Ethiopian parents try to level out the life chances least-advantaged children affected by early life shocks such as famine and low rainfall levels by investing more in their education.
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The 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is being awarded jointly to William G. Kaelin Jr., Sir Peter J. Ratcliffe and Gregg L. Semenza for identifying molecular machinery that regulates the activity of genes in response to varying levels of oxygen.
Isolation, extreme weather, and the possible arrival of humans may have killed off the holocene herbivores just 4,000 years ago.
Read moreTaking a 'fingerprint' of the mix of bacteria in the gut can indicate how susceptible individual cancer patients are to gut damage as a result of radiotherapy for prostate and gynaecological cancers, a new study shows. Researchers showed that having a reduced diversity of gut bacteria was associated with an increased risk of both immediate and delayed damage to the gut following radiotherapy.
Read moreNew research shows that beetles have evolved sophisticated mechanisms to reproduce despite warmer temperatures. They have evolved mechanisms that allow their sperm and eggs to quickly cope with increasing environmental temperature variation. And this could help species buffer themselves against climate change.
Read moreHigh levels of fructose in the diet inhibit the liver's ability to properly metabolize fat. This effect is specific to fructose. Indeed, equally high levels of glucose in the diet actually improve the fat-burning function of the liver.
Read moreThe new observation that strains of V. cholerae can be expelled into the environment after being ingested by protozoa, and that these bacteria are then primed for colonization and infection in humans, could help explain why cholera is so persistent in aquatic environments. The disease-causing bacteria are protected in the protozoan gut and ejected into the environment in membrane-bound expelled food vacuoles (EFVs).
Read moreNew research shows that female deep-sea anglerfish's bioluminescent bacteria — which illuminate their 'headlamp' — most likely come from the water.
Read moreInspired by cephalopods, scientists developed an aquatic robot that mimics their form of propulsion. These high-speed, squidlike robots are made of smart materials, which make them hard to detect, while maintaining a low environmental footprint. Physicists used numerical simulations to illustrate the physical mechanisms and fluid mechanics of a squid's swimming method. By using this form of locomotion, the new device can achieve impressive speeds, just like its animal inspiration.
Read morePrebiotics are only able to help stabilize the intestinal flora of horses to a limited degree. Before they can reach the intestines, commercially available supplements partially break down in the animals' stomachs, which can lead to inflammation of the stomach lining.
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