Curated News: Scientific Reports

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The Neanderthals displayed great variability in their behaviour and one of the aspects in which this becomes clear is their relationship with the dead. There is evidence on different sites (e.g. Chapelle-aux-Saints in France, and Sima de las Palomas on the Iberian Peninsula) that the Neanderthals buried the dead. Yet other sites show that the Neanderthals ate the meat and broke the bones of their fellow Neanderthals for food. Evidence of this cannibal behaviour has been discovered at various sites in France (e.g., Moula-Guercy, Les Pradelles) and on the Iberian Peninsula (Zafarraya, El Sidrón).

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A research group led by Project Professor Morioka Ichiro (Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics) and Assistant Professor Iwatani Sota (Kobe University Hospital, Center for Perinatal Care) in collaboration with Doctor Miyawaki Atsushi (team leader at the Brain Science Institute, RIKEN) have clinically proven that a fluorescent protein sourced from Japanese eel muscles can be used to accurately detect unconjugated bilirubin in newborns. This detection method is ideal for newborn patients who can only give limited blood samples, and could revolutionize ways of monitoring jaundice in newborn infants. The findings were published on June 21, 2016 in the online edition of Scientific Reports.

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The first-ever record of a tumourous facial swelling found in a fossil has been discovered in the jaw of the dwarf dinosaur Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus, a type of primitive duck-billed dinosaur known as a hadrosaur.

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. – A team of scientists from the University of Maryland and Sigma Space Corporation has shown that 3D forest structure and topography can be measured rapidly, efficiently and accurately over large areas, using an innovative laser technology called single photon lidar (SPL).

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Researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have confirmed that a benign bacterium called Wolbachia pipientis can completely block transmission of Zika virus in Aedes aegypti. Matthew Aliota, a scientist at the UW–Madison School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM), says the bacteria could present a “novel biological control mechanism,” aiding efforts to stop the spread of Zika virus.

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Researchers at the University of Michigan developed a new technology that can identify aggressive forms of ductal carcinoma in situ, or stage 0 breast cancer, from non-aggressive varieties.

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TORONTO, June 30, 2016 - Fruit flies may seem simple, but these common visitors to the fruit bowl can drastically alter their gene expression and metabolism to respond to temperature changes in their environment, an international team of researchers have shown.

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The secret ingredient is in the flour, but its impact lies within the gut. Adding resistant starch to the diets of people with metabolic syndrome can improve bacteria in the gut, according to research from South Dakota State University. These changes help lower bad cholesterol and decrease inflammation associated with obesity.

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Scientists achieved seamless heterojunctions of graphene-boron nitride nanotubes without using conventional semiconductors.

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Crucial peatlands carbon-sink vulnerable to rising sea levels, research shows

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Global patterns of adoption spreading are induced by local adoption cascades initiated by multiple spontaneous adopters arriving at a constant rate, amplified by a large number of adoptions induced by social influence, and controlled by individuals who are immune to the actual adoption.

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Biologists from Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) have discovered that the evolutionary history of a hormone responsible for sexual maturity in humans is written in the genes of the humble starfish.

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The peat bogs of the world, once waterlogged repositories of dead moss, are being converted into fuel-packed fire hazards that can burn for months and generate deadly smoke, warns a McMaster researcher who documents the threat – and a possible solution ¬– in a paper published today in the journal Nature Scientific reports.

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Obese male mice and normal weight female mice produce female pups that are overweight at birth through childhood, and have delayed development of their breast tissue as well as increased rates of breast cancer. The findings come from one of the first animal studies to examine the impact of paternal obesity on future generations’ cancer risk.

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An international team of scientists has developed a relatively simple mathematical explanation for the rogue ocean waves that can develop seemingly out of nowhere to sink ships and overwhelm oil platforms with walls of water as much as 25 meters high.

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University of Utah materials science and engineering associate professor Mike Scarpulla and senior scientist Kirstin Alberi of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory have developed a theory that adding light during the manufacturing of semiconductors — the materials that make up the essential parts of computer chips, solar cells and light emitting diodes (LEDs) — can reduce defects and potentially make more efficient solar cells or brighter LEDs.

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In the lead up to the World Barista Championships, University of Bath scientists say brewing more flavoursome coffee could be as simple as chilling the beans before grinding.

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New research into the ringing-ear condition known as tinnitus indicates an alarming level of early, permanent hearing damage in young people who are exposed to loud music, prompting a warning from a leading Canadian researcher in the field.

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Scientists at the University of Liverpool have discovered that muscle cells affected by muscular dystrophy contain high levels of an enzyme that impairs muscle repair. This finding provides a new target for potential drug treatments for the disease, which currently has no cure.

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A naturally occurring vitamin, nicotinamide riboside (NR), can lower blood sugar levels, reduce fatty liver, and prevent peripheral nerve damage in mouse models of diabetes, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Iowa and the Iowa City VA Health Care System.

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The toxic dinoflagellate, Alexandrium fundyense, is a photosynthetic plankton--a microscopic organism floating in the ocean, unable to swim against a current. New research by scientists at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa (UHM) School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) suggests that ingestion of this dinoflagellate changes the energy balance and reproductive potential of a particular copepod--a small crustacean--in the North Atlantic, which is key food source for young fishes, including many commercially important species.

