Earth
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Climate change contributes to gradually warming Aprils in southern Illinois, and at least one migratory bird species, the prothonotary warbler, is taking advantage of the heat. A new study analyzing 20 years of data found that the warblers start their egg-laying in southern Illinois significantly earlier in warmer springs. This increases the chances that the birds can raise two broods of offspring during the nesting season, researchers found.
They report their findings in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.
Nutrient contamination of groundwater as a result of nitrogen-based fertilisers is a problem in many places in Europe. Calculations by a team of scientists led by the UFZ have shown that over a period of at least four months per year, nitrate can leach into the groundwater and surface water on about three-quarters of Europe's agricultural land. The proportion of areas at risk from nitrate leaching is thus almost twice as large as previously assumed.
Over the past 50 years, declining biodiversity has put many of nature s contributions to people at risk. This is the conclusion reached by fifteen leading international experts, including a French ethnoecologist* at the CNRS (French National Centre for Scientific Research).
A study of weakly electric fishes from a remote area of the Brazilian Amazon Basin has not only offered a unique window into how an incredibly rare fish has adapted to life in caves over tens of thousands of years, it has also revealed for the first time that electric fish are able to interact with each other over longer distances than known possible in a way similar to AM radio.
Fishing behavior of Nebraska anglers may be more predictable than previously thought, says a new paper published in the Ecological Society of America's journal Ecological Applications. Seven fishing spots across the state were visited by loyal communities of anglers throughout the year, with little variation from spring to fall in the home ZIP codes of visitors.
Exposure to toxic pollutants associated with human activities may be influencing the spread of infectious diseases in wildlife, according to a new study from the University of Georgia. The findings, just published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters, have implications for both human health and wildlife conservation.
The mental symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder improve following treatment with a progesterone receptor modulator, as demonstrated by SciLifeLab researcher Erika Comasco and Professor Inger Sundström-Poromaa, Uppsala University. The mechanism of action of the study drug provides insights into the potential molecular mechanisms underlying this psychiatric disorder and its treatment.
New lipid residue analyses have revealed a dominance of animal products, such as the meat of animals like pigs, cattle, buffalo, sheep and goat as well as dairy products, used in ancient ceramic vessels from rural and urban settlements of the Indus Civilisation in north-west India, the present-day states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
The study, published in Journal of Archaeological Science, was led by Dr Akshyeta Suryanarayan, former PhD student at the Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge and current postdoctoral researcher at CEPAM, UMR7264-CNRS, France.
A new national study of public water systems found that arsenic levels were not uniform across the U.S., even after implementation of the latest national regulatory standard. In the first study to assess differences in public drinking water arsenic exposures by geographic subgroups, researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health confirmed there are inequalities in drinking water arsenic exposure across certain sociodemographic subgroups and over time.
An existing service in the North West of England called Community Connectors, which enables adults to access social activities within their community, can help reduce loneliness and social isolation, according to an analysis published in Health & Social Care in the Community.
SAN ANTONIO - After a median follow-up of 5.1 years, among women with lymph node-positive early-stage breast cancer and a recurrence score of 25 or lower who received adjuvant endocrine therapy with or without chemotherapy, postmenopausal patients had no added benefit from chemotherapy, while premenopausal patients who received chemotherapy had improved invasive disease-free survival (IDFS) and an early indication of improved overall survival (OS), according to data from the SWOG S1007 RxPONDER clinical trial presented at the 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 8-11.
Polar climate scientists have created the most high resolution past record of the Southern Hemisphere westerly winds. The results, published this week (9 December) in the journal Communications Earth and Environment, describe how the winds are likely to intensify and migrate poleward as the climate warms. The study highlights the urgent need for better models to predict the future.
URBANA, Ill. - For individuals looking to improve their health in 2021, strengthening your couple relationship may be part of the answer, according to findings from a recent University of Illinois study.
The study examined long-term changes in partners' health after participating in a new program for two-parent African American families.
An interdisciplinary team led by Senior Researcher Dr. Christoph Rupprecht (FEAST Project, RIHN) has revealed a new definition of sustainability that expands the concept to non-human species and their needs. With this new definition, published in the journal Global Sustainability, the researchers addressed a critical flaw in the original concept of sustainability that was hindering global transformation efforts. Examples from landscape planning and the Healthy Urban Microbiome Initiative (HUMI) suggest the new multispecies sustainability concept will have wide-ranging applications.
WASHINGTON, December 8, 2020 -- Researchers routinely measure magnetic fields to better understand a vast array of natural phenomena including geological movements, solar flares, neuronal communication in the brain, and molecular-scale chemical processes.
Many state-of-the-art magnetic field measurements are performed in shielded environments with carefully controlled conditions. Yet significant advances in magnetometer sensitivity have also been accompanied by serious attempts to bring these magnetometers into challenging working environments.