Body

A strain of inbred mice commonly used for the creation of so-called knockout animals has been found to carry a previously undetected mutation that could affect the results of immune system research studies. In paper receiving online publication in Cell Reports, a team based at the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard describe finding a chromosome 11 mutation in a strain of C57BL/6 -- often called "black 6" or B6 -- mice that they traced back to a specific commercial supplier.

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have discovered that high levels of the protein p62 in human liver samples are strongly associated with cancer recurrence and reduced patient survival. In mice, they also found that p62 is required for liver cancer to form.

The study, published May 19, 2016 in Cancer Cell, suggests p62 could be used as a prognostic marker and potential therapeutic target for liver cancer.

WASHINGTON -- Interventions designed to reduce alcohol use among fraternity members are no more effective than no intervention at all, according to an analysis of 25 years of research involving over 6,000 university students published by the American Psychological Association.

Chemotherapy is a key part of the standard treatment regimen for triple-negative breast cancer patients whose cancer lacks expression of estrogen and progesterone receptors and the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). While many patients respond well to chemotherapy, a significant fraction of those treated are resistant to chemotherapy or will develop recurrent tumors that are chemoresistant.

By studying the rare person -- about one in a million -- who can fight off viral infections more effectively than everyone else, investigators at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have developed a strategy to help the rest of us achieve this enhanced anti-viral state.

Their research, published in Nature Communications, provides a path toward creation of the first broad-spectrum antiviral drug. None currently exists.

That the morphology of many pollinators corresponds strikingly to the shape of the flowers they pollinate was observed more than 150 years ago by Charles Darwin. He described this perfect mutual adaptation of flowers and pollinators as the result of a co-evolutionary process. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, have now provided further proof of the famous naturalist's theory. They were able to show that Manduca sexta moths acquired the highest energy gain when they visited flowers that matched the length of their proboscis.

The results of a new survey published in ecancermedicalscience indicate that a majority of oncology professionals believe that writing condolence letters to the families of deceased patients is an important component of cancer palliative care.

The study explored whether institutions should consider changing policies to raise condolence letters to a more official standing.

A new study suggests that natural proteins can be used to effectively test new replacement hip and knee joints in the laboratory. The work could help with improving design in order to reduce wear and tear and increase the lifespan of such prosthetics. Details are reported this week in the International Journal of Surface Science and Engineering.

Amsterdam, May 19, 2016 -- Dirty laundry smells bad because of certain chemicals called volatile organic compounds, which can't always be washed out on an eco-friendly 20?C cycle, according to a new study in the Journal of Chromatography A.

In a recent retrospective analysis, investigators discovered that the year-on-year increase in rigidity found in Parkinson's disease flattened off with the regular use of laxatives to manage constipation.

The findings lend support to the team's previous research indicating that changes in the gut -- and perhaps a disturbed balance in the microbes that reside there -- may affect aspects of Parkinson's disease. The group is working on elucidating the precise mechanisms involved.

Neuherberg, May 19, 2016. One year after the introduction of the Bavarian pilot project Fr1da, the Institute of Diabetes Research, Helmholtz Zentrum München has published the first results in the BMJ Open journal. None of the 105 children who have been diagnosed with An early stage of type 1 diabetes have suffered from metabolic imbalance so far.

Osteichthyans, or bony fishes, comprise two categories, each containing over 32,000 living species: Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fishes and tetrapods) and Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes). Nevertheless, actinopterygians have an obscure early evolutionary history. The earliest definitive actinopterygian is the Middle Devonian (Eifelian) Cheirolepis, with earlier candidates generally represented by fragments subject to differing phylogenetic interpretations.

Your success at speed-dating might be influenced by your genetic make-up and your potential partner's ability to detect so-called "good genes," or genetic fitness. This is according to a study in Springer's journal Human Nature by researchers at the University of California, Irvine, in the US. The research team found that participants who were more likely to be asked on a second date had genotypes consistent with personal traits that people often desire in a romantic partner - social dominance/leadership in men, social sensitivity/submissiveness in women.

Two-way communication between cancer cells appears to be key to their becoming motile, clustering and spreading through metastasis, according to Rice University scientists.

Members of Rice's Center for Theoretical Biological Physics have developed a model of how cancer cells twist a complex system of signals and feedback loops to their advantage. These signals help the cells detach from primary tumors and form clusters that lead to often-fatal metastatic disease.

Calcium phosphate is a widespread biomineral in the animal kingdom: Bones and teeth largely consist of this very tough mineral substance. Researchers from Bonn University could now for the first time demonstrate the presence of calcium phosphate as a structural biomineral in higher plants. The substance provides the necessary "bite" to the stinging hairs of representatives of the rock nettle family (Loasaceae). It hardens the trichomes, which serve as a herbivore defense. Conversely, our native stinging nettles have stinging hairs hardened by glass-like silica.