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New, almost non-destructive archaeogenetic sampling method developed
An Austrian-American research team (University of Vienna, Department Evolutionary Anthropology and Harvard Medical School, Department of Genetics), in collaboration of Hungarian experts from Eötvös Loránd University, has developed a new method that allows the almost non-destructive extraction of genetic material from archaeological human remains. The method allows anthropologists, archaeologists and archaeogeneticists to avoid the risk of serious damage to artefacts of significant scientific and heritage value, which can then be fully examined in future research.
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Can an AI algorithm mitigate racial economic inequality? Only if more black hosts adopt it
A new study investigated the impact of Airbnb's algorithm on racial disparities among Airbnb hosts. Adopting the tool narrowed the revenue gap between White and Black hosts considerably, but because far fewer Black hosts used the algorithm, the revenue gap between White and Black hosts actually increased after the tool's introduction.
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Mantis shrimp eyes inspire six-color imaging platform for cancer surgery
Inspired by the powerful eyes of the mantis shrimp, scientists have designed an imaging system that can distinguish between cancerous and healthy tissues during cancer surgery.
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From 4500 possibilities, one compound emerges as promising treatment for PAH
Experts at Cincinnati Children's and Stanford screened a library of 4500 compounds to find one, called AG1296, that shows promise as a potential treatment for the rare lung disease PAH.
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Greater access to birth control leads to higher graduation rates
When access to free and low-cost birth control goes up, the percentage of young women who leave high school before graduating goes down by double-digits, according to new University of Colorado research.
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How accurate were early expert predictions on COVID-19, and how did they compare to the public?
Who made more accurate predictions about the course of the COVID-19 pandemic - experts or the public? A study from the University of Cambridge has found that experts such as epidemiologists and statisticians made far more accurate predictions than the public, but both groups substantially underestimated the true extent of the pandemic.
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Strange isotopes: Scientists explain a methane isotope paradox of the seafloor
Deep down in the seafloor anaerobic microbes consume large amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Even though this process is a crucial element of the global carbon cycle, it is still poorly understood. Scientists from Bremen and Israel now found the solution to a long-standing enigma in this process: why methane carbon isotopes behave so differently than expected. In a joint effort with their colleagues they present the answer in the journal Science Advances.
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Expanded contraception access led to higher graduation rates for young women in Colorado
Increased access to birth control led to higher graduation rates among young women in Colorado, according to a study following the debut of the 2009 Colorado Family Planning Initiative (CPFI). The study identified a statistically significant 1.66 percentage-point increase in high school graduation among young women one year after the initiative was introduced.
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From yeast to hypha: How Candida albicans makes the switch
A protein called Sir2 may facilitate C. albicans' transition from ovoid yeast to thread-like hypha. C. albicans cells that were missing the Sir2 gene were less likely to form true hyphae in lab experiments than cells of the same species that had that gene.
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Magnetic material invented by Irish scientists breaks super-fast switching record
Researchers at CRANN (The Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices), and the School of Physics at Trinity College Dublin today announced that a magnetic material developed at the Centre demonstrates the fastest magnetic switching ever recorded. This discovery demonstrates the potential of the material for a new generation of energy efficient ultra-fast computers and data storage systems.
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Research confirms trawl ban substantially increases the abundance of marine organisms
Biodiversity is of crucial importance to the marine ecosystem. The prohibition of trawling activities in the Hong Kong marine environment for two and a half years has significantly improved biodiversity, an inter-university study led by City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has found. Research results showed that the trawl ban could restore and conserve biodiversity in tropical coastal waters.
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Cardiovascular disease could be diagnosed earlier with new glowing probe
Researchers have created a probe that glows when it detects an enzyme associated with issues that can lead to blood clots and strokes.
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Crohn's disease patients have specific IgG antibodies to human bacterial flagellins
Last year, researchers used a mouse model that included immune-reactive T cells from patients with Crohn's disease in a proof-of-principle demonstration that a flagellin-directed immunotherapy might provide similar benefits in patients. Now they have moved a step closer to possible clinical testing of this treatment, with a study, published in the journal Gastroenterology, that is the first to describe IgG antibodies in Crohn's disease specific for human-derived flagellins of bacteria in the Lachnospiraceae family.
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GSA's journals add five articles on COVID-19 and Aging
The Gerontological Society of America's highly cited, peer-reviewed journals are continuing to publish scientific articles on COVID-19. The following were published between March 17 and April 19; all are free to access.
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How a Yale scientist and REM star named an ant for a Warhol 'Superstar'
A new species of ant will be named after Jeremy Ayers, a mutual friend of Yale researcher Douglas B. Booher and R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe, as well as Warhol.
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New imaging technique captures how brain moves in stunning detail, holds diagnostic potential
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) images are usually meant to be static. But now, researchers from Mātai Medical Research Institute (Mātai), Stevens Institute of Technology, Stanford University, the University of Auckland and other institutions, report on an imaging technique that captures the brain in motion in real time, in 3D and in stunning detail, providing a potential diagnostic tool for detecting difficult-to-spot conditions such as obstructive brain disorders and aneurysms - before they become life threatening.
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New ultrasound technique detects fetal circulation problems in placenta
A team of researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health has developed a new ultrasound technique to monitor the placenta for impaired fetal blood flow early in pregnancy. The technique, which uses conventional ultrasound equipment, relies on subtle differences in the pulsation of fetal blood through the arteries at the fetal and placental ends of the umbilical cord, potentially enabling physicians to identify placental abnormalities that impair fetal blood flow and, if necessary, deliver the fetus early.
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New ant species named in recognition of gender diversity
A rare and unusual newly discovered ant from Ecuador has been named Strumigenys ayersthey, with the suffix "-they" chosen in contrast to traditional naming practices which, to date, fail to recognize gender diversity formally. The new species is distinguished by its predominantly smooth and shining cuticle surface and long trap-jaw mandibles. The study was published in the open-access, peer-reviewed scientific journal ZooKeys.
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Fundamental regulation mechanism of proteins discovered
Proteins perform a vast array of functions in the cell of every living organism with critical roles in biological processes. There are numerous chemical switches that control the structure and the function of proteins, which were thought to be well understood: so a team of researchers at the University of Göttingen were surprised to discover a completely new on/off switch that seems to be a ubiquitous regulatory element in proteins in all domains of life. Results appeared in Nature.
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Now available with a negative charge too
The incorporation of boron into polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon systems leads to interesting chromophoric and fluorescing materials for optoelectronics, including organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDS) and field-effect transistors, as well as polymer-based sensors. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, a research team has now introduced a new anionic organoborane compound. Synthesis of the borafluorene succeeded through the use of carbenes.
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