Swallow migration timing | Universe calling (by radio) | Not-quite-so-cool white dwarfs | SMCC Heads Up. Embargoed and recently published research with a Canadian focus, curated by SMCC for science journalists. Read more>
Category: Heads Up
SMCC Heads Up | December 18, 2018 
Massive-mushroom mutations | Fins-to-limb family tree | Testing “spooky action” | SMCC Heads Up. Embargoed and recently published research with a Canadian focus, curated by SMCC for science journalists. Read more>
SMCC Heads Up | December 11, 2018
Wind pollination | Clean-water device | Invasive tick | SMCC Heads Up – Embargoed and recently published research with a Canadian focus, curated by SMCC for science journalists. Read more>
Mapping inheritance of rare genetic disease in French Canadians
American Journal of Human Genetics Published December 6, 2018 This study presents an efficient method to infer transmission paths of rare genes through population-scale genealogies. Using a high-quality genealogical dataset of more than three million individuals related to the founding families of Quebec, researchers apply the method to reconstruct the transmission history of a rare recessive-gene […]
Appetite hormone conditions us to crave food when we smell food
Cell Reports Published December 4, 2018 Vulnerability to obesity includes eating in response to food cues, which increase influence through conditioning. Conditioning is largely driven by dopamine, believed to encode the difference between expected and actual rewards. In this study, researchers use fMRI to show a gut-derived hormone that triggers hunger and eating also stimulates dopamine to […]
Economics drives fentanyl’s deadly rise
Addiction Published December 4, 2018 (News release from University of California – San Francisco) Fentanyl likely spread because of heroin and prescription pill shortages, and because it was cheaper for large, illegal-drug producers to create than heroin, according to this report on illicit US drug markets. Because fentanyl is added to the supply higher up the dealer chain […]
SMCC Heads Up | December 4, 2018
$$ drive fentanyl crisis | Tool maps rare genes | Food smells and cravings | SMCC Heads Up – Embargoed and recently published research with a Canadian focus, curated by SMCC for science journalists. Read more>
SMCC Heads Up | November 27, 2018
Soil stumps prion disease | Ancient whale’s gummy grin | Benefits of being bacteria friendly | SMCC Heads Up – Embargoed and recently published research with a Canadian focus, curated by SMCC for science journalists. Read more>
Probiotics no help to young kids with stomach virus
New England Journal of Medicine: two papers Published November 21, 2018 17:00 ET (News release from Washington University, St. Louis) Children with stomach viruses increasingly are given probiotics to ease vomiting and diarrhea symptoms, but these two studies show that two commonly used probiotic formulas do not improve symptoms. Researchers evalutated the effectiveness of Culturelle (Lactobacillus […]
Sweetened drinks pose greater diabetes risk than other sugary foods
BMJ Published November 21, 2018 16:30 ET Sweetened drinks pose a greater risk of type 2 diabetes than most other foods containing fructose, a naturally occurring sugar. The findings suggest that fruit and other foods containing fructose seem to have no harmful effect on blood glucose levels, while sweetened drinks and some other foods that add […]
Canadians’ and Americans’ Twitter language mirrors national stereotypes
PLOS ONE Published November 21, 2018 14:00 ET (News release from McMaster University) Differences in the language used in nearly 40-million tweets reflect national stereotypes – Canadians tend to be polite and nice while Americans are negative and assertive – even if the stereotypes aren’t accurate. Researchers isolated words, emoticons, and emojis used disproportionately on Twitter by […]
Negative social cues on tobacco packaging may help smokers quit
Journal of Consumer Affairs Published November 21, 2018 00:01 ET Tobacco packaging that reminds smokers that other people disapprove of the activity can trigger feelings of self-consciousness, which in turn reduces smoking intentions. This approach was particularly effective in ‘isolated’ smokers who did not see smoking as identity-relevant or congruent with their social self. Canadian co-author: Jennifer […]
Little evidence that e-cigs are prompting young people in the U.S. to start smoking
Tobacco Control Published November 20, 2018 18:30 ET (News release from BMJ) Although trying e-cigarettes (vaping) may prompt some young people to turn to traditional cigarettes (smoking), according to this analysis of national data, that does not occur at the population level. The downward trend in traditional smoking among young people in the U.S. accelerated after vaping became widespread in 2013. […]
SMCC Heads Up | November 20, 2018
Traffic pollution vs autism | Smoking down; vaping up | Probiotics vs stomach bugs | SMCC Heads Up – Embargoed and recently published research with a Canadian focus, curated by SMCC for science journalists. Read more>
Adaptation, speciation, and extinction in the Anthropocene
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences Published November 14, 2018 17:01 ET (Brief from the Royal Society) Humans have altered the course of species evolution across the planet. The direction and magnitude of selection has changed to favour organisms that best tolerate human-caused development, harvesting, species introductions, and environmental changes. Species that are large-bodied, specialist, […]
Researchers identify a new superkingdom-level lineage within eukaryotes
Nature Published November 14, 2018 13:00 ET The genetic and evolutionary analyses reported here place Hemimastigophora outside of all established eukaryote supergroups. The researchers argue that, based on the evolutionary distinctiveness of this group, the organisms instead comprise an independent supra-kingdom-level lineage. The researchers also established the first culture of a hemimastigote, which will facilitate future […]