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Widespread sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 genomes presents new opportunities for tracing global and local transmission dynamics, but analyzing so much genomic data is challenging. The sheer number of coronavirus genome sequences and their rapid accumulation makes it hard to place new sequences on a "family tree" showing how they are all related. But researchers at the UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute have developed a new method that does this with unprecedented speed.

BARseq2 is a new brain mapping technique that can identify cells by the unique sets of genes they use. Neuroscientists can use this tool to understand how brain cells are organized and connected.

For the first time ever, researchers have wirelessly programmed -- and then deprogrammed -- mice to socially interact with one another in real time. The advancement is thanks to a first-of-its-kind ultraminiature, wireless, battery-free and fully implantable device that uses light to activate neurons.

A new study from the Institute of Genomics of the University of Tartu, Estonia has shed light on the genetic prehistory of populations in modern day Italy through the analysis of ancient human individuals around 4,000 years ago. The genomic analysis of ancient samples enabled researchers from Estonia, Italy, and the UK to date the arrival of the Steppe-related ancestry component to 3,600 years ago in Central Italy, also finding changes in burial practice and kinship structure during this transition.

Scientists at UC San Francisco are learning how immune cells naturally clear the body of defunct -- or senescent -- cells that contribute to aging and many chronic diseases. Understanding this process may open new ways of treating age-related chronic diseases with immunotherapy.

A commentary from leaders at the National Institute on Drug Abuse discusses a new study showing that an extended-release injection of buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid use disorder, was preferred by patients compared to immediate-release buprenorphine, which must be taken orally every day. Extended-release formulations of medications used to treat opioid use disorder may be a valuable tool to address the current opioid addiction crisis and reduce its associated mortality.

An analysis of historical medical records found that men who were prenatally exposed during early gestation to the Dutch famine of 1944-1945 were 30 percent more likely to be overweight with a Body Mass Index of 25 or over at age 19, compared to a similar group not exposed to the famine.

The symptoms of grief people feel for a loved one facing a life-limiting illness fluctuate over time, a new study found - suggesting that individuals can adjust to their emotional pain, but also revealing factors that can make pre-loss grief more severe.

Porcupines are being illegally hunted and exploited throughout their range in Indonesia for local subsistence and commercial trade. They are reportedly in decline, yet there seems to be little control or monitoring on uptake and trade. A new study examining seizure data of porcupines in Indonesia found a total of 39 incidents from January 2013 to June 2020 involving an estimated 452 porcupines. The research was published in the open-access, peer-reviewed journal Nature Conservation.

Breakthrough technology may help prevent vision loss and understand effectiveness of therapy.

The process of combining maternal and paternal genetic information is surprisingly error-prone

Can expert commissions develop solutions for controversial issues that will enjoy broad democratic support? Researchers from the IASS have analysed the work of Germany's "Coal Exit Commission" using a set of new criteria. While the authors view positively the Commission's success in reaching a compromise, they criticise its failure to deliver an outcome that promotes the common good, particularly with respect to high costs of the coal exit and its unambitious contribution towards climate goals.

Climate change, a pandemic or the coordinated activity of neurons in the brain: In all of these examples, a transition takes place at a certain point from the base state to a new state. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have discovered a universal mathematical structure at these so-called tipping points. It creates the basis for a better understanding of the behavior of networked systems.

In a recent study, conducted in Poland in 2020 and published in the peer-reviewed journal Social Psychological Bulletin, scientists concluded it was the government and the system that most of the participants attributed responsibility to for the COVID-19 incidence rates. Furthermore, political views and party preferences are reported to play an incomparably more significant role in their responses than factors such as anxiety, stress and depression levels or overall self-reported well-being.

A pioneering study by UCL scientists has discovered the presence of a harmful inflammatory protein in patients with symptomatic tuberculosis (TB). Researchers say, by targeting the IL-17 cytokine, a component produced naturally by the immune system in response to infection, excessive and damaging lung inflammation caused by TB may be significantly reduced to help speed up patient recovery.

Meteorologists want to assess the accuracy of many different weather features within a model forecast compared to a verifying analysis based on real-world observations.

Severe cases of COVID-19 can now be detected at an early stage. Researchers at the University of Zurich have identified the first biomarker that can reliably predict which patients will develop severe symptoms. This can help to improve the treatment of severe cases of COVID-19.

Announcing a new article publication for Forensic Sciences Research journal. In this review article the author Ricardo Jorge Dinis-Oliveira of the University Institute of Health Sciences (IUCS)-CESPU, Gandra, Portugal continues a three-part investigation of the "Crime of Flores Street" one of the most famous cases of poisoning which occurred in Portugal in the late 19th century.

Researchers at KU Leuven (Belgium) have developed a 3D printing technique that extends the possibilities of lateral flow testing. These tests are widespread in the form of the classic pregnancy test and the COVID-19 self-tests. With the new printing technique, advanced diagnostic tests can be produced that are quick, cheap, and easy to use.

A decade already passed from the first use of bioresorbable vascular scaffold in percutaneous coronary interventions. The first studies - by using surrogate endpoints - showed some superiority of BRS vs. metallic drug-eluting stent in terms of the so-called vascular restoration therapy with recovery of vasomotion and vascular pulsatility when the scaffold was absorbed....