Culture
A simple Mediterranean-style diet in pregnancy does not reduce the overall risk of adverse maternal and offspring complications, but has the potential to reduce weight gain in pregnancy and the risk of gestational diabetes, according to a clinical trial led by Queen Mary University of London and the University of Warwick.
For the average person, getting a cut or scrape on the foot may not be cause for immediate concern. However, for people with type 2 diabetes, these wounds can be life-threatening. According to a 2016 study, one-third of the cost of type 2 diabetes treatment is related to non-healing foot wounds and ulcers, which are the leading cause of amputation in the United States.
The lab of Yongchao Ma, PhD, from Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, discovered how the genetic defect in fragile X syndrome - a type of autism - delays production of neurons (nerve cells) at a critical time in the embryo's brain development. In a study published in Cell Reports, Dr. Ma and colleagues describe a previously unknown regulatory mechanism controlling how stem cells differentiate into neurons.
Mammal brains -- including those of humans -- store and recall impressive amounts of information based on our good and bad decisions and interactions in an ever-changing world. Now, in a series of new experiments with mice, scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine report they have added to evidence that such "decision-based" memories are stored in very particular parts of the brain.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The anemonefish is a gender-bending marvel. It starts out as a male, but can switch to female when circumstances allow, for example, when the only female present dies or disappears. In a new study, researchers found that the male-to-female sex-change occurs first in the fish's brain and only later involves the gonads - sometimes after a delay of months or years. (Includes video).
A new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that cigarette smoking boosts the risk of peripheral artery disease, and this elevated risk can persist up to 30 years after smoking cessation. The study also found that the link between smoking and peripheral artery disease was even stronger than that for coronary heart disease and stroke.
The global monsoon region, sprawling north and south from the Earth's equator, sustains nearly two-thirds of the world's population. It is characterized with abundant monsoon rainfall, a distinct wet-dry season contrast, and hence an active water cycle.
“Legacy” mercury pollution from decades ago and miles away is an important source of contamination in New Jersey Meadowlands waterways, according to a Rutgers-led study that could help guide cleanup efforts.
A study led by The University of Texas at Austin has found that the majority of faults underlying the Fort Worth Basin are as sensitive to changes in stress that could cause them to slip as those that have generated earthquakes in recent years.
Identifying with someone is an exercise that makes us understand them deeply, empathize with them, and helps us overcome mistrust and prejudice. And this occurs even when that someone is a robot. These interpersonal dynamics were confirmed by an experimental study that was published days ago in Scientific Reports. The study is the result of scientific collaboration between Italian and French scientists.
A new paper that challenges widely held ideas about autism has attracted comments from more than 30 scholars across the disciplines of psychology, anthropology, education, and neuroscience.
The authors maintain that many of the behaviors common to autism--including low eye contact, repetitive movements, and the verbatim repetition of words and phrases--are misinterpreted as a lack of interest in social engagement. On the contrary, they say, many people with autism express a deep longing for social connection.
In pre-Columbian times, the white-tailed deer was among the most abundant and frequently consumed mammals in Panama. It was also an icon, represented on thousands of clay vessels. Through an analysis of deer remains in refuse piles at the Sitio Sierra archaeological site, researchers from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) discovered signs of "feasting behavior" associated with this animal. Their findings were published in Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences.
Scientists have given a fascinating new insight into the way microbes adopt a 'co-operative' approach to securing the nutrients they need to thrive.
A team of bioscientists from the University of Exeter have investigated why microorganisms spurn a "survival of the fittest" mentality to instead adopt a seemingly risky communal strategy to acquire nutrients from their environment.
A common feeding strategy involves secreting metabolic products into the surrounding environment to break down and capture required complex nutrients.
The Republic of the Union of Myanmar is located in the western part of the Indochinese Peninsula and has a number of peculiar economic features. Green energy accounts for a considerable share of the country's energy balance. However, Myanmar is the second biggest source of greenhouse emissions among ASEAN states. The state revoked fossil fuel subsidies in 2007 to prevent its wide use, and three years later a military government was overthrown by a democratic one which attracted investments to the country.
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Getting up close - and a little dirty - with farm animals just might help us fend off illness, say researchers who've further demonstrated the benefits of early exposure to a wide variety of environmental bacteria.