Culture
A study from the Faculty of Biology and the Biodiversity Research Institute of the University of Barcelona (IRBio-UB) analysed how water macroinvertebrate species, such as beetles, mosquitos and dragonflies, evolved and diversified since their beginnings. With the analysis of the ecological features of about 6,600 European species, researchers rebuilt the functional space they occupy.
Henipaviruses are among the deadliest viruses known to man and have no effective treatments. The viruses include Hendra, lethal to humans and horses, and the Nipah virus, a serious threat in East and Southeast Asia. They are on the World Health Organization Blueprint list of priority diseases needing urgent research and development action.
An avalanche is an extremely complex event, with countless parameters and physical variables coming into play from the time the avalanche is triggered until it ends. Johan Gaume, a researcher in the Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences (CRYOS) and SLF,* has created a highly accurate digital simulation of an avalanche based on these parameters. His work, which offers unprecedented insight into how avalanches work, could be used to improve risk management in the mountains. It was published today in Nature Communications.**
A collaborative study by researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology has developed a new technique to decode motor intention of humans from Electroencephalography (EEG). This technique is motivated by the well documented ability of the brain to predict sensory outcomes of self-generated and imagined actions utilizing so called forward models. The method enabled for the first time, nearly 90% single trial decoding accuracy across tested subjects, within 96 ms of the stimulation, with zero user training, and with no additional cognitive load on the users.
BOSTON - Abundant in human babies and small mammals, brown adipose tissue (BAT), or brown fat, was only recently discovered in human adults, and its role remains unclear. Known to play an integral part in generating body heat and burning stored energy, its presence is linked to lower body weight and improved blood sugar levels, making it an attractive research target for potential treatments for diabetes, obesity and other metabolic diseases.
Amsterdam, NL, August 2, 2018 - Almost two-thirds of non-diabetic patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) may be insulin resistant, despite having normal blood sugar, report scientists in the Journal of Parkinson's Disease. Their findings suggest that insulin resistance in PD is a common and largely undetected problem, especially in patients who are overweight.
Juveniles who complete diversion programs for their crimes are less likely to continue their criminal activity as adults, according to new research from Case Western Reserve University.
The researchers got a rare opportunity to examine early adulthood recidivism for juvenile justice-involved youth with behavioral health issues who participated in a diversion program.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Drawing on genomic data from more than one million individuals, researchers from the University of Michigan have led a large collaborative effort to discover as-yet unknown genetic risk factors for atrial fibrillation: an irregular, often rapid heart rate affecting millions of Americans and more than 30 million people worldwide. Atrial fibrillation increases one's risk for blood clots, stroke, heart failure, and death.
New research which brings together the views of the world's leading experts has concluded that non-drug approaches should be prioritised in treating agitation in people with Alzheimer's Disease.
The research, published in International Psychogeriatrics and led by the University of Michigan, the University of Exeter and John Hopkins University, provided more specific guidance on the management of behavioural and psychological symptoms in people with Alzheimer's Disease.
New Orleans, LA - Research led by Rinku Majumder, PhD, Associate Professor of Biochemistry at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine, has found how hypoxia (a low concentration of oxygen) decreases Protein S, a natural anticoagulant, resulting in an increased risk for the development of potentially life-threatening blood clots (thrombosis). Although hypoxia has been associated with an increased risk for thrombosis, this research showed for the first time a molecular cause. The work is published in the current issue of Blood, available online here.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN- August 02, 2018 - Do dopamine neurons have a role in causing cues in our environment to acquire value? And, if so, do different groups of dopamine neurons serve different functions within this process?
Those are the questions researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School are looking to answer.
A JRC-led group of forestry research experts has developed a rigorous new fact-based carbon accounting system that reflects how forest management practices can help mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
This new system has been recently adopted by the EU as the scientific basis for integrating the land-use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector in its climate strategy.
Forests can play a big role in mitigating greenhouse gases
PHILADELPHIA--A new study using machine learning has identified brain-based dimensions of mental health disorders, an advance towards much-needed biomarkers to more accurately diagnose and treat patients. A team at Penn Medicine led by Theodore D. Satterthwaite, MD, an assistant professor in the department of Psychiatry, mapped abnormalities in brain networks to four dimensions of psychopathology: mood, psychosis, fear, and disruptive externalizing behavior. The research is published in Nature Communications this week.
New Rochelle, NY, August 2, 2018--Metabolomics is the latest omics systems science technology with emerging applications towards psychiatry, personalized medicine, and most recently, precision nutrition research. Infant formula, for example, is manufactured to match the molecular composition of human milk.
A study led by experts from the University of Barcelona's Faculty of Biology and Institute for Research on Biodiversity (IRBio) have identified a disease that is affecting the starfish Odontaster validus, one of the most common species on the Antarctic sea floor. The disease, which is the first to be described in an echinoderm in Antarctica's marine environment, has afflicted up to 10% of the populations of the species, which is the most important benthic predator in the coastal communities of Deception Island and other marine regions in Antarctic latitudes.