Tag Archives: study

Plutonium, a heavy, silvery metal with 15 isotopes that is produced by the neutron irradiation of natural uranium, is formidably complex element that does not always act as expected. New research published in the journal Physical Review B shows that plutonium does not share electrons when it bonds with fluorine …

A Northwestern University-led team of researchers has identified a region in the brain responsible for the ‘placebo effect’ in pain relief, when a fake treatment actually results in substantial reduction of pain. In the study, whole-brain degree count maps, collected before the start of treatment, were used to identify potential …

An international team of scientists from Japan, UK and the United States has been able to regenerate heart muscle by placing adult mice in a low-oxygen environment. Schematic of gradual induction of severe hypoxemia. Image credit: Yuji Nakada et al, doi: 10.1038/nature20173. The team, led by University of Texas Southwestern …

An international team of scientists from the United States and China has found a sensor for the reactive molecules linked to diabetic complications. The study, done in the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans, provides particular promise for those suffering from painful diabetes-related nerve damage. TRPA-1/TRPA1 activation via a-dicarbonyls (a-DCs) is relayed …

According to a new study by researchers at St. Luke’s University Health Network, active cannabis use may double the risk of stress cardiomyopathy, a sudden, usually temporary, weakening of the heart muscle that reduces the heart’s ability to pump, leading to chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness and sometimes fainting. …

As many as 1.13 billion people in the world have high blood pressure, says a new study published in the journal The Lancet. The study reveals the number of people with high blood pressure has nearly doubled in four decades. Image credit: Gerald Oswald. Researchers from an international consortium called …

Americans are increasingly at risk of insufficient sun exposure, according to a landmark study published this week in the Journal of Dermato-Endocrinology. According to Hoel et al, the message of sun avoidance must be changed to acceptance of non-burning sun exposure sufficient to achieve serum 25(OH)D concentration of 30 ng/mL …

The first comprehensive genomic study of Indigenous Australians has revealed that they are indeed the direct descendants of Australia’s earliest settlers and diverged from their Papuan neighbors about 37,000 years ago. The study also confirmed that all modern non-African populations are descended from a single wave of migrants, who left …

A new study published in the journal PLoS Genetics has confirmed a genetic link between mitochondrial DNA, which is passed on from the mother, and some forms of autism spectrum disorder. Structure of the human mitochondrial genome. Image credit: Shanel / CC BY-SA 3.0. Mitochondria contain their own genome, the …

According to a new study published in the journal Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, ultrasonic vocal communication in adult mice is affected by the same gene needed for speech in humans. Mouse song system anatomy and syllable types: (A) proposed anatomy of the rudimentary mouse forebrain vocal communication circuit; (B) comparison …