URBANA, Ill. - Corn and soybean farmers might as well be soldiers locked in an ever-escalating war against the weeds that threaten their crops. New weapons -- herbicides -- only work for so long before the enemy retaliates by developing resistance and refusing to die. So farmers attack with new herbicides or new mixtures of existing herbicides until the cycle starts again. This has been the case for decades for two familiar enemies, waterhemp and its aggressive cousin, Palmer amaranth.
Body
An international team of researchers has shed light on the potential impact of new drugs for hepatitis C virus (HCV).
HCV is an important cause of liver cancer and is transmitted through blood to blood contact. People who inject drugs (PWID) and men who have sex with men (MSM), who are also infected with HIV, are key risk groups for HCV infection in UK.
New HCV treatments are highly effective, with cure rates often better than 90 per cent, but treatment is expensive and patients with severe liver disease are being prioritised by NHS England.
MADISON, Wis. -- A stomachache can put a real damper on your love life -- especially if you're a giant panda.
One minute it's breeding season and you're happily dining on fresh bamboo leaves, the next you're left clutching your stomach while your gastrointestinal lining passes through your system. It exits your body as a thick, gooey, gelatinous mass.
This is exactly what seems to happen to captive giant pandas, and the researchers behind a new study published in Frontiers in Microbiology are beginning to suspect it may play a role in their struggles to reproduce.
MIAMI, May 18, 2016 -- A team of researchers at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine recently discovered a novel, non-toxic approach to treating a wide variety of cancers. The treatment approach is based on a combination therapy of the sugar 2-Deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) and fenofibrate, a well-studied cholesterol medication. The study was published in the journal Oncotarget.
Medical professionals have long known that the buildup of plaque in arteries can cause them to narrow and harden, potentially leading to a whole host of health problems -- including heart attack, heart disease and stroke. While high blood pressure and artery stiffness are often associated with plaque buildup, new research from engineers at Washington University in St. Louis shows they are not the direct causes.
URBANA, Ill. - Proteins are more than a dietary requirement. This diverse set of molecules powers nearly all of the cellular operations in a living organism. Scientists may know the structure of a protein or its function, but haven't always been able to link the two.
"The big problem in biology is the question of how a protein does what it does. We think the answer rests in protein evolution," says University of Illinois professor and bioinformatician Gustavo Caetano-Anollés.
Evolving the largest eyes among all known arachnids may have helped the net-casting spider add walking prey to its airborne menu of midnight snacks, says new research from University of Nebraska-Lincoln biologists.
Doctoral student Jay Stafstrom reached the conclusion after two months living out of a tent in a Florida state park, where he observed how the nocturnal species Deinopis spinosa hunted with and without the aid of secondary eyes roughly 2,000 times more light-sensitive than human eyes.
Acute HIV infection (AHI) contributes significantly to HIV transmission and may be important for intervention strategies seeking to reduce incidence and achieve a functional cure. In a study by the U.S. Military HIV Research Program (MHRP), Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, scientists enrolled and intensively followed a cohort of high-risk individuals, tracking their HIV status and characterizing the disease through the acute stages of HIV infection.
No matter how smart and funny you think you are, those you follow on Twitter really do have a larger following than you. And the same holds true for Facebook. But there is no reason to feel badly about any of this, according to Naghmeh Momeni Taramsari, who is currently working on her PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering at McGill University.
Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecologic cancer in the U.S. Most cases are diagnosed at early stage and have good prognosis. Unfortunately, some patients with early stage and low grade endometrial cancer experience recurrence - and the reasons are not entirely clear. When recurrence happens, the cancer is often resistant to chemotherapy and has a high rate of mortality.
Voltage-gated calcium channels open in unison, rather than independently, to allow calcium ions into and activate excitable cells such as neurons and muscle cells, researchers with UC Davis Health System and the University of Washington have found.
The research defies earlier electrophysiology canon and undermines the previously held belief that calcium channels function independently. The study is published online in the journal eLife.
Bottom Line: Consuming high amounts of saturated fat or low amounts of mono- and polyunsaturated fats as an adolescent was associated with higher breast density in young adulthood. Breast density is a risk factor for breast cancer.
Journal in Which the Study was Published: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
BUFFALO, N.Y. - Bring the drugs, hold the suds.
That summarizes a promising new drug-making technique designed to reduce serious allergic reactions and other side effects from anti-cancer medicine, testosterone and other drugs that are administered with a needle.
Developed by University at Buffalo researchers, the breakthrough removes potentially harmful additives -- primarily soapy substances known as surfactants -- from common injectable drugs.
Genes that drive the shape of human noses have been identified by a UCL-led study.
The four genes mainly affect the width and 'pointiness' of noses which vary greatly between different populations. The new information adds to our understanding of how the human face evolved and may help contribute to forensic DNA technologies that build visual profiles based on an individual's genetic makeup.
Researchers from the University of Leeds have taken an important step forward in mimicking nature's prowess at protecting cells from deep-freeze conditions.
The new research, published today in the print edition of the Journal of Physical Chemistry B, reveals how glycerol prevents ice crystals from forming in water as the solution is cooled to -35°C, with important implications for improving cryoprotectants used in fertility treatments and food storage.