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Mystery solved: How red dye figured out a maze.
www.futurity.org Mystery solved: How red dye figured out a mazeHow did a pool of red dye somehow “know” how to solve a maze filled with milk? Researchers have solved the mystery.
- www.sciencealert.com Several Psychiatric Disorders Share The Same Root Cause, Study Reveals
Researchers recently discovered that eight different psychiatric conditions share a common genetic basis.
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The role of lipids in promoting hair growth through HIF-1 signaling pathway.
www.nature.com The role of lipids in promoting hair growth through HIF-1 signaling pathway | Scientific ReportsUnderstanding the underlying mechanisms regulating hair regeneration is crucial, especially given the increasing demand for effective drugs to treat hair loss, which remain not fully elucidated. In the present study, we found that lipid metabolism was attenuated in the scalp tissues of patients with...
Abstract
> Understanding the underlying mechanisms regulating hair regeneration is crucial, especially given the increasing demand for effective drugs to treat hair loss, which remain not fully elucidated. In the present study, we found that lipid metabolism was attenuated in the scalp tissues of patients with androgenetic alopecia. Lipid supplementation in the culture medium upregulated hair growth-related genes and promoted the proliferation of human dermal papilla cells (DPCs). By using RNA-sequencing analysis and HIF-1α knockdown in DPCs, we found that HIF-1α is a potential candidate that governs lipid-reinforced upregulation of trichogenic genes. Finally, we assessed the hair growth-promoting effects of lipids using in vitro hair follicle organoids and found that lipids accelerated the elongation of hair-shaft-like structures. Our results highlight the importance of lipids in promoting hair growth through HIF-1 signaling, suggesting that this may be a promising target for the treatment of hair loss.
- www.livescience.com In a 1st, ancient proteins reveal sex of human relative from 3.5 million years ago
Researchers have extracted ancient proteins from australopithecine fossils and determined whether they were male or female — a first for human evolution studies.
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Harvard Scientists Uncover How Gut Bacteria Fuel Inflammation and Depression
>Harvard researchers have found that M. morganii may contribute to depression by producing an inflammatory molecule.
- Biochemical analyses reveal how the gut bacterium Morganella morganii may contribute to some cases of major depressive disorder.
- The bacterium incorporates an environmental contaminant into one of its molecules, triggering inflammation — a known factor in disease development.
- These findings suggest the contaminant could serve as a biomarker and further support the idea that major depressive disorder may have autoimmune connections.
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White House budget proposal could shatter the National Science Foundation
arstechnica.com White House budget proposal could shatter the National Science Foundation“This kind of cut would kill American science and boost China.”…
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Economic inequality leads to democratic erosion, a new study finds.
www.futurity.org Economic inequality is bad for democracyA new study digs into one of the possible driving forces behind the erosion of democratic norms and institutions: economic inequality.
- www.newsweek.com Donald Trump's next target could be NOAA: former director
Next government agency to be dismantled by Musk and the President could be the service millions rely on for natural disaster alerts.
- phys.org Study explores compound's potential to enhance THC for pain treatment
University of Mississippi researchers have discovered how a compound found in cannabis might be used to mitigate the negative effects of THC, a psychoactive compound in the plant.
- www.scientificamerican.com How to Avoid News Burnout and Outrage Fatigue
Outrage fatigue can wear us down—but we can take care of ourselves in an onslaught of overwhelming news.
- www.sciencealert.com 'Beyond Doubt': Proteins in Fossil From Actual Dinosaur, Claim Scientists
Researchers have discovered clear chemical traces of decaying collagen in a duck-billed dinosaur fossil, upending previously held notions that any organic material found within such ancient fossils must be from some source of contamination.
- phys.org Printable molecule-selective nanoparticles enable mass production of wearable biosensors
The future of medicine may very well lie in the personalization of health care—knowing exactly what an individual needs and then delivering just the right mix of nutrients, metabolites, and medications, if necessary, to stabilize and improve their condition. To make this possible, physicians first n...
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Thrill of the chase.
elifesciences.org Thrill of the chaseA study in mice reveals a new role for CGRP neurons in coordinating responses to threats of different severity.
> A study in mice reveals a new role for CGRP neurons in coordinating responses to threats of different severity.
- www.nature.com Mitochondria as you’ve never seen them — January’s best science images
The month’s sharpest science shots, selected by Nature’s photo team.
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Plastic shards permeate human brains
Plastic levels are tricky to measure. To get the full picture, researchers used several different methods to measure MNPs in 91 brain samples collected from people who died as far back as 1997. The measurements all pointed to substantial increases over the years. From 2016 to 2024, the median concentration of MNPs increased by about 50 percent, from 3,345 micrograms per gram to 4,917 micrograms per gram.
“The levels of plastic being detected in the brain are almost unbelievable,” says study coauthor Andrew West, a neuroscientist at Duke University. “In fact, I didn’t believe it until I saw all the data” from multiple tests with different samples.
- phys.org New acoustic wave phenomenon discovered
A unique propagation phenomenon of acoustic waves has been discovered, paving the way for developing advanced communication technologies using acoustic devices.
- www.nationalgeographic.com The menstrual cycle can reshape your brain
Studies show that the volume or thickness of certain brain regions expand during monthly periods—but they don’t reveal whether that’s connected to emotional fluctuations.
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Increasing rat numbers in cities are linked to climate warming, urbanization, and human population.
