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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for January 17, 2017:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
Astronomy & Space news
 | A tale of two pulsars' tails: Plumes offer geometry lessons to astronomersLike cosmic lighthouses sweeping the universe with bursts of energy, pulsars have fascinated and baffled astronomers since they were first discovered 50 years ago. In two studies, international teams of astronomers suggest that recent images from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory of two pulsars—Geminga and B0355+54—may help shine a light on the distinctive emission signatures of pulsars, as well as their often perplexing geometry. |
 | Astronomers spot strange, bow-like structure in Venus' atmosphereVenus is known both as the "planet of love" and the Earth's "evil twin". And although research suggests its environment is more hellish than romantic, there's actually a lot we don't know about our celestial neighbour. Now Japanese scientists have made a surprising discovery: an enormous, bow-shaped feature in the planet's cloud region which seems fixed to the slowly rotating planet. Clouds around it, on the other hand, whizz by at about 100 metres per second. So what is it? |
 | Galaxy murder mysteryIt's the big astrophysical whodunnit. Across the Universe, galaxies are being killed and the question scientists want answered is, what's killing them? |
 | ALMA reveals sun in new lightNew images from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) reveal stunning details of our Sun, including the dark, contorted center of an evolving sunspot that is nearly twice the diameter of the Earth. |
 | SAGE III to provide highly accurate measurements of atmospheric gasesThe International Space Station (ISS) will soon get an important tool capable of conducting highly accurate measurements of aerosols and gaseous constituents in the stratosphere and troposphere. The Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III (SAGE III) will study ozone, aerosols, water vapor, and other atmospheric gases to better understand the effects of natural and human-induced changes on the global environment. |
 | NASA hosts Facebook Live to mark success, future of New Horizons missionMembers of NASA's New Horizons team will discuss the achievements of the first encounter with Pluto and look ahead to the mission's next exploration of the Kuiper Belt during a Facebook Live event at 4 p.m. EST on Thursday, Jan. 19—the 11th anniversary of the spacecraft's launch. |
Technology news
 | Raspberry Pi brings out shiny Compute Module 3(Tech Xplore)—Another Raspberry Pi launch announcement—and another burst of news items explaining what's new, at what price. |
 | Sonar maps from MH370 search will reveal more about seafloorThe deep-sea sonar search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 may not have found the plane but will reveal more about how land beneath the Indian Ocean formed over millions of years and where oil fields could lie. |
Baidu hires Microsoft expert in artificial intelligence pushBaidu Inc., which operates China's most popular Internet search engine, said Tuesday it has hired a former Microsoft executive and artificial intelligence specialist to improve its competitiveness in the field. | |
 | Britain's laser quest for a weapon that really worksThe British government recently signed a £30m contract with a defence and aerospace consortium to deliver a brand new prototype laser weapon. The announcement of the project, named "UK Dragonfire", coincided with the release of a new Star Wars film, so perhaps it is unsurprising that media coverage of the weapons system owed rather more to George Lucas than it did to any current reality. |
 | Geopolymers as a climate-friendly cement alternativeResearchers at TU Darmstadt are proposing geopolymers as an alternative to cement. These mineral binders are not only more environmentally friendly, they are also more resistant to chemicals and high temperature. |
 | App stores must register with state: ChinaApp stores in China must register with the state from Monday, a government statement said, as China tightens its control over the internet. |
 | China to develop prototype super, super computer in 2017China plans to develop a prototype exascale computer by the end of the year, state media said Tuesday, as it seeks to win a global race to be the first to build a machine capable of a billion, billion calculations per second. |
Solar power plan set to bring fresh water to out-of-reach villagesA solar-powered purification system could provide remote parts of India with clean drinking water for the first time. | |
 | 4G network infrastructure could mean fewer accidents by driversNew research that suggests a pre-existing 4G network infrastructure could help drivers make safe decisions in or near accidents has won the 'Best Paper Award' at an international conference. |
 | GM to add or keep 7,000 jobs, make $1B factory investmentGeneral Motors plans to invest $1 billion in U.S. factories and add thousands of new white-collar jobs, measures that have been in the works for years but announced Tuesday after criticism from President-elect Donald Trump. |
NY Times sees cuts, investments in strategic planThe New York Times said Tuesday it will be cutting its newsroom budget this year, but also investing $5 million for covering the Trump administration as part of a strategic reorganization. | |
 | NREL pioneers better way to make renewable hydrogenScientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) developed a method which boosts the longevity of high-efficiency photocathodes in photoelectrochemical water-splitting devices. |
 | The mind as a weapon: Helping Marines make faster, better combat decisionsBattlefield commanders face many scenarios requiring fast decisions—attacking an enemy position, evacuating injured warfighters, navigating unfamiliar terrain. Each situation pushes leaders to make quick yet informed choices. |
Utility plans vote on New York offshore wind projectA New York utility is set to vote later this month on a plan to construct an offshore wind farm off eastern Long Island. | |
Mobile chipmaker Qualcomm hit with US antitrust suitMobile chip giant Qualcomm was hit Tuesday with a US antitrust suit alleging it abused its dominant position in the market for processors used in cell phones and other devices. | |
 | Bikeshare cycles dumped en masse in ChinaMore than 500 bicycles from China's flourishing bike-sharing companies have been dumped in huge piles on the streets of the southern city of Shenzhen, reports said. |
 | New blades and generators for more efficient small wind turbinesSmall wind turbines, for domestic and small scale commercial use, are currently relatively expensive and struggle to compete with solar solutions. The key to increasing their competitiveness is bringing down their cost and improving performance. |
 | Low transmission loss, flexible, multi-layer circuit board materialsPanasonic Corporation announced today that it has commercialized its low transmission loss flexible multi-layer circuit board materials, suitable for high-speed large-volume data transmission and thinner designs of mobile devices, including smartphones and tablet computers. The company will launch its mass production in January 2017. The combination of a liquid-crystal polymer (LCP) core material and a bonding sheet material that can be laminated at a low temperature and stored at room temperature will considerably ease the manufacture of high-frequency flexible multi-layer circuit boards. |
Facebook launches startup programme in Paris campusFacebook launched its first ever startup support programme in Paris Tuesday, in a massive tech incubator funded by a French telecoms billionaire. | |
