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Obesity leads to altered energy metabolism and reduced insulin sensitivity of cells. The so-called “anti-obesity drugs” are increasingly used to treat obesity and have caused tremendous interest, especially in the USA. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research in Cologne, Germany, have now shown in people with obesity…
To continue reducing the costs of solar energy and other clean energy technologies, scientists and engineers will likely need to focus, at least in part, on improving technology features that are not based on hardware, according to MIT researchers. They describe this finding and the mechanisms behind it in Nature…
In the intricate realm of wave turbulence, where predictability falters and chaos reigns, a groundbreaking study has emerged. The new research explores the heart of wave turbulence using an ultracold quantum gas, revealing new insights that could advance our understanding of non-equilibrium physics and have significant implications for various fields.…
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists, in collaboration with the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) Limited, found that immune cells present in people months before influenza (flu) infection could more accurately predict if an individual would develop symptoms than current methods which primarily rely on antibody levels. The…
“Should I be taking a probiotic?” is a question that Maggie Stanislawski, PhD, assistant professor in the University of Colorado Department of Biomedical Informatics (DBMI), gets asked often. The answer is complicated. Every person’s gut microbiome is unique, and many probiotic supplements sold in grocery stores may not effectively bolster…
Scientists have discovered an additional potential cause of the genetic mutations that result in rare conditions such as Huntington’s disease (HD). The neurodegenerative diseases, which also include most spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs), are known to be caused by an expansion in the CAG (cytosine-adenine-guanine) repeats within a gene that in turn…
A new study, led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst, reveals that the wealthiest Americans, those whose income places them in the top 10% of earners, are responsible for 40% of the nation’s total greenhouse gas emissions. The study, published in PLOS Climate, is the first to link income, especially…
Early social and environmental exposures can have large and lasting effects on child development and adult health. One of the systems in the human body that is vulnerable to external influence is the gut microbiome: the community of bacteria that live in the gastrointestinal tract. Some variations in the human…
Magnetars are the strongest magnets in the Universe. These super-dense dead stars with ultra-strong magnetic fields can be found all over our galaxy but astronomers don’t know exactly how they form. Now, using multiple telescopes around the world, including European Southern Observatory (ESO) facilities, researchers have uncovered a living star…
Cooking food thoroughly and avoiding some types of vegetables and salad during a course of antibiotic treatment could potentially reduce antibiotic resistance, by preventing bacteria carrying resistance genes getting into the gut, according to a new study. New research from the University of Nottingham has modelled howantibiotic resistance genes build-up…
Humans have a positive view of nature. But is this due to an approach we have learned while growing up, or is it something we are born with? The answer is ‘Both’, according to researchers at the University of Gothenburg and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Our love of…
CNN — Analysis of the remains of a young Medieval girl, who was buried face down with her ankles potentially tied together, suggests extra measures were taken to ensure “she could not ‘return’ from the grave,” archaeologists have said. The corpse of the 15-year-old was found in a pit at…
CNN — A Russian general who reportedly served as the top military commander for Ukraine last year has died, according to Russian state media. Army General Gennady Zhidko died at 58 “after a long illness” on Wednesday, according to the state news agency TASS. Zhidko served as Russia’s Eastern Military…
Near Urozhaine, Ukraine CNN — Ukrainian marines have advanced for the second time in two weeks on the southeastern frontlines, towards the key port city of Mariupol, with the recapture of the village of Urozhaine appearing to have been partially aided by the Ukrainian use of controversial cluster munitions. Ukraine’s…
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said it stopped an attempt by a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group to enter the southwestern Bryansk region, which neighbors northern Ukraine, Russian state media reported on Wednesday. “The FSB together with forces of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation thwarted an attempt…
A new study led by researchers at Brown offers fresh insights into the forces above and beneath the ocean surface that influence how sea ice moves and disperses in the Arctic Ocean, which is warming at over twice the rate of the global average. The in-depth analysis reveals how local…
Prior vaccination against tetanus and diphtheria, with or without pertussis (Tdap/Td); herpes zoster (HZ), better known as shingles; and pneumococcus are all associated with a reduced risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to new research from UTHealth Houston. A pre-press version of a study was published online recently in the…
People who adhere to a Mediterranean lifestyle — which includes a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains; healthy eating habits like limiting added salts and sugars; and habits promoting adequate rest, physical activity, and socialization — have a lower risk of all-cause and cancer mortality, according to a…
A new study led by Vinod M. Menon and his group at the City College of New York shows that trapping light inside magnetic materials may dramatically enhance their intrinsic properties. Strong optical responses of magnets are important for the development of magnetic lasers and magneto-optical memory devices, as well…
The historically high heat waves that gripped the southwest United States and southern Europe this summer are causing problems for more than just humans. Extreme heat waves affect pollinators and the pathogens that live on them, creating a mutual imbalance that could have major economic and public health consequences. A…
Many linguists have proposed that languages spoken by numerous non-native speakers tend to have simpler grammars. A new study led by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig challenges this claim. By analysing a global sample of 1,314 languages, they found that speech community size and…
The ability to sense mechanical stimuli, like touch or blood pressure, is essential to physiological processes in humans and across the animal kingdom. In a new study, Scripps Research scientists show how the sensory ion channel PIEZO1 changes shape in response to mechanical stimuli, revealing critical information about how this…
A team of biological anthropologists and archaeologists from Kyushu University and the University of Montana have broken new ground in our understanding on the practice of intentional cranial modification, a practice found in numerous ancient civilizations around the world. Publishing in PLOS ONE, the team reports that the Hirota people,…
Researchers at Rutgers and Emory University are gaining insights into how schizophrenia develops by studying the strongest-known genetic risk factor. When a small portion of Chromosome 3 is missing — known as 3q29 deletion syndrome — it increases the risk for schizophrenia by about 40 fold. Researchers have now analyzed…
Over recent decades, there was a large variation in cyclone-related excess deaths by hurricane, state, county, year, and social vulnerability for counties in the United States, with 83 percent of hurricane-related deaths occurring more recently and 94 percent in more socially vulnerable counties. Results of a study by researchers at…
CNN — Here’s a look at the Beslan School Siege. On September 1, 2004, armed Chechen rebels took approximately 1,200 children and adults hostage at a school in Beslan, North Ossetia, Russia, at approximately 9 a.m. local time. The siege ended on September 3, 2004, with more than 330 killed,…
CNN — Here is a look at the life of former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta. Birth date: August 20, 1966 Birth place: Pisa, Italy Father: Giorgio Letta, a mathematics professor Mother: Anna (Banchi) Letta Marriage: Gianna Fregonara Children: Giacomo, Lorenzo, Francesco Education: University of Pisa, International Law, 1994; Scuola…
Medications to treat various chronic diseases may hinder the body’s ability to lose heat and regulate its core temperature to optimal levels. The loss of effective thermoregulation has implications for elderly people receiving treatment for illnesses like cancer, cardiovascular, Parkinson’s disease/dementia and diabetes, particularly during hot weather, according to a…
Human-caused climate change is shortening the snow cover period in the Arctic. But according to new research led by Earth system scientists at the University of California, Irvine, some parts of the Arctic are getting deeper snowpack than normal, and that deep snow is driving the thawing of long-frozen permafrost…
CNN — A video of a tourist climbing into Rome’s iconic Trevi Fountain to fill her water bottle has circulated online. The footage, filmed last month, shows the woman walking over a row of rocks to reach the center of the 18th-century landmark as onlookers watch in horror. After filling…