Abstract
> Urban rats are commensal pests that thrive in cities by exploiting the resources accompanying large human populations. Identifying long-term trends in rat numbers and how they are shaped by environmental changes is critical for understanding their ecology, and projecting future vulnerabilities and mitigation needs. Here, we use public complaint and inspection data from 16 cities around the world to estimate trends in rat populations. Eleven of 16 cities (69%) had significant increasing trends in rat numbers, including Washington D.C., New York, and Amsterdam. Just three cities experienced declines. Cities experiencing greater temperature increases over time saw larger increases in rats. Cities with more dense human populations and more urbanization also saw larger increases in rats. Warming temperatures and more people living in cities may be expanding the seasonal activity periods and food availability for urban rats. Cities will have to integrate the biological impacts of these variables into future management strategies.
- english.elpais.com A shady business operated out of a British mansion is buying up scientific journals to earn millions by publishing mediocre studies
Study by two Spanish researchers exposes Oxbridge Publishing House’s ‘invasion’ of the editorial industry
- phys.org Durable plastic gets a sustainability makeover in novel polymerization process
Car tires, replacement hip joints, bowling balls—these and other items are made from a class of plastics called thermosets, known for extreme durability.
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Tackling hate speech online: The effect of counter-speech on subsequent bystander behavioral intentions.
Abstract
> Counter-speech is considered a promising tool to address hate speech online, notably, by promoting bystander reactions that could attenuate the prevalence or further dissemination of hate. However, it remains unclear which types of counter-speech are most effective in attaining these goals and which might backfire. Advancing the literature, we examined the effect of four types of counter-speech (i.e., educating the perpetrator, calling on others to intervene, diverting the conversation, and abusing the perpetrator) on a range of bystander behavioral intentions in an experimental study (N = 250, UK-based adults). Overall, counter-speech did not affect bystanders’ subsequent responses to hate speech. Having said this, as expected, diversionary counter-speech increased intentions to ignore hate speech, which suggests unintended consequences. The study illustrates that counter-speech may not be sufficiently impactful in regulating bystanders’ reactions to hate speech online.
- www.sciencedaily.com Life's building blocks in Asteroid Bennu samples
Scientists detected all five nucleobases -- building blocks of DNA and RNA -- in samples returned from asteroid Bennu by NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission.
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Asteroid sample reveals the building blocks of life are extraterrestrial in origin
Researchers have detected organic compounds and minerals necessary for life in unprecedented samples collected from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu, adding evidence to the idea that asteroids likely delivered the building blocks of life to our planet early in its history.
The samples are also providing a window into understanding what kind of chemical and biological processes were already underway as space rocks chaotically ricocheted around during the early days of the solar system.
- phys.org Scientists develop novel device to modulate polarization of THz waves
Terahertz (THz) waves, situated between the microwave and infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, have drawn considerable attention over the past two decades.
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Anti-icing properties of polar bear fur.
Abstract
> The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is the only Arctic land mammal that dives into water to hunt. Despite thermal insulation provided by blubber and fur layers and low Arctic temperatures, their fur is typically observed to be free of ice. This study investigates the anti-icing properties of polar bear fur. Here, we show that polar bear fur exhibits low ice adhesion strengths comparable to fluorocarbon-coated fibers, with the low ice adhesion a consequence of the fur sebum (hair grease). Lipid analyses reveal the presence of cholesterol, diacylglycerols, anteisomethyl-branched fatty acids, and the unexpected absence of squalene. Quantum chemical calculations predict low ice adsorption energies for identified lipids and high adsorption for squalene, suggesting that sebum composition is responsible for the observed anti-icing properties. Our work enhances understanding of polar bears and their interactions with their environment and builds on Inuit knowledge of natural anti-icing materials.
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Fake papers are contaminating the world’s scientific literature, fueling a corrupt industry and slowing legitimate lifesaving medical research.
theconversation.com Fake papers are contaminating the world’s scientific literature, fueling a corrupt industry and slowing legitimate lifesaving medical research‘Paper mills’ are contaminating the world’s scholarly output with fake papers that hinder research. Lifesaving biomedical fields are especially hard hit.
- www.earth.com "Dark oxygen" discovery upends centuries of scientific beliefs, textbooks to be rewritten
Certain metallic rocks seem to be making oxygen in the dark, without light or sunshine, at the bottom of the ocean.
- www.livescience.com Sperm cells carry traces of childhood stress, epigenetic study finds
Fathers exposed to high stress in childhood had different epigenetic markers that may affect their offspring, though more research is needed.
- www.hackster.io Now I See the Light
This tiny spectral sensor condenses bulky hardware into something that can easily fit inside a phone for portable sensing applications.
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Genetic Breakthrough Uncovers the Andean Origins of the Irish Potato Famine Pathogen
>Researchers at North Carolina State University have pinpointed the Andes Mountains as the birthplace of the infamous Irish potato famine pathogen, Phtytophthora infestans.
>This pathogen, responsible for devastating potato and tomato crops globally, originated in South America and spread across continents in the mid-19th century.
- phys.org Deep-ultraviolet laser microscope reveals diamond's nanoscale transport behaviors
Ultrawide-bandgap semiconductors—such as diamond—are promising for next-generation electronics due to a larger energy gap between the valence and conduction bands, allowing them to handle higher voltages, operate at higher frequencies, and provide greater efficiency compared to traditional materials...
- www.earth.com Shape of electrons is revealed for the first time through big advance in quantum physics
For the first time, scientists have measured the shape of an electron in solids, opening the door to advances in quantum materials.
- www.nature.com Microplastics block blood flow in the brain, mouse study reveals
Real-time imaging shows how plastic-stuffed cells form clumps that affect mouse movement.
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A Chance Discovery May Have Finally Cracked the Antibiotic Resistance Puzzle
>A global team has made a significant advance in understanding how bacterial plasmids contribute to antibiotic resistance.
>Their findings reveal a complex mechanism involving the proteins KorB and KorA, which could lead to innovative treatments to weaken drug-resistant bacteria.