 | Lessons learned when commercialization of a new soft robot failsCommercializing a new, innovative product is often the greatest challenge across the research and development landscape, as is evident in the failed attempt to bring jamming-based robotic gripper technology to market. The company developing the VERSABALL tells the story of its demise and the valuable lessons learned in a compelling article published in Soft Robotics. |
Indiana cancer agency hacked for data won't pay ransomAn Indiana cancer services agency says it will replace and rebuild its data after a computer hack demanding a ransom. | |
Medicine & Health news
 | HIV treatment might boost susceptibility to syphilis, say researchersThe antiretroviral drugs used to treat HIV infection might inadvertently be boosting gay/bisexual men's susceptibility to the bacteria responsible for syphilis, Treponema pallidum, conclude researchers in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections. |
 | Calorie restriction lets monkeys live long and prosperSettling a persistent scientific controversy, a long-awaited report shows that restricting calories does indeed help rhesus monkeys live longer, healthier lives. |
 | Researchers identify source of opioids' side effectsA commercially available drug may help drastically reduce two side effects of opioid painkillers—a growing tolerance and a paradoxical increased sensitivity to pain—without affecting the drugs' ability to reduce pain, according to a study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. |
 | Every meal triggers inflammationWhen we eat, we do not just take in nutrients – we also consume a significant quantity of bacteria. The body is faced with the challenge of simultaneously distributing the ingested glucose and fighting these bacteria. This triggers an inflammatory response that activates the immune systems of healthy individuals and has a protective effect, as doctors from the University and the University Hospital Basel have proven for the first time. In overweight individuals, however, this inflammatory response fails so dramatically that it can lead to diabetes. |
 | Study shows that genetics play an important role in the attainment of education and number of offspring(Medical Xpress)—A team of researchers with members from Iceland, the U.K. and the Netherlands has found a genetic factor that plays a role in how much education a person might attain over their lifetime and that the factor is becoming less common. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team describes how they analyzed genomic information in a national database in Iceland and what it showed. |
 | Researchers find that electrical function may be restored in damaged heart tissueA Dalhousie Medical School researcher has discovered that scar tissue, like that caused by a heart attack, can maintain electrical function in damaged regions of the heart. Until now, scars in the heart were thought to only disrupt the electrical activity needed for a normal heart beat. The finding was recently published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. |
 | See how immune cells break through blood vessel wallsIn any given second, thousands of immune cells are poking holes in your blood vessels as they travel out of the blood stream to survey your organs for problems or join the fight against a pathogen. Despite the constant assault, the damage is negligible, and in a study, appearing January 17 in Cell Reports, researchers may reveal why: as immune cells squeeze their nuclei through blood vessel walls, the force breaks thin filaments that make up the cytoskeleton—the scaffold proteins that give a cell its shape—of individual endothelial cells that hold the wall together. These filaments are known to quickly be replaced. |
 | Why scientists should research emojis and emoticons :-PMore than 90% of online populations now incorporate emojis and emoticons into their texts and emails, and researchers are wondering what the use of (~_^), (>_ |
 | Viral escape hatch could be treatment target for hepatitis E, study findsThe technique that the hepatitis E virus—an emerging liver virus historically found in developing countries but now on the rise in Europe—uses to spread could present a weak spot scientists can exploit to treat the disease, according to a Princeton University-led study. |
 | Racial bias in a heartbeat: How signals from the heart shape snap judgements about threatOur heartbeat can increase pre-existing racial biases when we face a potential threat, according to new research published in Nature Communications. In particular, participants were likely to misperceive a situation involving a Black person as life-threatening, when experienced during a heartbeat rather than between heartbeats. This could have important implications in tackling the high number of shootings of unarmed Black people. |
 | First cell culture of live adult human neurons shows potential of brain cell typesStudying brain disorders in people and developing drugs to treat them has been slowed by the inability to investigate single living cells from adult patients. In a first-of-its-kind study published in Cell Reports this week, a team from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania led by James Eberwine, PhD, a professor of Pharmacology, Sean Grady, MD, chair of Neurosurgery, and Junhyong Kim, PhD, a professor of Biology in Penn's School of Arts & Sciences, was able to grow adult human neurons donated from patients who had undergone surgery. From these cell cultures, they identified more than five brain cell types and the potential proteins each cell could make. |
 | Whether our speech is fast or slow, we say about the sameThe purpose of speech is communication, not speed—so perhaps some new research findings, while counterintuitive, should come as no surprise. Whether we speak quickly or slowly, the new study suggests, we end up conveying information at about the same rate, because faster speech packs less information in each utterance. |
 | Epigenetic factors linked to obesity-related diseaseObesity has been linked to "letter" changes at many different sites in the genome, yet these differences do not fully explain the variation in people's body mass index (BMI) or why some overweight people develop health complications while others don't. A large study from Boston Children's Hospital, the University of Edinburgh, the Harvard School of Public Health, the Framingham Heart Study and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) provides more insight, linking obesity with epigenetic modifications to DNA that in turn are tied to an increased risk of weight-related health problems such as coronary artery disease. |
 | Unlike neuropilin (NRP) 2a, NRP2b uniquely supports TGF-beta-mediated lung cancer progressionMedical University of South Carolina (MUSC) investigators report preclinical research showing that the tumor-promoting properties of neuropilin (NRP)-2 reside predominantly on isoform NRP2b, while NRP2a has the opposite effects in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), in the January 17, 2017 issue of Science Signaling. |
Tumor suppressor key in maintaining stem cell status in muscleA gene known to suppress tumor formation in a broad range of tissues plays a key role in keeping stem cells in muscles dormant until needed, a finding that may have implications for both human health and animal production, according to a Purdue University study. | |
 | Acupuncture may alleviate babies' excessive crying (infantile colic)Acupuncture may be an effective treatment option for babies with infantile colic—those who cry for more than 3 hours a day on 3 or more days of the week—reveals research published online in Acupuncture in Medicine. |
Eating disorders are affecting more UK women in their 40s and 50sIn a UK study of 5,320 women, 3% were found to have an active eating disorder in mid-life, a figure higher than expected as eating disorders are primarily associated with adolescence or early adulthood. The research was published in the open access journal BMC Medicine. | |
