Scientist’s journey includes moving research toward potential clinical advances
A significant turning point in the life of Haifan Lin, Ph.D., Eugene Higgins Professor of Cell Biology; professor of genetics and of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences; and founding director of Yale’s Stem Cell Center, may have come when he was just 15. Already a high achiever, as he has been ever since, he completed high school three years younger than his classmates. (more…)
The transformation of the Thu Thiem New Urban Area in Ho Chi Minh City is the focus of a new exhibition in Vietnam by renowned artist Tiffany Chung that is based on research conducted in collaboration with Yale anthropologist Erik Harms.
Titled “an archaeology project for future remembrance,” the exhibition is on view at Galerie Quynh in Ho Chi Minh City. (more…)
Max Li’s research could inform policies to promote sustainable native environments and curb the invasion of alien plant species.
Max Li, a University of Arizona doctoral student in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, is studying mechanisms that determine how competing desert plants can coexist with each other and what factors can cause the destruction of this stable coexistence.
His research could help inform policies to curb the spread of invasive species. (more…)
Young people who identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual are twice as likely to have smoked than their heterosexual peers, according to new research published in BMJ Open. Lesbian and gay young people were also more likely to drink alcohol frequently and more hazardously.
The interdisciplinary research team comprised researchers from five UK Universities (UCL, University of Cambridge, London Metropolitan University, De Montfort University Leicester and Brunel University), a doctor working in General Practice and a consultant from Public Health England. (more…)
Human beings would probably be known as pilosals rather than mammals if Carl Linnaeus had not been a proponent of breast-feeding. For social and political reasons, the famed taxonomist labeled the class of animals to which humans belong with a reference to their practice of suckling their young rather than to their evolutionarily older characteristic of having hair.
This is just one of the hundreds of surprising pieces of information that readers will glean from the far-reaching and fascinating How We Do It: The Evolution and Future of Human Reproduction, a new book by Robert Martin, a member of the University’s of Chicago’s Committee on Evolutionary Biology and curator of biological anthropology at the Field Museum. (more…)
It’s not just about agriculture. Growing two crops a year in the same field improves schools, helps advance public sanitation, raises median income, and creates jobs.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — New research finds that double cropping — planting two crops in a field in the same year — is associated with positive signs of economic development for rural Brazilians.
The research focused the state of Mato Grosso, the epicenter of an agricultural revolution that has made Brazil one of the world’s top producers of soybeans, corn, cotton, and other staple crops. That Brazil has become an agricultural powerhouse over the last decade or so is clear. What has been less clear is who is reaping the economic rewards of that agricultural intensification — average Brazilians or wealthy landowners and outside investors. (more…)
Humans aren’t the only species with a sweet tooth. Research from North Carolina State University shows that the invasive spotted-wing vinegar fly (Drosophila suzukii) also prefers sweet, soft fruit – giving us new insight into a species that has spread across the United States over the past four years and threatens to cause hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to U.S. fruit crops.
“Because we know that D. suzukii prefers softer, sweeter fruit, we can focus our research efforts into which wild fruits may serve as reservoirs for this species and help identify new crops that might be at risk,” says Dr. Hannah Burrack, an assistant professor of entomology at NC State and lead author of a paper on the research. “These findings may also be a starting point for plant breeders interested in developing new fruit varieties that are more resistant to D. suzukii.” (more…)
Medical professionals should consider how marital quality affects patients’ health
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Research shows that married people have better mental and physical health than their unmarried peers and are less likely to develop chronic conditions than their widowed or divorced counterparts. A University of Missouri expert says that people who have happy marriages are more likely to rate their health as better as they age; aging adults whose physical health is declining could especially benefit from improving their marriages.
Christine Proulx, an assistant professor in the MU Department of Human Development and Family Studies, examined the long-term relationship between self-rated health and marital quality. She found that, in all stages of marriage, positive or negative relationships affect the individuals’ health. Spouses should be aware that how they treat each other and how happy they are in their marriages affect both partners’ health, and they should think more about their personal relationships when thinking holistically about their health, she said. (more…)
