Report of a study in Science News about childrens' food preferences from the Journal of Pediatrics and that they are highly influenced by the commercials they watch on TV. This is an fMRI study of their brains.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/08/160811190751.htm Another study reported in Science News from the International Center for Radio Astronomy Research to be published in the Astrophysical Journal about the origins of the radiation that causes our suntans. The research was a collaboration between Arizona State and Cardiff Universities and was able to determine by measuring the photons that ten trillionth of the particles that hit your skin are from outside of our galaxy. We can subtitle this "Not In Our Backyard."
http://www.futurity.org/fungi-bananas-1225422-2/ From Futurity, a report in PLOS about the possibility of fungi wiping out bananas as fungal infections have worsened. This has been done by UC Davis researchers who are sequencing the two fungal genomes. The Cavendish bananas are the variety we use.
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/researchers-examine-how-parkinsons-disease-alters-brain-activity-over-time This is a press release from the NIH about research on Parkinson's Disease biomarkers. University of Florida’s Department of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology was responsible for the study which was published in the Journal of Neurology. It uses fMRI imaging to track changes in the brains of PD sufferers and may be used to evaluate new treatment methods.
http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/love-the-fig A NYer article about the fig. Figs and fig wasps coevolve together. Figs are a keystone species and can bring deforested lands back to life according to the author.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/17/health/osteoporosis-a-disease-with-few-treatment-options-may-soon-have-one-more.html?_r=0 Article in the NYT about osteoporosis and its treatment options. There is one drug, Forteo, manufactured by Lilly, which adds bone. As published in JAMA clinical trials conducted by Radius showed that another Lilly drug, abaloparitide, will compete in the market with Forteo. The bisphosphonates, like Fossamax, do not build bone.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/18/science/from-fins-into-hands-scientists-discover-a-deep-evolutionary-link.html A Carl Zimmer article in the NYT about a research report from a U of Chicago team (Neil Shubin's lab) that discovered an evolutionary connection between fins and hands.They used CRISPR to manipulate zebrafish embryos and found that when the fish had 2 defective Hox genes (Homeobox genes important in development) they failed to grow proper fins and also fin rays. The idea is that digits and fin rays are somewhat equivalent. This is very important work from a key investigator.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/18/science/genetic-tests-for-a-heart-disorder-mistakenly-find-blacks-at-risk.html?_r=0 Article from NYT about the misdiagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in black people published in the NEJM. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a genetic disorder that results in the thickening of the wall of the heart that can cause abnormal heart rhythms and sudden death. Black people are told more frequently than whites that they have this disorder based on a generic test. Sometimes, devices to counteract abnormal rhythms are implanted. The study was done at Harvard Medical School.
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