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To investigate the role genes play in the evolution of social structure, Rice University researchers created an experiment they likened to the 1998 film 'The Truman Show.' Genetically identical versions of 20 fruit flies were placed in 98 controlled enclosures, and video cameras recorded their interactions. The study in this week's Nature Communications revealed the same clones occupied the same social positions in each enclosure, regardless of living conditions, providing evidence that popularity is heritable.

Biomimetic catalysis is an emerging concept that emulates key features of enzymatic process. Prenylation is a ubiquitous process found in almost all living organisms. Inspired by the enzymatic mechanism, researchers developed a selective C2 prenylation of indoles via chemical catalysis, which can be applied to late-stage diversification of tryptophan-based peptides and concise synthesis of tryprostatin B.

Frequent caffeine intake could more than triple risk of glaucoma for those genetically predisposed to higher eye pressure.

Fewer than ten common bacterial taxa are responsible for the majority of soil carbon cycling, a team led by researchers at Northern Arizona University announced. The study, which used a technique quantitative stable isotope probing, identified several soil microbial groups that play an outsized role in carbon processing and CO2 release, and suggests that communities found in wild soil may contain functional redundancies.

A new study from a CUNY ASRC Neuroscience Initiative team has identified a molecule called ten-eleven-translocation 1 (TET1) as a necessary component in the repair of myelin, which protects nerves and facilitates accurate transmission of electrical signals. The discovery could have important implications in treating neurodegenerative diseases and for molecular rejuvenation of aging brains in healthy individuals.

The first double-blind experiment analysing the role of human decision-making in climate reconstructions has found that it can lead to substantially different results.

A new study of over 3000 people led by King's College London in collaboration with Lund University, has shown for the first time that a single biomarker can accurately indicate the presence of underlying neurodegeneration in people with cognitive issues.

ETH Zurich researchers have developed a gene switch that can be operated with the green LED light emitted by commercial smartwatches. This revolutionary approach could be used to treat diabetes in the future.

MIT engineers discovered a way to generate electricity using tiny carbon particles that can create an electric current simply by interacting with an organic solvent in which they're floating.

Rates of Kawasaki disease -- a condition that creates inflammation in blood vessels in the heart and is more common in children of Asian/Pacific Island descent -- have substantially decreased in South Korea during the COVID-19 pandemic.The decrease could be due to mask-wearing, hand-washing, school closures and physical distancing, suggesting Kawasaki disease may be prompted by infectious agents.The cause of Kawasaki disease is unknown, though it may be an immune response to acute infectious illness.

In network science, the famous "friendship paradox" describes why your friends are (on average) more popular, richer, and more attractive than you are. But a slightly more nuanced picture emerges when we apply mathematics to real-world data.

Choroid plexus tissue, anchored in each of the brain's ventricles and bathed in cerebrospinal fluid, is a small but influential player in the brain. It's now been spatially inventoried with single-cell RNA sequencing, cataloguing its cell types and gene expression patterns in each ventricle during early development, adulthood, and old age.

Nem Chua is eaten raw but doesn't cause food poisoning when prepared correctly. Food scientists went to explore why - and discovered a powerful new bacteria-killer. On World Food Safety Day (7 June), a new study reveals the ideal growth conditions to potentially make the bacteriocin at industrial scales.

New research indicates that patients hospitalized with active cancer were more likely to die from COVID-19 than those with a history of cancer or those without any cancer diagnosis. The findings published by Wiley early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, also indicate those with active blood cancers have the greatest risk of death due to COVID-19.

Mental health visits for new mothers were 30% higher during the COVID-19 pandemic than before the pandemic, particularly in the first 3 months after giving birth, found new research in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.210151

The life of the microscopic algae that inhabit snow at high elevations is still relatively unknown. Researchers from the CNRS, CEA, Météo-France, INRAE and the l'Université Grenoble Alpes have therefore created the ALPALGA consortium to study this little-known world, threatened by global warming. Scientists will publish their initial results in Frontiers in Plant Science on June 7, 2021, describing for the first time the distribution of dozens of mountain microalgae species according to elevation.

Researchers at the University of Adelaide have used more than two decades of satellite-derived environmental data to form hypotheses about the possible foraging habitats of pre-contact Aboriginal peoples living in Australia's Western Desert.

C3 glomerulopathy is a rare disease in which the deposition of C3 protein causes severe inflammation of the glomeruli, which can progress to end stage kidney disease requiring dialysis or transplantation. A new study demonstrates that the inflammatory C5a receptor can be selectively blocked with avacopan. This targeted intervention in the immune system is much less risky than general immunosuppression.

SGLT2 inhibitors (gliflozins) are oral anti-diabetic drugs. They not only reduce blood sug-ar, but also improve cardiovascular and renal outcomes -- not only in type 2 diabetics, but also in non-diabetics. This benefit cannot be due to lower blood sugar levels per se; however, it is not yet known how these positive effects are actually mediated. A recent study has now discovered correlations with the hematocrit value.

Climate change represents one of the greatest global health threats of our time. In choosing Healthy Environment, Healthy Kidneys as the theme for the 2021 fully virtual Congress, the ERA-EDTA highlights the central role of nephrologists and other health professionals in advocacy for global efforts to reduce emissions and protect against climate change.