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Fossil remains of a previously unknown family of carnivorous Australian marsupials that lived 15 million years ago have been discovered at the Riversleigh World Heritage Fossil Site in north-western Queensland by a UNSW Australia-led team of researchers.

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A piece of international research led by the UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country has retrieved the mitogenome of a fossil belonging to the first Homo sapiens population in Europe.

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New U.S. Geological Survey-led research suggests that even though amphibians are severely declining worldwide, there is no smoking gun - and thus no simple solution - to halting or reversing these declines.

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In addition the technique to grow the blood vessels in a 3D scaffold cuts down on the risk of transplant rejection because it uses cells from the patient. It was developed by researchers from the University of Bath's Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, working with colleagues at Bristol Heart Institute.

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Gestural communication in bonobos and chimpanzees shows turn-taking and clearly distinguishable communication styles.

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Two hundred and fifty million years ago, life on earth was in a tail-spin--climate change, volcanic eruptions, and rising sea levels contributed to a mass extinction that makes the death of the dinosaurs look like child's play. Marine life got hit hardest--96% of all marine species went extinct. For a long time, scientists believed that the early marine reptiles that came about after the mass extinction evolved slowly, but the recent discovery of a strange new fossil brings that view into question.

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Scientists created nanoparticles to highlight cancer cells.

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The geologic shape of what were once shorelines through Mars’ northern plains convinces scientists that two large meteorites – hitting the planet millions of years apart – triggered a pair of mega-tsunamis. These gigantic waves forever scarred the Martian landscape and yielded evidence of cold, salty oceans conducive to sustaining life.

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Decommissioning the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant just got one step closer. Japanese researchers have mapped the distribution of boron compounds in a model control rod, paving the way for determining re-criticality risk within the reactor.

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Physicists are putting themselves out of a job, using artificial intelligence to run a complex experiment.

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Cinemagoers' exhaled breath reveals the scene that is playing.

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While much has been made about the dangers of texting and driving, less attention has been focused on the age-old distractions of being absent minded or upset while driving. A team of researchers from the University of Houston (UH) and the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) focused on all three of these important factors.

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Collaboration between two NIBIB-funded labs has revealed a promising new method for identifying atherosclerotic plaques, the encased deposits in arteries that restrict blood flow and can lead to heart attack or stroke. The technique combines two different types of imaging, allowing for an unprecedented combination of depth and detail. The hybrid technology will provide doctors with a better diagnostic tool for identifying particularly problematic plaques.

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Building on their groundbreaking research, Temple University scientists make another breakthrough in a potential cure for HIV.

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Using phylogenetic software to analyze algae from ocean depths of more than 100 meters, UA biologist Dr. Juan Lopez-Bautista discovered multi-cellular structures that diversified more than 540 millions years ago

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Missouri University of Science and Technology researchers are working to solve the problem of short-life of lithium-ion batteries like those used in laptops and cellphones, making them reliable and longer-lasting using a thin-film coating technique called atomic layer deposition (ALD).

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Long-eared bats are assisted in flight by their ears and body, according to a study by researchers at Lund University in Sweden. The recent findings improve researchers’ understanding of the bats’ flying technique and could be significant for the future development of drones, among other things.

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Engineers at Oregon State University have found a new way to induce and control boiling bubble formation, that may allow everything from industrial-sized boilers to advanced electronics to work better and last longer.

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A new study in mice and women by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that a high-fructose diet during pregnancy may harm the placenta and restrict fetal growth. Additionally, researchers believe a commonly prescribed drug may mitigate the negative effects.

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Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified a blood biomarker that may aid in earlier diagnosis of children with autism spectrum disorder, or ASD.

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Entomologists of the universities of Jena and Kiel shed light on bizarre mating mechanisms of native twisted-winged parasites.

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One of the startling discoveries about life on Earth in the past 25 years is that it can − and does − flourish beneath the ocean floor, in the planet’s dark, dense, rocky crust.

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New study with 'shark-eye' camera reveals that biofluorescent catsharks increase light contrast underwater; might be used for communicating with each other.

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In 1442, 50 years before Columbus “sailed the ocean blue,” Shinto priests in Japan began keeping records of the annual freeze dates of a nearby lake. Along a Finnish river, starting in 1693, local merchants recorded the date the ice broke up each spring. These observations are among the oldest inland water ice records in human history, and now they are contributing to modern understanding of climate change.

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A stunning explosion of zinc fireworks occurs when a human egg is activated by a sperm enzyme, and the size of these “sparks” is a direct measure of the quality of the egg and its ability to develop into an embryo. The discovery has potential to help doctors choose the best eggs to transfer during in vitro fertilization.

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Martin Thuo of Iowa State and the Ames Laboratory has led development of liquid-metal particles that can be used for heat-free soldering and other applications. Thuo has helped launch a startup company to develop and market the technology.

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An international team of including the Lomonosov Moscow State University researchers discovered which enzyme enables Escherichia coli bacterium (E. coli) to breathe. The study is published in the Scientific Reports.

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Lack of sleep has previously been found to impact the activation of the immune system, inflammation, carbohydrate metabolism and the hormones that regulate appetite. Now University of Helsinki researchers have found that sleep loss also influences cholesterol metabolism.

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Testosterone might be involved in explaining why men have a greater risk of heart attacks than women of similar age, according to a study funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).