Journal of Medical Entomology Published December 13, 2018 (News release from the Entomological Society of America) The Asian longhorned tick, first reported in New Jersey in early 2018, could easily spread into across much of eastern North America and the west coast. Researchers identified the invasive tick’s potential range by comparing North American habitat with the […]
Shimmyin’ stamens permitted rise of wind pollination in flowering plants 
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences Published December 12, 2018 (Brief from the Royal Society) Most flowering plants depend on animal pollinators for producing fertile seeds, but some have evolved wind pollination, a primitive pollination technique. Researchers identified the mechanism driving this transition by characterizing the required physical changes to flowers for switching to wind […]
Broiler chicken: fossil calling card of the Anthropocene
Royal Society Open Science Published December 12, 201 (Brief from the Royal Society) This study identifies broiler (meat) chickens as a symbolic species of how humans have changed the biosphere. With a worldwide population of over 21 billion, broiler chickens outnumber wild bird species populations. The size and shape of the broiler skeleton, and its bone chemistry […]
No-contact solar system produces clean water
Nature Communication Published December 11, 2018 (News release from Nature Research Press) This new device generates clean water vapour from salty or dirty water using sunlight and a light-absorbing material that does not require contact with water. Instead of heating water directly, the material heats black paint that produces infrared light. Water beneath the device absorbs the […]
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 […]
New hope for cancer patients with dangerous blood clots
New England Journal of Medicine Published December 4, 2018 (News release from the Ottawa Hospital Research Group will be posted here>) A low dose of a drug called apixaban provides the first approach to safely prevent blood clots in people with cancer. This is important because venous thromboembolism is the second leading cause of death in […]
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>
Moms’ emotional bonds with their babies after birth predicted during pregnancy
Child Development Published December 4, 2018 (News release from the Society for Research in Child Development) A strong bond between mothers’ and their babies are key to the children’s development, but this bond does not develop instantly. This study shows that responses to images of infants’ facial cues change over the course of pregnancy and early motherhood, […]
Soil compound fights chronic wasting disease
PLOS Pathogens Published November 29, 2018 (News release from PLOS) Researchers tested the role of a major soil organic matter compound, humic acid, for its ability to bind chronic wasting disease prions and impact infectivity. They found incubating the prions with high humic-acid concentrations decreased prion signal and infectivity in mice. Chronic wasting disease is fatal […]
33-million-year-old whale from Oregon had neither teeth nor baleen
Current Biology Published November 29, 2018 (News release from Cell Press) A 33-million-year-old fossil whale from Oregon had neither teeth nor baleen. Representing a surprising intermediate stage between modern filter-feeding whales and their toothed ancestors, Maiabalaena was a suction feeder. The findings suggest early whales lost their teeth before the evolutionary origin of comb-like baleen. Corresponding author: […]
More partners, more ranges: Plants who make friends with more soil bacteria spread more easily
Biology Letters Published November 28, 2018 Plants like legumes get nitrogen from bacteria they harbor in their roots, but to reap this benefit in new habitats they must find compatible bacteria there. Researchers combined data from a global database of legume ranges and DNA sequences of their bacteria and found that legumes that partner with diverse […]
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 […]
