Body

New research reveals that the limbs of the earliest four-legged vertebrates, dating back more than 360 million years ago, were no more structurally diverse than the fins of their aquatic ancestors.

The new finding overturns long-held views that the origin of vertebrates with legs (known as tetrapods) triggered an increase in the anatomical diversity of their skeletons.

Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have made two new discoveries with regard to the beta cells' ability to release insulin. The findings can also provide a possible explanation as to why smokers have an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.

The study was conducted on mice and donated beta cells from humans, and is now published in the scientific journal Cell Reports.

Unidentified since its discovery in 2007, a large fish species from Amazonia has failed to give out enough information about itself, leaving only insufficient hints about its genus. Nevertheless, three scientists have now recovered the missing pieces to puzzle out its mysterious identity. In their study, published in the open-access journal ZooKeys, they describe the fish as a new species and name it after the fictional secretive Latin American character Zorro.

An estimated 2.3 million people living with HIV are co-infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) globally, a new study by the University of Bristol and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine has found.

Of these, more than half, or 1.3 million, are people who inject drugs (PWID). The study also found that HIV-infected people are on average six times more likely than HIV-uninfected people to have HCV infection, pointing to a need to improve integrated HIV/HCV services.

A characteristic of insect societies such as ants is the way tasks are distributed among group members. Not only queens and worker ants have clearly defined responsibilities but the workers themselves also have particular jobs to do when, for example, it comes to the care of the young, defense, and nest building activities. It is widely assumed that this division of labor is an essential factor that determines the success of such social groups.

According to a major Swedish cohort study from researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and Imperial College London, a surgeon who operates on oesophageal cancer must have performed 60 operations to prevent any lack of experience adversely affecting the long-term survival of the patients. The finding, which is published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, has potential significance for clinical practice.

An international team of researchers from the Universities of Leicester and Naples has examined the role of a receptor in the body that could help to prevent or reduce the effects of asthma attacks.

In a new paper, published in the British Journal of Pharmacology, the team examined the role in the body of nociceptin, a peptide that activates the nociceptin receptor, better known for its association with pain processing.

ImmunoTargets and Therapy has published the review "Current and emerging treatment options in the management of lupus".

Researchers from Boston College, US, have revealed the global spread of an ancient group of retroviruses that affected about 28 of 50 modern mammals' ancestors some 15 to 30 million years ago.

Retroviruses are abundant in nature and include human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV-1 and -2) and human T-cell leukemia viruses. The scientists' findings on a specific group of these viruses called ERV-Fc, to be published in the journal eLife, show that they affected a wide range of hosts, including species as diverse as carnivores, rodents, and primates.

PHILADELPHIA, PA, March 8, 2016 - Caffeine is the most available and widely used psychoactive substance in the world and is the only drug legally accessible and socially acceptable for consumption by children and adolescents. Some studies have shown that adolescents are the fastest-growing population of caffeine users, with 83.2% consuming caffeinated beverages regularly and at least 96% consuming them occasionally.

While immigration policy has been the purview of the U.S. federal government, nearly all states have taken a more-active role on the issue of unauthorized immigration in the past 15 years through actions such as making drivers licenses available regardless of immigration status and requiring employers to verify eligibility to work, according to a new RAND Corporation report.

HANOVER, N.H. - Fetal growth may be impacted by low levels of arsenic that pregnant women consume in drinking water and food, a Dartmouth College study finds.

The study, which appears in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, is one of the first to report that arsenic exposure during pregnancy at levels common in the United States is related to birth outcomes. A PDF is available on request.

A move by The Ottawa Hospital to promote less invasive surgeries for women with severe gynecological problems has sped up patient recovery, led to fewer complications and saved the hospital money, according to a study recently published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada.

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. (March 8, 2016): Forests in the Nation's most densely forested and most densely populated region will change radically in the next 50 years, primarily because of the way they are managed -- or not managed -- today, according to a new report by a team of USDA Forest Service scientists and partners.

A high ratio of two types of immune system cell is linked to an increased risk of disease recurrence after a diagnosis of early stage breast cancer, finds the first study of its kind, published on the eve of international Women's Day (March 8) in the online journal ESMO Open.

The finding might guide future treatment and monitoring strategies, if prospective studies confirm the link, say the researchers.