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Theoretical climbing rope could brake falls

SALT LAKE CITY, July 6, 2016 - University of Utah mathematicians showed it is theoretically possible to design ideal climbing ropes to safely slow falling rock and mountain climbers like brakes decelerate a car. They hope someone develops a material to turn theory into reality.

In a new study in the Journal of Sports Engineering and Technology, the mathematicians write: "We do not expect this article to have an immediate effect on the climbing community, but by providing a prescription for a mathematically ideal rope, the work may help guide the development of new ropes."

Transforming water fleas prepare for battle!

Water fleas can thwart their enemies by growing defensive structures such as helmets and spines. What's more, this predator-induced 'arming' process is not a one-size-fits-all approach - they can even tailor their defensive responses to the types of predators present.

Doggy paddles help dogs to stay on the move

Canine hydrotherapy improves the mobility of Labradors suffering from elbow dysplasia. Not only this, it also positively affects the strides of healthy dogs, showing great potential as both a therapeutic tool and an effective way to keep your dog fit.

How to have sex with a hyper-long penis: getting to the tip of the problem

Many male insects, especially beetles, possess a penis sometimes several times longer than their entire body length, but how do they have sex with it? A recent study has found that male beetles keep their penis tip soft for faster sex, when they 'shoot' their hyper-elongated penises into the female beetle's duct.

Birds get the green (and red) light

Japanese quail grow and breed best under green and red lighting. An important bird in the poultry industry, quail thrive better under these conditions than in white and blue light, according to recent research carried out at Banaras Hindu University, India.

Research group leader, Dr Suneeta Yadav explains: "We monitored these quail over 35 weeks and found that birds grown in red or green light ended up with higher body weights than those grown in white or blue light at the same intensity and day lengths."

Obese preschoolers have 60 percent higher healthcare costs than healthy weight children

Obese children aged two to five years old are 2-3 times more likely to be admitted to hospital and have 60 per cent higher healthcare costs than healthy weight children, a study by the University of Sydney's School of Public Health has found.

Published today in Obesity journal, this is the first study to reveal the higher direct health care costs of obesity in preschool aged children compared with those of normal weight.

'Origami' is reshaping DNA's future

Ten years after its introduction, DNA origami, a fast and simple way to assemble DNA into potentially useful structures, is finally coming into its own.

Urban hedgehogs -- more at home in the city than you thought

A species that is 15 million years old, hedgehogs have survived all kinds of environmental changes over the years, including urbanisation. Surprisingly, cities have often been found to have higher hedgehog populations than rural areas. Understanding why this is could help us to protect them in the future.

Be wary of knotweed advice on the web, researchers warn

Gardeners turning to the internet for advice about Japanese knotweed are likely to find a wide range of sometimes contradictory and potentially misleading advice that could put them on the wrong side of the law, scientists at the University of Exeter have found.

A study by researchers at the University of Exeter's Penryn campus which looked at knotweed guidance from a range of sources on the web found that information, even that from local government sources, varies significantly in its comprehensiveness and accuracy and could lead to further spread of the invasive plant.

Endometrial scratch appears beneficial in couples trying to conceive

Helsinki, 4 July 2016: There is a much disputed claim that "injury" to the lining of the uterus - whether inadvertent or deliberate - increases the chance of embryo implantation and thus the chance of pregnancy in certain groups of women having IVF. The "injury" has usually been performed as a biopsy from the womb lining (endometrium), whose action is believed to cause a favourable inflammation ("scratch") within the endometrium thereby making it more receptive to an implanting embryo.

Staph risk runs in families, especially among siblings

1. Staph risk runs in families, especially among siblingsAbstract: http://www.annals.org/article.aspx?doi=10.7326/M15-2762URL goes live when the embargo lifts

HPV vaccine reduced cervical abnormalities in young women

Young women who received the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine through a school-based program had fewer cervical cell anomalies when screened for cervical cancer, found a new study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

VIB researchers reveal new therapeutic avenue in the fight against cancer

Targeting NEAT1 and 'paraspeckles' increases chemosensitivity of cancer cells

Study shows how genes affect immunity in response to pathogens

A study that is first in its kind and published in Nature Medicine today has looked at how far genetic factors control the immune cell response to pathogens in healthy individuals. A team investigated the response of immune cells from 200 healthy volunteers when stimulated with a comprehensive list of pathogens ex vivo (outside the human body), and has correlated these responses with 4 million genetic variants (SNPs).

Pasta is not fattening, quite the opposite

In recent years pasta gained a bad reputation: it will fatten you. This led lots of people to limit its consumption, often as part of some aggressive "do it yourself" diets. Now a study conducted by the Department of Epidemiology, I.R.C.C.S. Neuromed in Pozzilli, Italy, does justice to this fundamental element of the Mediterranean diet, showing how pasta consumption is actually associated with a reduced likelihood of both general and abdominal obesity.