Curated News: Staff Picks

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Researcher Don Hood from LSU and colleagues from collaborating universities studied an unusual region on Mars -- an area with high elevation called Thaumasia Planum. They analyzed the geography and mineralogy of this area they termed Greater Thaumasia, which is about the size of North America. They also studied the chemistry of this area based on Gamma Ray Spectrometer data collected by the Mars Odyssey Orbiter, which was launched in 2001. What they found was the mountain ridge that outlines Greater Thaumasia was most likely created by a chain of volcanoes. The results were published recently in the Journal of Geophysical Research-Planets.

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Sleep deprivation may result in people consuming more calories during the following day, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis led by researchers at King's College London.

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Researchers have developed a chemical compound that detects the Alzheimer’s protein amyloid beta better than current FDA-approved agents. The compound potentially could be used in brain scans to identify the signs of Alzheimer’s early, or to monitor response to treatment.

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KITP’s Greg Huber worked with nuclear physicists to confirm a structural similarity found in both human cells and neutron stars.

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Research led by the University of Kent shows stimulation of the brain impacts on endurance exercise performance by decreasing perception of effort.

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A new review by Concordia researchers published in Socioaffective Neuroscience & Psychology details the vast potential women have to experience orgasms from one or more sources of sensory input.

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It's tempting to dip into the leftover Halloween treats, but new research out of York University has found eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, combined with regular exercise, leads to better cognitive functioning for younger and older adults, and may delay the onset of dementia.

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A Cardiff University study has found that children using screen-based media devices at bedtime have over double the risk of inadequate sleep duration compared to children without access to such a device.

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Top-tier research describes ways Congress can curb spending and reduce the national debt.

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Researchers were able to restore HIV genomes from serum samples more than 40 years old, enabling them to reconstruct the origins of the AIDS pandemic in unprecedented detail

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Researchers have created a 3D printed cosmic microwave background - a map of the oldest light in the universe - and provided the files for download.

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A recent Cochrane Review has found evidence from randomised trials, that taking an oral vitamin D supplement in addition to standard asthma medication is likely to reduce severe asthma attacks.

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Men can take birth control shots to prevent pregnancy in their female partners, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

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Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive cancer known for drug resistance and relapse. In an effort to uncover new treatment strategies, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center discovered that a cell surface molecule known as CD98 promotes AML. The study also shows that inhibiting CD98 with the therapeutic antibody IGN523 blocks AML growth in patient-derived cells and mouse models.

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A robotic arm and a virtual game were essential tools in a new study from researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine. The study results suggest that while training doesn't change neurological repair in chronic stroke patients, it can indeed help such patients learn new motor skills and achieve more independence in their daily lives.

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The number of people diagnosed with depression at psychiatric hospitals increases immediately after the transition from daylight saving time to standard time -- this is the conclusion of a recent register-based study from Denmark.

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Scientists have agreed for the first time that recent severe cold winter weather in the UK and US may have been influenced by climate change in the Arctic, according to a new study.

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Upper Paleolithic humans may have hunted cave lions for their pelts, perhaps contributing to their extinction, according to a study published October 26, 2016 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Marián Cueto from the Universidad de Cantabria, Spain, and colleagues.

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A rare triple-star system surrounded by a disk with a spiral structure has been discovered by a University of Oklahoma-led research team.

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The indirect effects of rising CO2 levels, such as changes in soil moisture and plant structure, can have a bigger impact on ecosystems than previously thought. Understanding their importance, in comparison to the direct effects, will improve our understanding of how ecosystems respond to climate change.

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Although powerful people often tend to decide and act quickly, they become more indecisive than others when the decisions are toughest to make, a new study suggests. The study is published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

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Two new studies by researchers at the University of California, Irvine and NASA have found the fastest ongoing rates of glacier retreat ever observed in West Antarctica and offer an unprecedented look at ice melting on the floating undersides of glaciers. The results highlight how the interaction between ocean conditions and the bedrock beneath a glacier can influence the frozen mass, helping scientists better predict future Antarctica ice loss and global sea level rise.

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Recent research shows brain-to-text device capable of decoding speech from brain signals

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Results from a new clinical study conducted at Uppsala University suggest that curtailing sleep alters the abundance of bacterial gut species that have previously been linked to compromised human metabolic health. The new article is published in the journal Molecular Metabolism.

