Clinic researchers have used nanoparticles to develop a potential vaccine candidate against Dabie Bandavirus, formerly known as Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus (SFTSV), a tick-borne virus that currently has no prevention, treatment or cure.     The patent-pending vaccine uses nanoparticles to carry the antigens that contain instructions for fighting off a virus. Nanoparticle vaccines are designed to effectively deliver antigens at a lower dose with fewer side effects for at-risk ...

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (09/21/2023) — Michele Statz, PhD, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth Campus and affiliated faculty with the University of Minnesota Law School’s Human Rights Center, and her research team have been awarded a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s CIVIC Innovation Challenge to improve access to civil justice for rural and Indigenous communities in Alaska. The research team aims to develop a model that can be replicated in other communities across the country.   The “Bridging the Rural Justice Gap: Innovating & Scaling Up Civil Access to Justice in Alaska” ...

Within the intricate molecular landscape inside of a cell, the orchestration of proteins demands precise control to avoid disease. While some proteins must be synthesised at specific times, others require timely breakdown and recycling. Protein degradation is a fundamental process that influences cellular activities such as the cell cycle, cell death, or immune response. At the core of this process lies the proteasome, a recycling hub in the cell. The proteasome degrades proteins if they carry a molecular tag formed by a chain of ubiquitin molecules. The task of attaching this tag falls to enzymes known as ubiquitin ligases. This process, known ...

Scientists have known for decades that pregnancy requires a mother’s body to adjust so that her immune system does not attack the growing fetus as if it were a hostile foreign invader. Yet despite learning a great deal more about the immunology of pregnancy in recent years, a new study shows that the cellular crosstalk between a mother and her offspring is even more complex and long-lasting than expected. The study was published online Sept. 21, 2023, in the journal Science by a research team led by Sing Sing Way, MD, PhD, Division of Infectious Diseases at Cincinnati Children’s and the Center ...

Not through courts and not through prisons. The only way to reduce violence in Mexico is to cut off recruitment. Increasing incapacitation instead leads to both more homicides and cartel members, researcher Rafael Prieto-Curiel from the Complexity Science Hub and colleagues show in a study in Science.   In 2021, approximately 34,000 people died from intentional homicides in Mexico – the equivalent of nearly 27 victims per 100,000 population. This ranks Mexico among the least peaceful countries worldwide. FIFTH LARGEST EMPLOYER In order to be able to address this violence ...

Immunotherapy, which uses the body’s own immune system to fight cancer, is an effective treatment option, yet many patients do not respond to it. Thus, cancer researchers are seeking new ways to optimize immunotherapy so that it is more effective for more people. Now, Salk Institute scientists have found that manipulating an early step in energy production in mitochondria—the cell’s powerhouses—reduces melanoma tumor growth and enhances the immune response in mice. The study, published in Science on September 21, ...

A pair of independent studies, using recent James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observations of carbon dioxide (CO2) ice on Jupiter’s moon Europa, indicate the CO2 originates from a source within the icy body’s subsurface ocean. The findings from both research groups provide new insights into the poorly known composition of Europa’s internal ocean. Beneath a crust of solid water ice, Jupiter’s moon Europa is thought to have a subsurface ocean of salty liquid water. Because of this, Europa is a prime target in the search for life elsewhere in the Solar System. Assessing this deep ...

A groundbreaking study, published today in Science, has provided new insights into the extensive impact of metal mining contamination on rivers and floodplains across the world, with an estimated 23 million people believed to be affected by potentially dangerous concentrations of toxic waste. Led by Professors Mark Macklin and Chris Thomas, Directors of the Lincoln Centre for Water and Planetary Health at the University of Lincoln, UK – working with Dr Amogh Mudbhatkal from the University’s Department of Geography – the study offers a comprehensive understanding of the environmental and health challenges associated with metal mining activities. Using ...

When the spinal cords of mice and humans are partially damaged, the initial paralysis is followed by the extensive, spontaneous recovery of motor function. However, after a complete spinal cord injury, this natural repair of the spinal cord doesn’t occur and there is no recovery. Meaningful recovery after severe injuries requires strategies that promote the regeneration of nerve fibers, but the requisite conditions for these strategies to successfully restore motor function have remained elusive. “Five years ago, we demonstrated that nerve fibers can be regenerated across anatomically complete spinal cord ...

In order to keep track of their environment, cells use cilia, antenna-like structures that can sense a variety of stimuli, including the flow of fluids outside the cell. Genetic defects that cause cilia to malfunction and lose their sensory abilities can result in disorders known as “ciliopathies”, including polycystic kidney diseases; but they can also disrupt the correct asymmetric positioning of internal organs during embryonic development – what is known as “organ laterality”. An example of such asymmetry is the heart, which is typically ...

New discovery allows scientists to change the shape of azobenzene molecules using visible light, which is more practical and safe than previously used ultraviolet light. Azobenzenes are incredibly versatile and have many potential uses, such as in making tiny machines and improving technology as well as making light controllable drugs. This molecule can switch between two different forms by light. However, the two forms are in equilibrium, which means that a mixture present that prevents optimal use for applications. Being able to control them with visible light and enrich only one form opens up new possibilities for these applications, making them more efficient ...

In a new study in mice, a team of researchers from UCLA, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, and Harvard University have uncovered a crucial component for restoring functional activity after spinal cord injury. The neuroscientists have shown that re-growing specific neurons back to their natural target regions led to recovery, while random regrowth was not effective. In a 2018 study published in Nature, the team identified a treatment approach that triggers axons — the tiny fibers that link nerve cells and enable them to communicate — to regrow after spinal cord injury ...

Imagine if humans could ‘talk’ to plants and warn them of approaching pest attacks or extreme weather. A team of plant scientists at the Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University (SLCU) would like to turn this science fiction into reality using light-based messaging to ‘talk’ to plants. Early lab experiments with tobacco (Nicotiana benthamiana) have demonstrated that they can activate the plant's natural defence mechanism (immune response) using light as a stimulus (messenger). Light serves as a universal means of daily human communication, for example the signalling at traffic lights, pedestrian ...

Three independent state-of-the-art datasets reveal that the West Side has more nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution than the rest of the city Depending on the month, residents in this area experience 16 to 32% higher NO2 concentrations on average By identifying hotspots, residents and policymakers can be confident about where to prioritize immediate interventions   EVANSTON, Ill. — The western edge of Chicago — including the North and South Lawndale, East Garfield Park, Archer Heights and Brighton Park neighborhoods — experiences up to 32% higher concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) air pollution compared to the rest of the city, ...

ROCKVILLE, MD – The Biophysical Society is proud to announce its 2024 Society Fellows. This award honors the Society’s distinguished members who have demonstrated excellence in science and contributed to the expansion of the field of biophysics. The Fellows will be honored at the Biophysical Society’s 68th Annual Meeting, being held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from February 10-14, 2024. The 2024 Fellows are: Rommie E. Amaro, University of California, San Diego, USA, is named a Biophysical Society Fellow for her work on developing methods to enable the simulation of biological molecules in situ and ...