132 articles from MONDAY 9.9.2019

How we make decisions depends on how uncertain we are

A new study on how we use reward information for making choices shows how humans and monkeys adopt their decision-making strategies depending on the uncertainty of information present. The findings challenge one of the most fundamental assumptions in economics, neuroeconomics and choice theory that decision-makers typically evaluate risky options in a multiplicative way when in fact this only...

Acute periodontal disease bacteria love colon and dirt microbes

Mythbuster: The idea that bacterial collaborations within microbiomes, like in the mouth, have evolved to be generous and exclusive very much appears to be wrong. In an extensive experiment, lavish collaborations ensued between random microbes. And some bacteria from the same microbiome were stingy with one another.

The diet-microbiome connection in inflammatory bowel disease

A change in diet is a go-to strategy for treating inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn's. In dogs with a similar illness, researchers tracked specific changes in the microbiome as the pets went into remission. The team's findings, which mirror what is seen in children with Crohn's, could inform the design of improved therapeutic diets.

Fermilab achieves world-record field strength for accelerator magnet

To build the next generation of powerful proton accelerators, scientists need the strongest magnets possible to steer particles close to the speed of light around a ring. For a given ring size, the higher the beam's energy, the stronger the accelerator's magnets need to be to keep the beam on course.