Culture
Boston - The population in the United States is expected to become increasingly older, with estimates indicating that by the year 2030, nearly 40 percent of Americans will be over the age of 65.
As people are living longer, their skin is not only chronologically, or biologically aging, but it is also being exposed to environmental factors, such as sunlight, which can cause age-related damage to the skin.
Although psychiatric disorders can be linked to particular genes, the brain regions and mechanisms underlying particular disorders are not well-understood. Mutations or deletions of the SHANK3 gene are strongly associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and a related rare disorder called Phelan-McDermid syndrome. Mice with SHANK3 mutations also display some of the traits associated with autism, including avoidance of social interactions, but the brain regions responsible for this behavior have not been identified.
CRISPR-based tools have revolutionized our ability to target disease-linked genetic mutations. CRISPR technology comprises a growing family of tools that can manipulate genes and their expression, including by targeting DNA with the enzymes Cas9 and Cas12 and targeting RNA with the enzyme Cas13. This collection offers different strategies for tackling mutations. Targeting disease-linked mutations in RNA, which is relatively short-lived, would avoid making permanent changes to the genome.
Some countries' Paris Climate Agreement pledges may not be as ambitious as they appear, a new study has found.
The Paris Agreement takes a bottom-up approach to tackling climate change, with countries submitting pledges in the form of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to greenhouse emissions.
However, writing today in Environmental Research Letters, researchers from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), Spain, reveal a lack of consistency and transparency between the various commitments.
Central London's freshwater sources contain high levels of antibiotic resistant genes, with the River Thames having the highest amount, according to research by UCL.
The Regent's Canal, Regent's Park Pond and the Serpentine all contained the genes but at lower levels than the Thames, which contained genes providing resistance for bacteria to common antibiotics such as penicillin, erythromycin and tetracycline.
Like Kenny Rogers' gambler, who has to "know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em," banks face financial risks and uncertainty when deciding when to chase consumers who default on their credit card payments and when to let them go.
A new study from the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin analyzes delinquent credit card user behaviors and develops a predictive model for sorting them into categories based on whether they are more or less likely to pay back their overdue debt.
(Carlisle, Pa.) - An analysis of legal and regulatory strategies that may help combat rampant "photoshopping" and the portrayal of unrealistic beauty standards in advertising has been published in the American Journal of Law & Medicine.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - A new study found having an intensive care unit within the emergency department improved care and survival rates for the entire emergency department population.
More than 100 years after Albert Einstein published his iconic general theory of relativity, it is beginning to fray at the edges, said Andrea Ghez, UCLA professor of physics and astronomy. Now, in the most comprehensive test of general relativity near the monstrous black hole at the center of our galaxy, Ghez and her research team report July 25 in the journal Science that Einstein's general theory of relativity holds up.
The tiny hydra, a freshwater invertebrate related to jellyfish and corals, has an amazing ability to renew its cells and regenerate damaged tissue. Cut a hydra in half, and it will regenerate its body and nervous system in a couple of days. Researchers at the University of California, Davis have now traced the fate of hydra's cells, revealing how three lines of stem cells become nerves, muscles or other tissues.
In a detailed study of a star orbiting the supermassive black hole at the center of our Galaxy, researchers report that Einstein's theory of general relativity (GR) accurately describes the behavior of light struggling to escape the gravity around this massive structure. The researchers' analysis involved detecting an effect known as "gravitational redshift" in the light emitted by a star closely orbiting the supermassive black hole, as the star was at its closest point to the blackhole in its 16-year orbit.
A rice gene that renders the crop resistant to several widely used beta-triketone herbicides has been identified, researchers report, revealing the genetic cause of herbicide susceptibility that has been identified in some important rice varieties. The newly discovered gene may be useful in breeding new herbicide-resistant crops. Rice is a staple food for more than 3.5 billion people and is among the world's most important crops. To meet the demands of the global food supply, the use of herbicides for controlling weeds is required for efficient crop production.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently developed an Autocidal Gravid Ovitrap (AGP trap) that attracts and captures female mosquitos looking for a site to lay eggs. Now, researchers writing in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases report that AGO traps successfully protected people from infection with chikungunya virus (CHIKV) in communities in Puerto Rico.
In a groundbreaking new study published in the journal Nature, an international team of over 150 scientists from 26 countries combined movement data from nearly 2,000 sharks tracked with satellite tags. Using this tracking information, researchers identified areas of the ocean that were important for multiple species, shark "hot spots", that were located in ocean frontal zones, boundaries in the sea between different water masses that are highly productive and food-rich.
CLEMSON, South Carolina -- How many times have you wished you could give your younger self a piece of advice? Robin Kowalski, professor in Clemson University's psychology department, is willing to bet there's not a single person who hasn't thought about this at least once in the last year. Her research indicates the odds are pretty good that she's right.