Does an early COPD diagnosis improve long-term outcomes?

It depends. A diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) made using screening spirometry in patients without symptoms does not change the course of the disease or alter smoking rates (strength of recommendation [SOR]: A, preponderance of evidence from multiple randomized controlled trials [RCTs]). However, once a patient develops symptoms of lung disease, a delayed diagnosis is associated with poorer outcomes (SOR: B, cohort studies).

Differential cellular proliferation underlies heterochronic generation of cranial diversity in phyllostomid bats.

Background: Skull diversity in the neotropical leaf-nosed bats (Phyllostomidae) evolved through a heterochronic process called peramorphosis, with underlying causes varying by subfamily. The nectar-eating (subfamily Glossophaginae) and blood-eating (subfamily Desmondontinae) groups originate from insect-eating ancestors and generate their uniquely shaped faces and skulls by extending the ancestral ontogenetic program, appending new developmental stages and demonstrating peramorphosis by hypermorphosis. However, the fruit-eating phyllostomids (subfamilies Carollinae and Stenodermatinae) adjust their craniofacial development by speeding up certain developmental processes, displaying peramorphosis by acceleration.