A world-first model of paleoclimate and hydrology in Iran has highlighted favourable routes for Neanderthals and modern human expansions eastwards into Asia.  Published in PLOS ONE, the findings reveal for the first time that multiple humid periods in ancient Iran led to the expansions of human populations, opening dispersal route across the region, and the possible interactions of species such as Neanderthals and our own Homo sapiens.   Professor Michael Petraglia, a key researcher in the study, said historic humid ...

Queen Mary University of London and Francis Crick Institute press release Under strict embargo: 19:00hrs GMT Wednesday March 1, 2023 Peer reviewed  Experimental study  Cells  Vitamin B5 could help improve red blood cell production in people with Myelodysplastic syndromes Scientists from Barts Cancer Institute at Queen Mary University of London and the Francis Crick Institute, have uncovered why patients with a rare type of blood cancer suffer from ineffective red blood cell production, and how vitamin B5 could be combined with existing drugs to improve outcomes. Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a type of blood cancer characterised ...

Some areas of the adult brain contain quiescent, or dormant, neural stem cells that can potentially be reactivated to form new neurons. However, the transition from quiescence to proliferation is still poorly understood. A team led by scientists from the Universities of Geneva (UNIGE) and Lausanne (UNIL) has discovered the importance of cell metabolism in this process and identified how to wake up these neural stem cells and reactivate them. Biologists succeeded in increasing the number of new neurons in the brain of adult and ...

Epigenetic changes in the regulation of a key gene in the body’s stress response system were detected in babies and young children with abusive injuries, as opposed to accidental, according to a pilot study published in the journal Pediatric Research. The epigenome influences levels of gene expression in response to the physical, social and emotional environment, without altering the DNA sequence. Multiple studies in adults have found that traumatic and adverse childhood experiences are associated with epigenetic alterations in the FKBP5 gene, an important regulator ...

BOSTON – In people with type 1 diabetes, the body’s immune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing β cells that control blood glucose levels and are part of a group of cells in the pancreas called pancreatic islets. In research published in Cell Reports Medicine, a team led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), a founding member of Mass General Brigham, recently developed an efficient way to transplant pancreatic islets and demonstrated that the method can effectively reverse type 1 diabetes in nonhuman primates. Pancreatic islet transplantation is a promising treatment approach for type 1 diabetes; however, current methods, ...

ORLANDO, March 1, 2023 — A University of Central Florida researcher has received funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to enhance the current understanding of artificial intelligence (AI) reasoning. The project focuses on developing algorithms to create robust multi-modal explanations for foundation, or large, AI models through the exploration of several novel explainable AI methods. The DOE recently awarded $400,000 to fund the project. The project was one of 22 proposals selected for the DOE’s 2022 Exploratory Research for Extreme-Scale Science (EXPRESS) grant, which promotes the study ...

Since its approval in 2012, HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, has shown promise in reducing HIV infection rates by preventing infection in high-risk HIV-negative people. However, research shows that only around three percent of sexual and gender minority (SGM) adolescents who are eligible for PrEP have used it. In a new study, Christopher Owens, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Health Behavior at the Texas A&M University School of Public Health, explores factors that may be associated with parents’ acceptance of their SGM adolescent using PrEP. The study, published in the journal AIDS ...

A new mathematical model which aims to optimise treatment for prostate cancer has been developed by experts at the University of Portsmouth.  Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among men worldwide and accounts for 26 percent of all new cancer cases in males in the UK.  Over the past few decades mathematical models of tumour growth have been used to better understand the disease, to make predictions and to guide new experiments and clinical trials. Dr Marianna Cerasuolo, Senior Lecturer from the University’s School of Mathematics and Physics, ...

East Hanover, NJ – March 1, 2023. In this month’s nTIDE Deeper Dive Lunch & Learn Webinar we explored the factors underlying the unprecedented rise in the employment of people with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic while continuing to follow trends in the labor market. This webinar followed two key unemployment indicators–the number unemployed and the proportions of unemployed persons that are on temporary layoffs (i.e., furloughs), comparing trends for people with and without disabilities. “In January, we saw a large increase in the proportion ...

URBANA, Ill. – Midwestern agriculture contributes the vast majority of nitrogen in the Gulf of Mexico, causing an oxygen-starved hypoxic zone and challenging coastal economies. State and federal policies have tried for decades to provide solutions and incentives, but the hypoxic zone keeps coming back. A recent study from the University of Illinois offers a new way to understand Midwestern nitrogen dynamics and forecasts future nitrogen loads under various management scenarios across the region.  “Our model explains what's going on across 83 watersheds in the Midwest, providing a quantitative understanding of why certain watersheds ...

In 2024, the Vilcek Foundation will award three Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science of $50,000 each. The prizes recognize and celebrate the contributions of rising immigrant scientists in the United States whose work represents a significant contribution to their field. The Vilcek Foundation is hosting an open call for applications for the 2024 prizes; applications will be accepted through June 12, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. ET.  The Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise are a part of the Vilcek Foundation Prizes program. Awarded ...

There is this picture – you may have seen it. It is black and white and has two silhouettes facing one another. Or maybe you see the black vase with a white background. But now, you likely see both. It is an example of a visual illusion that reminds us to consider what we did not see at first glance, what we may not be able to see, or what our experience has taught us to know – there is always more to the picture or maybe even a different image to consider altogether. Researchers are finding the process in our brain that allows us to see these visual distinctions may ...

Mulching is a possible management method for forest meadows and is important to their upkeep. During the process, the meadow is cut and the cuttings are shredded and left on the meadow. Despite its significance, the effects of this method on insects living in this habitat has rarely been studied up to now. Dr. Maria M. Georgi of the team working with the head of the University of Freiburg’s Chair of Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology – Prof. Dr. Alexandra-Maria Klein, and her colleagues studied this in-depth. The result: ...

