Body

Two new studies from a group at North Carolina State University give researchers new strategies for connecting environmental exposures to human health effects.

Having analyzed the data collected for more than three decades, scientists managed to show that the effects of climate changes in the Arctic may come out on a completely different continent, a few thousand kilometers away from the Arctic ice. One of the authors, Eldar Rahimberdiev, researcher at the Biological faculty of MSU, says that the work is unique, as earlier scholars did not consider these problems so complex.

MADISON, Wis. -- A single defect in a gene that codes for a histone -- a "spool" that wraps idle DNA -- is linked to pediatric cancers in a study published today in the journal Science.

"Unlike most cancers that require multiple hits, we found that this particular mutation can form a tumor all by itself," says Peter W. Lewis, an assistant professor of biomolecular chemistry in the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Women with early-stage breast cancer for whom chemotherapy was indicated and who used dietary supplements and multiple types of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) were less likely to start chemotherapy than nonusers of alternative therapies, according to latest research led by Heather Greenlee, ND, PhD, associate professor of Epidemiology at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. This is one of the first studies to evaluate how complementary and alternative medicine use affects decisions regarding chemotherapy. Findings are available in JAMA Oncology.

Vampire mania aside, bats don't go for a diet that would make for an exciting Hollywood blockbuster. Most are insectivores, chomping on insects. Some large species prefer fruit. And yes, a few like blood.

But over the 52-million-year history of these flying mammals, a few have evolved a taste for their fellow vertebrates. Now biologists at the University of Washington and the Burke Museum of History and Culture are shedding light on how these so-called "carnivorous bats" adapted to the daunting task of chowing down their backboned prey.

Made up of a four-letter DNA code*, genes are the 'recipes' cells use to make molecules such as proteins, which are the building blocks of life. Changes in a gene can affect the characteristics of an organism. For example, genetic variations linked to pigmentation genes affect eye or hair colour in humans, while other changes can cause diseases such as cystic fibrosis or cancer. On a grander scale, genetic changes are the fuel for evolution, leading to big and small differences between species over time.

Washington, D.C.; 12 May 2016 - The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR), the world's largest professional organization of stem cell scientists, today released newly updated guidelines for stem cell research and the development of new clinical therapies. The new guidance comes at a time when rapidly evolving technologies like gene editing in human embryos and emerging areas of stem cell discovery and its applications are providing unprecedented opportunities to understand human biology and disease, but also raising questions that have social and ethical implications.

Hospitalization for rotavirus infections decreased by > 70% following the introduction of a vaccine program in Ontario, Canada, according to a study published May 11, 2016 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Sarah Wilson from Public Health Ontario and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Canada, and colleagues.

After an outbreak of Ockelbo disease in northern Sweden in 2013, researchers at Umeå University were able to trace the virus to mosquitos in an area of Lövånger. In a new study, researchers have shown that mosquito larvae in the Västerbotten region also carry virus that can cause infectious disease. These include the Sindbis virus, which causes Ockelbo disease, which is associated with fever, rashes and prolonged joint pain.

Amsterdam, May 12, 2016 - A new position statement by the European Menopause and Andropause Society (EMAS) published in the journal Maturitas provides a pathway with the latest post-reproductive health strategies, with the aim of optimizing care at an international scale. The pathway will assist healthcare professionals to provide up-to-date evidenced-based information so that women seeking advice about menopausal health should not suffer in silence and be able to make informed choices.

Philadelphia, PA, May 12, 2016 -- Investigators have uncovered a "weekend effect" contributing to the worsening availability of donor kidneys in the United States. They found that kidneys that would normally be made available for transplantation were less likely to be procured from donors over the weekend (89.5% on the weekend vs. 90.2% during the week).

Researchers in Oxford who analyzed recent trends related to urinary tract stones in the UK found a sustained and high prevalence of the condition, with an increased trend to treat patients with surgery.

Many theories and hypotheses suggest that competition tends to differentiate ecological requirements after repeated interactions and allows biodiversity. Even if the mechanisms that allow species to evolve, coexist, compete, cooperate, or become extinct are becoming more and more understood, the factors that allow species to coexist in a given time within the same environment are still debated.

Scientists at Queen's University Belfast have discovered a new molecule which has the potential to prolong the life of individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF).

The molecule represents a possible future treatment and works by altering cellular ion channels resulting in improved airway hydration and significantly increased mucous clearance.

By now we are all used to seeing its more or less successful results on Italian and international celebrities, but in fact the market of Botox-based procedures (cosmetic treatments that exploit the effects of type A botulin toxin) involves a large number of individuals. Just to give an idea, about 250,ooo procedures were done in Italy in 2014. It is therefore natural to wonder about the possible side effects of this practice. One fairly unpredictable consequence concerns the emotional domain, and in particular the perception of emotional information and facial expressions.