Breaking News22 April

Neonics hinder bees' ability to fend off deadly mites, U of G study reveals

A University of Guelph study is the first to uncover the impact of neonicotinoid pesticides on honey bees' ability to groom and rid themselves of deadly mites.

Journal: Scientific Reports
Funder: Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs

Older adults starting dialysis die at higher rates than previously thought

Harvard Medical School

Study found more than half of older adults with end-stage kidney disease died within a year of starting dialysis. Nearly one in four older dialysis patients (23%) succumbed to the disease within a month of starting treatment. Analysis reveals markedly higher death rates than previous reports of dialysis outcomes among older patients. Findings can help patients and clinicians make better-informed decisions to determine optimal course of treatment.

Journal: JAMA Internal Medicine
Funder: NIH/National Institute on Aging, National Palliative Care Research Center

Snake-inspired robot slithers even better than predecessor

Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have developed a new and improved snake-inspired soft robot that is faster and more precise than its predecessor.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Funder: National Science Foundation, Army Research Office

Asia's diabetes epidemic preferentially kills women, the middle-aged: Study

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Diabetes has reached epidemic proportions in Asia and has dramatically increased the risk of premature death, especially among women and middle-aged people, a multinational study led by Vanderbilt University researchers has found.

Journal: JAMA Network Open
Funder: National Institutes of Health

Promise of liquid biopsy in cancer biomarker detection and prenatal screening

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

The promise and challenges of liquid biopsy, an emerging, noninvasive method for targeted disease diagnosis and detection of cancer biomarkers to enable improved and personalized therapy, is the focus of a new special issue of Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert Inc. publishers.

Journal: Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers

Parents using both e-cigarettes and traditional cigarettes may be more motivated to quit

Massachusetts General Hospital

A study by MassGeneral Hospital for Children researchers finds that parents who use both traditional cigarettes and e-cigarettes may be more receptive to smoking cessation interventions than parents who only smoke traditional cigarettes.

Journal: Academic Pediatrics
Funder: NIH/National Cancer Institute

Sand tiger sharks return to shipwrecks off N.C. coast

Duke University

A study co-led by Duke University reveals shipwrecks off North Carolina's coast are important habitats for sand tiger sharks, whose population plummeted in the 1980 and 1990s. Photos taken months and even years apart by scuba divers show female sand tiger sharks returning to the same shipwrecks. The photos were uploaded to the citizen-science program Spot A Shark USA which used specialized software to ID the sharks.

Journal: Ecology
Funder: North Carolina Aquarium Society, Georgia Aquarium, Minnesota Zoo Foundation

Island lizards are expert sunbathers, and researchers find it's slowing their evolution

Virginia Tech

If you've ever spent some time in the Caribbean, you might have noticed that humans are not the only organisms soaking up the sun. Anoles -- diminutive little tree lizards -- spend much of their day shuttling in and out of shade. But, according to a new study in Evolution led by assistant professor Martha Muñoz at Virginia Tech and Jhan Salazar at Universidad Icesi, this behavioral 'thermoregulation' isn't just affecting their body temperature. Surprisingly, it's also slowing their evolution.

Journal: Evolution

Rutgers develops new tool to help psychiatrists encourage patients to quit smoking

Rutgers University

Psychiatrists often disregard their patients' smoking even though tobacco use accounts for 50% of deaths among people with mental illness, a Rutgers-led study finds.

Journal: American Journal of Addictions
Funder: American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology

Bacteria use their enemy -- phage -- for 'self-recognition'

Chinese Academy of Sciences Headquarters

Scientists discovered that cells can distinguish themselves from closely related competitors through the use of a virus, and the harboring of phage in bacterial genomes benefits host cells when facing competitors in the environment.

Journal: Cell Reports

21 April

21 April

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Breaking News22 April

21 April

Study exposes reasons behind poor mental health in bisexual people

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Group decisions: When more information isn't necessarily better