Ancient DNA Reveals the Earliest Evidence of Sheep Flocks During the Late Fourth and Third Millennia BC in Southern Iberia.

The Spanish Merino is the most significant sheep breed globally due to its economic and cultural importance in human history. It has also had a substantial influence on the development of other Merino and Merino-derived breeds. Historical sources indicate that crossbreeding to produce finer, higher-quality wool was already taking place in the south of the Iberian Peninsula during the Roman era.

Parasite Screening in Wild Passerines: Enhancing Diagnostic Approaches in Wildlife Rehabilitation Centers.

The order Passeriformes is the richest and most abundant group of birds, but despite numerous parasites being identified in wild birds, this order has received limited focus. This study analyzed 17 passerines admitted to the Grupo de Rehabilitación de la Fauna Autóctona y su Hábitat (GREFA), a wildlife rehabilitation center in Spain, during October to December 2022. Necropsies were conducted to determine the presence of parasites, and intestinal contents were analyzed using fecal smear, flotation and sedimentation techniques and the McMaster method.

Self-Intercalation as Origin of High-Temperature Ferromagnetism in Epitaxially Grown Fe_{5}GeTe_{2} Thin Films.

The role of self-intercalation in 2D van der Waals materials is key to the understanding of many of their properties. Here we show that the magnetic ordering temperature of thin films of the 2D ferromagnet Fe_{5}GeTe_{2} is substantially increased by self-intercalated Fe that resides in the van der Waals gaps. The epitaxial films were prepared by molecular beam epitaxy and their magnetic properties explored by element-specific x-ray magnetic circular dichroism that showed ferromagnetic ordering up to 375 K.

Contrasting genetic burden for bipolar disorder: Early onset versus late onset in an older adult bipolar disorder sample.

Older Adults with Bipolar Disorder (OABD) represent a heterogeneous group, including those with early and late onset of the disorder. Recent evidence shows both groups have distinct clinical, cognitive, and medical features, tied to different neurobiological profiles. This study explored the link between polygenic risk scores (PRS) for bipolar disorder (PRS-BD), schizophrenia (PRS-SCZ), and major depressive disorder (PRS-MDD) with age of onset in OABD.