AMHERST, Mass. - City sprawl and road development is increasingly fragmenting the habitats that many plant and animal species need to survive. Ecologists have long known than sustainable development requires attention to ecological connectivity - the ability to keep plant and wildlife populations intact and healthy, typically by preserving large tracts of land or creating habitat corridors for animals. New research from the University of Massachusetts Amherst argues that it's not enough for ecological modelling to focus on the landscape. If we want the best-possible ecological management, we should consider ...

DURHAM, N.C. -- Plant-based meat substitutes taste and chew remarkably similar to real beef, and the 13 items listed on their nutrition labels - vitamins, fats and protein -- make them seem essentially equivalent. But a Duke University research team's deeper examination of the nutritional content of plant-based meat alternatives, using a sophisticated tool of the science known as 'metabolomics,' shows they're as different as plants and animals. Meat-substitute manufacturers have gone to great lengths to make the plant-based product as meaty as possible, including adding leghemoglobin, an iron-carrying molecule from soy, and red beet, ...

Terence D. Capellini has been interested in how joints work for almost three decades. Part of it is due to personal experience, having sustained several joint injuries as a college ice hockey player and recently developing knee osteoarthritis. But the principal investigator of Harvard's Developmental and Evolutionary Genetics Lab has also seen the pain and limited mobility of loved ones who've received similar diagnoses and injuries. "We have all these joints in the body and they don't look the same from one another," said Capellini, the Richard B. Wolf Associate Professor in the Department of Human Evolutionary ...

Pediatric melanoma is a rare disease with only around 400 cases diagnosed in the United States every year. To better understand this disease and how best to treat it, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists created a registry called Molecular Analysis of Childhood MELanocytic Tumors (MACMEL). A paper on findings from the registry was published today in Cancer. "What is different about the MACMEL registry is that it is prospective," said corresponding author Alberto Pappo, M.D., St. Jude Solid Tumor Division director. "We're seeing the vast majority of enrolled patients as part of the melanoma clinic at St. Jude. We can follow these patients and conduct detailed pathology and molecular analysis." More ...

University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers have identified a possible link between inadequate exposure to ultraviolet-B (UVB) light from the sun and an increased risk of colorectal cancer, especially as people age. Reporting in the journal BMC Public Health, researchers investigated global associations between levels of UVB light -- one of several types of ultraviolet light that reach the Earth's surface -- in 2017 and rates of colorectal cancer across several age groups in 186 countries in 2018. Lower UVB exposure was significantly correlated with higher rates of colorectal ...

Manufacturing - Powered by nature A team of researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory demonstrated the ability to additively manufacture power poles from bioderived and recycled materials, which could more quickly restore electricity after natural disasters. Using the Big Area Additive Manufacturing system, the team 3D printed a 55-foot pole designed as a closed cylindrical structure. They evaluated three different composite materials with glass fibers including cellulose ester, recycled polycarbonate and bamboo fiber reinforced polystyrene. "We developed a modular design that is easy to manufacture, transport and assemble," ORNL's Halil Tekinalp said. "Sections within the pole can ...

BOSTON - A skin pigmentation mechanism that can darken the color of human skin as a natural defense against ultraviolet (UV)-associated cancers has been discovered by scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Mediating the biological process is an enzyme, NNT, which plays a key role in the production of melanin (a pigment that protects the skin from harmful UV rays) and whose inhibition through a topical drug or ointment could potentially reduce the risk of skin cancers. The study was published online in Cell. "Skin pigmentation and its regulation are critically important because pigments confer major protection against UV-related cancers ...

A transplant of healthy gut microbes followed by fibre supplements benefits patients with severe obesity and metabolic syndrome, according to University of Alberta clinical trial findings published today in Nature Medicine. Patients who were given a single-dose oral fecal microbial transplant followed by a daily fibre supplement were found to have better insulin sensitivity and higher levels of beneficial microbes in their gut at the end of the six-week trial. Improved insulin sensitivity allows the body to use glucose more effectively, reducing blood sugar. "They were much more metabolically healthy," said principal investigator Karen Madsen, professor of medicine in the Faculty of Medicine ...

