The sounds of barking elephant seals are again in the air along the breeding grounds of Península Valdés, Argentina—but it’s quieter. Almost exactly a year after a massive outbreak of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza killed more than 17,000 elephant seals, including about 97% of their pups, scientists estimate that only about a third of the elephant seals normally expected here returned. “It’s beautiful to walk the beaches now and hear elephant seals again,” said Marcela Uhart, director of the Latin America Program at the UC Davis Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center within ...

Adding an extra hour every week of physical activity may lower the chance of developing the most common type of irregular heartbeat (arrythmia) by 11%, a new study shows. Led by researchers at NYU Langone Health, the investigation focused on atrial fibrillation, a condition in which the heart’s upper two chambers beat rapidly and irregularly instead of at a consistent pace. If left untreated, this can lead to stroke, heart failure, and other issues. While past studies have linked exercise to reduced risk of this type of arrhythmia, nearly all of these analyses have relied on the participants’ ...

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and their collaborators have discovered a new way in which RAS genes, which are commonly mutated in cancer, may drive tumor growth beyond their well-known role in signaling at the cell surface. Mutant RAS, they found, helps to kick off a series of events involving the transport of specific nuclear proteins that lead to uncontrolled tumor growth, according to a study published November 11, 2024, in Nature Cancer. RAS genes are the second most frequently mutated genes in cancer, and mutant RAS proteins are key drivers of some of the deadliest cancers, ...

All patients who have had a heart attack are typically treated using beta blockers. According to a Swedish study conducted earlier this year, this drug is unlikely to be needed for those heart patients who have a normal pumping ability. Now a sub-study at Uppsala University shows that there is also a risk that these patients will become depressed by the treatment. “We found that beta blockers led to slightly higher levels of depression symptoms in patients who had had a heart attack but were not suffering from heart failure. At the same time, beta blockers have no life-sustaining function for this group of patients,” says Philip Leissner, a doctoral student in cardiac ...

The largest ever clinical trial of T cell therapy (a type of cell-based immunotherapy) for solid tumours has been completed. Led by a Singapore clinician-investigator, the global, international, multisite trial recruited 330 advanced nasopharyngeal (NPC) cancer patients in 23 sites across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan and the United States. The trial did not show an overall survival benefit for the entire patient cohort but a subset analysis combining outcomes of US, Singapore and Taiwanese sites, showed better progression free survival ...

The application process for the 12th Heidelberg Laureate Forum has begun! Young researchers in mathematics and computer science from all over the world can apply for one of the 200 exclusive spots to participate in the Heidelberg Laureate Forum (HLF), an annual networking conference. The HLF offers all accepted young researchers the unique opportunity to interact with the laureates of the most prestigious prizes in the fields of mathematics and computer science. Traditionally, the recipients of the Abel Prize, the ACM A.M. Turing Award, the ACM Prize in Computing, ...

Mature egg cells, or oocytes, are essential for fertilization in assisted reproductive technologies. However, some ‘denuded’ oocytes, or those lacking the protective granulosa cell layer, fail to mature. Now, in a new study by researchers at Shinshu University, the team has developed a method to culture mature oocytes from these denuded oocytes in the lab. This innovative approach holds promise for overcoming significant challenges in reproductive science, marking a major advancement in fertility research. Assisted ...

Almost nine out of ten voters who supported Donald Trump for US President believe that America’s values, traditions and future economic prosperity are under threat – double the number of Kamala Harris supporters.  This is according to new data from Cambridge University’s Political Psychology lab, who worked with YouGov to conduct an opinion poll of US voters shortly before the election.* Some 89% of Trump voters agree that “American values and beliefs are being undermined and cherished traditions are under threat” compared ...

Cancer Research UK-funded scientists are finding out if an ingredient commonly found in grape juice and wine could keep bowel cancer at bay. Resveratrol – a naturally occurring ingredient found in grapes, blueberries, raspberries and peanuts – will be tested as a potential cancer prevention drug as part of the Cancer Research UK-funded COLO-PREVENT trial. The trial is led from the University of Leicester and the National Institute for Health and Social Care Research (NIHR) Leicester Biomedical Research Centre. The trial ...

