Agent-based modeling for archaeology can simulate the complexity of societies

The more we learn about the past, the more we come to understand that ancient societies share some striking similarities to our own. From the first waves of migration out of Africa to the Ancestral Pueblo, the peoples of the past created art, migrated to new lands, fought wars, raised families, and exploited natural resources for housing, food, and tools—just like we do. With the help of a powerful computational tool called agent-based modeling, archaeologists can discover new frontiers of knowledge that help us better understand not only the past but also today's world, a new book from SFI Press suggests.

New insight into red blood cell machinery offers clues to treating sickle cell disease

Hematologists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have discovered key molecular details of how genetic variants in blood-forming machinery enable some people to retain the ability to generate red blood cells with a form of hemoglobin that is normally expressed only before birth. Persistence of fetal hemoglobin expression after birth can protect patients from the deleterious effects of mutations that cause beta thalassemia and sickle cell disease. The findings are already aiding development of gene therapies. The work was published online today in Nature Genetics.

Discovery within cell cycle process to bring understanding of cellular diseases

Research from the School of Biosciences and the University of Manchester has uncovered an essential mechanism coordinating the processes of cell division and adhesion within humans. This discovery has profound potential for advancing understanding of cell adhesion signaling in cancerous tumor progression and metastasis.

New method to solve the plastics sustainability problem

Plastics sustainability has come a long way in recent years thanks in large part to scientific advances. But even as plastics become more and more environmentally friendly, the world continues to be polluted as many industries rely on them for their widely used products.

Emergence of leaders and influencers a result of a self-reinforcing social process, not necessarily skills and talent

New research by UTS economist Associate Professor David Goldbaum suggests influential leaders emerge from an evolutionary social process that has less to do with skills and talent than we might think.

A promising new treatment for COVID-19 infection

A flowering plant native to North Africa and Western Asia could be utilized in the future treatment of COVID-19 infection.

How sex cells get the right genetic mix: An interdisciplinary approach solves a century-old puzzle

A new discovery explains what determines the number and position of genetic exchanges that occur in sex cells, such as pollen and eggs in plants, or sperm and eggs in humans.

Guadeloupe to impose new curfew due to alarming COVID surge

France's overseas territory of Guadeloupe is to return to partial lockdown for at least three weeks because of a "catastrophic" surge in COVID cases, officials announced Monday.

China orders mass testing in Wuhan as COVID outbreak spreads

Chinese authorities announced Tuesday mass coronavirus testing in Wuhan as an unusually wide series of COVID-19 outbreaks reached the city where the disease was first detected in late 2019.

Rapid virus spread through Indonesia taxes health workers

Irman Pahlepi is back at work in Jakarta's Dr. Suyoto public hospital, immediately resuming his duties treating COVID-19 patients after recovering from an infection himself—for the second time.

Tunisia over worst of Covid wave but must speed up jabs: WHO

Tunisia—which has seen the world's worst COVID-19 death toll—may be over the peak of the latest wave but the government must still speed up inoculations, the WHO said on Monday.

TED talks seek to inject optimism into pandemic gloom

A TED conference under the theme "The Case for Optimism" on Monday threw down the gauntlet for a return to face-to-face gatherings, despite the daunting challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, climate change and deep political divides.

US hits 70% vaccination rate—a month late, amid a surge

The U.S. on Monday finally reached President Joe Biden's goal of getting at least one COVID-19 shot into 70% of American adults—a month late and amid a fierce surge by the delta variant that is swamping hospitals and leading to new mask rules and mandatory vaccinations around the country.

Florida hospitals taking steps to battle record COVID surge

Florida's largest hospital systems are expanding their coronavirus units, limiting visitors and fearing staffing shortages as they deal with the statewide surge that is breaking records set last year for both cases and hospitalizations.

Boeing attempts uncrewed test flight to ISS a second time

Boeing will be aiming to get its spaceflight program back on track Tuesday with an uncrewed flight of its Starliner capsule to the International Space Station (ISS), after its last such test in 2019 ended in failure.

Swiss flavour firm gets taste for post-COVID health food boom

Health foods will become a dominant nutrition trend in the post-COVID era, the boss of the Swiss group Firmenich, one of the world's major flavour and perfume manufacturers, told AFP.

France's Sanofi expands mRNA drive with US firm purchase

France's pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, which has lagged behind rivals in developing new generation mRNA Covid-19 vaccines, on Tuesday said it has purchased a US firm specialising in the technology.

Masks encouraged in New York, but no city or state mandate

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio "strongly" urged even vaccinated people to start wearing masks indoors. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said unvaccinated transit employees in the metropolitan area would undergo weekly virus testing. But both Democrats on Monday resisted calls to impose new mask or vaccination requirements to counter a rapidly climbing number of new COVID-19 infections.

Sierra Nevada red fox to be listed as federally endangered

The slender, bushy-tailed Sierra Nevada red fox will be listed as an endangered species, federal wildlife officials announced Monday, saying its population has dipped to just 40 animals in area of California stretching from Lake Tahoe to south of Yosemite National Park.

Study provides first holistic assessment of plastic pollution in the Caribbean

The Caribbean is renowned globally for its stunning beaches and crystal clear ocean.

Indigenous fire stewardship promotes global biodiversity

The disruption of Indigenous-controlled fire use at the onset of colonization has resulted in high-severity fire activity, according to a new study by a research team at the University of Waterloo.

One of world's rarest chameleons found clinging to survival

Urgent conservation measures are needed to save a Critically Endangered species of chameleon which has been found clinging to survival in patches of rainforest in Malawi.

COVID-19 not linked to increased preterm births or stillbirths

A new study may alleviate concerns about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pregnancy, as researchers found no increases in preterm births or stillbirths during the first year of the pandemic. The large study of more than 2.4 million births in Ontario is published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).