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Human sleep rhythm is much older than previously believed, Javan slow loris study reveals

People typically sleep seven to eight hours in one stretch and stay awake for the rest of the day. Evolutionary scientists have assumed that this rhythm of sleep arose when our early ancestors went from being nocturnal to diurnal, but a new study of the Javan slow loris indicates that the human way of sleeping is much older.

18 Sep 2019

A new view of human evolution via Hungary

Scientists have now discovered a pelvis supposed to be that of a pre-human ancestor, called Rudapithecus. Found near a historic mining community called Rudabanya in Hungary, the pelvis is remarkable not only for its rarity – the pelvis being among the fossils most rarely recovered – but also for its structure which shows that the earliest human ancestors stood upright.

18 Sep 2019

Researchers receive $12 million grant to develop flu vaccine against many viral strains

Patrick Wilson, PhD, professor of medicine and rheumatology at the University of Chicago, and a group of researchers from three other institutions have received a Grand Challenge for Universal Influenza Vaccine Development grant – a $12 million initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Flu Lab.

18 Sep 2019

Altered microbiome in fruit flies can drive evolutionary change

The expression "you are what you eat" has taken on new meaning. In an experiment in fruit flies, or Drosophila melanogaster, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have found that adding different species of microbes to the flies' food caused populations to diverge genetically, racking up significant genomic changes in just five generations.

18 Sep 2019

Human heart evolved to adapt to the demands of life, study says

The human heart underwent major physical changes throughout history, based on what activities or lifestyle people had, a new study found. As a result, human hearts are better suited to endure various types of activities.

17 Sep 2019

Nanoscale syringe-like bacterial structures could be used to deliver novel drugs

By scraping tubeworms off the bottom of boats in the San Diego harbor to study them, San Diego State University researchers discovered that a beneficial bacterium that aids them in establishing colonies could also be a boon for human health, because the same process might already take place in the human gut.

17 Sep 2019

Study finds high prevalence of severe mental disorders in prisons

Researchers have analyzed the cases of 1,328 patients sent to penitentiary psychiatric consultation by the medical services, the most comprehensive study conducted in Spain to date.

17 Sep 2019

Study sheds light on the metabolism of Leishmania parasite

University of York scientists are part of an international team which has discovered how a parasite responsible for spreading a serious tropical disease protects itself from starvation once inside its human host.

17 Sep 2019

Multidrug-resistant bacteria may have been around longer than thought

Researchers from Osaka University have made the striking discovery that multidrug-resistant bacteria may have been around longer than we thought.

13 Sep 2019

SkinVision algorithm detects 95% of skin cancer, study finds

An international group of researchers working with Erasmus University Medical Center (Erasmus MC) in the Netherlands determined that SkinVision – the first CE-marked skin cancer application based on extensive clinical trials – has a sensitivity of 95.1% in detecting the most common forms of skin cancer.

13 Sep 2019

Metastatic colorectal cancer patients with certain BRAF mutations may respond to anti-EGFR therapy

Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer harboring a subset of non-V600 mutations in the BRAF gene, known as class 3 BRAF mutations, were more likely to respond to anti-EGFR treatment.

12 Sep 2019

SDSU professors study the sensory impact of food and evolution of healthy eating

"We eat first with our eyes." This comment has been attributed to Marcus Gavius Apicius, a 1st Century Roman gourmand. Two thousand years later, academic research backs up Apicius' statement, as a team of marketing professors at the Fowler College of Business at San Diego State University have studied the sensory impact of food and the evolution of healthy eating.

11 Sep 2019

New strain of Streptococcus A rampant in England and Wales

According to a new study on cases of scarlet fever and other Streptococcus A infections in England and Wales, the recent rise in cases is due to a newly identified strain. This accounted for the great increase in the number of cases of scarlet fever that occurred in 2014. The last such outbreak was way back in the 1960s.

11 Sep 2019

Oxford Genetics unveils OXGENE brand

Oxford Genetics Ltd announces the launch of its brand OXGENE™. The new brand articulates the company’s powerful ability to combine highly innovative science with an engineering approach to custom solutions for biotechnology.

From OXGENE 11 Sep 2019

Scientists discover new strain of group A streptococcus bacteria in England and Wales

A team of scientists led by Imperial College London have discovered a new strain of group A streptococcus bacteria.

11 Sep 2019

Enzyme in plants key to developing novel pharmaceuticals

Plants have many superpowers, such as manufacturing compounds to help repel pests, protecting themselves from environmental hazards, and providing a plethora of essential oils and other compounds that can heal a multitude of infections and other diseases.

9 Sep 2019