Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences Published May 22, 2019 | 17:01 EDT (Brief from the Royal Society) Many long-distance migratory birds undergo seasonal flight-muscle build up to power long-distance flights and digestive-machinery break down to reduce body mass. Captive experiments with the red knot shorebird reveal that these body-remodelling patterns can be […]
Category: Heads Up
Bunting hunting speeds tasty songbird’s decline 
Science Advances Published May 22, 2019 | 14:00 EDT (News release from AAAS) Up to 30,000 ortolan buntings are killed illegally for food each year in southwest France, where hunters say the migrating songbirds come from large, stable populations elsewhere in Europe. Genetic testing, tiny electronic bird-backpack trackers, and feather-isotope analysis confirm the birds come from small, […]
Insight into how ice forms on other planets and in space
Nature Published May 22, 2019 | 13:00 EDT (News release from Oak Ridge National Laboratory) In an experiment designed to create a super-cold state of water, scientists unexpectedly discovered how dense, crystalline phases of ice thought to exist beyond Earth’s limits might form. Observation of the crystalline ice phases challenges accepted theories about water and […]
First fungus among us: Billion-year-old fungi found in Arctic
Nature Published May 22, 2019 | 13:00 EDT (News release from Nature Research Press) Researchers identified fossil fungi dating from 900 to 1,000 million years ago in Arctic Canada. The findings provide evidence that fungi evolved 500 to 600 million years earlier than previously thought, pushing back the origins of the group of animals that […]
May 21, 2019 | SMCC Heads Up
First fungus | Exo-ice | Buff birds | May 21, 2019 | SMCC Heads Up – Embargoed and recently published research with a Canadian focus, curated by SMCC for science journalists. Read more>
Food insecurity in Nunavut increased after food program introduced
Canadian Medical Association Journal Published May 21, 2019 | 00:15 EDT (News release from Joule Inc.) In 2010, before the Nutrition North Canada program began, 33 per cent of households in Nunavut communities experienced food insecurity. By 2014, when the program was implemented, 46 per cent of households reported food insecurity. Lead author: Andrée-Anne Fafard St-Germain, […]
First results from New Horizons space mission: Untouched for 4.5 billion years
Science Published May 16, 2019 | 14:00 EDT (Summary by AAAS) The first results from the New Horizons spacecraft’s flyby of Kuiper Belt object MU69, or Ultima Thule, show it is an ancient relic that has remained largely untouched – even by the heat of the Sun – since its formation roughly 4.5 billion years […]
Targeted laser therapy closes single blood vessels
Science Advances Published May 15, 2019 | 14:00 EDT (Summary by AAAS) A new method to selective close single blood vessels within tissue uses laser therapy called multiphoton photothermolysis. The precise microsurgery technique could be used to treat vascular diseases and malfunctioning blood vessels in cancers, macular degeneration, and port wine birthmark stains. Video Corresponding author: […]
City greenscapes could help species displaced by climate change
Ecology Published May 14, 2019 | 17:00 EDT (News release from Tufts University) This study shows that animals move quickly through low-quality habitats to reach high-quality breeding areas, providing new insight into how conservationists and city planners could manage urban landscapes to help species shift ranges in response to climate change. Suburban and urban green […]
Unrecognized sleep apnea can trigger heart attack after non-heart surgery
JAMA Published May 14, 2019 | 14:00 EDT (Summary video from JAMA Network) Among adults undergoing major non-cardiac surgery, sleep apnea increased patients’ risk of heart attacks after surgery. The link was found only in patients who had severe obstructive sleep apnea that had been undiagnosed. Editorial Canadian authors: Stanley Tam, Scarborough Health Network, Ontario – stanleytam_1@hotmail.com; […]
May 14, 2019 | SMCC Heads Up
Kuiper Belt results | Urban wildlife pipelines | Sleep-apnea heart attacks | May 14, 2019 | SMCC Heads Up – Embargoed and recently published research with a Canadian focus, curated by SMCC for science journalists. Read more>
Peering into the past, scientists discover bacteria transformed a viral threat to survive
Current Biology Published May 9, 2019 | 11:00 EDT (News release from Indiana University) Researchers report a previously unknown way that bacteria develop new genes to evolve and adapt to threats, insight that could help advance efforts against superbugs. Researchers describe the first known evidence of bacteria stealing genetic material from their worst enemies – […]
Decline in river connections threatens ecosystems and eco-services
Nature Published May 8, 2019 | 13:00 EDT (News release from Nature Research Press) Only one-third of the world’s longest rivers (over 1,000 kilometres in length) remain free of dams and reservoirs, and these are restricted to remote regions in the Arctic and the Amazon and Congo basins. The findings demonstrate how human activity disrupts […]
Rural lifestyles drive obesity
Nature Published May 8, 2019 | 13:00 EDT (News release from Nature Research Press) The global rise in body-mass index (BMI) seen over the last 30 years is due largely to increases in the BMI of rural populations. This study is the most comprehensive analysis to date of how BMI is changing in rural and […]
Pre-pregnancy weight linked to worse outcomes
JAMA Published May 7, 2019 | 11:00 EDT (News release from JAMA Network) Analysis of the results of 25 studies of nearly 197,000 women suggests a mother’s body mass index before pregnancy may increase risk of adverse maternal and infant outcomes more than the amount of weight gained during pregnancy does. Canadian co-authors: Myriam Doyon, […]
May 7, 2019 | SMCC Heads Up
Rural obesity | Dammed rivers | Trickster bacteria | May 7, 2019 | SMCC Heads Up – Embargoed and recently published research with a Canadian focus, curated by SMCC for science journalists. Read more>
