Strong evidence suggests that the coronavirus pandemic will affect mothers and infants through immune pathways that have, in previous research, shown links to deficits in maternal mental health and infant well-being and development across developmental stages.
Researchers identified and characterized rare cell types in the esophagus, stomach and upper part of the small intestine, using single cell RNA sequencing. They provide detailed gene expression analyses for all epithelial cells in these organs. Furthermore, they identified a rare cell type that is most likely responsible for the secretion of high volumes of water in humans, providing a link to gastrointestinal defects in patients with cystic fibrosis.
Scientists reporting in the journal Current Biology on March 8 have discovered two species of sacoglossan sea slug that can do even better, shedding and then regenerating a whole new body complete with the heart and other internal organs. The researchers also suggest that the slugs may use the photosynthetic ability of chloroplasts they incorporate from the algae in their diet to survive long enough for regeneration.
In a new study published in JAMA Pediatrics, researchers at Children s Hospital Colorado (Children s Colorado) have found that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component of marijuana, stays in breast milk for up to six weeks, further supporting the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine to abstain from marijuana use during pregnancy and while a mother is breastfeeding.
Credit: Georgia Aquarium
Shark scientists at Georgia Aquarium, Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, and Dalhousie University are challenging the status quo in shark and ray mating research in a new study that looks at biological drivers of multiple paternity in these animals. The results were published March 4 in the journal
Molecular Ecology.
Many species of sharks and rays exhibit multiple paternity, where females give birth to a litter of pups that have different fathers. While widely documented in scientific literature, the drivers of this phenomenon are not well understood. However, previous research has cited male aggression as the reason, claiming that the females are unable to avoid or submit to their advances during mating. This has led to the convenience polyandry theory, the assumption that there is a greater cost for females when refusing male mating attempts, as being the most widely credited explanation.