natureasia.com top ten research highlights
The following highlights are the top ten most viewed research highlights on the English website of natureasia.com during the past month.
27 December 2019 ～ 26 January 2020
Planetary science: A new technique results in planet haul
Nature Astronomy, December 24, 2019
The discovery of six new exoplanets orbiting three different stars is reported in three papers published in Nature Astronomy this week. The planets, identified using a new technique, range in mass from roughly 2.6 times the mass of the Earth to nearly half the mass of Jupiter, and all orbit very close to their stars.
Over the past decade, it has become clear that in other planetary ...
doi: 10.1038/s41550-019-0973-y
International evaluation of an AI system for breast cancer screening
Nature, January 2, 2020
An artificial intelligence (AI) system capable of surpassing expert radiologists in the ability to detect breast cancer is reported in a paper published in Nature this week. This deep-learning model may contribute to prospective clinical trials to improve the accuracy and efficiency of breast cancer screening.
Many developed nations have implemented large-scale mammography screening p...
doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-1799-6
Ecology: Reassessing impacts of ocean acidification on fish behaviour
Nature, January 9, 2020
Ocean acidification due to rising CO2 levels may have a negligible impact on critical behaviours of coral reef fishes, reports a paper published in Nature. The findings, which challenge previous research, are the results of a multi-year, multi-species project aimed at assessing the impact of ocean acidification on coral reef fishes.
By the end of the century, the acidification of ...
doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-1903-y
Prevention of tuberculosis in macaques after intravenous BCG immunization
Nature, January 2, 2020
Changing the dose and delivery route of the BCG vaccine improves protection against tuberculosis infection in a rhesus macaque model of the disease reports a study published in Nature this week. The data suggest that switching the delivery mode from intradermal to intravenous could be especially beneficial when given to adolescents or adult humans, although clinical tests are needed.
...
doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-1817-8
Ecology: The earliest known example of extended parental care
Nature Ecology & Evolution, December 24, 2019
The fossil of a previously unknown species of synapsid - animals which resembled modern day monitor lizards - is reported in a paper in Nature Ecology & Evolution. This specimen, around 309 million years old, includes an adult with a related juvenile positioned behind its hindlimb and encircled by its tail, suggesting that extended parental care began 40 million years earlier than previously th...
doi: 10.1038/s41559-019-1030-z
Climate science: Impacts of global heating on US deaths from injuries assessed
Nature Medicine, January 14, 2020
A 1.5°C anomalously warm year, as envisioned under the Paris Climate Agreement, could be responsible for as many as 1,601 additional deaths by injury per year across the contiguous United States, according to a paper published in Nature Medicine.
To date, health consequences related to global temperature variations have been studied largely in the context of the spread of infectious ...
doi: 10.1038/s41591-019-0721-y
Medical Research: Impacts of childhood lead-exposure risk and family income on brain development
Nature Medicine, January 14, 2020
Cognitive and brain development impairment associated with lead exposure in childhood could be exacerbated by poverty, according to a study published in Nature Medicine.
Lead exposure in childhood, even in small concentrations, is known to negatively affect cognitive and behavioural development and has also been associated with lower socioeconomic status in later life. However, the...
doi: 10.1038/s41591-019-0713-y
Marine biology: Acidified oceans may corrode shark scales
Scientific Reports, December 20, 2019
Prolonged exposure to high carbon dioxide (acidified) seawater may corrode tooth-like scales (denticles) covering the skin of puffadder shysharks, a study in Scientific Reports suggests. As ocean CO2 concentrations increase due to human activity, oceans are becoming more acidic, with potential implications for marine wildlife. Although the effects of acidified water have been studied in several...
doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-54795-7
Climate change: A new dimension to marine climate change
Nature Ecology & Evolution, December 24, 2019
Marine organisms may be able to migrate to greater depths as well as towards the poles in response to climate change, but they will experience a compressed three-dimensional habitat, according to a paper published in Nature Ecology & Evolution.
If marine species are to survive rising temperatures, they may move poleward to maintain the same environmental temperature, or they may adapt...
doi: 10.1038/s41559-019-1058-0
Climate change: Climate change threatens lemurs
Nature Climate Change, December 24, 2019
Ruffed lemurs, a representative species in Madagascar, could lose 38 - 93% of habitat by 2070 as a result of climate change and deforestation, according to a paper published in Nature Climate Change.
Madagascar, home to 5% of the world’s biodiversity, is experiencing all of the major global change threats, including climate change, invasive species, overharvesting, and habitat l...
doi: 10.1038/s41558-019-0647-x
