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Some of the final cases of Ebola in Sierra Leone were transmitted via unconventional routes, such as semen and breastmilk, according to the largest analysis to date of the tail-end of the epidemic.

An international team of researchers has produced a detailed picture of the latter stages of the outbreak in Sierra Leone, using real-time sequencing of Ebola virus genomes carried out in a temporary laboratory in the country.

• Burden of mental illness in China and India higher than all high-income countries combined
• Community engagement and collaboration with traditional and alternative medicine practitioners key to bridging mental health treatment gap

A third of the global burden of disease for mental, neurological and substance use disorders occurs in India and China - more than in all high-income countries combined - yet most people with mental disorders in these countries do not receive needed treatment.

New Haven, Conn. -- Yale scientists have solved a puzzle of the immune system -- how antibodies enter the nervous system to control viral infections. Their finding may have implications for the prevention and treatment of a range of conditions, including herpes and Guillain-Barre syndrome, which has been linked to the Zika virus.

In a study published online by JAMA Cardiology, Sonia S. Anand, M.D., Ph.D., F.R.C.P.C., of McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and colleagues examined whether a digital health intervention using email and text messages designed to change diet and physical activity would improve heart attack risk among a South Asian population.

In light of heavy criticism of the World Health Organization's handling of the Ebola outbreak, the election process for the next director general will be under intense scrutiny.

In The BMJ today, Devi Sridhar and colleagues outline the key questions on epidemic preparedness for prospective candidates.

TAMPA, Fla. (May 18, 2016) - A serious and sometimes fatal bacterial infection, known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), may soon be beatable thanks to the efforts of University of South Florida scientists who have isolated and tested an extract from a sponge found in Antarctica. The sponge extract, known as Dendrilla membranosa, yields a new, natural product chemical which has shown in laboratory tests that it can eliminate more than 98 percent of MRSA cells. The research team has named the new chemical "darwinolide."

Howard Hughes Medical Institute scientists have designed a potential cancer therapy that uses a unique strategy to block mTOR, a molecule that helps drive the growth of many tumors. In animal experiments, the drug reduces the size of tumors that are resistant to earlier-generation mTOR inhibitors.

The work, reported May 18, 2016, in the journal Nature, was led by HHMI investigator Kevan Shokat at the University of California, San Francisco and Neal Rosen at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

In recent years, the amount of genomic data available to scientists has exploded. With faster and cheaper techniques increasingly available, hundreds of plants, animals and microbes have been sequenced in recent years. However, this ever-expanding trove of genetic information has created a problem: how can scientists quickly analyze all of this data, which could hold the key to better understanding many diseases, and solving other health and environmental issues.

Big isn't always better when it comes to the size of male genitals.

Researchers at The Australian National University (ANU) have been looking at the breeding habits of fish, to test the theory that bigger genitals make males more attractive or successful in fathering offspring.

They found when it comes to fish, females don't find males with big genitals any more attractive than those with normal or smaller genitals.

Patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) can look forward to the development of new therapies following the discovery by Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers of a new way to kill cells that are dangerously multiplying.

A process known as apoptosis (programmed cell death) -- which is a natural and necessary response to keep the proliferation of human cells in check -- is interrupted in cancers, including AML, leading to unchecked cell growth.

The brown-headed cowbird is nothing short of a nightmare for its hosts: If they eject the brood parasite's eggs from the nest, it punishes them by destroying their entire clutch. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Plön and Harvard University have designed a mathematical model for analyzing the interaction between avian brood parasites and their hosts. The model calculations show that birds only accept a brood parasite's eggs in their nests if they are forced to do so by retaliation on the part of the invader.

A scientific paper released today in the Journal of Antibiotics presents the pre-clinical development of Ramizol®, a first generation drug belonging to a new class of styrylbenzene antibiotics with a novel mechanism of action.

OTTAWA, May 18, 2016--A chance fossil discovery in Montana a decade ago has led to the identification of an audacious new species of horned dinosaur. The international research team that described the plant-eating dinosaur was led by a scientist at the Canadian Museum of Nature. The results are published today in the online science journal PLOS ONE.

A simple paper sheet made by scientists at Uppsala University can improve the quality of life for millions of people by removing resistant viruses from water. The sheet, made of cellulose nanofibers, is called the mille-feuille filter as it has a unique layered internal architecture resembling that of the French puff pastry mille-feuille (Eng. thousand leaves).

New data released in ECDC's Annual Epidemiological report show that since 2010, the overall syphilis rates have been going up across Europe, particularly among men. In 2014, the reported syphilis numbers were six times higher in men than in women. Almost two-thirds (63%) of the syphilis cases reported with information on transmission category were recorded in men who have sex with men (MSM).