Body

Malaria caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum remains a major public health problem worldwide. As a continuation of previous research targeting Hsp90, a universal molecular chaperone performing vital functions both in the parasite and in human cells, researchers from the universities of Geneva (UNIGE) and Basel, Switzerland, have developed a strategy to identify molecules capable of inhibiting the parasite's protein and causing the destruction of the pathogen, without affecting mammalian cells. The study is published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.

A molecule which, for the last 20 years has been believed to be an indicator of good prognosis in tumours has been shown to have a dark side by new research from The Universities of Manchester, Athens and collaborators, recently published in Nature Cell Biology.

The molecule p21WAF1/Cip1 (or p21 for short) is often found in association with a so-called 'master tumour-suppressor' p53. This has traditionally given doctors an indication that there is a good prognosis for cancer - the presence of p21 indicating that the p53 tumour suppressor will lead to a less aggressive tumour.

The penis of the thistle tortoise beetle is as long as the beetle itself. Something that initially sounds exciting, can be complicated during mating. This is because the females also have a hyper-elongated sexual organ, which is additionally twisted in the shape of a spiral. How beetle reproduction can nevertheless be successful has now been investigated by Dr. Yoko Matsumura, Dr. Alexander Kovalev and Professor Stanislav Gorb from the Zoological Institute of Kiel University.

Newcastle researchers have developed a genetic test providing a rapid diagnosis of mitochondrial disorders to identify the first patients with inherited mutations in a new disease gene.

The team of medics and scientists at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Mitochondrial Research at Newcastle University, together with international collaborators, have identified mutations in a gene, known as TMEM126B, involved in energy production in patient's muscles.

Superconductivity (SC) and ferromagnetism (FM) are mutually antagonistic collective phenomena in solids. Macroscopically, a superconductor expels magnetic fluxes from its interior (so-called Meissner state) below the superconducting critical temperature TSC. By contrast, a ferromagnet magnetizes itself (for a single magnetic domain) spontaneously below the ferromagnetic transition temperature TFM.

Researchers identify bacterial infection as a possible cause of bladder condition

A team led by researchers at the University of Kent has identified bacterial infection as a possible cause of Overactive Bladder Syndrome (OAB).

OAB is a condition where the bladder muscle spontaneously contracts before the bladder is full. In the USA, it is ranked in the top 10 of common chronic conditions, competing with both diabetes and depression, with a reported prevalence of up to 31-42% in the adult population.

Researchers at Umeå University in Sweden have published new findings on the adaptation of the bacterial cell wall in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. The study reveals novel bacterial defence mechanisms against the immune system and how they can become resistant to antibiotics.

ecancer's latest Special Issue provides an update on rapidly evolving developments in palliative cancer care in Africa.

This is the second special issue from ecancer focusing on this complex topic.

In 2014, our authors brought you compelling evidence of the clash between traditional cultural beliefs in African nations and the need for modern palliative cancer care.

This update takes a different approach to the challenges of cancer care on this diverse continent - raising it to the level of policy.

During the Ordovician period, the concentration of CO2 in the earth's atmosphere was about eight times higher than today. It has been hard to explain why the climate cooled and why the Ordovician glaciations took place. A new study, published in Nature Communications, shows that the weathering of rock caused by early non-vascular plants had the potential to cause such a global cooling effect.

PHILADELPHIA) - Researchers collected and re-examined clinical trial data on exercise during pregnancy and whether it plays a role in preterm birth, and found that exercise is safe and does not increase the risk of preterm birth. In addition, women who exercised were less likely to have a C-section than those who did not. The study was published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

The Neanderthals displayed great variability in their behaviour and one of the aspects in which this becomes clear is their relationship with the dead. There is evidence on different sites (e.g. Chapelle-aux-Saints in France, and Sima de las Palomas on the Iberian Peninsula) that the Neanderthals buried the dead. Yet other sites show that the Neanderthals ate the meat and broke the bones of their fellow Neanderthals for food.

"About 80% of newly licensed nurses find their first work in hospitals," says New York University Rory Meyers College of Nursing (NYU Meyers) Professor Christine T. Kovner, PhD, RN, FAAN. "Turnovers are one of the costliest expenditures in our profession. In fact, costs are estimated at $62,000 to $67,000 per departure, amounting to $1.4 to 2.1 billion in expenses for new nurses who leave their first jobs within three years of starting."

The cholesterol medicine simvastatin, which is one of the most commonly used pharmaceuticals in the world, also has a beneficial effect on the immune defence system with regard to diseases such as type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. Danish researchers have now explored why this is so, and their findings may result in improved treatment.

Sometimes, the silencing of a gene is as important as its activation. Nonetheless, up to now, most studies on hormone-mediated gene regulation have focused on researching the factors that influence the activation of certain genes. Little attention has been paid to gene silencing.

But researchers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) have discovered that there is a mechanism of active repression in hormone-dependent breast cancer cells that acts on genes related with cell proliferation and death.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES), along with local partners, released the Colombian Orinoco River Basin Report Card -- the first of its kind in of South America -- to track progress against global water management goals. With a B- for the Orinoco river basin, the report card serves as a model for building comprehensive, community-driven, scientifically credible basin assessments that can work anywhere in the world.