A new study shows that when it comes to gambling and taking risks, humans and pigeons have more in common than you might think. The study had pigeons and humans choose between different coloured options to receive a reward. Through experience they learned that some colours gave guaranteed rewards, while others gave risky (probabilistic) rewards, i.e. […]
Category: Paper of Interest
Antidepressants during pregnancy may be linked to ADHD in kids
A new study finds that exposure to antidepressants in the womb may be linked to an increased risk of developing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, the researchers caution that the risks of depressed mothers-to-be stopping their medication may be greater for the unborn child than the increased risk of developing ADHD associated with continuing […]
Newfoundland fossil may be world’s oldest muscle
A 560 million-year-old fossil from Newoundland’s Bonavista Peninsula may record the oldest evidence of muscle tissue, according to a new paper. The fossil comes from a time known as the Ediacaran period, renowned for its preservation of the first large and complex organisms known. Most Ediacaran organisms were flat, sheet-like, or frond-like creatures whose […]
RNA research could lead to tailored prostate cancer treatment
New genetic research could help doctors predict which treatments will work best for a given prostate cancer patient. Researchers sequenced the RNA – molecules that tell them which genes are being expressed – from tumours in 25 prostate cancer patients. They then cross-referenced the RNA data detailed follow-up information, including reactions to different therapies. They […]
Marijuana legalization linked to lower overdose rates
U.S. states that implemented medical marijuana laws appear to have lower overdose death rates from prescription painkillers and drugs such as heroin, a new study shows. The authors examined ten states (Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Rhode Island, and Vermont) which enacted medical cannabis laws between 1999 and 2010 and compared […]
Hearths hazardous to heart health
Black carbon pollutants from wood-burning stoves and vehicle emissions are associated with elevated blood pressure in Chinese women, a new study shows. Black carbon is an air pollutant that comes from incomplete combustion of fossil fuels or wood; while it’s only one component of airborne dust, this is the first study to single it out […]
Toronto air pollution slowly getting better
Efforts to curb air pollution in Canada’s largest city are having an effect, although there’s still room for improvement, according to a new study. Researchers analysed data from provincial and federal monitoring programs and found that between 2004 and 2012, levels of both nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) decreased by about half. However, […]
Canola genome decoded
Scientists have decoded the genome of Brassica napus, the plant that gives us canola oil. Developed in the 1970s by researchers from the University of Manitoba, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), and National Research Council (NRC) in Saskatoon (“canola” stands for CANadian Oil Low Acid) the crop has gained huge commercial importance. Because Brassica napus […]
MERS-CoV: Marmosets get sick like humans
Researchers have found that marmosets could be used as an animal model to study the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus, also known as MERS-CoV. They observed that marmosets carry the same variant of a cell surface protein (DPP4) that MERS-CoV uses to invade human cells. This means that marmosets infected by MERS-CoV get as sick […]
Ancient tuberculosis may have come from seals
Tuberculosis was already present in the Americas before European contact, and new research indicates that some strains may have arrived via an unusual route; seals and sea lions. Researchers have now sequenced the genomes of three strains of tuberculosis from 1000-year-old mummies from Peru. The strains are genetically very different from the European strains that […]
Genetically-modified salmon reproduce as fast as wild-type
Growth hormone (GH) transgenic salmon doesn’t reproduce faster than wild-type salmon, but transgenic salmon can reproduce with wild-type fish, a new study shows. GH transgenic salmon contains a chinook salmon growth hormone gene fused to an ocean pout antifreeze gene which significantly accelerate its growth rates. Researchers reared salmon in large (350,000 L), semi-natural, seawater tanks […]
First flight: why young birds migrate more slowly
A slower migration from overwintering grounds in Belize and Costa Rica to breeding grounds in Canada may help young wood thrushes avoid competition with adults, a new study shows. Using data from geolocators – a kind of bird backpack that records location information – researchers showed that juvenile birds leave almost 2 weeks behind the […]
Taking extra precaution before recommending physical activity to children
New recommendations from the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology state that physicians should promote physical activity to children, but not before checking whether the child has underlying medical conditions or is sedentary. Researchers maintain that children should exercise for at least 60 minutes, 3 times a week. The new guidelines advise checking for previous medical […]
How gut bacteria train our immune system
A new study helps shed light on which beneficial bacteria are needed to help train our immune system. Newborn mice were treated with vancomycin or streptomycin, two antibiotics that each kill certain species of gut bacteria but leave others relatively unaffected. Those treated with streptomycin were much more likely to develop a lung condition that […]
Poaching drives decline in African elephants
Researchers estimate that 7% of all elephants deaths in Africa between 2010 and 2012 can be attributed to illegal killings. The authors first surveyed elephant carcasses in Kenya’s Samburu National Reserve to distinguish between illegal and natural causes of mortality, then built a model to estimate poaching on the continent. The authors conclude that […]
Researchers shed (X-ray) light on how cystic fibrosis causes lung damage
Researchers are now able to directly visualize, for the first time, how the ability of airways to deal with inhaled bacteria is impaired in cystic fibrosis (CF) thanks to a new technique. Previous research has suggested that CF – which is caused by a mutation in the gene for a protein called CFTR – prevents […]