Better diagnosis of fungal infections key to reducing antibiotic resistancePoor diagnosis worldwide of fungal disease causes doctors to overprescribe antibiotics, increasing harmful resistance to antimicrobial drugs, according to a paper published today in Emerging Infectious Diseases. | |
 | Study finds high blood pressure onset in late life may protect against dementiaNew study results published online today in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association suggest that onset of high blood pressure later in life is associated with lower dementia risk after age 90, especially if hypertension is developed at age 80 or older. |
 | Candidates for bionic hand reconstructionBionic hand? No longer only an image conjured by science fiction, bionic hands return functionality in cases of traumatic nerve and muscle loss. Certainly something to consider if you've lost your hand in an accident, but what if you still retain your hand, albeit a useless one? What would make a person voluntarily trade in a biological hand composed of flesh, blood, and bone for a prosthesis consisting of wires and synthetic material? And would the results be well worth the loss? |
 | Common heart drug repurposed to treat rare cancer in EuropeA drug that's commonly used to treat high blood pressure is being repurposed for a rare tissue cancer in Europe. The medication, named propranolol, was recently granted Orphan Drug Designation by the European Commission (EC). |
 | Patients recovering from depression show improvements in memory from the drug modafinilModafinil, a drug used to treat narcolepsy—excessive daytime sleepiness—can improve memory in patients recovering from depression, according to new research from the University of Cambridge. The findings, published today in the journal Biological Psychiatry: CNNI, result from a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study and offer hope of a treatment for some of the cognitive symptoms of depression. |
 | Maternal micronutrients, nurturing environment boost child developmentMataram, Indonesia / Toronto, Canada: Mothers who take multi-micronutrient supplements during pregnancy can add the equivalent of up to one full year of schooling to a child's cognitive abilities at age 9-12, says a new study published today. |
 | Who needs stress? We all do. Here's whyIf you could do something to decrease your risk of memory failure, to increase your self-confidence, to be a better public speaker, to improve your brain, to help you deal with back pain, to bust out of your comfort zone, to make your children more resilient ... would you do it? |
Genetic discovery provides new insight into cognitive disordersAn international team of scientists, led by Todd Lencz, PhD, professor at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research at Northwell Health and Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine, have unlocked some of the genes responsible for cognitive ability. | |
 | Patients face 'surprise' medical bills from out-of-network specialistsThe average anesthesiologist, emergency physician, pathologist and radiologist charge more than four times what Medicare pays for similar services, often leaving privately-insured consumers stuck with surprise medical bills that are much higher than they anticipated, new research in JAMA suggests. |
 | Can delayed umbilical cord clamping reduce infant anemia at age 8, 12 months?A delay of three minutes or more in umbilical cord clamping after birth reduced the prevalence of anemia in infants at 8 and 12 months of age in a randomized clinical trial in Nepal, according to a new study published online by JAMA Pediatrics. |
 | Study finds 33 percent of adults recently diagnosed with asthma do not have itA new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that 33 percent of adults recently diagnosed with asthma by their physicians did not have active asthma. Over 90 percent of these patients were able to stop their asthma medications and remain safely off medication for one year. |
Diabetes in Chinese adults linked to 9 years' loss of lifeAmong adults in China, those with diabetes diagnosed in middle age lose, on average, nine years of life compared with those without diabetes, according to new research published in the January 17 issue of JAMA. | |
 | New guidelines could help improve research into vascular cognitive impairmentNew guidelines have been developed that it is hoped will help to progress research into vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) following a study led by academics at the University of Bristol that brought together the views of over 150 researchers in 27 countries. |
 | Can marijuana treat MS symptoms? It's hard for researchers to find outAn estimated 400,000 Americans are currently living with multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease where the body's immune cells attack a fatty substance called myelin in the nerves. Common symptoms are gait and balance disorders, cognitive dysfunction, fatigue, pain and muscle spasticity. |
 | Is snoring anything to worry about?There's nothing quite like the sound of snoring as the ultimate sleep interrupter. |
Elders' stress response may worsen depression's impactUConn Health psychiatry researchers have found that vulnerability to stress increases the likelihood that elderly adults with major depression will experience cognitive decline in the future, and they recommend tailoring the treatment for late-life depression to address this trait, in order to improve long-term cognitive outcomes. | |
 | Senescence promotes chemotherapy side effects and cancer relapseStandard chemotherapy is a blunt force instrument against cancer – and it's a rare cancer patient who escapes debilitating side effects from systemic treatments that mostly affect dividing cells, both malignant and healthy, throughout the body. Researchers at the Buck Institute and elsewhere now show that chemotherapy triggers a pro-inflammatory stress response termed cellular senescence, promoting the adverse effects of chemotherapy as well as cancer relapse and metastasis. Eliminating the senescent cells in mice prevented the side effects and relapse. The research is published in Cancer Discovery. |
Age-related GABA decline is associated with poor cognitionDiminishing levels of GABA, the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, may play a role in cognitive decline as we age, according to a study published in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging. The study, led by Ronald Cohen of University of Florida's Center for Cognitive Aging and McKnight Brain Institute, shows an association between higher GABA concentrations in the frontal lobe, a brain region important for complex cognitive functioning, and superior performance on a cognitive test in healthy older adults. | |
Iceland knows how to stop teen substance abuse but the rest of the world isn't listeningIt's a little before three on a sunny Friday afternoon and Laugardalur Park, near central Reykjavik, looks practically deserted. There's an occasional adult with a pushchair, but the park's surrounded by apartment blocks and houses, and school's out – so where are all the kids? | |
 | New prescription: Doctor offices that look like Apple storesAfter a relative suffered a heart attack a few years ago, Silicon Valley entrepreneur Adrian Aoun got an unsettling look at a health-care system that he diagnosed as an inefficient and outdated mess. |
Malaria drug successfully treats 26-year-old brain cancer patientAfter her brain cancer became resistant to chemotherapy and then to targeted treatments, 26-year-old Lisa Rosendahl's doctors gave her only a few months to live. Now a paper published January 17 in the journal eLife describes a new drug combination that has stabilized Rosendahl's disease and increased both the quantity and quality of her life: Adding the anti-malaria drug chloroquine to her treatment stopped an essential process that Rosendahl's cancer cells had been using to resist therapy, re-sensitizing her cancer to the targeted treatment that had previously stopped working. Along with Rosendahl, two other brain cancer patients were treated with the combination and both showed similar, dramatic improvement. | |
