Expanding narrow veins from the brain and spinal cord is not effective in treating multiple sclerosis (MS), according to new research coming out of British Columbia. The invasive surgical procedure, called “liberation therapy”, is performed by inserting a catheter into the vein and pushing out the vessel walls by inflating a small balloon. Thousands of […]
Tiny Peruvian frog is the first amphibian named after Sir David Attenborough
What do Gabonese flowering plants, flightless weavils and a black-eyed satyr butterfly species all have in common? All these recently discovered species were named in honour of the British broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough. But no amphibians to date bore the famous BBC broadcaster’s name. The honour goes to a newly discovered freshbelly frog […]
How exercise helps your cells stay young
Researchers have zeroed in on the benefits of exercise on a cellular level. A new study describes how high-intensity interval training (HIIT), such as biking and walking, helps cells make more proteins for their energy-producing mitochondria and their protein-building ribosomes. The upkeep of mitochondria and ribosomes effectively slows down aging at the cellular level. The […]
Seniors with dementia living in care facilities tend to have multiple chronic illnesses 
Seniors with dementia tend to have a few other chronic illnesses, which increases the frequency of hospitalizations and emergency department visits. As life expectancy increases, new strategies must be created to address the unique needs of the aging population. Authors of a new retrospective study analyzed data collected in 2012 from 30,112 home-care clients with […]
80% of the world’s oceans would be affected by climate change by 2050
Four-fifths of the world’s marine ecosystems will be irreversibly damaged by 2050 if no immediate action is taken, a new study concludes. Researchers ran simulations to determine the effect of climate change on the main stressors of the ocean’s ecosystems—such as pH, temperature, oxygen concentration and food availability. If conditions remain as they are, in […]
208 new minerals, including two discovered in Canada, formed due to human activity
Human activity has been the cause of an immense number of changes on our planet; not the least of which is the development of new minerals, to which humans contributed more than any other event since the rise of oxygen on Earth over 2 billion years ago. A new study catalogs 208 minerals formed […]
What allows killer whales to see in underwater darkness?
While humans aren’t great at night vision, most of us can make out various objects in dim light thanks to a special light-sensitive protein rhodopsin. This chemical plays a much bigger role in the visual systems of ocean dwellers like whales, who travel through places where little light penetrates the depths of the water. A new study […]
Evidence of earliest life on Earth found in northeastern Canada
The earliest living organisms on Earth are thought to have lived in hydrothermal vents underwater. Researchers analyzed jasper rocks from the Nuvvuagittuq belt in Quebec that may have originated from such submarine vents, and found evidence of structures similar to other bacterial life in Earth’s early oceans. Authors say there are additional signs of biological activity […]
Genes dictate attachment in early-childhood development
Few things play a bigger role in a child’s development than the bond with their mother in their early days. But it turns out that the strength of that bond is determined genetically. Such are the results of an international study involving over 400 mother-child pairs. Scientistscollected genetic information and behavioral data from the infants. Half of the mothers […]
Public funding of essential medicines could slash costs, remove barriers to health care in Canada
Results of a new study point to a feasible first step in creating universal health care in Canada: public funding of essential medication. Study authors identified a list of 117 essential medicines, including antibiotics, insulin, heart medication, antidepressants, oral contraceptives and more. They found that medication from the list made up 44 percent of all […]
Europeans brought new strains of ulcer-causing bacterium to pre-Columbian Americas
Bacterium Helicobacter pylori is a major health issue in Latin America, where it contributes to ulcers and stomach cancer. Previous studies have linked an increased risk of cancer and a mismatch between the ethnicity of the patient and the origin of the bacterial strain. In the present study, researchers analyzed 401 H. pylori genome sequences […]
Brain cells get to choose which parents’ genes to use
Researchers have long thought that most human cells express genes from both parents’ chromosomes equally throughout life. But as it turns out, when it comes to neurons, things aren’t so simple. A new study shows that it’s not unusual for individual neurons to choose to activate genes from one parent or the other. In particular, […]
A planetary system with seven Earth-sized planets found 39 light years from the sun
Seven Earth-sized exoplanets have been found orbiting a nearby star. An international team of scientistsdiscovered that the six inner planets are located in the temperate zone, where the temperature at the surfaces of these planets could be between 0 and 100 degrees Celsius. The first three planets were spotted back in May 2016. They orbit an […]
New rule to predict periods of warmth between glacials
A new rule which doesn’t presume the knowledge of climate or atmospheric data can accurately predict interglacial periods of the past million years. Over the past 1 million years, interglacials – or periods of warmth that occur between the glacial ones – have occurred approximately every 100,000 years. Researchers have developed a statistical model that […]
Consistent exercise routine helps female patients prevent breast cancer recurrence
Women who have survived a bout of breast cancer can significantly reduce chances of recurrence by getting consistent exercise and keeping a steady weight. Researchers have reviewed 67 articles to study the effect of certain lifestyle changes on the survival rate and possibility of breast cancer relapse. Their findings indicate that weight gain of over […]
Problematic drug use in teens predicted by response to reward-motivated behavior
Previous research has demonstrated that the brain’s reward circuits play an important role in addictive tendencies. But researchers are still honing in on the exact link between neurophysiological mechanisms responsible for reward-motivated behavior and problematic behavior such as drug use. A new study found that a young teen’s brain activity in a reward-driven task performance […]
