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A first case of acute myelitis following infection with Zika virus has been reported for the first time by a research team from Inserm Unit 1127 Brain and Spinal Cord Institute (Inserm/CNRS/Sorbonne University) and neurologists at Pointe-à-Pitre University Hospital and the University of the Antilles. A young patient in the acute phase of an infection by Zika virus presented motor deficiency in the 4 limbs, associated with very intense pain and acute urinary retention. The presence of the virus was confirmed in the cerebrospinal fluid, blood and urine.

Green tea is touted for its many health benefits as a powerful antioxidant, but experiments in a laboratory mouse model of inflammatory bowel disease suggest that consuming green tea along with dietary iron may actually lessen green tea's benefits.

The cardiovascular safety of the obesity treatment naltrexone-bupropion remains uncertain because of the unanticipated early termination of a trial to determine its safety, according to a study appearing in the March 8 issue of JAMA.

Vitamin D supplementation for individuals with knee osteoarthritis and low 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels did not reduce knee pain or slow cartilage loss, according to a study appearing in the March 8 issue of JAMA.

A clinical risk score developed among children presenting to an emergency department with a concussion was significantly better than physician judgment in predicting future persistent postconcussion symptoms, according to a study appearing in the March 8 issue of JAMA.

Human communication is powered by rules for combining words to generate novel meanings. Such syntactical rules have long been assumed to be unique humans. A new study, published in Nature Communications, show that Japanese great tits combine their calls using specific rules to communicate important compound messages. These results demonstrate that syntax is not unique to humans. Instead, syntax may be a general adaptation to social and behavioural complexity in communication systems.

Ichthyosaurs - shark-like marine reptiles from the time of dinosaurs - were driven to extinction by intense climate change and their own failure to evolve quickly enough, according to new research by an international team of scientists.

The study provides an explanation for one of the longest-standing enigmas in palaeobiology: how and why ichthyosaurs died out. Unlike other marine reptile groups, ichthyosaurs disappeared tens of millions of years before the end-Cretaceous extinction (65 million years ago) that marked the end for dinosaurs and the beginning of the age of mammals.

OTTAWA, Canada - March 8, 2016 at 11:00 am ET - A new study based on the largest prospective cohort of children with concussion in the world published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The study introduces a validated clinical prediction score that will help health providers and researchers to predict the duration of pediatric concussion symptoms.

Child development experts already know obese children are at greater risk than their peers for developing high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, diabetes, and joint problems.

Now, researchers at the University of Iowa have added another concern to the list: pedestrian injury.

SALINAS, CA - Salinity and nutrient-depleted soil are two major constraints in crop production, especially for vegetable crops. In the January 2016 issue of the Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science, researchers Chenping Xu and Beiquan Mou from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Services, report on a study in which they assessed the effects of salinity and single nutrient (nitrogen, phosphorous, or potassium) deficiency on spinach growth, physiology, and nutritional value.

LAKE ALFRED, FL - Anthocyanins, pigments that give plants their red, blue, or purple hues, are not typically produced in citrus fruits grown under tropical or subtropical conditions. Now, scientists have genetically engineered a lime that contains anthocyanins, which they say has several potential benefits.

WASHINGTON, DC (March 8, 2016) -- States that allow autonomous practice by certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) have a higher proportion of CNM-attended births as well as lower rates of cesarean sections, preterm births, and low birthweight infants, according to a study published today in Women's Health Issues. Women's Health Issues is the official journal of the Jacobs Institute of Women's Health, which is based at Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH) at the George Washington University.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, have developed a nanoparticle technology that can be used to stabilise membrane proteins so that their structure can be studied in a lipid environment. The method, described in Nature Methods, makes it possible to access drug targets that previously could not be investigated and therefore potentially allows for the development of novel drugs, therapeutic antibodies and vaccines.

When expectant parents learn they will be having a child with Down syndrome, one of the first questions they may ask their health professional is "How will this affect our family?" A study from a research team led by a MassGeneral Hospital for Children (MGHfC) physician finds that, within most families, the experience of having a member with Down syndrome is generally a positive one.

Umeå University-led research on mosquito control and Dengue prevention was presented recently at an international conference held in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 24-26 February. The findings and insights from the EU-funded DengueTools research consortium could enhance preventive efforts currently underway in Brazil and other countries experiencing a Zika virus outbreak.