 | Personalized treatment for those in blood pressure 'gray zone'Using data from a national study, Johns Hopkins researchers determined that using heart CT scans can help personalize treatment in patients whose blood pressure falls in the gray zone of just above normal or mild high blood pressure. Previously, the appropriate blood pressure treatment for these patients used risk calculations and some guesswork, potentially leaving many vulnerable to heart disease or taking drugs they don't need. Nearly one in three adults in the U.S. has prehypertension, blood pressure higher than normal but not considered high yet. |
 | New report: Abortions in US drop to lowest level since 1974Even as the election outcome intensifies America's abortion debate, a comprehensive new survey finds the annual number of abortions in the U.S has dropped to well under 1 million, the lowest level since 1974. |
 | Scientists find sensor that makes synapses fastSynapses, the connections between neurons, come in different flavors, depending on the chemical they use as transmitter. Signal transmitters, or neurotransmitters, are released at the synapse after calcium ions flow into the neuron. The type of synapses that use a signal transmitter called GABA - the GABAergic synapses—stand out because of their speed and precision. But the secret behind their speed was not fully known until now, and neither was the sensor they use to detect the inflowing calcium. |
Scientists discover drug that increases 'good' fat mass and functionScientists at the Gladstone Institutes identified an FDA-approved drug that can create the elusive and beneficial brown fat. Mice treated with the drug had more brown fat, faster metabolisms, and lower body weight gain, even after being fed a high-calorie diet. The researchers say the technique, which uses cellular reprogramming, could be a new way to combat obesity and type II diabetes. | |
Primary care safety reports on children in England and Wales show areas for improvementAn analysis of patient safety incidents involving sick children in England and Wales, published in PLOS Medicine by Dr. Philippa Rees from Cardiff University, UK, and colleagues, reveals areas where primary care providers can improve in their care of children to reduce adverse events. | |
Blacks, Hispanics less likely to achieve blood pressure controlBlacks and Hispanics with high blood pressure are less likely than whites to get their condition under control, according to new research in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal. | |
 | 'Buying time' for natural killer cells could enhance cancer immunityA team of researchers from Australia and France have uncovered new insights into how to prolong the lifespan of the body's disease-fighting natural killer (NK) cells. |
 | Improving the view on the genetic causes of retinitis pigmentosaProgressive development of night blindness and tunnel vision, sometimes from the early age of 2, are trademarks of retinitis pigmentosa. Being the most common inherited disorder of the retina, retinitis pigmentosa affects nearly 1 in 4,000 people. More than 1 million are visually impaired around the world due to this untreatable disease. |
 | Key cardiovascular risk factors for Chinese Australians uncoveredDiabetes, smoking and physical inactivity have been uncovered as the key cardiovascular disease risk factors for Chinese Australians according to important new research from the largest ongoing study of healthy ageing in Australia, the Sax Institute's 45 and Up Study. |
 | UV light can aid hospitals' fight to wipe out drug-resistant superbugsA new tool—a type of ultraviolet light called UVC—could aid hospitals in the ongoing battle to keep drug-resistant bacteria from lingering in patient rooms and causing new infections. |
 | New insight into role of cell protein in learning ability and AIDS-related dementiaResearchers from the University of California (UCLA) and Cardiff University have made a breakthrough in the understanding of AIDS-related dementia, discovering the role of a neuron protein which was also found to affect learning abilities in healthy subjects. |
 | Should more kids have their tonsils out?(HealthDay)—Because of stringent tonsillectomy guidelines, some kids who could benefit from tonsil removal surgery aren't getting it, two new reviews suggest. |
 | Heart rate variability linked to atrial fibrillation(HealthDay)—Low resting short-term heart rate variability (HRV) is associated with increased incidence of atrial fibrillation (AF), according to a study published in the Jan. 24 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. |
 | Patient perception of provider concern impacts satisfaction(HealthDay)—For patients with chronic pain receiving opioids, provider satisfaction is not associated with functional outcomes; however, patient perception of provider concern impacts perceived satisfaction, according to a study published online Jan. 13 in Pain Practice. |
 | Rate of genitourinary injuries up among U.S. service men(HealthDay)—A total of 1,367 male U.S. service members deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom sustained genitourinary injury, according to a study published in the February issue of The Journal of Urology. |
Study applies game theory to genomic privacyIt comes down to privacy—biomedical research can't proceed without human genomic data sharing, and genomic data sharing can't proceed without some reasonable level of assurance that de-identified data from patients and other research participants will stay de-identified after they're released for research. | |
 | Biomarker could identify patients with potential for recovery from advanced heart failureInvestigators at the University of Utah have identified distinct differences in the hearts of advanced heart failure patients who have defied the odds and showed signs of recovery from the disease. Published online in the journal Circulation, the new findings could help clinicians identify the best candidates for cardiac recovery therapies. |
 | Inactive B2M gene is recurrent in lung cancer and may condition response to immunotherapyResearchers from the Genes and Cancer research group at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) have identified inactivating mutations in a number of genes that code for HLA-I histocompatibility complex proteins, which are involved in the immune response and can condition the tesponse of lung cancer patients to immunotherapy. The study is a result of the collaboration between several national and international research centers, and has been published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research. |
 | Team identifies mechanisms of inflammation-induced animal agingDGIST's research team has experimentally proved the hypothesis that the accumulated chronic inflammation results in the aging of animals. |
First of its kind cancer stem cell research unlocks clues to treatment resistanceResearchers at Trinity College Dublin have made exciting new findings that could offer a means of fighting resistance to treatment for people with oesophageal cancer. Resistance to radiotherapy is a major stumbling block in the treatment of this cancer. | |
How safe is that driver next to you? A trucker's poor health could increase crash riskAs commuters shimmy past large, lumbering trucks on the road, they may glance over and wonder, "How safe is that driver next to me?" If the truck driver is in poor health, the answer could be: Not very. Commercial truck drivers with three or more medical conditions double to quadruple their chance for being in a crash than healthier drivers, reports a new study led by investigators at the University of Utah School of Medicine. | |
