Body

Long associated with liver cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a study from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reveals for the first time that the hepatitis C virus (HCV) is associated with certain head and neck cancers. The findings, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, could have significant implications for both the screening of those with the virus and the treatment of those with head and neck cancers.

ITHACA, N.Y. - Some populations of frogs are rapidly adapting to a fungal pathogen called Batrachochrytrium dendrobatridis (Bd) that has decimated many populations for close to half a century and causes the disease chytridiomycosis, according to a new study.

Cornell and University of Central Florida researchers took a step toward identifying the genetic mechanisms that makes some frogs resistant to Bd infections in their study of lowland leopard frogs in Arizona. The report was published March 23 in the journal Proceedings of Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Using DNA collected from corn grown by immigrant farmers in Los Angeles and Riverside, researchers at the University of California, Riverside have found the genetic diversity of corn in some home and community gardens in Southern California far exceeds levels found in commercially available seeds.

ATLANTA - Month date, 2016-While use of the standard therapy leading to the best outcome against locally advanced rectal cancer has increased over the past decade, only half of patients currently receive it, according to a new study. The authors of the study say the underutilization could be explained in part by socioeconomic factors. The study appears early online in the American Cancer Society's peer-review journal Cancer.

BETHESDA, Md. - April 13, 2016 - The Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP), the premier global, non-profit organization serving molecular diagnostic professionals, today announced the results from a 2015 analysis of the costs and health economic impact of several Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) genomic sequencing procedures (GSPs). The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics published the results in a manuscript titled "Genomic Sequencing Procedure Microcosting Analysis and Health Economic Cost-Impact Analysis: A Report of the Association for Molecular Pathology."

The body hairs of the Saharan silver ant cause total internal reflection of light to make the ants almost ten times more reflective, preventing overheating and yielding their silver sheen, according to a study published April 13, 2016 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Quentin Willot from the University Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium, and colleagues.

The establishment of moose in tundra regions of Alaska was the result of warmer and longer summers that increased their shrub habitat, according to a study published April 13, 2016 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Ken Tape from the University of Alaska, USA, and colleagues.

Moose, an iconic wildlife presence throughout Alaska, were actually absent from its tundra regions earlier in the 20th century. It was previously speculated that overhunting was responsible for this absence.

Yet another study exposes antioxidants' potential to fuel the spread of cancer--this time for antioxidants found in a specific type of antidiabetic medication. Researchers working in mice with cancer now find that some of these drugs can spur the metastasis of existing tumors, including colon and liver cancer. If borne out in humans, the findings caution against giving this type of antioxidant-containing medication to diabetic cancer patients.

Researchers have shown that various types of intestinal bacteria might be factors in both causing and preventing obesity, and in other conditions and diseases. Now, a UCLA study suggests that it could also potentially be used to reduce the risk for some types of cancer.

The research, published online April 13 in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE, offers evidence that anti-inflammatory "health beneficial" gut bacteria can slow or stop the development of some types of cancer.

Corals, the primary reef builders on coral reefs, are often the star player in research studies addressing the impacts of climate change on coral reefs because they are the foundation of coral reef ecosystems. However, the breakdown of coral reefs from borers (such as bivalves, sponges, and marine worms) and grazers (such as parrotfish and urchins) -- called bioerosion -- and growth from encrusting algae and invertebrates (for example, oysters and barnacles) - called secondary accretion -- are critical processes for reef sustainability.

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 12, 2016 - HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections are among the leading causes of death worldwide, and an estimated one-third of people with HIV/AIDS are co-infected with HCV. This makes them more likely to suffer worse outcomes and poses severe public health challenges within Kenya and other African countries as well.

UNSW medical scientists have discovered that DNA repair is compromised at important regions of our genome, shedding new light on the human body's capacity to repair DNA damage.

Repairing damage in DNA from anything that causes a mutation, such as UV radiation and tobacco smoke, is a fundamental process that protects our cells from becoming cancerous.

An essential mineral in our diets has an unexpected role in helping living things remain adapted to the rhythms of night and day, scientists have found.

Magnesium - a nutrient found in many foods - helps control how cells keep their own form of time to cope with the natural environmental cycle of day and night.

The discovery in cells is expected to be linked to whole body clocks which influence daily cycles - or circadian rhythms - of sleeping and waking, hormone release, body temperature and other important bodily functions in people.

New research by University of Exeter academics shows that genetic diversity helps to reduce the spread of diseases by limiting parasite evolution.

The idea that host diversity can limit disease outbreaks is not new. For example, crop monocultures in agriculture - which lack genetic diversity - can suffer severe disease outbreaks that sweep through the entire population. But why is this?

Coral reefs are early casualties of climate change, but not every coral reacts the same way to the stress of ocean warming. Now a Northwestern University research team is the first to provide a quantitative "global index" detailing which of the world's coral species are most susceptible to coral bleaching and most likely to die.