Culture
The ancestor of some of the largest flying birds ever has been found in Waipara, North Canterbury.
Bony-toothed birds (Pelagornithids), an ancient family of huge seafaring birds, were thought to have evolved in the Northern Hemisphere - but that theory has been upended by the discovery of the family's oldest, but smallest member in New Zealand.
At 62 million-years-old, the newly-discovered 'Protodontopteryx ruthae', is one of the oldest named bird species in the world. It lived in New Zealand soon after the dinosaurs died out.
Severe bacterial infections are a leading cause of death globally. Delays in effective treatment can increase the chance that a patient dies but treating a patient before blood cultures are drawn may make it impossible to identify the bacteria causing the infection and make it challenging to identify the best choice of treatment.
The expression "you are what you eat" has taken on new meaning. In an experiment in fruit flies, or Drosophila melanogaster, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have found that adding different species of microbes to the flies' food caused populations to diverge genetically, racking up significant genomic changes in just five generations.
ATLANTA--Creating mutations in a key Ebola virus protein that helps the deadly virus escape from the body's defenses can make the virus unable to produce sickness and activate protective immunity in the infected host, according to a study by the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University.
The mutated virus even works as a vaccine to protect animals from infection with the virulent Ebola virus, researchers said.
Inoculation with an Ebola virus that has mutations in a protein called VP35 does not cause disease and elicits protection in monkeys, researchers show September 17 in the journal Cell Reports. The findings suggest that the immune-evasion function of VP35 is a potential drug target, and it may be possible to develop a live attenuated Ebola virus vaccine in the future if precautions are taken to prevent reversion to virulence.
Virtual reality is becoming increasingly present in our everyday lives, from online tours of homes for sale to high-tech headsets that immerse gamers in hyper-realistic digital worlds. While its entertainment value is well-established, virtual reality also has vast potential for practical uses that are just beginning to be explored.
DALLAS - Sept. 17, 2019 - Exercising several times a week may delay brain deterioration in people at high risk for Alzheimer's disease, according to a study that scientists say merits further research to establish whether fitness can affect the progression of dementia.
Research from UT Southwestern found that people who had accumulation of amyloid beta in the brain - a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease - experienced slower degeneration in a region of the brain crucial for memory if they exercised regularly for one year.
WASHINGTON, D.C., September 17, 2019 -- Despite advances in medical imaging, the mechanisms leading to the irregular contractions of the heart during heart rhythm disorders remain poorly understood.
Research from the University of Göttingen in Germany suggests existing data from ultrasound imaging can be used to work backwards to reconstruct the underlying electrical causes of arrhythmias. The scientists describe the work in Chaos, from AIP Publishing.
While hair analysis has become routine in humans - for example for the detection of prolonged drug or medication abuse - it has been little used in animals to date. Scientists led by Alexandre Azevedo and Katarina Jewgenow of the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) have now demonstrated that the "stress" hormone cortisol is deposited in hair of wild mongooses in Portugal and determined baselines for cortisol in these carnivores. Age, sex and storage time of the samples were reflected in the cortisol values, but not the season or reproductive status of the females.
The first evidence of human occupation in northern France has been put back by 150,000 years, thanks to the findings of a team of scientists from the CNRS and the Musée National d'Histoire Naturelle at the emblematic site of Moulin Quignon in the department of the Somme. The site, now located in the gardens of a housing estate in Abbeville, was rediscovered in 2017 after falling into oblivion for over 150 years.
A new ultrasound technique provides a non-invasive way of assessing bone structure on the microscale. Researchers hope to fine-tune the technique for use in assessing osteoporosis risk and treatment.
Researchers have also demonstrated that a variation of the same technique can distinguish between tumors and healthy tissue in a study using laboratory rats.
An unprecedented genetic plasticity and a putative function of NA
All living organisms exist and function only in cooperation with an abundance of symbiotic microorganisms, and have developed together with them over the course of the earth's history. This central finding of modern life sciences has led researchers worldwide to analyse the highly complex interactions and long-term bonds of host organisms and microbes in ever greater detail. Gradually, they want to achieve a new functional understanding of biology and the development of life.
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a rare but devastating genetic disorder that causes muscle loss and physical impairments. Researchers at the University of Missouri School of Medicine have shown in a mouse study that the powerful gene editing technique known as CRISPR may provide the means for lifelong correction of the genetic mutation responsible for the disorder.
Fungicides are worldwide used in agriculture. Large amounts of applied fungicides leak into nearby surface waters. The effects of these substances on aquatic organisms are poorly understood and not specifically addressed in the EU regulatory frameworks with respect to the protection of surface waters. Scientists at the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) have found that pollution by fungicides can have unforeseen but far-reaching consequences for the functioning of aquatic systems - like indirect effects on the development of algal blooms.