To get a good sense of a country’s level of development, you need to look at the items people have in their homes, according to economists Rutger Schilpzand and Jeroen Smits from Radboud University. Research on low- and middle-income countries often focuses on income, health or education, but that doesn’t tell you the full story of a country’s situation. ‘That’s why, for the first time, we are mapping out how the material wealth of households is developing,’ Schilpzand explains. The researchers coin this material wealth growth for households the 'domestic transition'. ...

A central issue at the UN Climate Change Conference, set to start on November 11, will be the negotiations on new payments from industrialized nations to poorer countries. However, the question of whether and how these payments will be financed remains highly controversial. The study by an international team of researchers, with participation by the Technical University of Munich (TUM), has now revealed: The windfall profits alone taken in by oil and gas companies due to the 2022 energy crisis would have been sufficient to cover the existing commitments of the industrialized nations for nearly five years. The researchers ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — By studying tomato varieties that produce fruit in exceptionally hot growing seasons, biologists at Brown University identified the growth cycle phase when tomatoes are most vulnerable to extreme heat, as well as the molecular mechanisms that make the plants more heat tolerant. The discovery, detailed in a study in Current Biology, could inform a key strategy to protect the food supply in the face of climate instability, the researchers said. Agricultural productivity is particularly vulnerable to climate change, the study noted, and rising temperatures are predicted to reduce crop yields by 2.5% to 16% for every ...

A team of scientists led by Caltech and Emory University has synthesized a highly complex natural molecule using a novel strategy that functionalizes normally nonreactive bonds, called carbon–hydrogen (C–H) bonds. The work demonstrates a new category of reactions that organic chemists can consider as they work to create natural products that could be used in pharmaceuticals or new materials, or to produce organic chemicals in more sustainable ways.   "This work moves the field forward by showing the power of C–H functionalization," says ...

LOGAN, UTAH, USA -- When a large mammal such as a deer or a moose is struck by a motor vehicle, the damage is usually dramatic. To reduce these unfortunate events, transportation officials have teamed with wildlife researchers to place warning signs, and to construct wildlife underpasses and overpasses, to mitigate mishaps along animal migration paths. In contrast, collisions with much smaller bees often go unnoticed or are perceived by motorists as simply an annoying splat on a windshield. The significance, Utah State University ...

The American Meteorological Society continuously publishes research on climate, weather, and water in its 12 journals. Many of these articles are available for early online access–they are peer-reviewed, but not yet in their final published form. Below is a selection of articles published early online recently. Some articles are open-access; to view others, members of the media can contact kpflaumer@ametsoc.org for press login credentials. JOURNAL ARTICLES A New Heat Stress Index For Climate Change Assessment Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society Heat Index may dramatically underestimate heat stress in extreme temperatures. This work compares the ...

Teams of mountaineering mice are helping advance understanding into how evolutionary adaptation to localized conditions can enable a single species to thrive across diverse environments. In a study led by Naim Bautista, a postdoctoral researcher in Jay Storz’s lab at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the team took highland deer mice and their lowland cousins on a simulated ascent to 6,000 meters. The “climb” ventured from sea level and the mice reached the simulated summit seven weeks later. Along the way, Bautista tracked how the mice responded to cold stress at progressively lower oxygen levels. “Deer ...

LOGAN, UTAH, USA – Any boomer, gen xer, millennial, gen zer or alpha who’s studied geology has likely gained foundational knowledge from Edwin Dinwiddie McKee’s landmark studies of the Grand Canyon’s sedimentary record – even if they don’t readily recognize McKee’s name. The legendary scientist, who lived from 1906-1984, studied and documented the stratigraphy and sedimentation of Colorado Plateau geology, especially the Grand Canyon’s Cambrian Tonto Group, for more than 50 years. His time-tested ...

