Promising New Treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease: Modifying Key Messenger RNA
Complex path promotes immune cell migration and clearance of toxic protein. Reducing the methylation of a key messenger RNA can promote migration of macrophages into…
PLOS News
Previously Unknown Driver of Aging Discovered – Simple Supplement May Reverse It
Loss of Menin helps drive the aging process, and dietary supplement can reverse it in mice. Cognition, bone mass, skin thickness, and lifespan are all…
Beware of the Microbial Mirage: Current Microbiome Analyses May Mislead Scientists With False Species Detection
Research study of simulated microbial communities shows analyses are flawed by incomplete DNA databases. Common approaches to analyzing DNA from a community of microbes, called…
Bees Learn by Watching Others: Puzzle Solving Behavior Spreads Through Bumblebee Colonies
Bees that learned from others were more adept and preferred the learned solution over alternatives. Bumblebees learn to solve a puzzle by watching more experienced…
The Rise of Artificial Intelligence: ChatGPT’s Stunning Results on the US Medical Licensing Exam
The AI software was able to achieve passing scores for the exam, which usually requires years of medical training. OpenAI’s ChatGPT can score at or…
It Isn’t What You Know, It’s What You Think You Know – Why Science Can Evoke Strong and Opposing Attitudes
Survey of over 2,000 adults in the UK identifies potential pitfalls of science communication. Why do people hold highly variable attitudes towards well-evidenced science? For…
New Species: First Primate Relatives Discovered in the High Arctic of Ancient Canada
Fossilized mammals reveal patterns of Arctic migration in warming climates. In the warm climate of ancient Canada, early primate relatives adapted to life in the…
mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines Less Effective Against Omicron – Booster of Limited Benefit for People With Prior SARS-CoV-2 Infection
Primary mRNA COVID-19 vaccine series and original booster provide protection against Omicron infection, but less effectively than against other variants. The additional benefit of the…
Ancient Roman Gold Coins – Long Thought To Be Fakes – Now Authenticated
Gold coins are only clue that Roman leader named Sponsian ever existed. Several Roman coins unearthed in 1713 — long thought to be forgeries —…
Algae-Based Food Goes Global: Scaling Up Marine Aquaculture To Sustainably Produce Nutritious Food
Terrestrial agriculture provides the backbone of the world’s food production system. A new opinion article published in the open-access journal PLOS Biology makes the case…
Genome Sequencing and Genetic Engineering Could Help Protect Ocean Ecosystems
Advanced Genomic Approaches Hold Promise for Marine Conservation Although genetic and genomic technologies have enormous potential for protecting marine life, they are currently being underutilized….
Repeated Infections Linked With Increased Risk of Neurodegenerative Diseases
People with hospital-treated infections in early- and mid-life had the greatest risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases later in life. Infections treated with specialty hospital…
Dinosaur “Mummies” Might Not Be Unusual – Unhealed Carnivore Damage on Dinosaur Skin
Data from fossils and modern carcasses indicates a simple path to preserving dinosaur skin. Dinosaur “mummies” aren’t as exceptional as we might expect. That’s because…
Ancient Chemistry: Why Living Things Use ATP As the Universal Energy Currency
An early step in metabolic evolution set the stage for emergence of ATP as the universal energy carrier. A simple two-carbon compound may have been…
“Ugly” Reef Fish Are Most in Need of Conservation Support Due to Their Ecological Traits and Evolutionary History
Machine learning enables largest study to date on aesthetic preferences and fish ecology. What makes a fish beautiful to humans? Is it colorful, symmetrical, and…
New Strategy Discovered To Potentially Reduce Fatigue After COVID-19 Vaccination
Mouse experiments suggest a switch from intramuscular to subcutaneous injection may ease fatigue. Currently, mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines are injected deep into the muscles, which is…
Machine Learning Shows That More Reptile Species May Be at Risk of Extinction Than Previously Thought
Machine learning tool estimates extinction risk for species previously unprioritized for conservation. Species at risk of extinction are identified in the iconic Red List of…
Repurposed Antibiotic May Be an Effective COVID-19 Therapeutic
Study in mice suggests Clofoctol inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication and reduces lung pathology. Repurposed drugs often have a speedier path to clinical use because they have…
