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The fossil of a tiny fish found in southwestern Alberta provides new insight into the origin and evolution of otophysans, the supergroup of fish that includes catfish, carp and tetras, which today account for two-thirds of all freshwater species. The specimen, studied by researchers at Western University, the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology and international…

Researchers at Leipzig University and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin have discovered a key mechanism for appetite and weight control. It helps the brain to regulate feelings of hunger. In a study, scientists from Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) 1423 – Structural Dynamics of GPCR Activation and Signaling – found how a protein called MRAP2 (melanocortin 2…

A key switch for cellular energy balance has been discovered in cells: it could potentially become the target of new therapies for diseases ranging from Parkinson’s to rare disorders caused by defects in the cell’s powerhouses, the mitochondria. The switch is called phosphatase B55 (PP2A-B55alpha) and regulates the balance of mitochondria. Experts from Università Cattolica,…

A higher weekly dose of semaglutide (7.2 mg) can significantly improve weight loss and related health outcomes in adults living with obesity, including those with type 2 diabetes (T2D), according to the results of two large-scale, international phase 3 clinical trials. The findings, published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal, suggest that a higher…

Drinking any amount of alcohol likely increases the risk of dementia, suggests the largest combined observational and genetic study to date, published online in BMJ Evidence Based Medicine. Even light drinking — generally thought to be protective, based on observational studies — is unlikely to lower the risk, which rises in tandem with the quantity…

The habitat of thirty species of sharks, rays, and chimaeras, also called ghost sharks, overlap with areas where proposed deep-sea mining may occur, according to new research published in Current Biology and led by University of Hawai’i at Mānoa oceanographers. Nearly two-thirds of these species are already threatened with extinction due to human impacts, so…