Bait knocks out cockroaches—and asthma symptom daysIt may be easier and cheaper for parents to manage a key asthma trigger in children—exposure to cockroaches — than previously thought, according to a new Tulane University study published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. | |
 | Study reveals for first time that talking therapy changes the brain's wiringA new study from King's College London and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust has shown for the first time that cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) strengthens specific connections in the brains of people with psychosis, and that these stronger connections are associated with long-term reduction in symptoms and recovery eight years later. |
Opioids produce analgesia via immune cellsOpioids are the most powerful painkillers. Researchers at the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin have now found that the analgesic effects of opioids are not exclusively mediated by opioid receptors in the brain, but can also be mediated via the activation of receptors in immune cells. These findings represent a novel concept in our understanding of the mechanisms of opioid analgesia. Results from this research, published in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, show that pain reduction in mice was mediated by the activation of opioid receptors in immune cells. | |
 | Penn study identifies potent inhibitor of Zika entry into human cellsA panel of small molecules that inhibit Zika virus infection, including one that stands out as a potent inhibitor of Zika viral entry into relevant human cell types, was discovered by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Publishing in Cell Reports this week, a team led by Sara Cherry, PhD, an associate professor of Microbiology, screened a library of 2,000 bioactive compounds for their ability to block Zika virus infection in three distinct cell types using two strains of the virus. |
 | Mounting challenge to brain sex differencesHow different are men and women's brains? The latest evidence to address this controversy comes from a study at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, where a meta-analysis of human amygdala volumes found no significant difference between the sexes. Meta-analysis is a statistical approach for combining the results of multiple studies, in this case dozens of brain MRI studies. |
| Successful antibody trial in HIV-infected individualsA research team led by investigators of the Rockefeller University in New York and Prof Florian Klein, University Hospital Cologne and German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), has tested a new HIV neutralising antibody, called 10-1074, in humans. The results of the trial have just been published in Nature Medicine. |
 | First study to measure effectiveness of NFL PLAY 60 program shows positive results on youth fitnessThe National Football League (NFL) Foundation has invested heavily in its NFL PLAY 60 initiative to promote fitness and health among youth over the past decade. Its impact on childhood fitness and obesity levels, however, has lacked scientific evaluation - until now. |
 | Prolonged exposure to work-related stress thought to be related to certain cancersFor men, prolonged exposure to work-related stress has been linked to an increased likelihood of lung, colon, rectal, and stomach cancer and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The findings are among the results obtained by researchers at INRS and Université de Montréal who conducted the first study to assess the link between cancer and work-related stress perceived by men throughout their working life. The research results were recently published in Preventive Medicine. |
More with mental illness and substance use disorders have health insuranceSignificantly more people with mental illness and substance use disorders had insurance coverage in 2014 due to the expansion of health insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), but many barriers to treatment remain, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research suggests. | |
 | Must-see-TV: Educational shows that entertain have greater impact on faithful viewersThe key to passing on a social message with a television show: Make it must-see-TV. |
How solvents affect the skinResearchers at Lund University in Sweden have developed a method that makes it possible to see how individual molecules from solvents in skin creams, medicated ointments and cleaning products affect and interact with the skin's own molecules. | |
 | Are you ready to explore baby's genome?When you have a baby, a nurse or a phlebotomist performs a heel stick to take a few drops of blood from your infant and sends it off to a state lab for a battery of tests. Most of the time, you never hear about the results because your child is fortunate enough to not have a rare disease, such as cystic fibrosis or sickle cell disease or any of the dozens of conditions for which most states screen. You, as a parent, may not even remember hearing about newborn screening. |
 | Immune responses against a virus-related skin cancer suggest ways to improve immunotherapyResearchers at Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington say a new study suggests ways to improve immune therapy for certain cancers including a virus-associated form of Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare, aggressive skin cancer. |
 | Scientists identify early impact of Ebola virus on immune systemA new mouse model of early Ebola virus (EBOV) infection has shown National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists and colleagues how early responses of the immune system can affect development of EBOV disease. The model could help identify protective immune responses as targets for developing human EBOV therapeutics. |
Commercial interests may drown out patients' voicesResearchers from the University of Sydney and Bond University are urgently calling for greater independence and transparency around industry-sponsored patient advocacy groups, following a growing amount of evidence which raises questions over potential bias in their activities. | |
 | Researchers find cancer-fighting drugs help morbidly obese mice lose weightScientific investigations sometimes result in serendipitous discoveries which shift the investigations from one focus to another. In the case of researchers at Mayo Clinic in Arizona, studies addressing obesity's impact on cancer treatment resulted in an unexpected discovery that shifted the focus from cancer to obesity. The investigators observed that two common cancer-fighting drugs sparked significant weight loss in the obese mice, even though the mice continued their excessive consumption of a high-fat diet. These results, which are part of a Mayo Clinic study, were reported in the Jan. 17 edition of Oncotarget. |
 | Researchers find likely cause – and potential way to prevent – vision deterioration in spaceVision deterioration in astronauts who spend a long time in space is likely due to the lack of a day-night cycle in intracranial pressure. But using a vacuum device to lower pressure for part of each day might prevent the problem, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers said. Their study appears in the Journal of Physiology. |
 | Researchers devise methods to identify transmission of microbes from mothers to infantsIt has been assumed that mothers pass on gut microbes to their infants during and just after delivery, a process called vertical transmission, but because of limits in available technology, the evidence of this occurrence has been limited. Now, researchers in Italy have combined laboratory and novel computational techniques to systematically track the vertical transmission of microbes in a pilot study. |
