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Hungry fruit flies are extreme ultramarathon fliers
New research indicates that the common fruit fly can travel tens of kilometers in a single flight when in search of food.
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Ancient Indigenous forest gardens promote a healthy ecosystem: SFU study
A new study by Simon Fraser University historical ecologists finds that Indigenous-managed forests--cared for as "forest gardens"--contain more biologically and functionally diverse species than surrounding conifer-dominated forests and create important habitat for animals and pollinators.
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Scientists unmask new neutralizing antibody target on SARS-CoV-2 spike protein
Researchers have identified another potential target for neutralizing antibodies on the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein that is masked by metabolites in the blood. As a result of this masking, the target may be inaccessible to antibodies, because they must compete with metabolite molecules to bind to the
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Scientists uncover a molecule that can help coronavirus escape antibodies
Researchers have found that a natural molecule can effectively block the binding of a subset of human antibodies to SARS-CoV-2. The discovery may help explain why some COVID-19 patients can become severely ill despite having high levels of antibodies against the virus.
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International research teams explore genetic effects of Chernobyl radiation
Researchers utilized genomic tools to investigate potential health effects of exposure to ionizing radiation, a known carcinogen, as a result of the 1986 Chernobyl accident. One study found no evidence that genetic changes associated with radiation exposure are passed to children, while the second study documented the genetic changes in the tumors of people who developed thyroid cancer after being exposed as children or fetuses to the radiation released by the accident. Findings are being published close to the 35th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster.
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Researchers trace spinal neuron family tree
Spinal cord nerve cells branching through the body resemble trees with limbs fanning out in every direction. But this image can also be used to tell the story of how these neurons, their jobs becoming more specialized over time, arose through developmental and evolutionary history. Salk researchers have traced the development of spinal cord neurons using genetic signatures and revealed how different subtypes of the cells may have evolved and ultimately function to regulate body movements.
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What does 1.5 °C warming limit mean for China?
Prof. DUAN Hongbo from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Prof. WANG Shouyang from the Academy of Mathematics and Systems Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with their collaborators, have attempted to figure out the implications for China of trying to achieve 1.5 °C warming limit.
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Anti-aging compound improves muscle glucose metabolism in people
In the first clinical trial of nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that the compound previously demonstrated to counteract aspects of aging and improve metabolic health in mice also has clinically relevant effects in people.
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Cannabis use disorder rate rose among pregnant women between 2001-2012
Babies born to mothers diagnosed with cannabis use disorder are more likely to experience negative health outcomes, such as preterm birth and low birth weight, than babies born to mothers without a cannabis use disorder diagnosis, report UC San Diego researchers.
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Toxic masculinity: Y chromosome contributes to a shorter lifespan in male flies
Males may have shorter lifespans than females due to repetitive sections of the Y chromosome that create toxic effects as males get older. These new findings appear in a study by Doris Bachtrog of the University of California, Berkeley published April 22 in PLOS Genetics.
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Medical record analysis links cannabis use disorder in pregnancy to infant health problems
A new study of nearly five million live births recorded in California from 2001 to 2012 found that babies born to mothers diagnosed with cannabis use disorders at delivery were more likely to experience negative health outcomes, including preterm birth and low birth weight, compared to babies born to mothers without a cannabis use disorder diagnosis.
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China requires switch to zero-carbon energy to achieve more ambitious Paris Agreement goal, models S
A new multi-model analysis suggests that China will need to reduce its carbon emissions by over 90% and its energy consumption by almost 40%, in order to meet the more ambitious target set by the 2016 Paris Agreement.
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Reprogramming fibroblasts could result in scar-free wound healing, suggests study in mice
Researchers have determined a way to potentially minimize or eliminate scarring in wounded skin, by further decoding the scar-promoting role of a specific class of dermal fibroblast cells in mice.
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Mars has right ingredients for present-day microbial life beneath its surface, study finds
New research suggests that rocks in the Martian crust could produce the same kind of chemical energy that supports microbial life deep beneath Earth's surface.
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A new method for fighting 'cold' tumors
Researchers Michael Knitz and radiation oncologist and University of Colorado Cancer Center member Sana Karam, MD, PhD, address cold tumors in new research published this week in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer. Working with mouse models in Karam's specialty area of head and neck cancers, Knitz and Karam studied the role of T cells in tumor treatment.
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Why the human body has not evolved to make childbirth easier -- or has it?
Engineers at The University of Texas at Austin and University of Vienna revealed in new research a series of evolutionary trade-offs that have created a near-perfect balance between supporting childbirth and keeping organs intact on a day-to-day basis.
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Immune system, not COVID virus, may pose greatest risk to pregnant women
A team of Yale scientists decided to investigate whether the virus could be affecting placental tissue of infected expectant mothers. Their analysis found that while evidence of the virus in the placenta is rare, the placenta in infected mothers tended to exhibit a much higher level of immune system activity than those of non-infected pregnant women, they report April 22 in the journal Med.
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Scientists uncover structure of light-driven enzyme with potential biofuel applications
Although many organisms capture and respond to sunlight, enzymes - proteins that catalyze biochemical reactions - are rarely driven by light. A new study captures the full cycle of complex structural changes in an enzyme called FAP as it transforms a fatty acid into alkanes or alkenes.
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MERS DNA vaccine induces immunity, protects from virus challenge in preclinical model
A synthetic DNA vaccine candidate for Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) developed at Wistar induced potent immune responses and afforded protective efficacy in non-human primate models when given intradermally in abbreviated, low-dose immunization regimen.
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Researchers identify predictive factors of delirium in Sub-Saharan Africa
Severity of illness, history of stroke, and being divorced or widowed were independently predictive of delirium in hospitalized patients in Zambia, according to a study published in PLOS ONE.
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