Coupled field observations and phytoclimatic modeling show that the distribution of African forest and savanna ecosystems are highly predictable by climate, researchers report in a new study. The findings suggest that the effects of climate change on the distribution of African forests and savanna may be more easily forecasted than previously recognized. An important yet challenging goal for ecological science is predicting how global vegetation patterns will be altered by ongoing climate change. Generally, the distribution of Earth’s vegetation biomes is determined by climate. However, at local or regional ...

Tucker and 174 colleagues, including members of the COVID-19 Bio-Logging Initiative, analysed global data from land mammals tracked by GPS devices. Tucker: “There were many media reports that nature was recovering during those first lockdowns. For example, cougars were roaming the streets of Santiago, Chile, but we wanted to know: is there any evidence of this? Or were people simply paying more attention to everything while being at home?”  Movements of mammals Tucker and colleagues collated ...

LAWRENCE — A new study appearing today in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE shows how federal and state lockdowns and health mandates implemented to curb the spread of COVID-19 affected the mental health of people living in four U.S. geographic regions and affiliated with two major political parties.  A group of faculty, staff and student researchers at the University of Kansas generated data-based maps to look for spatial trends and communities with similar mental health and COVID-19 outcomes. ...

Inflammasomes make up an intricate system of molecular sensors that our bodies use to sound an alarm when an infection occurs. However, the mechanisms behind these sensors, which initiate responses to threats such as invading pathogens, and how they operate has been an area of intrigue for immunologists. In a new study, University of California San Diego biologists describe a previously unknown way that the immune system detects certain viruses. The inflammasome immune protein known as CARD8, they found, can serve as a trip wire to detect a range of viruses, including SARS-Cov-2, which causes COVID-19. Adding ...

Without more legally binding and well-planned net-zero policies, the world is highly likely to miss key climate targets. In the new study, led by Imperial College London and published today in Science, researchers ranked 90% of global net-zero greenhouse gas emissions pledges as providing low confidence in their full implementation. The researchers recommend nations make their targets legally binding and back them up with long-term plans and short-term implementation policies to increase the likelihood of avoiding ...

Scientists from the Radboud University have developed synthetic molecules that resemble real organic molecules. A collaboration of researchers, led by Alex Khajetoorians and Daniel Wegner, can now simulate the behaviour of real molecules by using artificial molecules. In this way, they can tweak properties of molecules in ways that are normally difficult or unrealistic, and they can understand much better how molecules change. Emil Sierda, who was in charge of conducting the experiments at Radboud University: ‘A few years ago we had this crazy idea to build a quantum simulator. We wanted to create artificial ...

A global observational study co-led by UCL (University College London), which involved more than 3,200 newborn babies suffering from sepsis in 19 hospitals in 11 countries, has shown that many newborns are dying because the antibiotics used to treat sepsis are losing their effectiveness.  The study, conducted from 2018 to 2020, found there was high mortality among infants with culture-positive sepsis (almost 1 in 5 across the hospital sites), and a significant burden of antibiotic resistance. The study has provided a wealth of high-quality data aimed at improving the treatment of newborn babies with sepsis. The findings of the observational study ...

As warming waters threaten fish populations and disrupt fisheries around the world, it is critical to find ways to sustain fisheries while at the same time allowing those fisheries to remain economically viable to those who depend on them for their livelihoods. In the United States, commercial fishing employs 1.2 million Americans and generates more than $165 billion annually.  The primary way that the United States has protected its fisheries is through the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which was modernized in 1996 to foster the long-term biological and economic sustainability ...

Philadelphia, June 8, 2023 – The US Department of Agriculture Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) provides nutrition programming to individuals with low income, including students and their families, through a network of community partners who implement the programs. Findings of a new study in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, published by Elsevier, suggest SNAP-Ed implementers could develop a school’s readiness for programming by concentrating efforts on cultivating relationships, program-specific capacity, and motivation at schools. Lead author Erin McCrossan, PhD, Office of ...

A new study that sheds light on how B cells react to skin cancer cells could pave the way for innovative therapy design.  The study, published today in Nature Communications and led by researchers from King’s College London, reveals that antibody-producing B cells in patients may be defective in responding to the most aggressive skin cancer, melanoma. Antibodies are produced by B cells, a type of white blood cell, and are made to prevent and help fight infections. However, there is limited understanding about how B cells are prompted to respond to melanoma and why the antibodies they make are not effective. Researchers ...

A novel collaboration between the University of Southern California (USC), the University of Arizona (UA), and the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), has resulted in the Water Reuse Consortium. This groundbreaking partnership has been awarded a $12.3 million cooperative agreement for phase one of a three-phase $38 million program with ERDC-CERL to tackle pressing water challenges through innovative research, education, communication, and unprecedented collaborative efforts between government, local communities, industry, and academia. The Water Reuse Consortium brings together ...

DETROIT (June 8, 2023) – Researchers in the Hermelin Brain Tumor Center at Henry Ford Health are leading a Phase I clinical trial studying the maximum tolerated dose of an oncolytic adenovirus, a mutated virus engineered to selectively replicate in and destroy cancer tissue, in combination with fractionated stereotactic radiosurgery among patients who are undergoing resection of a recurrent high-grade astrocytoma brain tumor.   “The participants in this study have progressive high-grade astrocytoma as well as glioblastoma, and are scheduled to undergo repeat surgery,” said Tobias ...