A Michigan State University researcher’s new model for studying breast cancer could help scientists better understand why and where cancer metastasizes. Professor https://directory.natsci.msu.edu/Directory/Profiles/Person/103559 who teaches in the MSU Department of Physiology, has been researching the E2F5 gene, of which little is known, and its role in the development of breast cancer. Based on findings from Andrechek’s lab, the loss of E2F5 results in altered regulation of Cyclin D1, a protein linked to metastatic breast tumors after long ...

AUSTIN, Texas — Friends and distinguished alumni of the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin inducted four alumni into the school’s Hall of Fame on Nov. 7 at the AT&T Hotel and Conference Center. This year’s honorees are Christopher Bake, BBA ’88; Ray Brimble, B.A. ’74; Bennett Glazer, BBA ’68; and Brien Smith, BBA ’79, MPA '81. McCombs Dean Lillian Mills also recognized 2024 Rising Stars Simeon Bochev, MSF ’13; Michael Ginnings, BBA ’09; and Gerardo Guardado, MBA ’10. The ...

There’s no cure for a fungal disease that could potentially wipe out much of global banana production. Widespread adoption of cement paths, disinfection stations, and production strategies could net 3-4 USD of benefits for each dollar invested in Colombia.  Hundreds of millions of dollars in banana exports from Colombia are at risk due to a fungal disease best known as Tropical Race 4 (TR4). First detected in Asia in the 1990s, the Fusarium fungus that causes the disease arrived in Colombia in 2019, completing its inevitable global spread to South America, the last major banana production continent that remained TR4-free. Researchers are confident ...

New research reveals for the first time how a major Antarctic ice shelf has been subjected to increased melting by warming ocean waters over the last four decades. Scientists from the University of East Anglia (UEA) say the study - the result of their autonomous Seaglider getting accidentally stuck underneath the Ross Ice Shelf - suggests this will likely only increase further as climate change drives continued ocean warming. The glider, named Marlin, was deployed in December 2022 into the Ross Sea from the edge of the sea ice. Carrying a range of sensors to collect data on ocean processes that are important for climate, it was programmed to travel northward into ...

Navigating the intersection of alcohol use and intimate partner violence amongst young couples is not an easy journey, and for bisexual+ couples, the road may be even more winding.   “No study has examined the extent to which alcohol use increases intimate personal violence among bisexual+ young adults or daily experiences unique to them. Our study will look at factors such as minority stressors that may lead to alcohol-related partner violence,” said Meagan Brem, director of the Research for Alcohol and Couple’s Health Lab at Virginia Tech. Alcohol use and intimate partner violence - defined as any action in a ...

A Branco Weiss Fellowship – Society in Science has been awarded to Dr Gergana Daskalova. The fellowship funds Daskalova’s research project “Biodiversity change amidst disappearing human traditions and changing socio-economics”. She joins the Department of Conservation Biology at the University of Göttingen to work together with Professor Johannes Kamp. The five-year fellowship, which is worth over €530,000, will enable Daskalova to investigate the ecological and human fingerprints of land abandonment. Considering the question from both a local and a global perspective, Daskalova’s research will reveal what happens to nature when people leave, ...

Junior Professor Johannes Walker, University of Göttingen, has been awarded an Exploration Grant from the Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation. Walker teaches and carries out research at the Institute for Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry. The award of 180,000 euros will enable Walker and his team to develop new approaches to synthesizing new compounds.   “The aim of our project is to develop new strategies for the synthesis of a particular group of new chemical compounds,’ Walker explains. These compounds are called saturated polycyclic molecules. They are structurally complex ...

A new EU joint research project led by the University of Göttingen will explore how migration, demographic change and current crises are affecting social cohesion and democratic structures in Europe. A key objective is to find out how resilient democratic structures can strengthen local communities in times of profound demographic change. The project “Identities - Migration - Democracy (We-ID)” has been awarded funding of around three million euros over three years by the European Union.   European societies are undergoing a profound demographic transformation: falling birth rates, rising life expectancy and migration are increasingly ...