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Evolutionary biologists discover mechanism that enables lizards to breathe underwater
A team of evolutionary biologists has shown that Anolis lizards, or anoles, are able to breathe underwater with the aid of a bubble clinging to their snouts. Some anoles are stream specialists, and these semi-aquatic species frequently dive underwater to avoid predators, where they can remain submerged for as long as 18 minutes. The researchers termed the process 'rebreathing' after the scuba-diving technology.
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High genomic diversity is good news for California condor
The wild California condor population dropped to 22 before rescue and captive breeding allowed reintroduction into the wild. A new assembly of the complete genome of the bird reveals some inbreeding as a result, but overall high genomic diversity attesting to large populations of condors in the past, likely in the tens of thousands. Comparison to Andean condor and turkey vulture genomes reveals declines in their populations also, and lower genomic diversity than California condor.
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COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are immunogenic in pregnant and lactating women
In a new study from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, researchers evaluated the immunogenicity of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines in pregnant and lactating women who received either the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, finding that both triggered immune responses.
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CT promising for sublobar resection in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer
According to an open-access Editor's Choice article in ARRS' American Journal of Roentgenology, CT features may help identify which patients with stage IA non-small cell lung cancer are optimal candidates for sublobar resection, rather than more extensive surgery. In patients with stage IA non-small cell lung cancer, pathologic lymphovascular invasion was observed only in solid-dominant part solid nodules and solid nodules with solid portion diameter over 10 mm.
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Mixing massive stars
Astronomers commonly refer to massive stars as the chemical factories of the Universe. They generally end their lives in spectacular supernovae, events that forge many of the elements on the periodic table. How elemental nuclei mix within these enormous stars has a major impact on our understanding of their evolution prior to their explosion. It also represents the largest uncertainty for scientists studying their structure and evolution.
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Scientists identify source of weight gain from antipsychotics
Scientists with UT Southwestern's Peter O'Donnell Jr. Brain Institute have identified the molecular mechanism that can cause weight gain for those using a common antipsychotic medication. The findings, published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, suggest new ways to counteract the weight gain, including a drug recently approved to treat genetic obesity, according to the study, which involved collaborations with scientists at UT Dallas and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.
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Species losses on isolated Panamanian island show importance of habitat connectivity
Free from human disturbance for a century, an inland island in Central America has nevertheless lost more than 25% of its native bird species since its creation as part of the Panama Canal's construction, and scientists say the losses continue.
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Researchers 3D print complex micro-optics with improved imaging performance
In The Optical Society (OSA) journal Optics Letters, University of Stuttgart researchers detail how they used a type of 3D printing known as two-photon lithography to create lenses that combine refractive and diffractive surfaces.
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NK cells with bispecific antibody show activity against lymphoma cells
Cytokine-activated natural killer (NK) cells derived from donated umbilical cord blood, combined with an investigational bispecific antibody targeting CD16a and CD30 known as AFM13, displayed potent anti-tumor activity against CD30+ lymphoma cells, according to a new preclinical study from researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
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Many do not recognise animal agriculture's link to infectious diseases
New research led by the University of Kent has found that people fail to recognise the role of factory farming in causing infectious diseases.
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Treating the COVID-19 'infodemic' as an epidemic
A group of science communication researchers proposes to treat the Covid-19 misinformation "infodemic" with the same methods used to halt epidemics: real-time surveillance, accurate diagnosis, and rapid response.
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Study: Drivers with shift work sleep disorder 3x more likely to be in crash
People who work nontraditional work hours, such as 11 p.m.-7 p.m., or the "graveyard" shift, are more likely than people with traditional daytime work schedules to develop a chronic medical condition -- shift work sleep disorder -- that disrupts their sleep. According to researchers at the University of Missouri, people who develop this condition are also three times more likely to be involved in a vehicle accident.
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Ingredient in common weed killer impairs insect immune systems, study suggests
The chemical compound glyphosate, the world's most widely used herbicide, can weaken the immune systems of insects.
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Ticking upward: MU researcher studies rise of tick-borne diseases in Midwest
When Ram Raghavan heard from a former colleague at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that a 7-year-old girl had died from Rocky Mountain spotted fever as the result of a tick bite, he thought of his own daughter, also 7 years old at the time, and the potentially fatal danger posed to vulnerable populations by tick-borne diseases.
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Scientists show immune cells change behavior unexpectedly to instigate psoriasis lesions
Study shows that when exposed to a trigger, certain kinds of immune cells change their behavior in unexpected ways to produce the protein signals that cause lesions.
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HSS researchers find duloxetine may reduce opioid use after total knee replacement
In a study conducted by researchers at HSS, cumulative opioid use was reduced by 30% in a patient group that received duloxetine after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) compared with patients who received placebo. Patients who received duloxetine also reported higher pain management satisfaction and less pain interference with mood, walking, normal sleep, and work activities. These findings were presented at the 2021 Spring American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA) Annual Meeting.
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New evidence for electron's dual nature found in a quantum spin liquid
New experiments conducted at Princeton University provide evidence for a decades-old theory that, in the quantum regime, an electron behaves as if it is made of two particles: one particle that carries its negative charge and the other that gives it a magnet-like property called spin. The team detected evidence for this theory in materials called quantum spin liquids.
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Antarctic ice sheet retreat could trigger chain reaction
The Antarctic ice sheet was even more unstable in the past than previously thought, and at times possibly came close to collapse, new research suggests.
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Songbird neurons for advanced cognition mirror the physiology of mammalian counterparts
University of Massachusetts Amherst neuroscientists examining genetically identified neurons in a songbird's forebrain discovered a remarkable landscape of physiology, auditory coding and network roles that mirrored those in the brains of mammals.
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Triple-negative breast cancer more deadly for African American women
New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis shows that non-Hispanic African American women with triple-negative breast cancer have lower survival rates than non-Hispanic white women with this type of breast cancer. The study demonstrates the need for additional research to address disparities in cancer care and understand whether tumor biology or nonbiological reasons such as systemic racism -- or a combination of such factors -- may be driving these disparities.
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