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Health effects of prenatal exposure to 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda

Eurekalert - May 13 2021 - 00:05
Twenty-seven years ago, more than 1 million Rwandans were killed during the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda (April 7-July 4, 1994). It is estimated that 100,000 to 250,000 women were raped during the genocide, and that 10,000 children were born as a result. A new study finds that Rwandans who were conceived by mothers who survived this genocide have poorer adult health outcomes than those who were conceived by Rwandan mothers living outside the country at that time.
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Dental procedures during pandemic are no riskier than a drink of water

Eurekalert - May 13 2021 - 00:05
A new study's findings dispel the misconception that patients and providers are at high risk of catching COVID-19 at the dentist's office.
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Count your blessings: Short gratitude intervention can increase academic motivation

Eurekalert - May 13 2021 - 00:05
Our dynamically changing lifestyle can make it hard for many to stay motivated on work and study, which calls for new intervention strategies. In a recent study published in BMC Psychology, researchers explore how nurturing feelings of gratitude can enhance motivation among college students. Their results show that a keeping a daily gratitude journal for only two weeks has a positive impact on academic motivations that can last months.
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Orangutan finding highlights need to protect habitat

Eurekalert - May 13 2021 - 00:05
Wild orangutans are known for their ability to survive food shortages, but scientists have made a surprising finding that highlights the need to protect the habitat of these critically endangered primates, which face rapid habitat destruction and threats linked to climate change.
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Largest-ever study of artificial insemination in sharks--and the occasional 'virgin birth'

Eurekalert - May 13 2021 - 00:05
Scientists help protect sharks by developing aquarium breeding programs that pair up individuals in ways that increase genetic diversity. In a new study in Scientific Reports, scientists undertook the largest-ever effort to artificially inseminate sharks.Their work resulted in 97 new baby sharks, including ones whose parents live on opposite sides of the country and a few that don't have fathers at all.
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Obesity during adolescence linked to increased risk of stroke as an adult

Eurekalert - May 13 2021 - 00:05
Higher body mass index (BMI) - an indicator of obesity - in late adolescence is associated with a significantly higher risk of first ischemic stroke in men and women under age 50, regardless of whether they had Type 2 diabetes.Even BMIs in the high-normal range are associated with increased stroke risk in both men and women.
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Congestion pricing could shrink car size

Eurekalert - May 13 2021 - 00:05
Rush hour will likely return when pandemic lockdowns lift, but a new study suggests that congestion pricing--policies that charge tolls for driving during peak hours--could not only cure traffic jams but also convince motorists it is safe to buy smaller, more efficient cars.
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Scientists find molecular patterns that may help identify extraterrestrial life

Eurekalert - May 13 2021 - 00:05
Scientists have begun the search for extraterrestrial life in the Solar System in earnest, but such life may be subtly or profoundly different from Earth-life, and methods based on detecting particular molecules as biosignatures may not work with life with a different evolutionary history. A new study by a joint Japan/US-based team has developed a machine learning technique that assesses complex organic mixtures using mass spectrometry to reliably classify them as biological or abiological.
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Life may have become cellular by using unusual molecules

Eurekalert - May 13 2021 - 00:05
All modern life is cellular, but how life came to be cellular remains uncertain. New research shows that simple chemical compounds known as hydroxy acids, which were likely common on primitive Earth, spontaneously link together and form structures reminiscent of cells when dried from solution, as may have happened on primitive beaches. The resulting structures may have helped scaffold the emergence of biological cellularity, and offer scientists a new avenue for studying early proto-biological evolution.
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Can fisheries benefit from biodiversity and conserve it too?

Eurekalert - May 12 2021 - 00:05
A new study, by researchers from Simon Fraser University and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, reveals the trade-offs of fish biodiversity--its costs and benefits to mixed-stock fisheries--and points to a potential way to harness the benefits while avoiding costs to fishery performance.
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Quantum machine learning hits a limit

Eurekalert - May 12 2021 - 00:05
A new theorem from the field of quantum machine learning has poked a major hole in the accepted understanding about information scrambling.
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Jab-free dengue immunity could be just a click away

Eurekalert - May 12 2021 - 00:05
A dengue virus vaccine candidate has passed an important milestone, with promising results in animal model testing providing hope to the 390 million people infected every year.
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Domino-like crystallization of glass

Eurekalert - May 12 2021 - 00:05
Researchers from the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Fudan University, and Peking University have revealed the thermodynamics and kinetics that facilitate crystal growth in deeply supercooled liquids and glasses. Their insights will help people exploit this atypical crystal growth behavior to enhance glass stability and crystal quality for applications.
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Evaluation of the diagnostic criteria for anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis in children

Eurekalert - May 12 2021 - 00:05
We retrospectively reviewed clinical information of pediatric patients whose CSF was analyzed for NMDAR antibodies, and evaluated the 2016 diagnostic criteria for anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis. The criteria showed high sensitivity but low positive predictive value in our cohort. However, majority of the false positive cases were associated with a neuroimmunological disease. Collectively, physicians should start immunomodulatory therapy in the criteria-positive cases, but continue differential diagnosis, focusing especially on other forms of encephalitis.
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New experimental drug cagrilintide (AM833), when combined with emaglutide, shows potential for treatment of obesity (The Lancet)

Eurekalert - May 12 2021 - 00:05
An early study of a new experimental drug to treat obesity known as cagrilintide shows that, when combined with semaglutide 2.4 mg, the combination leads to more weight loss than semaglutide 2.4 mg alone and is well tolerated. This phase 1 study, which was recently published in The Lancet will be presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity.
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Study finds that obesity drug semaglutide supresses appetite, food cravings and energy intake

Eurekalert - May 12 2021 - 00:05
New research presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity (held online, 10-13 May) shows that the obesity drug semaglutide reduces appetite, food cravings and energy intake in people given a meal where they could eat as much as they liked. The study is by Dr Dorthe Skovgaard, Novo Nordisk A/S (the manufacturer of the drug), Søborg, Denmark, and colleagues.
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Previously unknown letter reveals Einstein's thinking on bees, birds and physics

Eurekalert - May 12 2021 - 00:05
Could bees and birds help us understand the principles of physics? Albert Einstein thought so, according to a long-lost letter that reveals he predicted a link between physics and biology seven decades before the evidence emerged.
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Two-thirds of California prison residents offered COVID vaccine accepted at least one dose

Eurekalert - May 12 2021 - 00:05
Two-thirds of California prisoners who were offered a COVID-19 vaccine accepted at least one dose, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
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Research reveals ancient people had more diverse gut microorganisms

Eurekalert - May 12 2021 - 00:05
Meradeth Snow, a University of Montana researcher and co-chair of UM's Department of Anthropology, was part of an international team that used human "paleofeces" to discover that ancient people had far different microorganisms living in their guts than we do in modern times.
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Measuring brain blood flow and activity with light

Eurekalert - May 12 2021 - 00:05
A new, noninvasive method for measuring brain blood flow with light has been developed by biomedical engineers and neurologists at UC Davis and used to detect brain activation. The new method, functional interferometric diffusing wave spectroscopy, or fiDWS, promises to be cheaper than existing technology and could be used for assessing brain injuries, or in neuroscience research.
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