A comprehensive analysis of tree species’ conservation statuses across Atlantic Forest trees reveals high extinction risks. According to the report, roughly two-thirds of the 4950 tree species living in this biodiversity hotspot are threatened with extinction. This includes 82% of endemic species, which have quite limited geographic ranges. Based on these findings, the authors suggest that the conservation status of tropical forests worldwide may be worse than previously believed. Conservation efforts and decisions often ...

With human retinas grown in a petri dish, researchers discovered how an offshoot of vitamin A generates the specialized cells that enable people to see millions of colors, an ability that dogs, cats, and other mammals do not possess. “These retinal organoids allowed us for the first time to study this very human-specific trait,” said author Robert Johnston, an associate professor of biology. “It’s a huge question about what makes us human, what makes us different.” The findings, published in PLOS Biology, increase understanding of color ...

Thuwal, Saudi Arabia, Month Day, Year – Scientists at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) have unveiled a roadmap for bringing perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells to market, paving the way for a future powered by abundant, inexpensive clean energy in Saudi Arabia and the world.   The authors of the article, published in esteemed journal Science, include Prof. Stefaan De Wolf and his research team at the KAUST Solar Center.  The team is working on improving solar efficiency to meet Saudi Arabia’ solar targets.  Perovskite/silicon tandem technology combines the strengths of two materials – perovskite's efficient ...

New Haven, Conn. — The quest for personalized medicine, a medical approach in which practitioners use a patient’s unique genetic profile to tailor individual treatment, has emerged as a critical goal in the health care sector. But a new Yale-led study shows that the mathematical models currently available to predict treatments have limited effectiveness. In an analysis of clinical trials for multiple schizophrenia treatments, the researchers found that the mathematical algorithms were able to predict patient outcomes within the specific ...

When light goes through a material, it often behaves in unpredictable ways. This phenomenon is the subject of an entire field of study called “nonlinear optics”, which is now integral to technological and scientific advances from laser development and optical frequency metrology, to gravitational wave astronomy and quantum information science. In addition, recent years have seen nonlinear optics applied in optical signal processing, telecommunications, sensing, spectroscopy, light detection and ranging. All these applications involve the miniaturization of devices ...

Australia is known for its wonderous and unique wildlife. But, just like the rest of the world, Australia is expected to get even hotter because of climate change. This could spell disaster for many of the marsupials that call the drier regions of the country home as it may get too hot for them to handle. To make things even more difficult, many of these marsupials are endangered thanks to habitat loss and introduced species such as domestic cats and red foxes. Therefore, finding a way to study these animals without disturbing them is critical to ensure their survival. This realisation led Christine Cooper (Curtin University, ...

Embargoed for release until 1:00 p.m. ET on Thursday 11 January 2024  Annals of Internal Medicine Tip Sheet  @Annalsofim  Below please find a summary for new article that will be published in of Annals of Internal Medicine. The summary is not intended to substitute for the full articles as a source of information. This information is under strict embargo and by taking it into possession, media representatives are committing to the terms of the embargo not only on their own behalf, but also on behalf of the organization they represent.      -------------------------------------------------   ACIP ...

Curtin University research using thermal imaging of numbats in Western Australia has found that during hot weather the endangered animals are limited to as little as ten minutes of activity in the sun before they overheat to a body temperature of greater than 40°C. Lead author Dr Christine Cooper, from Curtin’s School of Molecular and Life Sciences, said despite using techniques such as raising or flattening their fur to regulate body temperature, numbats were prone to overheating, which was an important consideration for future conservation efforts, particularly given our warming climate. “Active only during ...

In an editorial in the Annals of Internal Medicine, CUNY SPH Distinguished Lecturer Scott Ratzan, Senior Scholar Ken Rabin, and colleagues call for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to “raise its persuasive communications game” on adult immunization to clinicians and the public. They argue that disseminating scientific information alone will not suffice in the present environment of disinformation and low trust in public health. The editorial is in response to the CDC’s ...

JMIR Publications is pleased to announce that JMIR Biomedical Engineering has passed the Scientific Quality Review by the US National Library of Medicine (NLM) for PubMed Central (PMC). This decision reflects the scientific and editorial quality of the journal. All articles published from 2021 onward will be found on PMC and PubMed after their technical evaluation.  Launched in 2016, JMIR Biomedical Engineering is a sister journal of Journal of Medical Internet Research (the leading open-access journal in health informatics), focused on the application of engineering principles, ...

At the center of most large galaxies lives a supermassive black hole (SMBH). The Milky Way has Sagittarius A*, a mostly dormant SMBH whose mass is around 4.3 million times that of the sun. But if you look deeper into the universe, there are vastly larger SMBHs with masses that can reach up to tens of billions of times the mass of our sun. Black holes grow in mass by gravitationally consuming objects in their near vicinity, including stars. It’s a catastrophic and destructive end for stars unlucky enough to be swallowed by SMBHs, but fortunate for scientists who now have an opportunity to probe otherwise-dormant centers of galaxies. TDEs Light the Way As the name ...

A new study sheds light on how autophagy, the body’s process for removing damaged cell parts, when impaired, can play a role in causing heart failure. The research team led by Dr. E. Dale Abel, chair of the Department of Medicine at UCLA and Dr. Quanjiang Zhang, adjunct assistant professor of medicine at UCLA, identified a signaling pathway that links autophagy to the control of cellular levels of a key coenzyme known as NAD+, which is found in all living cells and is central to how our metabolism works. Researchers say these findings may have implications ...

