The migration and interaction routes of prehistoric humans throughout the islands of Oceania can be retraced using genetic differences between paper mulberry plants, a tree native to Asia cultivated for fibers to make paper and introduced into the Pacific in prehistoric times to make barkcloth. Daniela Seelenfreund of the University of Chile and Andrea Seelenfreund of the Academia de Humanismo Cristiano University, Chile report on prehistoric human movements based on the genetic analysis of this plant in a new paper published June 19 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE.
* This article was originally published here
Wednesday, 19 June 2019
Human-on-a-chip model tests cancer drug efficacy and toxicity for therapeutic index
A reconfigurable "body-on-a-chip" model could transform drug development by simultaneously measuring compound efficacy and toxicity, for both target cells and other organs, such as the heart and liver. These findings, published in Science Translational Medicine, demonstrate the ability of a body-on-a-chip model to truly revolutionize biomedical research and personalized medicine through more accurate and efficient preclinical testing without the use of animal studies.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Mineral discovery made easier: X-ray technique shines a new light on tiny, rare crystals
Like a tiny needle in a sprawling hayfield, a single crystal grain measuring just tens of millionths of a meter—found in a borehole sample drilled in Central Siberia—had an unexpected chemical makeup.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
'Goldilocks' neurons promote REM sleep
Every night while sleeping, we cycle between two very different states of sleep. Upon falling asleep, we enter non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep where our breathing is slow and regular and movement of our limbs or eyes are minimal. Approximately 90 minutes later, how-ever, we enter rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. This is a paradoxical state where our breathing becomes fast and irregular, our limbs twitch, and our eyes move rapidly. In REM sleep, our brain is highly active, but we also become paralyzed and we lose the ability to thermoregulate or maintain our constant body temperature. "This loss of thermoregulation in REM sleep is one of the most peculiar aspects of sleep, particularly since we have finely-tuned mechanisms that control our body temperature while awake or in non-REM sleep," says Markus Schmidt of the Department for BioMedical Research (DBMR) of the University of Bern, and the Department of Neurology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital. On the one hand, the findings confirm a hypothesis proposed earlier by Schmidt, senior author of the study, and on the other hand represent a breakthrough for sleep medicine. The paper was published in Current Biology and highlighted by the editors with a comment.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Frog protein may mitigate dangers posed by toxic marine microbes
A new study from UC San Francisco suggests that a protein found in the common bullfrog may one day be used to detect and neutralize a poisonous compound produced by red tides and other harmful algal blooms. The discovery comes as these waterborne toxic events are becoming increasingly common, a consequence of climate change making the world's oceans more hospitable to the microbes responsible for these formerly infrequent flare-ups.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Mobile crisis service reduces youth ER visits for behavioral health needs, says study
Children and youth with acute behavioral health needs who are seen through Connecticut's Mobile Crisis Intervention Service—a community-based program that provides mental health interventions and services to patients 18 years and younger—have a lower risk of experiencing a follow-up episode and are less likely to show up in an emergency room if and when another episode occurs.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Study finds similar cardiovascular outcomes for generic, brand-name drugs for hypothyroidism
A new study by Mayo Clinic researchers may have broad implications for treatment of patients with predominantly benign thyroid disease and newly treated hypothyroidism.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Successful 'alien' bird invasions are location dependent
Published today in Nature, researchers show that alien bird introductions are most successful in locations and climates similar to their native habitats and in places where other alien species are already established.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
New AI system manages road infrastructure via Google Street View
Geospatial scientists have developed a new program to monitor street signs needing replacement or repair by tapping into Google Street View images.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Motherhood can deliver body image boost—new study
New research indicates that perfectionism is related to breast size dissatisfaction, but only in non-mothers—suggesting that mothers are more comfortable with their bodies.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Researchers use biological evolution to inspire machine learning
As Charles Darwin wrote in at the end of his seminal 1859 book On the Origin of the Species, "whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved." Scientists have since long believed that the diversity and range of forms of life on Earth provide evidence that biological evolution spontaneously innovates in an open-ended way, constantly inventing new things. However, attempts to construct artificial simulations of evolutionary systems tend to run into limits in the complexity and novelty which they can produce. This is sometimes referred to as "the problem of open-endedness." Because of this difficulty, to date, scientists can't easily make artificial systems capable of exhibiting the richness and diversity of biological systems.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Teaching AI agents navigation subroutines by feeding them videos
Researchers at UC Berkeley and Facebook AI Research have recently proposed a new approach that can enhance the navigation skills of machine learning models. Their method, presented in a paper pre-published on arXiv, allows models to acquire visuo-motor navigation subroutines by processing a series of videos.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Scientists identify genes associated with biliary atresia survival
Scientists at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center have identified an expression pattern of 14 genes at the time of diagnosis that predicts two year, transplant-free survival in children with biliary atresia—the most common diagnosis leading to liver transplants in children.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Corsica's 'cat-fox': On the trail of what may be a new species
In the forest undergrowth of northern Corsica, two wildlife rangers open a cage to reveal a striped, tawny-coated animal, one of 16 felines known as "cat-foxes" in the area and thought to be a new species.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
NVIDIA going full stack for ARM boosts supercomputing presence
NVIDIA and ARM make one power couple for supercomputing. NVIDIA has announced its chips will work with ARM processors. Outside observers got busy earlier this week assessing why this was a big deal to empower both companies and the effort to explain was not at all difficult.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Automated cryptocode generator is helping secure the web
Nearly every time you open up a secure Google Chrome browser, a new MIT-developed cryptographic system is helping better protect your data.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Facebook to unveil new cryptocurrency
Facebook is set Tuesday to unveil a bid to bring cryptocurrency payments into the mainstream, reportedly with the endorsement of governments and financial giants.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
Crocs' climate clock: Ancient distribution of Crocs could reveal more about past climates
Underneath their tough exteriors, some crocodilians have a sensitive side that scientists could use to shine light on our ancient climate, according to new findings published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
* This article was originally published here
* This article was originally published here
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