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UMaine researchers: Culture drives human evolution more than genetics
University of Maine researchers found that culture helps humans adapt to their environment and overcome challenges better and faster than genetics. Tim Waring and Zach Wood found that humans are experiencing a "special evolutionary transition" in which the importance of culture is surpassing the value of genes as the primary driver of human evolution. Due to the group-orientated nature of culture, they also concluded that human evolution itself is becoming more group-oriented.
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Male piglets less resilient to stress when moms get sick during pregnancy
When pigs get hit with significant illnesses during key stages of pregnancy, their immune response may negatively affect developing piglets, making them less productive on the farm. New research from the University of Illinois shows that when those piglets - especially males - experience a second stressor in early life, they are at higher risk of neurodevelopmental and other neurological anomalies, putting them at an even greater disadvantage in production settings.
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Blood sugar highs and lows linked to greater dementia risk in type 1 diabetes
Older people with type 1 diabetes who have been to the hospital at some point for both low and high blood sugar levels may be at six times greater risk for developing dementia years later. The research is published in the June 2, 2021, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
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After 15 years, deep brain stimulation still effective in people with Parkinson's
Deep brain stimulation continues to be effective in people with Parkinson's disease 15 years after the device is implanted, according to a study published in the June 2, 2021, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Researchers found that compared to before deep brain stimulation, study participants continued to experience significant improvement in motor symptoms, which are symptoms that affect movement, as well as a reduction in medications 15 years later.
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Declining fish biodiversity poses risks for human nutrition
All fish are not created equal, at least when it comes to nutritional benefits. This truth has important implications for how declining fish biodiversity can affect human nutrition, according to a computer modeling study led by Cornell and Columbia University researchers.
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Researchers make first-ever discovery of Zika virus RNA in free-ranging African bats
Dr. Anna Fagre, a researcher at CSU's Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, said detection of nucleic acid in bats in the wild indicates that they are naturally infected or exposed through the bite of infected mosquitoes.
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CMU Team develops machine learning platform that mines nature for new drugs
Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University's Computational Biology Department in the School of Computer Science have developed a new process using machine learning algorithms to match the signals of a microbe's metabolites with its genomic signals and identify which likely correspond to a natural product. Knowing that, researchers are better equipped to isolate the natural product to begin developing it for a possible drug and possibly reinvigorate the search for natural product drugs.
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MDI Biological Laboratory scientist identifies signaling underlying regeneration
The mystery of why salamanders can regenerate a lost limb, but adult mammals cannot has fascinated observers for thousands of years. Now, a team of scientists led by James Godwin, Ph.D., of the MDI Biological Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine, has come a step closer to unraveling that mystery with the discovery of differences in molecular signaling that promote regeneration in the axolotl, a highly regenerative salamander, while blocking it in the adult mouse.
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Real-time continuous glucose monitoring, blood sugar control
What The Study Did: Researchers investigated the effect of real-time continuous glucose monitoring on glycemic control among patients with insulin-treated diabetes.
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Continuous glucose monitors help manage type 2 diabetes
In patients with insulin-treated type 2 diabetes, the use of continuous glucose monitors is associated with better blood sugar control and fewer visits to the emergency room for hypoglycemia, a Kaiser Permanente study published June 2, 2021 in the journal JAMA found.
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Printing a better microgrid
New research from the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering investigates the use of microgrids printed with particle-free silver inks, demonstrating its advantages when compared with other particle-based inks. The paper is published in ACS Applied Electronic Materials and is featured on a supplemental cover of the journal.
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Spiders can sniff out and avoid killer ants, SFU study finds
Spiders avoid building webs near European fire ants, their natural predators, by sensing the chemicals they give off in the environment, Simon Fraser University researchers have found.The findings, published recently in Royal Society Open Science, give us a peek inside the enduring struggle between spiders and ants, and could lead to the development of natural repellents for homeowners worried about unwanted eight-legged guests.
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Opioid Agonist Therapy reduces mortality risk among people with opioid dependence
A new global review has found that receiving Opioid Agonist Therapy (OAT) is associated with lower risk of multiple causes of death among people with opioid dependence.
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Study offers insights for communicating about wildlife, zoonotic disease amid COVID-19
A new study from North Carolina State University found that certain types of messages could influence how people perceive information about the spread of diseases from wildlife to humans.
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Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's shadow figment technology foils cyberattacks
Scientists have created a cybersecurity technology called Shadow Figment that is designed to lure hackers into an artificial world, then stop them from doing damage by feeding them illusory tidbits of success. The aim is to sequester bad actors by captivating them with an attractive--but imaginary--world. The technology is aimed at protecting physical targets--infrastructure such as buildings, the electric grid, water and sewage systems, and pipelines.
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Broadly neutralizing antibodies against pandemic flu point to new vaccine targets
A new study reveals that B cells can produce antibodies against the H1N1 influenza virus that also neutralize various other influenza strains, marking a development that could inform research into potential universal flu vaccines.
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Tiny implant cures diabetes in mice without triggering immune response
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Cornell University have collaborated to implant insulin-secreting beta cells grown from human stem cells into mice with diabetes, to normalize their blood sugar.
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Machine learning brings an early diagnostic for pancreatic cancer a step closer to reality
Individuals at higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer could be identified earlier using machine learning (ML) techniques which would result in a greater number of patients surviving the disease, suggests a new study published in PLOS ONE.
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US conservatives less able than liberals to distinguish truth from falsehoods in study of responses to 20 political news stories
In a six-month study of more than 1,000 Americans, R. Kelly Garrett and Robert Bond found that U.S. conservatives were less able to distinguish truth from falsehoods in 20 viral political news stories that appeared online between January and July 2019. Differences in the political orientation of these stories may help explain this observation, the researchers note, writing that "we find that high-profile true political claims tend to promote issues and candidates favored by liberals, while falsehoods tend to be better for conservatives."
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Shining light on two-dimensional magnets
Atomically thin van der Waals magnets are seen as the ultimately compact media for future magnetic data storage and fast data processing. Controlling the magnetic state of these materials, however, is difficult. But now, an international team of researchers led by Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) has managed to use light in order to change the anisotropy of a van der Waals antiferromagnet, paving the way to new, extremely efficient means of data storage.
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