https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. US officials on Wednesday reported the country's fourth human case of bird flu linked to the current outbreak of the virus in dairy cattle. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-fourth-human-case-bird-flu.html Agriculture Thu, 04 Jul 2024 04:06:55 EDT news639284804 Exposing female house mice (Mus musculus) to the scent of male urine is known to accelerate their sexual development in what scientists call the Vandenbergh effect. A study recently published in Scientific Reports led by the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna now shows that this effect works both ways. The study found that juvenile male mice grew significantly faster when exposed to female urinary scent. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-female-scent-growth-juvenile-male.html Plants & Animals Tue, 06 Jun 2023 10:51:56 EDT news605267511 Excessive alcohol consumption leads to painful hangovers and accompanying headaches, fatigue and nausea. Drinking alcohol has also been linked to a raft of health problems in the human body, including heart disease, cirrhosis and immune deficiency. One way to avoid those consequences would be to drink less, but researchers in China have introduced another way to mitigate hangovers and other adverse outcomes—a genetically-engineered probiotic. https://phys.org/news/2023-04-probiotic-blunts-ill-effects-alcohol.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 11 Apr 2023 12:15:03 EDT news600434101 For more than a century, scientists have known that while the commands that initiate movement come from the brain, the neurons that control locomotion once movement is underway reside within the spinal cord. In a study published January 20 in the journal Cell, researchers report that, in mice, they have identified one particular type of neuron that is both necessary and sufficient for regulating this type of movement. These neurons are called ventral spinocerebellar tract neurons (VSCTs). https://phys.org/news/2022-01-mice-neurons-locomotion.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 20 Jan 2022 11:00:08 EST news561882225 Last year, researcher Randi Grønnestad received a great deal of attention for her research carried out at the Granåsen Ski Centre in Trondheim, Norway. She found hormonal disorders and changes in the brains of bank voles in the area and linked them to fluorine-containing compounds called PFAS. https://phys.org/news/2021-11-wax-chemicals-animals-brains-livers.html Plants & Animals Thu, 04 Nov 2021 09:54:50 EDT news555238487 A team of infectious disease researchers has developed a new method to identify virulence genes in Streptococcus pneumoniae, the leading cause of bacterial pneumonia. Using this technique in a mouse model of pneumonia, they were able to gain new insights into the progression of the disease and its interaction with the flu virus. https://phys.org/news/2020-10-genetic-analysis-yields-insights-bacterial.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 28 Oct 2020 11:00:05 EDT news523088334 The abuse of prescription and illegal opioids, such as morphine and heroin, is a major problem in the U.S., with devastating public health, economic and social consequences. That's why scientists are searching for new medicines to help break the cycle of addiction. Now, researchers reporting in ACS' Journal of Medicinal Chemistry have re-engineered the structure of vincamine, a plant-derived compound, so that it reduces morphine-seeking behaviors in mice. https://phys.org/news/2020-02-re-engineered-compound-opioid-addiction-mice.html Biochemistry Wed, 05 Feb 2020 11:16:53 EST news500123809 SpaceX made an early holiday delivery to the International Space Station on Sunday, dropping off super muscular "mighty mice," pest-killing worms and a smart, empathetic robot. https://phys.org/news/2019-12-spacex-mighty-mice-worms-robot.html Space Exploration Sun, 08 Dec 2019 15:25:24 EST news495041121 Tufts University researchers have transplanted engineered pancreatic beta cells into diabetic mice, then caused the cells to produce more than two to three times the typical level of insulin by exposing them to light. The light-switchable cells are designed to compensate for the lower insulin production or reduced insulin response found in diabetic individuals. The study published in ACS Synthetic Biology shows that glucose levels can be controlled in a mouse model of diabetes without pharmacological intervention. https://phys.org/news/2019-11-insulin-producing-cells-diabetes.html Cell & Microbiology Sat, 02 Nov 2019 05:55:32 EDT news491892921 What if doctors had a remote control that they could use to steer a patient's own cells to a wound to speed up the healing process? Although such a device is still far from reality, researchers reporting in the ACS journal Nano Letters have taken an important first step: They used near-infrared light and an injected DNA nanodevice to guide stem cells to an injury, which helped muscle tissue regrow in mice. https://phys.org/news/2019-04-light-activated-remote-cells.