It is well known that early resuscitation with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and an automated external defibrillator (AED) saves lives, and in most sports-related sudden cardiac arrest events, trainers or medical personnel respond and initiate protocols to resuscitate a player while other athletes standby. However, time to treatment is critical, so the ability for a fellow athlete to recognize sports-related sudden cardiac arrest and initiate resuscitation while medical personnel arrive is crucial in a life-threatening event where seconds matter. However, in a new study presented at the American ...

About The Study: The results of this study suggest that state palliative care laws are associated with an increase in the likelihood of dying at home or in hospice among decedents from cancer. Passage of state palliative care legislation may be an effective policy intervention to increase the number of seriously ill patients who experience their death in such locations.  Authors: May Hua, M.D, M.S., of the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, is the corresponding author.  To access the embargoed study: Visit our For ...

About The Study: The findings of this study suggest that outcomes from Supreme Court decisions in 2022 that invalidated COVID-19 workplace protections, voided state laws on handgun-carry restrictions, and revoked the constitutional right to abortion could lead to substantial harms to public health, including nearly 3,000 excess deaths (and possibly many more) over a decade. Authors: Adam Gaffney, M.D., M.P.H., of Harvard Medical School in Boston, is the corresponding author.  To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this ...

About The Study: The results of this investigation suggest artificial intelligence (AI) can estimate best-corrected visual acuity directly from fundus photographs in patients with diabetic macular edema, without refraction or subjective visual acuity measurements, often within one to two lines on an Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study chart, supporting this AI concept if additional improvements in estimates can be achieved. Authors: Neil M. Bressler, M.D., of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, and Editor, JAMA Ophthalmology, is the corresponding author. To access the ...

An international team of researchers has unlocked a large-scale genomic analysis of Setaria or foxtail millet, an important cereal crop. The study, led by researchers at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and including scientists at NYU, advances our understanding of the domestication and evolution of foxtail millet, as well as the genetic basis for important agricultural traits.   “Foxtail millet is considered to be the foundation for early Chinese civilization,” said Michael Purugganan, the ...

New York, NY—June 8, 2023—Energy storage plays a crucial role in our transition to cleaner and more sustainable energy sources. It enables us to store excess energy when it’s available, from renewable sources like wind and solar, and use it when demand is high or supply is limited. This helps stabilize the grid, reduces reliance on fossil fuels, and mitigates the impact of intermittent energy sources. Balancing consumer demands with power system capacities In many parts of the ...

A study of the DNA of more than 55,000 people worldwide has shed light on how we maintain healthy blood sugar levels after we have eaten, with implications for our understanding of how the process goes wrong in type 2 diabetes. The findings, published today in Nature Genetics, could help inform future treatments of type 2 diabetes, which affects around 4 million people in the UK and over 460 million people worldwide. Several factors contribute to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, such as older age, being overweight or having obesity, physical inactivity, and genetic predisposition. If untreated, type 2 diabetes can lead to complications, including eye and foot problems, ...

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are considered ideal electrochemical energy storage materials due to their high electrical conductivity, large theoretical surface area, and good chemical stability. However, CNTs tend to aggregate due to strong van der Waals forces, which reduces their electrochemically active area. This problem is even worse for single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) due to their high length-to-diameter ratio. Recently, a joint research team led by Dr. WANG Xiao from the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT) of the Chinese ...

Cephalopods are a large family of marine animals that includes octopuses, cuttlefish and squid. They live in every ocean, from warm, shallow tropical waters to near-freezing, abyssal depths. More remarkably, report two scientists at University of California San Diego in a new study, at least some cephalopods possess the ability to recode protein motors within cells to adapt “on the fly” to different water temperatures.     Writing in the June 8, 2023 edition of Cell, first author Kavita J. Rangan, ...

Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in men worldwide. According to international estimates about one in six men will get prostate cancer during their lifetime and worldwide, over 375’000 patients will die from it each year. Tumor resistance to current therapies plays an essential role in this and new approaches are therefore urgently needed. Now an international research team from the University of Bern, Inselspital Bern and the University of Connecticut (USA) has identified a previously unknown weak spot in prostate cancer ...

June 8, 2023 — Showing people how their behavior compares to their peers is a commonly used method to improve behavior. But in the wake of a global pandemic that exacerbated health care providers’ job dissatisfaction and burnout, questions remain about the potentially negative effects of peer comparison on the well-being of clinicians. A new study from the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics reveals fresh insights into the relationship between peer comparison and job satisfaction among clinicians. Published in JAMA Network Open, the study challenges prior findings that such feedback increases job dissatisfaction and burnout.   Researchers ...

Researchers led by CHEN Yuhang and ZHOU Jianmin from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have shown how plants resist clubroot, a major root disease that threatens the productivity of Brassica crops such as rape. The study, which uncovers novel mechanisms underlying plant immunity and promises a new avenue for crop breeding, was published in Cell. Clubroot, a soil-borne disease, is the most devastating disease of Brassica crops. In China, approximately 3.2–4 million hm2 of agricultural land is affected by clubroot each year, resulting in a 20%–30% yield ...

A team of researchers from IRB Barcelona and CNAG identifies the IL-17 protein as a determining factor in skin ageing. Blocking the function of IL-17 reduces the pro-inflammatory state and delays the appearance of age-related features in the skin. Published in the journal Nature Aging, the work opens up new perspectives in the development of therapies to improve skin ageing health.   A team of scientists from the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) in collaboration with the National ...