AMHERST, Mass. – University of Massachusetts Amherst biologist Lynn Adler has won the Mahoney Life Sciences Prize for her research demonstrating that different kinds of wildflowers can have markedly different effects on the health and reproduction rate of bumblebees. “My lab studies the role that flowers play in pollinator health and disease transmission,” says Adler. “Flowers are of course a food source for pollinators, but, in some cases, nectar or pollen from specific plants can be medicinal. However, flowers are also high-traffic areas, and just like with humans, high-traffic areas can be hotspots for disease transmission. We’re tracing how different populations ...

New research from Washington University in St. Louis provides evidence that modern gender norms and biases in Europe have deep historical roots dating back to the Middle Ages and beyond, suggesting that DNA is not the only thing we inherit from our ancestors. The findings — published on March 13, 2023 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) — highlight why gender norms have remained stubbornly persistent in many parts of the world despite significant strides made by the international ...

Populations of whooper swans grow 30 times faster inside nature reserves, new research shows. Whooper swans commonly spend their winters in the UK and summers in Iceland. In the new study, researchers examined 30 years of data on swans at 22 UK sites – three of which are nature reserves managed by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT). Survival rates were significantly higher at nature reserves, and population growth was so strong that many swans moved to non-protected sites. Based on these findings, the research team – led by the universities of Exeter and Helsinki – project that nature reserves could help double the number ...

The cycling of carbon through the environment is an essential part of life on the planet. Understanding the various sources and reservoirs of carbon is a major focus of Earth science research. Plants and animals use the element for cellular growth. It can be stored in rocks and minerals or in the ocean. Carbon in the form of carbon dioxide can move into the atmosphere, where it contributes to a warming planet. A new study led by Florida State University researchers found that plants and small organisms in Arctic rivers could be responsible for more than half the particulate organic matter flowing to the Arctic Ocean. That’s a significantly ...

NEW YORK, NY (March 13, 2023)--A new study by Columbia University researchers suggests that cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins have the potential to reduce heart disease in people with obstructive sleep apnea regardless of the use of CPAP machines during the night. CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) therapy improves sleep quality and reduces daytime fatigue in people with obstructive sleep apnea. But based on findings from several recent clinical trials, CPAP does not improve heart health as physicians originally hoped. Alternative ...

New research suggests that around 0.5% of global carbon emissions could be captured during the normal crushing process of rocks commonly used in construction, by crushing them in CO2 gas. The paper ‘Mechanochemical processing of silicate rocks to trap CO2’ published in Nature Sustainability says that almost no additional energy would be required to trap the CO2.  0.5% of global emissions would be the equivalent to planting a forest of mature trees the size of Germany. The materials and construction industry ...

Living in the country, in rural areas, has long been idealized as a pristine place to raise a family. After all, open air and room to run free pose distinct advantages. But new findings from a University of Houston psychology study indicate that Americans who live in more rural areas tend to be more anxious and depressed, as well as less open-minded and more neurotic. The study also revealed those living in the country were not more satisfied with their lives nor did they have more purpose, or meaning in life, than people who lived in urban areas.   The ...

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health have identified a strong association between the product of a gene expressed in most cancers, including the most common type of head and neck cancer, and elevated levels of white blood cells that produce antibodies within tumors.   The findings, published in the March 10, 2023 issue of PNAS Nexus, suggest a potential new target and approach for cancer immunotherapies that have thus far produced mixed results for certain head and ...

A population data linkage study using anonymised primary and secondary care health records in Swansea University’s SAIL Databank has revealed that in 2020 and 2021, fewer people in Wales were being diagnosed with long-term conditions than expected. Diagnosis rates increased over the two-year period but for most conditions, they still lagged behind expectations at the end of 2021 implicating a potential backlog of undiagnosed patients who are unlikely to be receiving systematic monitoring and management for their conditions. The study was led by researchers ...

Previous studies of hurricanes have shown general increases in mortality but little has been known about how mortality following hurricane exposure may differ among older adults living with dementia.    Their increased risk could be due to disruption of normal routine, such as access to caregiving, changes in living environment, loss in access to medications, and change in daily routines, said study first author Sue Anne Bell, assistant professor at the U-M School of Nursing.   The analysis focused on risk for mortality among people ...

Cherenkov imaging is a valuable cancer treatment tool that can help doctors track and monitor radiation doses received by tissues during cancer therapy in real time. This imaging technique works by detecting Cherenkov radiation, which is emitted by tissues exposed to high-energy radiation, such as X-rays or electron beams from a linear accelerator. As high-energy charged particles from the incident radiation pass through biological tissue, either as primary or secondary radiation, they interact with the electromagnetic fields of the atoms and molecules in the tissue. These soft collision-type interactions ...

In the United States, low-income, Latino youth are disproportionately affected by obesity with 25.8% of Latino youth aged 2-19 considered to have obesity, which is approximately two times more likely when compared to their non-Latino white counterparts. A higher level of obesity results in an increased risk of cardiometabolic diseases, which are a group of related diseases caused by an unhealthy lifestyle and/or an increased genetic predisposition. A new study by Allison McKay, RDN, department manager for the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies, identified elevated insulin, hemoglobin A1C, triglycerides, and other cardiometabolic ...

Government and political institutions should do more to make citizens feel empowered within marine environment decisions and give them the right to participate, new research shows. Marine Citizenship is the term used for people who get involved in changing how humans use the ocean. It has been investigated as a potential policy tool to engage the public in marine environmental issues through a new study by the University of Exeter and the University of Bristol Law School. Despite efforts to tackle human causes such as overfishing, marine litter, microplastics, pollution, ocean acidity, global warming and climate change, there ...

