Culture
Aside from Indira Gandhi, Margaret Thatcher, and more recently Angela Merkel and Jacinda Ardern, women continue to be scarce in the halls of power.
To rectify this inequality, a majority of countries (or at least one political party in most) have imposed female electoral quota systems, or rules designed to increase the representation of women. The catch? Boosting gender may well curtail representation in other respects.
SILVER SPRING, Md.--Researchers have discovered that anti-obesity medications such as phentermine and topiramate, used individually or in combination, can significantly reduce weight regain in patients after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery, according to a retrospective study published online in Obesity, the flagship journal of The Obesity Society.
Maximizing the protection of life on Earth requires knowledge of the global patterns of biodiversity at multiple dimensions, from genetic diversity within species, to species and ecosystem diversity. Yet, the lack of genetic sequences with geographic information at global scale has so far hindered our ability to map genetic diversity, an important, but hard to detect, biodiversity dimension.
Russian researchers from HSE University and Open University for the Humanities and Economics have demonstrated that artificial intelligence is able to infer people's personality from 'selfie' photographs better than human raters do. Conscientiousness emerged to be more easily recognizable than the other four traits. Personality predictions based on female faces appeared to be more reliable than those for male faces. The technology can be used to find the 'best matches' in customer service, dating or online tutoring.
Genetic adaptations of early Italian ancestors to environmental changes, such as those that occurred soon after the Last Glacial Maximum, may explain some of the genetic differences between northern and southern Italian populations today, according to a study published in BMC Biology. The research suggests that northern and southern Italian populations may have begun to diverge genetically as early as 19,000-12,000 years ago and constitutes the earliest known evidence of genetic divergence in Italy so far.
In Europe, Italians are the richest population in terms of genetic wealth. This is now common knowledge. The gradient of their genetic variability, scattered all over the peninsula, encloses on a small scale the whole genetic variance between southern and continental Europeans. This amazing diversity started to accumulate soon after the Late Glacial Maximum, which ended approximately 19,000 years ago.
New York, NY (May 21, 2020)--Mount Sinai scientists have identified biological markers present in childhood that relate to the degenerative and often fatal neurological disease called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease, according to a study published in the Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology in May. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw-_XUZssMM&feature=youtu.be)
(Vienna, Friday, 22 May, 2020) Those who are socially isolated are over 40% more likely to have a cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack or stroke, than those who were socially integrated, new research has shown.
The German study, due to presented tomorrow at the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) Virtual Congress, found that those who are socially isolated are almost 50% more likely to die from any cause. The research also showed that a lack of financial support independently increased the risk of cardiovascular events.
Facing a scarcity of pollen, bumblebees will nibble on the leaves of flowerless plants, causing intentional damage in such a way that accelerates the production of flowers, according to a new study, which reports on a previously unknown behavior of bumblebees. The leaf-damaging bumblebee bites have a drastic effect on plant flowering, compelling some to bloom two weeks to a full month earlier. Although the mechanisms by which deliberate bee damage accelerate flowering remain unclear, the results reveal bumblebees as powerful agents in influencing the local availability of floral resources.
In lieu of a vaccine or reliable preventative medications, the only approaches currently available to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 are behavioral - handwashing, mask-wearing and social distancing, for example. In a Policy Forum, Johannes Haushofer and Jessica Metcalf argue that it is crucial to identify the "nonpharmaceutical interventions" (NPIs) that most effectively reduce virus transmission at the lowest economic and psychological costs. While handwashing initiatives are relatively inexpensive, sanctioned school and business closures are extremely costly.
Tropical forests face an uncertain future under climate change, but new research published in Science suggests they can continue to store large amounts of carbon in a warmer world, if countries limit greenhouse gas emissions.
The world's tropical forests store a quarter-century worth of fossil fuel emissions in their trees alone. There are fears that global heating can reduce this store if tree growth reduces or tree death increases, accelerating climate change.
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio has seen a growing disparity between abortion rates in rural and urban communities, later abortions, and less use of medication abortion care as the state has heavily regulated abortion and clinics have closed, a new study has found.
Researchers say their study raises concerns about inadequate and inconsistent access to a full spectrum of reproductive health care.
Regions of Italy with higher family fragmentation and a high number of residential nursing homes experienced the highest rate of COVID-19 infections in people over age 80, according to a new study published May 21, 2020 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Giuseppe Liotta of the University of Rome, Italy, and colleagues.
New research from the University of East Anglia (UEA) recommends changes to the system which sees drug companies strike deals with competitors to stop them producing cheaper generic alternatives.
These 'pay-for-delay' deals involve a payment from a branded drug manufacturer to a generic maker in order to delay market entry. In return for withdrawing its challenge, the generic firm receives a payment and/or a license authorizing it to enter the market at a later date, but before the expiration of the patent itself.
University of Melbourne researchers have quantified the toll that having multiple chronic diseases takes in China for the first time, which could have significant implications for its economic and health systems.
Researchers say is also timely as COVID-19 has placed further pressure on the public health emergency management system in China.