Researchers at Linköping University have developed a method that may lead to new types of displays based on structural colours. The discovery opens the way to cheap and energy-efficient colour displays and electronic labels. The study has been published in the scientific journal Advanced Materials. We usually think of colours as created by pigments, which absorb light at certain wavelengths such that we perceive colour from other wavelengths that are scattered and reach our eyes. That's why leaves, for example, are green and tomatoes red. But colours can be created ...

Succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors (SDHIs) are a class of fungicides widely used to control many fungal diseases of crops. The relationship between SDHIs and fungi can be compared to finding the right key for the right lock. However, fungi are adaptable and develop resistance to fungicides often by changing the lock so that the SDHI is no longer able to open the door. Because of this adaptability, it is important to understand the biological mechanisms of fungicide resistance. A recent collaboration between scientists in Michigan and Massachusetts as ...

However, the majority of these organisms are believed to be in a state a state of 'dormancy' due to environmental stress, such as nutrient-poor conditions. An international team of scientists led by Dagmar Woebken and Stephanie A. Eichorst from the University of Vienna investigated how acidobacteria, which are widespread in soils, can survive under adverse conditions. Two recent studies published in The ISME Journal and mSystems describe these survival strategies. The living conditions that microorganisms encounter in soils are unpredictable and challenging. Nutrients and oxygen are frequently scarce for long periods. Acidobacteria manage to defy these extreme conditions. They are found in an astonishing diversity in soils worldwide. "Since they are this widespread, ...

The death of cells is well regulated. If it occurs too much, it can cause degenerative diseases. Too little, and cells can become tumours. Mitochondria, the power plants of cells, play a role in this programmed cell death. Scientists from the University of Groningen (the Netherlands) and the University of Pittsburgh (U.S.) have obtained new insights in how mitochondria receive the signal to self-destruct. Their results were published in the Journal of Molecular Biology. How does a cell kill itself? The details of this process are still unclear. Patrick van der Wel, associate professor ...

PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA [July 6, 2021] -- New research in the June 2021 issue of JNCCN--Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network assesses the quality of cancer care delivered through extended sites coordinated by some of the country's largest cancer centers. The study was developed to implement strategies for disseminating discoveries and expanding access to the highest quality cancer care as part of AACI's Network Care Initiative, established by former AACI President Stanton L. Gerson, MD, Director of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. Results were calculated based on responses to a mixed-methods survey answered by 69 cancer centers between September 2017 and December 2018, at which time 56 reported at ...

The braincase of crocodylians has a distinctive structure. Unlike evolutionary relatives (birds and squamates), in crocodylians, all braincase bones are rigidly fixed together and form an akinetic structure. In the process of evolution, this made it possible for animals to develop powerful jaws and stronger bite forces, thanks to which crocodylians could gnaw through the hard shell of crayfish and turtles and hunt fish and land animals, including dinosaurs. As a result, they have managed to fill the niche of predators and survive to the present day. At present, in comparison with other parts of the crocodylian skull, the structure of their braincase has been understudied. This is because, until recently, scientists did not have ...

Dolphin species that live together, do not necessarily compete for food A new molecular method reveals how different species of toothed whales compete for prey and which food they choose in each other's company. Marine scientists from NIOZ recently published their work in the scientific magazine Environmental Research. Little is still known about the food and food search behaviour of toothed whales. What we know historically, is primarily derived from the stomach content of dead specimens. However, this makes it hard to actively study them in their natural habitat: you can't do more than wait for animals to wash ashore. Consequently, ...

Many standard economic models assume people make perfectly rational, individual decisions. But new research suggests economic phenomena like inequality and business cycles are better explained by models which recognize that people's decisions are affected by the decisions and the behaviors of people around them. To show this, researchers built a model in which households are embedded in a social network that powerfully affects their savings decisions. This fairly simple model resulted in cyclical fluctuations resembling business cycles, as well as in emergent inequality - for instance, many poor households with low saving rates and a few rich households with high saving ...

* Clinical trial at University of Warwick compares the familiar cast, traditionally signed in sympathy, to modern removable brace for immobilising broken ankles * Cast was not more effective, with patients reporting similar levels of pain and functionality, suggesting that choice should be down to patient preference and cost effectiveness * Some data suggested a patient preference for the removable brace - sometimes referred to as the 'Beckham boot' after David Beckham Using a cast is not more effective than a brace for treating broken ankles, according to University ...