 | Millions of people with metabolic syndrome may need more vitamin ENew research has shown that people with metabolic syndrome need significantly more vitamin E - which could be a serious public health concern, in light of the millions of people who have this condition that's often related to obesity. |
 | Study challenges potential pancreatic cancer targetA protein thought to fuel pancreatic cancer development plays a much more complicated role, a new study finds. |
 | Unveiling the biology behind nonalcoholic fatty liver diseaseEPFL scientists have discovered a new biological mechanism behind nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. |
Why hospital antibiotic management strategies do little to curb resistanceWith an alarming growth in antibiotic resistance and doctors increasingly having to resort to last-chance antibiotics to save patients, is there a better way for hospitals to manage antibiotic treatment regimens? | |
Key signaling protein associated with addiction controls the actions of oxycodone on painRGS9-2, a key signaling protein in the brain known to play a critical role in the development of addiction-related behaviors, acts as a positive modulator of oxycodone reward in both pain-free and chronic pain states, according to a study conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published online January 17 in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology. The mechanisms of oxycodone action uncovered through this study will help scientists and physicians develop strategies and tools to dissociate the analgesic (pain relief) actions of opioids from the addiction-related effects. | |
 | Want to ace an exam? Tell a friend what you learned, researcher suggestsStudents who are given information and tell someone about it shortly afterward recall the details better and longer—a strategy which could be a plus come test time, says a Baylor University researcher. |
 | Researchers identify new target for cancer immunotherapyMassachusetts General Hospital investigators have found new evidence that the tumor necrosis factor receptor type II (TNFR2) may be a major target for immuno-oncology treatments, which induce a patient's immune system to fight cancer. TNFR2 is expressed both on many types of cancer cells and on immunosuppressive regulatory T cells (Tregs) that infiltrate tumors and suppress immune system activity. The team's findings are being published online in Science Signaling. |
 | Study reveals why cancer cells spread within the bodyEach day, more than 1,600 people die from cancer in the US, and 450 in the UK, mostly because the disease has spread beyond a stage when surgery is an effective cure and has become resistant to therapy. Despite decades of research, understanding why cancer cells become invasive has remained shrouded in mystery. |
Kidney disease patients have higher out-of-pocket costs than stroke and cancer patientsPatients who have chronic kidney disease but are not on dialysis have higher out-of-pocket healthcare expenses than even stroke and cancer patients, according to a study by researchers at Loyola University Chicago and Loyola Medicine. | |
Team identifies compound that could improve drug development against deadly brain cancerA study led by scientists at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) has identified "a potent inhibitory compound" in the elusive hunt for an improved treatment against glioblastoma, the most common and deadly type of adult brain cancer. | |
 | Steep rise in births to U.S. women using opioids(HealthDay)—Over a decade, there was a nearly fivefold increase in the number of babies born each year to American women who have used opioids, a federal government report says. |
 | Postpartum depression affects new dads, too(HealthDay)—Men can also suffer from postpartum depression after their baby is born. |
 | Interaction between antibiotics, obesity is complex(HealthDay)—The interaction between antibiotics and human growth and obesity is explored in a historical perspective piece published in the Jan. 17 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. |
 | Glyburide, metformin have similar effect in gestational DM(HealthDay)—For patients with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), glyburide and metformin are comparable in terms of glucose control and safety, according to a study published online Jan. 11 in Diabetes Care. |
 | Normal vitamin D intake not linked to kidney stone risk(HealthDay)—There is no statistically significant correlation between typical vitamin D intake and incident kidney stones, according to a study published in the February issue of The Journal of Urology. |
 | Lower inpatient costs for dabigatran, rivaroxaban in A-fib(HealthDay)—For patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation (AF), inpatient costs are lower with dabigatran and rivaroxaban than with warfarin, according to a letter published online in the Jan. 24 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. |
 | Unique molecular features for vulvar, vaginal melanomas(HealthDay)—Vulvar and vaginal melanomas (VVMs) have unique molecular features as compared to nongynecologic melanoma (NGM), according to a study published online Dec. 27 in Cancer. |
 | Blocking neuron signaling pathway could lead to new treatments for peripheral neuropathyResearchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the University of Manitoba and St. Boniface Hospital Albrechtsen Research Centre in Canada, have identified a molecular signaling pathway that, when blocked, promotes sensory neuron growth and prevents or reverses peripheral neuropathy in cell and rodent models of type 1 and 2 diabetes, chemotherapy-induced neuropathy and HIV. |
ACP and AAFP release guideline for treatment of hypertension in older adultsThe American College of Physicians (ACP) and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) have published an evidence-based clinical practice guideline on the appropriate systolic blood pressure target for adults 60 years old and older with hypertension. The joint guideline is published in today's issue of Annals of Internal Medicine and a summary of the guideline will be published in the March/April 2017 issue of the Annals of Family Medicine. | |
Helping your child with bed-wettingDear Mayo Clinic: My son is 8 and wets the bed a few times each week. We have tried a variety of things to help prevent it from happening, including stopping beverages two hours before bedtime and using a mattress pad with a bed-wetting alarm. Should we take him to see a specialist? Don't kids usually outgrow bed-wetting by this age? | |
 | Community-acquired pneumonia can spread year-roundNew research indicates that community-acquired pneumonia should not be regarded as a seasonal disease, as it occurs throughout all seasons; however, the pathogens that cause the condition are clearly subject to seasonal variations. |
 | New drive to cut childhood brain tumour diagnosis timesA new campaign to reduce the time it takes to diagnose brain tumours in children and young people has being launched today. |
 | Health researchers work with startup on colon cancer vaccineThe University of Connecticut and emerging immunotherapy company CaroGen Corp. have begun a collaboration to develop a vaccine for treatment of patients with colon cancer. |
Dietary supplement may carry both benefits and risks associated with statinsRed yeast rice (RYR) is contained in dietary supplements that are often used by patients with high cholesterol, and it is often proposed as an alternative therapy in those who experience side effects from statins. A new study found that it is not a good choice for statin-intolerant patients: RYR was linked with muscle and liver injury, which can also occur with statin use. | |
Experts seek to educate orthopaedic researchers on the ethical use of animals in preclinical studiesRecent initiatives by the Orthopaedic Research Society seek to improve animal research and ensure that it is performed to the highest ethical and scientific standards. | |
