Welcome to the “ScienceBlog.com” update from Hawaii Science Digest.

Today’s post looks at “10 Stories To Start Your Day” from “ScienceBlog.com.”

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Accessed on 14 January 2020, 2300 UTC.

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ScienceBlog.com: 10 Stories to Start Your Day

• New study finds evidence for reduced brain connections in schizophrenia
• ‘Cold Neptune’ and two temperate super-Earths found orbiting nearby stars
• Flame retardants and pesticides overtake heavy metals as biggest contributors to IQ loss
• Surprising Beauty Found in Bacterial Cultures
• Phage therapy: A new old treatment
• Biological clock may be key to reducing heart damage from radiation
• Humanity’s footprint is squashing world’s wildlife
• New mechanism, NF, may safely prevent and reverse obesity by inhibiting aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR)
• Genetics could explain how traumatic events affect people’s health
• Study Identifies Genetic Variant that May Contribute to Alcohol and Drug Addiction

New study finds evidence for reduced brain connections in schizophrenia Posted: 14 Jan 2020 06:26 AM PST Advances in scanning have allowed researchers for the first time to show lower levels of a protein found in the connections between neurons in the living brains of people with schizophrenia. The researchers, who conducted the scans at the psychiatric imaging facility at the Medical Research Council (MRC) London Institute of Medical Sciences, say these […]

‘Cold Neptune’ and two temperate super-Earths found orbiting nearby stars Posted: 14 Jan 2020 06:25 AM PST A “cold Neptune” and two potentially habitable worlds are part of a cache of five newly discovered exoplanets and eight exoplanet candidates found orbiting nearby red dwarf stars, which are reported in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series by a team led by Carnegie’s Fabo Feng and Paul Butler. The two potentially habitable planets are orbiting GJ180 and […]

Flame retardants and pesticides overtake heavy metals as biggest contributors to IQ loss Posted: 14 Jan 2020 06:24 AM PST Adverse outcomes from childhood exposures to lead and mercury are on the decline in the United States, likely due to decades of restrictions on the use of heavy metals, a new study finds. Despite decreasing levels, exposure to these and other toxic chemicals, especially flame retardants and pesticides, still resulted in more than a million […]

Surprising Beauty Found in Bacterial Cultures Posted: 14 Jan 2020 06:23 AM PST Microbial communities inhabit every ecosystem on Earth, from soil to rivers to the human gut. While monoclonal cultures often exist in labs, in the real world, many different microbial species inhabit the same space. Researchers at University of California San Diego have discovered that when certain microbes pair up, stunning floral patterns emerge. In a […]

Phage therapy: A new old treatment Posted: 14 Jan 2020 06:22 AM PST The fight against drug-resistant pathogens remains an intense one. While the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) 2019 “biggest threats” report reveals an overall decrease in drug-resistant microbe-related deaths as compared to its previous report (2013) the agency also cautions that new forms of drug-resistant pathogens are still emerging. Meanwhile, the options for treating infections by […]

Biological clock may be key to reducing heart damage from radiation Posted: 14 Jan 2020 06:20 AM PST Treatment for breast cancer commonly includes radiation therapy, which offers good chances of success but comes with a serious long-term side effect: toxicity due to radiation that reaches the heart, causing DNA damage in healthy heart cells. Over time, this can lead to heart disease and eventually heart failure. A new study conducted by researchers […]

Humanity’s footprint is squashing world’s wildlife Posted: 14 Jan 2020 06:19 AM PST A new study says that the planet’s wildlife is increasingly under the boot of humanity. Using the most comprehensive dataset on the “human footprint,” which maps the accumulated impact of human activities on the land’s surface, researchers from WCS, University of Queensland, and other groups found intense human pressures across the range of a staggering […]

New mechanism, NF, may safely prevent and reverse obesity by inhibiting aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) Posted: 14 Jan 2020 06:16 AM PST Obesity, a global epidemic, is a known contributor to several cancers, including breast, colon, and pancreatic. Stopping the obesity epidemic could be a critical aid in preventing and treating numerous cancers. Researchers with the laboratory of Craig Tomlinson, PhD, at Dartmouth’s and Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s Norris Cotton Cancer Center have found a critical target in this cause. […]

Genetics could explain how traumatic events affect people’s health Posted: 14 Jan 2020 04:46 AM PST by Kelly Oakes Facing the death of a loved one, being given a life-threatening diagnosis, or living through a natural disaster is difficult enough. But those who get through these traumatic life events often face further ill effects. Someone’s chances of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety all increase after being exposed to significant […]

Study Identifies Genetic Variant that May Contribute to Alcohol and Drug Addiction Posted: 13 Jan 2020 12:27 PM PST People with a genetic variant of a neurotransmitter gene may have an increased risk of addiction to alcohol and other substances later in life if they were exposed to childhood stress, such as divorce or emotionally distant parents, and other adverse experiences, according to recent research. The study led by researchers at the University of […] —– For the latest trends in science, technology, medicine, health, the environment, and artificial intelligence, please check the blog sidebars and links. These news feeds are updated daily. Thanks for joining us today. —– Until next time, Russ Roberts https://atomic-temporary-155977078.wpcomstaging.com (the daily update). https://hawaiisciencedaily.com (breaking science and technology news).