Thursday 8 October 2020

Researchers propose an index for measuring "reproductive skew" across animal species

SFI External Professor Monique Borgerhoff Mulder, former Omidyar Fellow Paul Hooper, and long-time SFI collaborator Cody Ross are among co-authors on a new paper that proposes an index for measuring "reproductive skew" across animal species.

Thinning forests no defence against fires

Having logging machines "thin" forest for fire reduction is largely ineffective, a new peer-reviewed, scientific study has found.

Restricting supermarket promotions of high-sugar food and drinks reduces sales without reducing store profits

Restricting the promotion and merchandising of unhealthy foods and beverages leads to a reduction in their sales, presenting an opportunity to improve people's diets, according to a randomised controlled trial of 20 stores in remote regions of Australia published in The Lancet Planetary Health journal.

The good cough and the bad cough

Researchers might be able to treat a troublesome cough in disease without disrupting the protective cough we need for optimal lung health, by targeting the different brain circuits involved. That's according to new research published this week in The Journal of Physiology.

Comeback of drug-resistant neglected tropical disease tracked through genomic surveillance

Genome sequencing has shed light on the re-emergence of the bacterium that causes yaws, a neglected tropical disease of the skin, bones and joints. The re-emergence followed a mass drug administration (MDA) campaign that aimed to eliminate the disease in Papua New Guinea.

Teens diagnosed with depression show reduction in educational achievement

Teenagers who receive a depression diagnosis during their school career show a substantial decline in attainment in Year 11, new King's College London research has found.

Stopping opioid-related addiction, harm and accidents after surgery

The opioid crisis, in which addiction and harm are related to pain-relieving opioid drugs, has been well documented. It has been concentrated in the USA but is now affecting most Western nations and increasingly, developing countries also. In some cases, this addiction and subsequent harm begins when the patient is given these drugs for pain relief after surgery.

Pollinator monitoring more than pays for itself

Monitoring schemes to count bees and other pollinating insects provide excellent value for money, and could help save species and protect UK food security, researchers have found.