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Many children are still learning to control their behavior as they enter kindergarten and may need educational support to develop that critical skill, indicates one of the most conclusive studies to date of early childhood self-regulation.

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Freshwater fish play a surprisingly crucial role in feeding some of the world’s most vulnerable people, according to a study published Monday (Oct. 24) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Environmental contaminants such as perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) can be transferred from mother to offspring through the placenta and mother’s milk, exposing the young mammal before and after birth.

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Visual hallucinations ... everyone has heard of them, and many people have experienced the sensation of "seeing" something that isn't there. But studying the phenomenon of hallucinations is difficult: they are irregular, transitory, and highly personal--only the person experiencing the hallucination knows what he or she is seeing, and representations of what's being seen are limited to verbal descriptions or drawings.

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Pediatricians weigh in on a fraught issue facing parents today: How much screen time is OK? The American Academy of Pediatrics issues new guidelines.

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Planet Nine—the undiscovered planet at the edge of the Solar System appears to be responsible for the unusual tilt of the sun, according to a new study.

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Teeth striations of Homo habilis fossil date back 1.8 million years.

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Flooring can be made from any number of sustainable materials, making it, generally, an eco-friendly feature in homes and businesses alike. Now, flooring could be even more "green," thanks to an inexpensive, simple method developed by University of Wisconsin-Madison materials engineers that allows them to convert footsteps into usable electricity.

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Dozens of dangerous gases are produced by the batteries found in billions of consumer devices, like smartphones and tablets, according to a new study. The research, published in Nano Energy, identified more than 100 toxic gases released by lithium batteries, including carbon monoxide.

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MINNEAPOLIS – Exercise may be associated with a small benefit for elderly people who already have memory and thinking problems, according to new research published in the October 19, 2016, online issue of Neurology®, a medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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Specific brain regions, including those involved in awareness of self and tendency to ruminate, show altered activity in patients with insomnia when compared to good sleepers, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine published this week in the journal SLEEP.

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Study: Older men adhere closely to an idealized masculinity script that is incompatible with the realities of later life

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Stroke patients are starting a trial of a new electronic device to recover movement and control of their hand.

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Study shows no link between appetite and calorie consumption. Findings highlight problems with health claims made by food industry. More research needed to see what influences calories intake.

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Five years ago, the largest single release of human-made radioactive discharge to the marine environment resulted from an accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan.

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Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have found that the mouths of migraine sufferers harbor significantly more microbes with the ability to modify nitrates than people who do not get migraine headaches. The study is published October 18 by mSystems.

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New uranium series analysis of chief's tomb suggests island's monumental structures are earliest evidence of a chiefdom in the Pacific -- yielding new keys to how societies emerge and evolve.

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The degree to which other people divert your attention may depend on your social class, according to new findings published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

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Walking briskly or cycling for the recommended 150 minutes a week can reduce a person’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes by up to 26%, according to new research by UCL and the University of Cambridge.

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With recent studies proving that almost everyone has a little bit of Neanderthal DNA in them----up to 5 percent of the human genome--- it's become clear our ancestors not only had some serious hominid 'hanky panky' going on, but with it, a potential downside: the spread of sexually transmitted infections, or STIs.

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Experts in diet and metabolism have found that replacing low calorie ‘diet’ drinks with water can help increase the rate of weight loss in obese women with type 2 diabetes and improve insulin sensitivity

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Remember dropping your milk teeth? After a lot of wiggling the tooth finally dropped out. But in your hand was only the enamel-covered crown: the entire root of the tooth had somehow disappeared.

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Engineers funded by NIBIB have developed a small device, worn on the skin, that detects alcohol levels in perspiration and sends the information to the uses smart phone in just 8 minutes. It was designed as a convenient method for individuals to monitor their alcohol intake.

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A rare variant in the TM2D3 gene linked to increased risk and earlier onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

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Results of new study show that young children who watch too much television are at risk of victimization and social isolation and adopting violent and antisocial behaviour toward other students at age 13.

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Incivil behaviors at work -- put-downs, sarcasm and other condescending comments -- tend to have a contagious effect, according to a new study.