 | Weekly diabetes drug provides similar benefits to daily versionA weekly dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor was just as effective at controlling type 2 diabetic patients' blood sugar as a daily DPP-4 inhibitor in a recent randomized clinical trial. |
Hip fractures may have both short and long-term effects on survival in elderly individualsA new analysis of numerous studies indicates that men and women aged 60 years and older who have experienced a hip fracture are at increased risk of dying not only in the short term after the fracture, but also a number of years later. | |
Saudi emergency after mass food poisoningSaudi authorities blamed a small-town restaurant for a food poisoning outbreak that struck at least 150 people and sparked a declaration of a health emergency, media said on Tuesday. | |
Three Latvia regions under emergency due to African swine feverLatvia declared a state of emergency Tuesday in three regions affected by African swine fever and said it expects hundreds of pigs to be culled at local farms to prevent the disease from spreading. | |
Antimicrobial sutures can prevent surgical site infections and save moneyNew analyses of the published clinical studies indicate that antimicrobial sutures are effective for preventing surgical site infections (SSIs), and they can result in significant cost savings. The results are published in the British Journal of Surgery. | |
Plant-derived products may help fight HBVResearchers have found that certain plant-derived products may help prevent and treat hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Proanthocyanidin (PAC) and its analogs, oolonghomobisflavanes, act by inhibiting viral entry into host cells. | |
Colorado medical students defend physicians' right to recommend marijuanaColorado students viewed the legalization of marijuana favorably, medicinal or otherwise, and generally felt that the medical use of marijuana is acceptable in the treatment of conditions approved by the Colorado Medical Marijuana Registry. Nearly half (49 percent) felt that it had significant physical health benefits and 37 percent believed it had mental health benefits. This contrasts with other studies, which found that most Colorado family physicians would only recommend marijuana for patients who suffer from pain or cancer and that only 27 percent of physicians thought it had significant physical health benefits. | |
Nursing homes falling behind with end-of-life directivesPopular medical dramas such as Grey's Anatomy and Chicago Med often depict the tensions that can arise while making end-of-life medical decisions without "advance directives" on file. Advance directives, or living wills, are the legal documents individuals use to communicate their treatment preferences when faced with serious injuries or illnesses. Following a new study, Colleen Galambos, professor in the University of Missouri School of Social Work, says that more attention to how advance directives are used in nursing homes may reduce unnecessary care and save health care costs, all while respecting residents' wishes. | |
 | Delhi's health system: Inadequate progress for a global cityOver the past decade, India has emerged as one of world's most important engines of economic growth. In the health sector, India is often associated with its accomplishments in promoting innovation in the delivery of health services and production of pharmaceuticals and drugs. At the same time, in comparison to other large middle-income nations such as Brazil, Russia and China (BRIC), India has failed to assure minimal standards of sanitation and public health. In a paper just published by the Royal Society for Public Health, Gusmano, Rodwin and Weisz document Delhi's health system exceptionalism. |
Retinopathy of prematurity: New developments are cause for hopeA mini-symposium published in the Journal of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS) provides important insights into new techniques and treatments that show promise for eliminating retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) throughout the world. | |
 | Penn Medicine launches first Apple ResearchKit app for sarcoidosis patientsPenn Medicine today launched its first Apple ResearchKit app, focused on patients with sarcoidosis, an inflammatory condition that can affect the lungs, skin, eyes, heart, brain, and other organs. The effort marks Penn's first time using modules from Apple's ResearchKit framework, as part of the institution's focus on mobile health and innovative research strategies. |
Not just small adults: Pediatric liver transplant recipients need special careA new review discusses important consideration when caring for children who have received liver transplants. | |
Report highlights national trends in heart disease treatmentsOver 93 percent of heart attack patients are receiving stents within the guideline-recommended threshold of 90 minutes after arriving at the hospital, with the median time to stenting only 59 minutes, according to a broad report on trends in heart disease care from the American College of Cardiology's National Cardiovascular Data Registry published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. | |
 | 18 million more uninsured if Obamacare killed, not replacedInsurance premiums would soar for millions of Americans and 18 million more would be uninsured in just one year if Republicans scuttle much of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul without a replacement, Congress' budget analysts said Tuesday. |
World's first total-body PET scanner takes a big step forwardThe UC Davis-based EXPLORER consortium, which aims to build a revolutionary total-body PET (positron emission tomography) scanner, has announced the selection of two industry partners to help build the prototype device. They are United Imaging Healthcare America, a North American subsidiary of Shanghai United Imaging Healthcare, and SensL Technologies of Cork, Ireland. | |
 | Health, economic impact of CVD preventive services varies(HealthDay)—The health and economic impact of three cardiovascular disease (CVD) preventive services varies with demographic characteristics and clinical objectives, according to a study published in the January/February issue of the Annals of Family Medicine. |
Biology news
 | Tigers could roam again in Central Asia, scientists sayCaspian tigers, some of the largest cats that ever lived—up to 10 feet long and weighing more than 300 pounds—met a grim end in the middle of the 20th century. |
 | When it comes to mating, fruit flies can make rational choicesHumans make rational choices—though perhaps not all the time. But does the ability for rational decision-making extend to other members of the animal kingdom? If so, how far are they from the human lineage? |
 | Chemical engineers program yeast to convert plant sugars into oilsMIT engineers have genetically reprogrammed a strain of yeast so that it converts sugars to fats much more efficiently, an advance that could make possible the renewable production of high-energy fuels such as diesel. |
 | First shark recorded to change from sexual to asexual reproductionLeonie the leopard shark has made a switch that could save her species – becoming the first shark recorded to change from sexual to asexual reproduction. |
 | Major advance in the understanding of the transport of RNAMessenger RNAs bearing the genetic information for the synthesis of proteins are delivered to defined sites in the cell cytoplasm by molecular motors. LMU researchers have elucidated how the motors recognize their mRNA freight. |
 | Genetic comparison of giant and red pandas offers clues about convergence(Phys.org)—A team of researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences has conducted a comparison of the genomes of giant and red pandas and has found differences due to adaptive convergence. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team describes how they sequenced the genome of a wild red panda and the differences they found when comparing it with the giant panda genome. |
