Body

Mosquito bite sites are not just itchy, irritating nuisances - they also make viral infections spread by the insects far worse, new research has found.

The study, led by the University of Leeds, found that inflammation where the insect has bitten not only helps a virus such as Zika or dengue establish an infection in the body more quickly, but that it also helps it to spread around the body, increasing the likelihood of severe illness.

Genetically raised levels of C-reactive protein (CRP, an inflammatory protein) are associated with protection against schizophrenia, according to a Mendelian randomization study published this week in PLOS Medicine. The study, published by Behrooz Z. Alizadeh of the University Medical Centre Groningen, The Netherlands, and colleagues, found a lack of association between CRP and a number of somatic and psychiatric disorders, suggesting that many disease-associated rises in CRP levels might be a response rather than cause of the disease.

Erioderma pedicellatum, commonly known as the Boreal felt lichen, grows on trees in the damp boreal forests along the Atlantic coast. It is also one of the most endangered lichens in the world. A new study, published today in Botany, uses population models to determine the survival and future viability of the species.

It takes children until they are about 5 years old to learn to take turns with others, while the social skill seems to elude chimpanzees, according to new findings published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

The findings show that 5-year-old children adopted a turn-taking strategy more effectively than their younger counterparts, suggesting that the skill emerges as children's cognitive abilities mature.

DALLAS (June 21, 2016) - The discovery nearly two decades ago of nine beautifully articulated vertebrae at Big Bend National Park is shedding new light on a 66 million-year-old sauropod native to Texas and the North American southwest called Alamosaurus sanjuanensis.

Usually, it takes a nose to smell, but now - for the first time - scientists have developed a convincing model able to measure odours from pig farms by means of precise measurements of the content of odorants in the atmosphere.

SORLA is a protein that influences the balance of metabolic processes in adipose tissue, a particular form of fat. Too much of it makes fat cells overly sensitive to insulin, which leads them to break down less fat. SORLA was previously known for its protective role in Alzheimer's disease.

Neuherberg, Germany, June 21, 2016. In the Journal of Clinical Investigation, scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum München describe a small peptide that very efficiently binds excess copper from liver cells. This molecule comes from a bacterium's bag of tricks and could be suitable for treating Wilson disease. In an experimental model it has already proven superior to conventional medicines.

A Kobe University research group including Associate Professor Maki Hideshi (Center for Environmental Management), PhD candidate Sakata Genki (Graduate School of Engineering, Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, currently employed at Central Glass Co., Ltd.) and Professor Mizuhata Minoru (Graduate School of Engineering) have developed a new analysis method that uses magnetic fields to quickly and accurately measure the concentration of aluminum used to purify tap water.

Typically ignored, the millions of microorganisms that we tread upon daily play a major role in the decomposition of soil matter - one that is of far greater significance than that of the whales and pandas that tend to steal our attention. A group of researchers has just shown that there is an enormous diversity among a group of bacteria-eating microorganisms known as Cercozoa. In four small soil samples, each consisting of a half gram of soil, they discovered more than 1000 different species per sample.

- Scientists have known for a while that coral reefs around the world are dying, and in a worst-case scenario they were counting on large, healthy-looking corals to repopulate.

But a new study presented at the 13th International Coral Reef Symposium in Honolulu today shows that these seemingly healthy colonies are "Coral Zombies" with no reproductive ability, which makes them useless in a recovery effort.

Blackjack players who hold high-value cards tend to glance fleetingly to the right, whereas those with a lower-value hand do so spontaneously to the left. This is according to research on aspects of mental arithmetic, led by Kevin Holmes of Colorado College in the US. The findings [1] are published in Springer's journal Psychonomic Bulletin & Review [2].

COLOGNE. More prescriptions for psychotropic drugs in children and adolescents in Germany have been issued than in the past. This is the result of a study reported by Sascha Abbas and colleagues in the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2016; 113: 396-403).

The protein complex that holds strands of DNA in compact spools partially disassembles itself to help genes reveal themselves to specialized proteins and enzymes for activation, according to Rice University researchers and their colleagues.

The team's detailed computer models support the idea that DNA unwrapping and core protein unfolding are coupled, and that DNA unwrapping can happen asymmetrically to expose specific genes.

ITHACA, N.Y. - A doctor's guidance may reassure us more than we realize -especially if she says she is likely to recommend treatment in her field of expertise, known as "specialty bias."