176 articles from THURSDAY 9.6.2022

Learning and remembering movement

Researchers examining the brain at a single-neuron level found that computation happens not just in the interaction between neurons, but within each individual neuron. Each of these cells, it turns out, is not a simple switch, but a complicated calculating machine. This discovery promises changes not only to our understanding of how the brain works, but better understanding of conditions ranging...

From ‘open minded’ to ‘underwhelming,’ mixed reactions greet latest COVID-19 origin report

Some content has been removed for formatting reasons. Please view the original article for the best reading experience. “Further studies needed.” That’s the main message in a preliminary report released today by a scientific advisory group convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) to clarify the cloudy origin of COVID-19. But in stark distinction to a report from...

Study finds evidence of bovine TB in 15% of rhinos at South African national park

The largest study ever conducted on a free-ranging population of rhinoceroses reveals that about one in every seven rhinos in a key South African national park has been infected with Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis), the pathogen that causes bovine tuberculosis (bTB). The finding shines new light on the potential for diseases to disrupt global conservation efforts, and potentially increase risk to...

NASA to launch six small satellites to monitor and study tropical cyclones

NASA is launching the first two of six small satellites no earlier than June 12, to study the formation and development of tropical cyclones almost every hour—about four to six times more often than is possible with current satellites. This is the first of three CubeSat launches for NASA's Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats...

New study shows how 'green islands' help forests regenerate after fire

Thanks to climate change, high-elevation forests in the Central Cascade mountains of the Pacific Northwest are burning more frequently and expansively than in the recent past, prompting researchers and fire managers to question whether forests will be able to recover from these emerging fire patterns and whether they will require human assistance to do so.

Existing cancer therapy in narrow use shows significant activity against other cancers

A drug currently used in just 1% of cancers has significant potential against the remaining 99%, according to a new study. Ivosidenib, or AG-120, is currently used against cancers that have a mutation in the IDH1 gene. However, study results show that Ivosidenib is also effective against unmutated, or 'wild-type' IDH1. The protein coded by the IDH1 gene in cancers helps cancer cells survive in a...

Yellowstone's history of hydrothermal explosions over the past 14,000 years

While much of public attention on Yellowstone focuses on its potential to produce large supereruptions, the hazards that are much more likely to occur are smaller, violent hydrothermal explosions. Hydrothermal explosions occur when near-boiling water suddenly flashes into steam, releasing large amounts of energy. The energy release fractures the rock downward, often leaving behind a crater. The...

As the ocean heats up hungrier predators take control

A hotter ocean is a hungrier ocean -- at least as far as fish predators are concerned. Scientists have discovered predator impacts in the Atlantic and Pacific peak at higher temperatures. The effects cascade down to transform other life in the ocean, potentially disrupting balances that have existed for millennia.

How 'green islands' help forests regenerate after fire

A new study characterizes the role of fire refugia -- the green islands of live trees that remain after forest fires -- in forest regeneration following large and severe fires in the High Cascade mountains of Oregon and Washington. The results of this study can help determine when human intervention in the form of tree replanting is warranted, when it isn't, where replanting efforts should be...

Maintaining the right niche for blood cell development

Researchers have identified the role of transcription factors Runx1 and Runx2 in the inhibition of fibrosis, the abnormal build-up of connective tissue with severe hematopoietic defects, in the bone marrow. Mice lacking both Runx1 and Runx2 in CAR cells, a major component of the hematopoietic stem cell niche, demonstrated severe myelofibrosis and defects in the production of blood cells. Runx1 and...