In the first study of its kind, researchers characterized the skin microbiome of a population of free-ranging snakes to begin to understand how the animals' environmental microbial community may promote disease resistance as well as how it may be disrupted by infection.
A team of astronomers has made a surprising discovery: 12.5 billion years ago, the most opaque place in the universe contained relatively little matter.
Studies of ancient plant remains from a medieval archaeological site in the Pamir Mountains of Uzbekistan have shown that fruits, such as apples, peaches, apricots, and melons, were cultivated in the foothills of Inner Asia. The archaeobotanical study is among the first systematic analyses of medieval agricultural crops in the heart of the ancient Silk Road.
Scientists have presented research on a curious cosmic phenomenon known as 'whistlers' -- very low frequency packets of radio waves that race along magnetic field lines. The study provides new insights into the nature of whistlers and space plasmas and could one day aid in the development of practical plasma technologies with magnetic fields, including spacecraft thrusters that use charged particles as fuel.
The percentage of low-income Americans with substance use disorders who were uninsured declined more sharply in states that chose to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act versus states that did not, according to a new study. The percentage of low-income residents with substance use disorders without coverage decreased from 34 percent in 2013 to 20 percent in 2015 within states that had implemented Medicaid expansion -- or expansion states -- compared to 45 percent to 39 percent in non-expansion states.
Two receptors in the spinal cord and the right experimental drug: Researchers have discovered a new approach that suppresses itch. In a series of experiments in mice and dogs they successfully alleviated different forms of acute as well as chronic itch. For the latter, current treatment options are very limited.
Paleontologists have discovered what they say is a completely unexpected desert-dwelling pterosaur that lived in what is now Utah, the United States, about 210 million years ago. The discovery of this early pterosaur, reported in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, sheds new light on early pterosaur anatomy and development. Pterosaurs were giant flying reptiles [...]
A team led by researchers has developed a computational technique to reveal the unknown side effects -- both good and bad -- of hundreds of drugs. That knowledge could help pharmacologists discover new indications for drugs already on the market and repurpose them for other disorders. Using their unique method, the researchers discovered that two drugs commonly prescribed for non-coronary disorders may affect heart disease risk.
It's a longstanding mystery why salamanders can perfectly regenerate their tails whereas lizard tails grow back all wrong. By transplanting neural stem cells between species, researchers have discovered that the lizard's native stem cells are the primary factor hampering tail regeneration.
Technologies and organizations should be redesigned to intermittently isolate people from each other's work for best collective performance in solving complex problems.
Somewhere in the American Southwest or northern Mexico, there are probably the ruins of a scarlet macaw breeding operation dating to between 900 and 1200 C.E., according to a team of archaeologists who sequenced the mitochondrial DNA of bird remains found in the Chaco Canyon and Mimbres areas of New Mexico.
E-cigarette vapor boosts the production of inflammatory chemicals and disables key protective cells in the lung that keep the air spaces clear of potentially harmful particles, reveals a small experimental study.
Half as many women in labor who were given a drug called remifentanil to help manage their pain needed a subsequent epidural, compared to the women given pethidine -- the current standard of care, according to an open-label randomized controlled trial.
A study conducted by an international consortium called the CLAS Collaboration, made up of 182 members from 42 institutions in 9 countries, has confirmed that increasing the number of neutrons as compared to protons in the atom’s nucleus also increases the average momentum of its protons. The result, reported in the journal Nature, has implications [...]
A new study published in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience has found a link between vocal repertoire and relative size of key regions of the brain. The vocal tract and larynx is similar in form and function amongst virtually all terrestrial mammals, including humans. However, relative to humans, non-human primates produce an extremely limited range [...]
Differing levels of sex hormones, especially estrogens, may explain why many more women than men suffer from migraines. A study provides evidence that these hormones affect cell mechanisms that control responses to migraine triggers, offering a possible pathway to more effective, personalized treatments.
Lack of climate change adaptation among water utilities can put water supplies and the people dependent on them at risk, especially in marginalized communities, a new article suggests.