 | Study shows signs of hope for endangered sea turtlesBones from dead turtles washed up on Mexican beaches indicate that Baja California is critical to the survival of endangered North Pacific loggerhead sea turtles, which travel some 7,500 miles from their nesting sites in Japan to their feeding grounds off the coast of Mexico. |
 | Moving up the food chain can beat being on topWhen it comes to predators, the biggest mouths may not take the biggest bite. According to a new study from bioscientists at Rice University, some predators have their greatest ecological impacts before they reach adulthood. |
 | GOP targets landmark Endangered Species Act for big changesIn control of Congress and soon the White House, Republicans are readying plans to roll back the influence of the Endangered Species Act, one of the government's most powerful conservation tools, after decades of complaints that it hinders drilling, logging and other activities. |
 | Myanmar's 'smiling' Irrawaddy dolphins on brink of extinctionTears fill Maung Lay's eyes as he describes losing the dolphin he knew since his childhood, the latest casualty of a battle against pollution and electrofishing that may see the species disappear in Myanmar. |
Study shines light on how to build better bacteriophage therapiesResearchers have discovered that a subset of bacteriophages, dubbed "superspreaders," potentially play a major role in transmitting antimicrobial resistance. The research, described in a study published this week in the journal mBio, provides an answer to a long-standing biological question and may help scientists better select specific bacteriophages for therapeutic use. | |
 | Cellular podiatry – understanding how cells form feetA study carried out by a team of researchers from the labs of Professor Alexander Bershadsky at the Mechanobiology Institute, Singapore at the National University of Singapore and Professor Gareth E Jones at King's College London has revealed that a protein known as Arf1 plays a role in podosome formation by regulating the assembly of myosin-II within the cytoskeleton. This study was published in the Journal of Cell Biology in December 2016. |
3-D organization of chromosomal structure influences plant gene expressionThe three-dimensional arrangement of the chromosome within which genes reside can profoundly affect gene activity. These structural effects remain poorly understood, but Assistant Professor of Plant Science Moussa Benhamed of KAUST and his colleagues have made important progress in exploring how chromosomes are organized in plant cells. | |
 | Scientists develop new wheat-wheatgrass hybridWith a hybrid crop called Salish Blue, scientists at Washington State University have combined wheat and wheatgrass in a new species with the potential to help Pacific Northwest farmers and the environment. |
 | Metabolic pathway regulating key stage of embryo development revealedResearchers identify metabolic pathway essential for embryo development, thus extending knowledge of how embryos form and how to develop a safer drug regimen for pregnant women |
 | Largest Populus SNP dataset holds promise for biofuels, materials, metabolitesResearchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have released the largest-ever single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) dataset of genetic variations in poplar trees, information useful to plant scientists as well as researchers in the fields of biofuels, materials science, and secondary plant metabolism. |
New tool can help policymakers prioritize information needs for synthetic biology techNew technologies are developed at a rapid pace, often reaching the marketplace before policymakers can determine how or whether they should be governed. Now researchers from North Carolina State University and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have developed a model that can be used to assess emerging synthetic biology products, well before they are ready for the market, to determine what needs to be done to inform future policies. | |
 | Wheat virus crosses over, harms native grassesOnce upon a time, it was thought that crop diseases affected only crops. New research shows, however, that a common wheat virus can spread and harm perennial native grasses. |
 | Why 'platonic' flies don't copulate and what that could mean for humansBy studying the sexual behavior of a mutant strain of fruit fly called "platonic," researchers at the Tohoku University Graduate School of Life Sciences have found parallels between humans and flies in the neural control of copulation. |
 | New species of moth named in honor of Donald Trump ahead of his swearing-in as presidentDays before Donald J. Trump steps forward on the Inaugural platform in Washington to assume the role of the 45th President of the United States of America, evolutionary biologist and systematist Dr. Vazrick Nazari named a new species in his honour. The author, whose publication can be found in the open access journal ZooKeys, hopes that the fame around the new moth will successfully point to the critical need for further conservation efforts for fragile areas such as the habitat of the new species. |
New genomic tool for salamander biology could spur deeper understanding of tissue regenerationA research team led by scientists at Brigham and Women's Hospital has assembled a catalogue of every active gene in a variety of tissues in the axolotl, a type of salamander known for its striking ability to fully regenerate limbs following amputation. The catalogue, known as a "transcriptome," provides a important resource for the community of researchers who study axolotls—a model organism that promises to shed light not only on the molecular mechanisms that underlie limb regeneration but also how on potential ways to repair and replace human tissues that are damaged or lost as a result of injury, illness, or even congenital disorders. | |
Mysterious stranding kills 81 false killer whales off Southwest FloridaMore than 80 false killer whales have been found dead after stranding themselves along the remote coast of Southwest Florida in Everglades National Park, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported Monday. | |
Backyard bandicoots could be key to urban bushland healthMandurah home gardens are about to be a source of great interest to Murdoch University scientists. | |
 | Robust rattan palm assessed as Endangered, new Species Conservation Profile showsAn African rattan palm species has recently been assessed as Endangered, according to the IUCN Red List criteria. Although looking pretty robust at height of up to 40 m, the palm is restricted to scattered patches of land across an area of 40 km². It grows in reserves and conservation areas in Ghana and a single forest patch in Côte d'Ivoire. Its Species Conservation Profile is published in the open access Biodiversity Data Journal by an international research team, led by Thomas Couvreur, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), France, in collaboration with the University of Yaoundé, Cameroon, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK, and the Conservatoire et jardin botaniques, Geneva, Switzerland. |
 | Sweat bees on hot chillies: Native bees thrive in traditional farming, securing good yieldFarming doesn't always have to be harmful to bees. On the contrary, even though farmers on the Mexican peninsula of Yucatán traditionally slash-and-burn forest to create small fields, this practice can be beneficial to sweat bees by creating attractive habitats. The famers profit as well since they depend on these insects to pollinate their habanero chillies. This discovery by an international team of authors, headed by Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), was recently published in the international Journal of Applied Ecology. |
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