Phytoplankton or microalgae found in the ocean are often known to produce a sulfur-containing chemical called dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP). This organic molecule breaks down to release a strong but sweet-smelling gas called dimethyl sulfide (DMS), which plays a major role in the formation of cloud condensation nuclei and is also associated with the smell of the sea. More importantly, DMSP acts as an osmolyte and thus protects the phytoplankton against the osmotic pressure created by saline water.   Scientists have, however, ...

A team of astronomers including those from the University of Tokyo created the first-ever map of magnetic field structures within a spiral arm of our Milky Way galaxy. Previous studies on galactic magnetic fields only gave a very general picture, but the new study reveals that magnetic fields in the spiral arms of our galaxy break away from this general picture significantly and are tilted away from the galactic average by a high degree. The findings suggest magnetic fields strongly impact star-forming regions which means they played a part in the creation of our own solar system. It might come as a surprise to ...

Researchers have identified a 3D fragment of fossilized skin that is at least 21 million years than previously described skin fossils. The skin, which belonged to an early species of Paleozoic reptile, has a pebbled surface and most closely resembles crocodile skin. It’s the oldest example of preserved epidermis, the outermost layer of skin in terrestrial reptiles, birds, and mammals, which was an important evolutionary adaptation in the transition to life on land. The fossil is described on January 11 in the journal Current Biology along with several other specimens that were collected from the Richards Spur ...

The Organoid group at the Hubrecht Institute produced the first organoid model of the human conjunctiva. These organoids mimic the function of the actual human conjunctiva, a tissue involved in tear production. Using their new model, the researchers discovered a new cell type in this tissue: tuft cells. The tuft cells become more abundant under allergy-like conditions and are therefore likely to play a role in allergies. The organoid model can now be used to test drugs for several diseases affecting the conjunctiva. The study will be published in Cell Stem Cell on 11 January 2024. Our eyes produce tears to protect themselves from injuries and ...

A new species of tyrannosaur from southern North America that may the closest known relative of Tyrannosaurus rex is described in a study published in Scientific Reports. Sebastian Dalman and colleagues identified the new species — which they have named Tyrannosaurus mcraeensis — by examining a fossilised partial skull, which was previously discovered in the Hall Lake Formation, New Mexico, USA. Although these remains were initially assigned to T. rex and are comparable in size to those of T. rex (which was up to 12 metres long), the authors propose that they belong to a new species due ...

MIAMI, FLORIDA (EMBARGOED UNTIL JAN. 11, 2024, at 11 AM EST) – Certain cancers are more difficult to treat because they contain cells that are highly skilled at evading drugs or our immune systems by disguising themselves as healthy cells. Glioblastoma, for example, an incurable brain cancer, is characterized by cells that can mimic human neurons, even growing axons and making active connections with healthy brain neurons. This cancer is usually deadly – average survival time is just over one year from diagnosis ...

A new study led by researchers from the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center shows that using high doses of radiation while integrating an ablative radiotherapy technique called stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) concurrently with chemotherapy is safe and effective in treating people with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer that is not suitable for surgery. Based on mid-treatment response, researchers found the combination treatment, which involves a second radiation plan to personalize a boost for the last third of radiation treatments, is a viable and promising option that helps reduce the risk of toxic side effects and having the cancer ...

Whether picking up a small object like a pen or coordinating different body parts, the cerebellum in the brain performs essential functions for controlling our movement. Researchers at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) investigated how a crucial set of synapses between neurons within it functions and develops. Their findings have now been published in the journal Neuron. Even if you do not think about it, every day you are using the intricate circuits of neurons in your brain to perform astonishingly delicate movements with your body. One essential unit in this is the cerebellum playing a key role in fine motor control, coordination, and timing. “Every ...

UPTON, NY—Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and Columbia University have developed a way to convert carbon dioxide (CO2), a potent greenhouse gas, into carbon nanofibers, materials with a wide range of unique properties and many potential long-term uses. Their strategy uses tandem electrochemical and thermochemical reactions run at relatively low temperatures and ambient pressure. As the scientists describe in the journal Nature Catalysis, this approach could successfully lock carbon away in a useful solid form to offset or even achieve negative carbon emissions. “You can put the carbon nanofibers ...

About The Study: The findings of this study of 6,101 adult cancer survivors suggest that substance use disorder (SUD) prevalence is higher among survivors of certain types of cancer; this information could be used to identify cancer survivors who may benefit from integrated cancer and SUD care. Future efforts to understand and address the needs of adult cancer survivors with comorbid SUD should prioritize cancer populations in which SUD prevalence is high.  Authors: Devon K. Check, Ph.D., of the Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina, is the corresponding author.  To access the ...

About The Study: In this study of patients diagnosed with head and neck cancer from 2017 to 2020 in the U.S., the incidence of localized head and neck cancer declined during the first year of the pandemic. A subsequent increase in advanced-stage diagnoses may be observed in later years.  Authors: Nosayaba (Nosa) Osazuwa-Peters, B.D.S., Ph.D., M.P.H., C.H.E.S., of the Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina, is the corresponding author.  To access the embargoed study: Visit ...

A new, systematic analysis of cancer cells identifies 370 candidate priority drug targets across 27 cancer types, including breast, lung and ovarian cancers. By looking at multiple layers of functional and genomic information, researchers were able to create an unbiased, panoramic view of what enables cancer cells to grow and survive. They identify new opportunities for cancer therapies in a significant leap towards a new generation of smarter, more effective cancer treatments. In the most comprehensive study of its kind, researchers ...

AI language models are booming. The current frontrunner is ChatGPT, which can do everything from taking a bar exam, to creating an HR policy, to writing a movie script. But it and other models still can’t reason like a human. In this Q&A, Dr. Vered Shwartz (she/her), assistant professor in the UBC department of computer science, and masters student Mehar Bhatia (she/her) explain why reasoning could be the next step in AI—and why it’s important to train these models using diverse ...