Bacteria of the species Pseudomonas aeruginosa are antibiotic-resistant hospital germs that can enter blood, lungs and other tissues through wounds and cause life-threatening infections. In a joint project, researchers from the Universities of Freiburg and Strasbourg in France have discovered a mechanism that likely contributes to the severity of P. aeruginosa infections. At the same time, it could be a target for future treatments. The results were recently appeared in the journal EMBO Reports. Many bacterial species use sugar-binding molecules called lectins to attach to and invade host cells. Lectins can also influence the immune response to bacterial infections. However, these ...

The team analysed the genomes of 356 prehistoric hunter gatherers from different archaeological cultures – including new data sets of 116 individuals from 14 different European and Central Asian countries. Modern humans began to spread across Eurasia around 45,000 years ago but previous research showed that the first modern humans that arrived in Europe did not contribute to later populations. This study focuses on the people who lived between 35,000 and 5,000 years ago and that are, at least partially, the ancestors of the present-day population of Western Eurasia, including – for the first time – the genomes of people who lived during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), the ...

Projected deforestation in the Congo could result in a 12% reduction in rainfall  Study provides “compelling evidence” to protect forests  Deforestation is resulting in reduced rainfall across large parts of the tropics, according to new research.  People living in tropical forest communities have often complained that the climate gets hotter and drier once trees are cleared but until now, scientists have not been able to identify a clear link between the loss of tree cover and a decline in rainfall.   A research team at the University of Leeds combined satellite data of deforestation and rainfall to show ...

Tunneling reactions in chemistry are very difficult to predict. The quantum mechanically exact description of chemical reactions with more than three particles is difficult, with more than four particles it is almost impossible. Theorists simulate these reactions with classical physics and must neglect quantum effects. But where is the limit of this classical description of chemical reactions, which can only provide approximations? Roland Wester from the Department of Ion Physics and Applied Physics at the University of Innsbruck has long wanted to explore this frontier. “It requires an experiment that allows very precise measurements and ...

Helium – essential for many medical and industrial processes – is in critically short supply worldwide. Production is also associated with significant carbon emissions, contributing to climate change. This study provides a new concept in gas field formation to explain why, in rare places, helium accumulates naturally in high concentrations just beneath the Earth’s surface. The findings could help locate new reservoirs of carbon-free helium – and potentially also hydrogen. Research led by the University of Oxford could help overturn the current supply crisis of helium, ...

A statewide alcohol-monitoring program that requires people arrested for drunk driving and other alcohol-involved offenses to be tested frequently for alcohol use can reduce the likelihood that participants die for several years after their involvement with the program, according to a new RAND Corporation study.   Analyzing results from South Dakota’s 24/7 Sobriety Program, researchers found that those arrested for drunk driving who participated in 24/7 Sobriety had on the order of a 50% lower risk of dying during the study period compared to those arrested for drunk driving who did not participate in the program..   The results are published in the latest edition of the ...

About The Study: The results of this study of more than 1.2 million patients indicate that women remain at significantly higher risk for adverse outcomes following coronary artery bypass grafting and no significant improvement has been seen over the course of the last decade. Further investigation into the determinants of operative outcomes in women is urgently needed. Authors: Mario Gaudino, M.D., Ph.D., M.S.C.E., of Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, 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/jamasurg.2022.8156) Editor’s Note: Please see the ...

About The Study: This case series study using the data of 373,000 patients from the National Cancer Database found that time from breast cancer diagnosis to surgery of greater than eight weeks was associated with worse overall survival. Time to surgery of greater than eight weeks may partly be associated with disadvantageous social determinants of health. Authors: Heather B. Neuman, M.D., of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison, 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/jamasurg.2022.8388) Editor’s ...

An international team of researchers has analysed ancient human DNA from several archaeological sites in Andalucía in southern Spain. The study reports on the oldest genome to date from Cueva del Malalmuerzo in southern Spain, as well as the 7,000 to 5,000-year-old genomes of early farmers from other well-known sites, such as Cueva de Ardales. The Iberian Peninsula plays an important role in the reconstruction of human population history. As a geographic cul-de-sac in the southwest of Europe, it is on one hand considered a refuge during the last Ice Age with its drastic temperature fluctuations. On the other hand, it may have been one of the starting points for the recolonisation ...

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen and NASA have developed a method that has now mapped several billion trees and their carbon uptake in Africa’s Sahel region. In the future, the method could be used to monitor whether climate credit purchases have a positive effect on the number of trees and whether nature restoration is working. The purchase of indulgences for CO2 emissions is gaining steam among global corporations. Carbon offset credits allow companies to emit a given amount of CO2 in exchange for the greenhouse gas being neutralized elsewhere, in the form of trees planted or left unfelled. But with billions upon billions of trees across the planet, keeping track ...

A major new study in the journal Nature reveals a ‘traffic light’ mechanism controlling genetic activity within cells – a system which could potentially be targeted by cancer drugs already in development. The research describes how ‘epigenetic’ changes to the structure of DNA can act as a stop-go signal in determining whether a gene should be read. Unlike our genetic make-up, which is well understood, the world of epigenetics is still largely unexplored and referred to as the ‘dark matter’ of the genome. But the new findings answer a fundamental and longstanding question – how epigenetic proteins regulate the ...

NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) was Earth’s first attempt at launching a spacecraft to intentionally collide with and deflect an asteroid as a planetary defense technique. On September 26, 2022, the DART spacecraft collided with a small asteroid moon called Dimorphos, which orbits a larger asteroid called Didymos. Neither asteroid posed a threat to Earth, but they represented similar celestial bodies that could one day approach and endanger the planet. In four papers published in the journal Nature on ...