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More cities than previously assumed could soon grapple with the Zika virus if two species of mosquitos are found to be equally effective carriers of the disease, a University of Texas at Austin disease ecologist and his colleagues argue in the current edition of The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

Even if only one mosquito species proves capable of spreading Zika, the scientists say cities such as Miami and Houston are at high risk of seeing more of the disease this summer.

TORONTO, March 21, 2016 - While average life expectancy has been rising steadily in most countries over the past century, new research led by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) shows that life expectancy declined significantly and rapidly in three countries where policy changes increased access to prescription opioids, alcohol or illicit drugs. Published in BMC Medicine, the study underscores the need for effective substance use policies and public health interventions, and provides key principles to guide policy decisions.

Human activity continues to threaten the world's terrestrial flora. Extensive formal compilations of information and data have become useful for understanding these global threats. The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources has spearheaded one of these endeavors with the inception and curation of The Red List of Threatened Species. This massive evolving storehouse of information can be accessed and probed for statistics that improve contemporary knowledge about the conservation status of various plant groups.

A novel study of a Tibetan alpine meadow has shown a clear link between higher biodiversity and greater infectious disease resistance.

The researchers say it provides further strong evidence that maintaining biodiversity among the world's species should be a high priority.

SAN FRANCISCO (March 22, 2016) -- Holothuria edulis -- a type of slow-moving sea cucumber about the size of a classroom ruler -- boasts an important ocean role despite its uncanny resemblance to an overcooked sausage. This "Burnt Hot Dog" sea cucumber takes center stage in a new genetic study that digs into the animal's valued spot in marine ecosystems across Japan's Okinawa Island as well as its extreme vulnerability to environmental stress and overfishing.

PHILADELPHIA - Understanding the origins of emerging diseases - as well as more established disease agents -- is critical to gauge future human infection risks and find new treatment and prevention approaches. This holds true for malaria, which kills more than 500,000 people a year. Symptoms, including severe anemia, pregnancy-associated malaria, and cerebral malaria, have been linked to the parasite's ability to cause infected red blood cells to bind to the inner lining of blood vessels.

Researchers have discovered a 'bizarre' microorganism which plays a key role in the food web of Earth's oceans.

Researchers from Spain's Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC), alongside colleagues at the University of Bristol in the UK, discovered that symbiotic phytoplankton capable of fertilising the ocean with nitrogen 'fertilizer' evolved back in the Cretaceous at a time when the oceans were nutrient deprived.

This study, which used data from the Tara Oceans circumnavigation expedition, is published in Nature Communications today [22 March].

In eLife today (22 March), Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute scientists show how the parasite responsible for the neglected tropical disease Black Fever (visceral leishmaniasis) can become resistant to drug treatment. Studying the whole genomes of more than 200 samples of Leishmania donovani revealed that the addition of just two bases of DNA to a gene known as LdAQP1 stops the parasite from absorbing antimonial drugs.

Minneapolis - Study also reveals substantial heath and healthcare issues for uninsured children and financial burden on families.

Half of parents of uninsured minority children are unaware that their children are Medicaid/CHIP-eligible, according to a new study. These uninsured children have suboptimal health, impaired access to care, and major unmet needs. The child's health issues can cause considerable financial burden for the family.

PISCATAWAY, NJ - Many people believe a glass of wine with dinner will help them live longer and healthier--but the scientific evidence is shaky at best, according to a new research analysis. The findings, published in the March 2016 issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, may sound surprising: Countless news stories have reported on research tying moderate drinking to a range of health benefits--including a lower heart disease risk and a longer life.

Protein chemists at Johns Hopkins report they are closer to explaining why certain blood cancers are able to crack a molecular security system and run rampant.

In a detailed description of their discoveries in lab-grown human cells published in two companion papers in the Journal of Biological Chemistry on April 15, the investigators offer evidence that mutations in cancerous lymphoma cells break through not one but four "locks" on the protein CARD11.

Proteins are the molecules of life. They are chemically programmed by their amino acid sequence to fold into highly organized conformations that underpin all of biological structure (e.g., hair, scales) and function (e.g., enzymes, antibodies). Understanding the sequence-structure-function relationship--the "protein folding problem"--is one of the great, unsolved problems in physical chemistry, and is of inestimable scientific value in exposing the inner workings of life and the rational design of molecular machines.

Large, severe fires in the West followed by increasing drought conditions as the planet warms are leading to lower tree densities and increased patchiness in high-elevation forests, according to a new study involving the University of Colorado Boulder.

Scientists at Oxford University have developed a new way of estimating our true underlying blood pressure that overcomes common problems in a clinical setting which can lead to misleading results. Their work is published in the journal Hypertension.

A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published today in the Journal of Clinical Oncology used 143,032 patient records to show that African American patients are significantly less likely to receive a common test that predicts the seriousness of early-stage, estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer. It also revealed that African American patients who were tested had significantly higher scores, indicating an overall higher likelihood of having aggressive tumor biology that would benefit from chemotherapy.