Body

Persistent HPV infection raises risk of anal and genital cancers

Bottom Line: Women with a history of severe cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, a precancerous condition of the cervix that arises from infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV), had a long-term increased risk of developing anal, vulvar, and vaginal cancer.

Journal in Which the Study was Published: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Penguin population could drop 60 percent by end of the century

Climate has influenced the distribution patterns of Adélie penguins across Antarctica for millions of years.

The geologic record shows that as glaciers expanded and covered Adélie breeding habitats with ice, penguin colonies were abandoned. When the glaciers melted during warming periods, this warming positively affected the Adélie penguins, allowing them to return to their rocky breeding grounds.

But now, University of Delaware scientists and colleagues report that this beneficial warming may have reached its tipping point.

Your blood can reveal your risk for heart disease

When you visit your general practitioner you can get your blood analyzed for cholesterol and triglycerides, to get an idea of your risk for cardiovascular disease. With additional information about BMI, smoking habits and blood pressure, this can be used to calculate your 10-year risk for cardiovascular disease. There are several risk prediction calculators available today.

The large-scale stability of chromosomes

"Interphase" refers to the period in the cell cycle in which chromosomes spend most of their time. During this phase, in between mitoses, chromosomes live "dissolved'' in the nucleus where they carry out the processes required for the duplication of genetic material.

Gene Drive Technology: Where is the future?

The BioScience Talks podcast features discussions of topical issues related to the biological sciences.

LGBT rights and protections are scarce in constitutions around the world, UCLA study finds

June 27, 2016 - LGBT rights and protections are scarce in constitutions around the world, UCLA study findsFSPH WORLD's study provides global analysis of constitutional rights based on sexual orientation and gender identity

Only five countries in the world have constitutions that explicitly guarantee equality for citizens on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Bacterial colonies in human body linked to presence of cancer in mouth and throat

In a sample study, researchers at Johns Hopkins say they have found an association between the makeup of an individual's microbiome and head and neck cancer, a finding that potentially advances the quest for faster and more accurate cancer diagnosis and therapy.

The Smithsonian celebrates the Panama Canal expansion

The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) celebrated with Panama the completion of the Panama Canal expansion project on June 26, 2016. The $5.6 billion engineering effort allows ships with triple the carrying-capacity of current vessels to transit the canal. The enterprise gave Smithsonian scientists unique opportunities to study two global-scale experiments: a natural, intercontinental land bridge bisected by a man-made, inter-oceanic pathway. They studied fossils, invasive species, whale migration routes, environmental services and changing climate.

Cross-respiration between oral bacteria leads to worse infections

Washington, D.C.--June 28, 2016--Researchers determined that two bacterial species commonly found in the human mouth and in abscesses, cooperate to make the pathogenic bacterium, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, more infectious. Key to the cooperation is that the harmless partner provides the pathogen with an oxygen-rich environment that helps it flourish.

Researchers identify new strategy for decreasing neonatal mortality

Washington, DC - June 28, 2016 - Researchers have discovered how the bacteria Group B streptococcus (GBS) avoids detection by the immune system during pregnancy. The findings, reported in the journal mBio, could lead to the development of new drugs and strategies for treating GBS infection, which is a leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality.

World's first successful artificial insemination of southern rockhopper penguin

DNA tests have confirmed that one of the three southern rockhopper penguin chicks born at Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan between June 4 and 6 was conceived through artificial insemination. This is the result of a project led by Kaiyukan with the collaboration of Associate Professor KUSUNOKI Hiroshi (Kobe University Graduate School of Agricultural Science). It is the world's first successful case of a southern rockhopper penguin being conceived through artificial insemination.

Urban rabbits distance themselves more from their neighbors

FRANKFURT. What are the neighbours up to? The European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) can tell from the smell of their latrines, which mark the boundary of their territory like a fence. Latrines located near their own burrow, on the other hand, serve to exchange information within the group. As a group of researchers at Goethe University has now discovered, urban rabbits use the latrines along the territorial boundary more often and thus display a greater need to segregate themselves from their neighbours.

New blind and rare planthopper species and genus dwells exclusively in a Brazilian cave

This cave planthopper species new to science is only the second dwelling exclusively in the subterranean depths of Brazil from its family. Surviving without seeing the light of the day at any point of its life, this species has neither the eyes, nor the vivid colouration, nor the functional wings typical for its relatives.

Previously unknown global ecological disaster discovered

There have been several mass extinctions in the history of the earth. One of the largest known disasters occurred around 252 million years ago at the boundary between the Permian and the Triassic. Almost all sea-dwelling species and two thirds of all reptiles and amphibians died out. Although there were also brief declines in diversity in the plant world, they recovered in the space of a few thousand years, which meant that similar conditions to before prevailed again.

Change in flora within a millennia

Gene signature in ovarian cancer predicts survival and offers new drug target

A new UK study has identified a gene signature that predicts poor survival from ovarian cancer. The study also identified genes which help the cancer develop resistance to chemotherapy - offering a new route to help tackle the disease.

The study, published in the International Journal of Cancer, examined the role of HOX genes in ovarian cancer resistance and whether a drug known as HXR9 which targets HOX, could help prevent the resistance from developing.