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Scientists are reporting a key advance toward development of a way to combat the terrible plant diseases that caused the Irish potato famine and still inflict billions of dollars of damage to crops each year around the world. Their study appears in ACS' bi-weekly journal Organic Letters.

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- The forecast for predicting the next political hotspots could be much more accurate because of a model developed by two Kansas State University professors and a colleague in New York.

The model, named the Predictive Societal Indicators of Radicalism Model of Domestic Political Violence Forecast, is currently five for five in predicting which countries will likely experience an escalation in domestic political violence against their governments within the next five years.

Fairfax, Va., January 18, 2011 – HIV-positive head and neck cancer patients respond well to radiation therapy treatments and experience similar toxicity rates as non-HIV-positive patients, despite prior reports to the contrary, according to a study in the January issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology•Biology•Physics, an official journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

In birds as in humans, female fertility declines with age.

But some female birds can slow the ticking of their biological clocks by choosing the right mates, according to results of a study published online last week in the journal Oikos.

Female birds become progressively less fertile as age takes its toll, says biologist Josh Auld of the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center in Durham, North Carolina, and co-author of the Oikos paper.

Older females lay fewer eggs, and they lay them later in the season--at a time when less food is available for their chicks.

Baked goods made from hydrolyzed wheat flour are not toxic to celiac disease patients, according to a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute. Celiac disease occurs in the digestive system when people cannot tolerate a protein called gluten, which is found primarily in wheat.

Washington, DC, January 19, 2011— Both boys and girls who are victims of bullying, including bullying through e-mail and the internet, are at elevated risk for depression. However, according to a new study, adolescent girls may engage in substance use as a result of bullying-related depression,.

Researchers at Neiker-Tecnalia (the Basque Institute for Agricultural Research and Development) have undertaken a study on the epidemiology and diagnosis of infection by visna/maedi virus. This is a virus that affects sheep herds causing chronic interstitial pneumonia, mastitis and neurological disorders. The study confirmed that horizontal transmission (direct contact between infected animals) of the virus is the most likely path of infection, rather than vertical transmission (from infected suckling milk or colostrum).

Identity theft by aphids

Collaborative research at the University of Guam has people asking: "What IS a species" and entomologists wondering about the relationship between an insect species and the host plant or plants it feeds on.

A University of British Columbia study shows that there are enough pharmacies situated throughout Ontario communities to absorb many closures without negatively affecting geographical accessibility for residents. The research suggests concerns that reducing generic pricing could result in pharmacy shortages are unfounded.

 UC Davis experts call for action against fast-moving disease

A team of wildlife experts led by UC Davis called today for a national fight against a new fungus that has killed more than 1 million bats in the eastern United States and is spreading fast throughout North America.

There is not enough evidence to recommend the widespread use of statins in people with no previous history of heart disease, according to a new Cochrane Systematic Review. Researchers say statins should be prescribed with caution in those at low risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Antioxidant supplements may benefit couples who have difficulty conceiving naturally, according to a new systematic review published today in The Cochrane Library. The review provides evidence from a small number of trials that suggest the partners of men who take antioxidants are more likely to become pregnant.