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How New Zealand's cheeky kea and kākā will fare with climate change
With global warming decreasing the size of New Zealand's alpine zone, a University of Otago study found out what this means for our altitude-loving kea.
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Poor sleep predicts long-term cognitive decline in Hispanics more so than in whites
Poor sleep impacts the risk of long-term cognitive decline in Hispanic/Latino middle aged and older adults differently than it does in non-Hispanic adults, according to research led by University of Miami Miller School of Medicine neurology faculty and the largest long-term study of US Hispanic/Latinos to date.
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Global study finds each city has unique microbiome fingerprint of bacteria
Each city has its own unique microbiome, a "fingerprint" of viruses and bacteria that uniquely identify it, according to a new study from an international consortium of researchers that included a team from the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM). The international project, which sequenced and analyzed samples collected from public transit systems and hospitals in 60 cities around the world, was published today in the journal Cell.
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Better peatland management could cut half a billion tons of carbon
Half a billion tonnes of carbon emissions could be cut from Earth's atmosphere by improved management of peatlands, according to research partly undertaken at the University of Leicester.
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Disease of the smallest heart blood vessels is important global health problem
For the first time, a prospective, international study has shown that chest pain caused by problems with the very small vessels supplying blood to the heart is an important health problem that increases the risk of heart attacks, stroke and death due to cardiovascular reasons. The study of microvascular angina is published in the European Heart Journal.
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Primates change their 'accent' to avoid conflict
New research has discovered that monkeys will use the "accent" of another species when they enter its territory to help them better understand one another and potentially avoid conflict.The study is the first to show asymmetric call convergence in primates, meaning that one species chooses to adopt another species' call patterns to communicate.Co-authored by Dr Jacob Dunn of Anglia Ruskin University, the research investigated pied tamarins and red-handed tamarins in the Brazilian Amazon.
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Immediate skin-to-skin contact after birth improves survival of pre-term babies
Continuous skin-to-skin contact starting immediately after delivery even before the baby has been stabilised can reduce mortality by 25 per cent in infants with a very low birth weight. This according to a study in low- and middle-income countries coordinated by the WHO on the initiative of researchers at Karolinska Institutet published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
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The first blood biomarker to distinguish between myocarditis and acute myocardial infarction
Scientists at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC) have identified the first blood biomarker for myocarditis, a cardiac disease that is often misdiagnosed as myocardial infarction. The study is published today in The New England Journal of Medicine.
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Lower rates of kidney transplant referrals at for- vs. non-profit dialysis facilities
Among patients receiving dialysis in the Southeastern United States, those at for-profit dialysis facilities were less likely to be referred for kidney transplantation than those at non-profit facilities. Rates of starting medical evaluations soon after referral and placing patients on a waitlist after evaluations were similar between the groups.
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Keeping more ammonium in soil could decrease pollution, boost crops
Modern-day agriculture faces two major dilemmas: how to produce enough food while minimizing environmental damage. Keeping more nitrogen in soil as ammonium may be one key way to address both challenges.
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Deep oceans dissolve the rocky shell of water-ice planets
Laboratory experiments allow insights into the processes under the extreme pressure and temperature conditions of distant worlds
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Opiate overdoses linked to poor mental health
Fatal opiate overdoses are most prevalent among six states: Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, West Virginia, Indiana and Tennessee. But researchers identified 25 hot spots of fatal opioid overdoses nationwide using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Unveiling what governs crystal growth
Crystals are wonders of nature and science with important applications in electronics and optics. Scientists from Argonne have new insights into how gallium nitride crystals grow. Gallium nitride crystals are in wide use in light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and may form transistors for high-power switching electronics to make electric grids more energy efficient and smarter.
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People prefer 'natural' strategies to reduce atmospheric carbon
A cross-disciplinary collaboration led by Jonathon Schuldt, associate professor of communication at Cornell University, found that a majority of the U.S. public is supportive of soil carbon storage as a climate change mitigation strategy, particularly when that and similar approaches are seen as "natural" strategies.
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Ultrasensitive blood test detects viral protein, confirms vaccine activates robust immune response
A new study by investigators at Brigham and Women's Hospital used an ultrasensitive, single-molecule array (Simoa) assay to detect extremely low levels of molecules in the blood and measured how these levels change over the days and weeks following vaccination with the Moderna (mRNA-1273) vaccine. The team found evidence of circulating protein subunits of SARS-CoV-2, followed by evidence of the body mounting its immune response and then clearing the viral protein to below the level of single-molecule detection.
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Grocery taxes put low-income families at risk for food insecurity
Approximately one-third of all U.S. counties do not exempt grocery foods from the general sales tax, which means the lowest-income families living in those areas are most susceptible to food insecurity. New research from Cornell University finds that even a slight grocery tax-rate increase could be problematic for many.
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Head and neck cancer cells hijack nearby healthy tissue, promoting further invasion of cancer cells
Up to half of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma will experience tumor recurrence or new tumors--tumors that often spread and are difficult to treat.
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Few public-sector employees can contribute significantly to reaching sustainability goals
A new Concordia University study shows that integration of sustainability-related practices has been uneven across dozens of public bodies -- ranging from the biggest ministries to the smallest local tribunals -- subject to Quebec law. While some bodies enthusiastically embrace sustainability innovations coming from their employees, many others practically ignore, discourage or pay mere lip service to them, explains Alexander Yuriev.
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This brain circuit signals when to stop eating; could regulating it help with obesity
At Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. Qi Wu, Dr. Yong Han and their colleagues have uncovered new aspects of little-known neural circuits and neurotransmitters involved in ending food consumption.
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Technology to monitor mental wellbeing might be right at your fingertips
To help patients manage their mental wellness between appointments, researchers at Texas A&M University have developed a smart device-based electronic platform that can continuously monitor the state of hyperarousal, one of the signs of psychiatric distress. They said this advanced technology could read facial cues, analyze voice patterns and integrate readings from built-in vital signs sensors on smartwatches to determine if a patient is under stress.
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