Body

Detecting HIV earlier, through screening programs that can identify the virus shortly after infection, may lead to lower rates of HIV transmission in local epidemics, suggest findings from a new study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and available online. After an acute infection screening program was implemented in San Diego, there were fewer new HIV diagnoses than would have been expected without such testing.

Conventional chemotherapy generally fails to eradicate aggressive breast cancers due to the early distant metastasis that can occur in these diseases. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a particularly aggressive subtype which has no targeted treatment. It has recently been discovered that the oncogene MYC is elevated in TNBC, opening up promising opportunities for the development of new targeted therapeutic strategies that will allow selective killing of MYC-overexpressing TNBC cells.

From minor acts of rebellion such as bunking off school, to the more serious experimentation with illicit substances, the teenage years can be a stressful time for parents. But what if your child goes beyond the odd cigarette behind the bike shed or sneaking sherry from the drinks cabinet? Some teenagers develop riskier behavior, such as binge drinking or drug taking, which can follow them into adulthood with all the health concerns that go with them.

A genome-wide association analysis of over 1,000 twins in the UK supports that some parts of our microbiomes are inherited and shaped--not through a spread of microbes from parent to child, but through our genes. The results, revealing new examples of heritable bacterial species--including those related to diet preference, metabolism, and immune defense--appear May 11 in Cell Host & Microbe's special issue on the "Genetics and Epigenetics of Host-Microbe Interactions."

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) have established the first models of Zika virus transmission from a pregnant mouse to her fetus. The infected mice, described May 11 in Cell, demonstrate Zika virus invasion and damage to the placenta, and then infection of the mouse fetus, leading to many of the same conditions observed in human infants. The new mouse models can also be used as a tool to develop treatments or vaccines.

Wolf puppy play behaviors may be influenced by their play partner's age, according to a study published May 11, 2016 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Jennifer Essler from the Messerli Research Institute (Vetmed Vienna) and the Wolf Science Center, Austria, and colleagues.

In recent years, the ubiquitous industrial chemical perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) has come under scrutiny for a variety of possible health problems including cancer and increased child adiposity. Now a study links maternal blood levels of the substance to early termination of breastfeeding.

At roughly 1.3 billion people, India is the second most populous country in the world, but will likely surpass China as the most populous nation within six years, reaching 1.7 billion by 2050, according to United Nations estimates.

Women who plan on becoming pregnant are told they need enough of the nutrient folate to ensure proper neurodevelopment of their babies, but new research from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health suggests there could be serious risks in having far too much of the same nutrient.

People who live or work near to a greater number of takeaway outlets are more likely to eat more takeaway food and to be overweight, but new research indicates that neighbourhoods that are saturated with fast food outlets may be particularly unhealthy for people who are socioeconomically disadvantaged.

The study from the Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR) at the University of Cambridge, suggests that policies to improve the food environment in towns and cities could be helpful in tackling social inequalities in diet and health.

Ontario rotavirus hospitalizations drop 71% after launch of infant vaccine program

Immunizing babies against rotavirus in Ontario led to a 71% drop in hospitalizations for the infection, new research from Public Health Ontario (PHO) and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) has shown.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 11, 2016) ¬- A new study led by University of Kentucky researchers and published in Nature shows a potential new biological marker for the development of obesity and a possible target for obesity prevention and treatment.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria most often are associated with hospitals and other health-care settings, but a new study indicates that chicken coops and sewage treatment plants also are hot spots of antibiotic resistance.

The research, led by a team at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is published May 12 in Nature.

Among more than 15,000 patients who underwent cardiac surgery, slow gait speed before surgery was associated an increased risk of death following surgery, according to a study published online by JAMA Cardiology.

What are the mucocutaneous (skin and mucous membrane) features of a 44-year-old man who returned from a six-day vacation to Puerto Rico with confirmatory testing for Zika virus?

Amit Garg, M.D., of the Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine, New Hyde Park, N.Y., and coauthors describe the observations in an article published online by JAMA Dermatology.

The man had a diffuse papular (bumpy) descending eruption (rash), petechiae (spots) on his palate and hyperemic sclerae (bloodshot eyes).