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 17 Apr 2019 10:27:31 EDT news474715643 Scientists at Baylor College of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health and Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute have discovered a new mechanism in the mouse brain that regulates obesity. The study, which appears in Cell Reports today, shows that this new mechanism can potentially be targeted to treat obesity. https://phys.org/news/2016-10-rap1-potential-obesity.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 21 Oct 2016 15:31:25 EDT news396282667 Four people meet for dinner in a restaurant and split the check four ways. Anyone who ordered more or something more expensive than the others gains an advantage from the situation. Social dilemmas like this one also occur in animals - such as during communal offspring care. Biologists from the University of Zurich studied how house mice are able to prevent social dilemmas and still cooperate. The results of their study reveal that house mice adjust their willingness to cooperate to the to the expected pay-off. https://phys.org/news/2016-05-mice-cooperate-benefit.html Plants & Animals Thu, 12 May 2016 13:47:03 EDT news382279615 The human language is unique in that we can refer to objects, events and ideas. The combination of syllables and words enables humans to generate an infinite number of expressions. An important prerequisite for language is the ability to imitate sounds, i.e. to store acquired acoustic information and to use this for one's own vocal production. Cortical structures in the brain play a crucial role in this. While songbirds and certain marine mammals are capable of such vocal learning, there is very little evidence for vocal learning in terrestrial mammals – not even in our closest living relatives, the chimpanzees. Nonhuman primate vocal production is largely restricted to an innate repertoire of sounds. https://phys.org/news/2015-03-scientists-mice-explore-foundations-vocal.html Plants & Animals Fri, 06 Mar 2015 09:14:01 EST news344855635 Circadian clocks regulate functions ranging from alertness and reaction time to body temperature and blood pressure. New research published in the November 2014 issue of The FASEB Journal further adds to our understanding of the circadian rhythm by suggesting that the suprachiasmaticus nucleus (SCN) clock, a tiny region of the hypothalamus considered to be the body's "master" timekeeper, is not necessary to align body rhythms with the light-dark cycle. This challenges and disproves the commonly held notion that circadian rhythms were strictly organized in a hierarchical manner, and that light resets the master clock in the SCN, which then coordinates the other, subordinate clocks in peripheral tissues. Several metabolic and psychiatric diseases are associated with circadian rhythm and sleep disturbances, and this research opens the doors toward an improved understanding of these disorders. https://phys.org/news/2014-10-peripheral-clocks-dont-brain-master.html Biotechnology Thu, 30 Oct 2014 12:01:24 EDT news333889277 Wrapping wound dressings around fingers and toes can be tricky, but for burn victims, guarding them against infection is critical. Today, scientists are reporting the development of novel, ultrathin coatings called nanosheets that can cling to the body's most difficult-to-protect contours and keep bacteria at bay. https://phys.org/news/2014-08-biomaterial-coat-tricky-wounds-block.html Nanomaterials Sun, 10 Aug 2014 05:31:20 EDT news326867465 Supertasting describes the ability to strongly detect food flavors such as bitter and sweet, and it can affect a person's food preferences. For example, supertasters are often averse to green vegetables because their bitter taste is amplified. Supertasters may also prefer foods lower in sugar and fat. Approximately one out of four people is a supertaster, and a supertaster's avoidance of sweet and fatty foods may have protective cardiovascular effects. https://phys.org/news/2012-06-supertasting-phenomenon.html Biochemistry Thu, 21 Jun 2012 14:23:12 EDT news259507340