Unlike other forms of blood cancer, acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cannot currently be treated with CAR-T cell immunotherapy. The reason is that specific molecular targets with which certain immune cells could specifically target AML cells are lacking, which would permit the immune system to attack cancer. Two research teams of Professor Dr. Sebastian Kobold with Dr. Adrian Gottschlich from the Division of Clinical Pharmacology at LMU University Hospital Munich and Dr. Carsten Marr with Moritz Thomas from the Institute of AI for Health at Helmholtz Munich have now ...

A growing body of evidence is showing that the healthy gut microbiome – a community of microorganisms that live together in the gut – influences many aspects of human growth and development, especially during adolescence. While there are many physiologic changes during this time, one of the most outward facing, and sometimes distressing, is the development of acne. Most individuals treat their acne with topical therapies; however, around 25% of adolescents require systemic antibiotics, such as minocycline, to help to alleviate symptoms and clear up the skin. These systemic antibiotic ...

Insilico Medicine, a clinical-stage generative artificial intelligence (AI)-powered drug discovery company, has integrated advanced AI chat functionality based on recent advances in large language models into its PandaOmics platform. The new feature, “ChatPandaGPT,” enables researchers to have natural language conversations with the platform and efficiently navigate and analyze large datasets, facilitating the discovery of potential therapeutic targets and biomarkers in a more efficient manner. Insilico Medicine is the first biotech company to implement chat functionality using large language models into its AI drug ...

“Selective protection of normal cells may transform therapy of cancer.”  BUFFALO, NY- March 13, 2023 – A new review paper was published in Oncotarget's Volume 14 on March 11, 2023, entitled, “Selective protection of normal cells from chemotherapy, while killing drug-resistant cancer cells.” Cancer therapy is limited by toxicity in normal cells and drug-resistance in cancer cells. In his latest review, Mikhail V. Blagosklonny, M.D., Ph.D., from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center discusses the theory that cancer resistance to certain therapies can be exploited ...

Insect pests which attack crops have extraordinary powers to develop resistance to greener pesticides and a new way to manage resistance risks is needed, according to analysis by University of Stirling scientists. For more than 70 years, agriculture’s response to pesticide resistance has been to seek new pesticides in an endless race to keep up with evolving pests. Researchers now propose a new way to step off this treadmill as farmers embrace the ongoing green revolution in pest control by switching to biopesticides derived from natural organisms. The evolution of resistance to biopesticides - a crucial tool in ...

Racial minorities in the United States are less likely to receive treatment for prostate cancer and, overall, have worse survival outcomes compared to individuals who are white. Typically, patient-level and physician-level factors have been used to explain the racial and socioeconomic differences in prostate cancer disparities. However, a new study led by investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, investigated the role of facilities themselves ...

-With pictures- Scientists have demonstrated in a new study that carbon-based molecules can be much more dynamic than previously thought. When a carbon atom forms four bonds to different groups, the molecule can exist in two mirror image forms. These mirror image forms are vital in medicine because they have different biological activities. Usually, it is impossible to interconvert between these ‘enantiomers’ because to do so would require a bond to be broken, a process that needs too much energy. The researchers ...

A new study of Antarctic minke whales reveals a minimum size limit for whales employing the highly efficient “lunge-feeding” strategy that enabled the blue whale to become the largest animal on Earth. Lunge feeding whales accelerate toward a patch of prey, engulf a huge volume of water, and then filter out the prey through the baleen plates in their mouths. This strategy is used by the largest group of baleen whales, known as rorquals, which includes blue, fin, humpback, and minke whales. The ability ...

Scientists have discovered why breast cancer cells that have spread to the lungs may ‘wake up’ following years of sleep - forming incurable secondary tumours. Their research, funded by Breast Cancer Now, reveals the mechanism that triggers this breast cancer 'time bomb' – and suggests a strategy to defuse it. Patients with oestrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer – the most common type – have a continued risk of their cancer recurring in another part of their body for many years or even decades after their original ...

Not all probiotics are created equal. In a new study, researchers found that certain enzymes within a class known as bile salt hydrolases (BSHs) can restrict Clostridioides difficile (C. diff.) colonization by both altering existing bile acids and by creating a new class of bile acids within the gut's microbial environment. The work could lead to “designer” probiotics that protect against disease by introducing specific BSHs to the gut after antibiotic treatment. Selecting the right suite of BSH-producing bacteria is critical, because the study found that interactions between BSHs and bile acids ...

New York, NY (March 13, 2023) – Researchers have identified two previously unknown genes linked to schizophrenia and newly implicated a third gene as carrying risk for both schizophrenia and autism. Led by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the multi-center study further demonstrated that the schizophrenia risk conferred by these rare damaging variants is conserved across ethnicities. The study may also point to new therapeutics. The findings were published in the March 13 online issue of Nature ...

A new study has highlighted how and when changes to the environment result in animal-borne disease thresholds being breeched, allowing for a better understanding and increased capacity to predict the risk of transmissions.  For the first time, researchers from Griffith University, Stanford University and the University of California used cumulative pressure mapping and machine learning to better understand how six vector-borne diseases (those transmitted by biting insects) found in different environments responded to the effects of human pressures.  Published in Nature Sustainability, the research found diseases associated with ...