An elegant new algorithm developed by Danish researchers can significantly reduce the resource consumption of the world's computer servers. Computer servers are as taxing on the climate as global air traffic combined, thereby making the green transition in IT an urgent matter. The researchers, from the University of Copenhagen, expect major IT companies to deploy the algorithm immediately. One of the flipsides of our runaway internet usage is its impact on climate due to the massive amount of electricity consumed by computer servers. Current CO2 emissions ...

Medical researchers at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich have uncovered how signal proteins of the immune system regulate the development of atherosclerosis.  Atherosclerosis is one of the most common causes of death in Germany. The condition is characterized by the build-up of cholesterol and other fatty metabolites in the arterial wall directly below the endothelial cell layer, which is in direct contact with the bloodstream. This process results in constriction of the artery, which obstructs blood flow and can trigger heart attacks and strokes. Atherosclerosis is generally treated with drugs that reduce the concentration of lipids in the circulation, often using compounds called statins. However, statins effectively reduce the risk of cardiovascular ...

Dysmenorrhea, that is, frequent severe and painful cramps during menstruation from abnormal contractions of the uterus, is the most common of all gynecological disorders. It affects between 16-91% of girls and women of reproductive age, of whom 2%-29% have symptoms severe enough to restrict their daily activity. Now, for the first time, researchers from China Medical University Hospital in Taiwan have shown that long-term exposure to air pollutants such as nitrogen and carbon oxides and fine particulate matter greatly raises the risk of developing dysmenorrhea. Based on long-term data on air quality and public health from national databases, they show that the risk to develop dysmenorrhea ...

A study led by University of Barcelona researchers and carried out together with more than 1,650 students and their family members from 18 educational centres in Barcelona shows that citizen science is a valid approach able for doing high quality science, and in this case, able to provide nitrogen dioxide values with an unprecedented resolution and to assess the impact of the pollution in the health of their inhabitants. The journal Science of the Total Environment has published the results of a study carried out by the research group OpenSystems of the University of Barcelona, the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), promoted by La Caixa Foundation ...

Participants at the 6th Joint Science Conference of the Western Balkans Process have developed a "10 Point Plan" to control the coronavirus pandemic in the Western Balkans. Participants at the virtual two-day meeting also discussed priorities for the time after the pandemic in the Western Balkans and South East Europe. These include a decent healthcare system, climate neutrality, reduction of air and water pollution, and the digitalization of education, public administration, industry and healthcare. The conference was jointly organized by the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the Polish Academy of Sciences as part of the Western Balkans ...

Although hypomorph mammals (or equids) are currently represented by only one genus ('Equus') and just a handful of species of horses, donkeys and zebras, they were more diverse during the Eocene epoch (between 56 and 33.9 million years ago). One of the most widespread groups in Europe, which was an archipelago at that time, were the palaeotheriidae, named after the genus 'Palaeotherium', described in 1804 from fossils originating in the quarries of Montmartre (Paris) by the famous French naturalist George Cuvier. The international Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology has recently published a paper on a study led by Leire Perales-Gogenola describing two new species of palaeotheriidae mammals that inhabited the subtropical landscape of Zambrana (Álava) ...

Big hydropower plants are an important source of clean and cheap electricity for many countries in Southeast Asia. However, dams harm the environment and have dire consequences on local communities. Building more dams would therefore pose major trade-offs between electricity supply and environmental protection. A team of scientists based in Singapore showed that these two challenges can be decoupled. Their study, titled "Solar energy and regional coordination as a feasible alternative to large hydropower in Southeast Asia", recently published in Nature Communications, showed that there are more sustainable pathways to a clean energy future (refer to figure below). Building on high resolution mathematical models of the Thai, Laotian, and Cambodian ...

Researchers from Skoltech and the Mental Health Research Center have found 22 lipids in the blood plasma of people with schizophrenia that were associated with lower symptom improvement over time during treatment. These can help track resistance to medication that affects over a third of patients. The paper was published in the journal Biomolecules. Studies suggest that up to 34% of people living with schizophrenia can be resistant to two or more antipsychotic medications used to treat the disorder. Individual responses vary greatly, and there are no satisfactory biomarkers of treatment response yet, which can often turn finding the right medication into a painful ...