Body

Analytical approach could accelerate the development of new preservation treatments delivering environmental benefits and help in the design of bio-inspired smart actuators.

PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 24, 2016 -- Every day, millions of Americans with diabetes have to inject themselves with insulin to manage their blood-sugar levels. But less painful alternatives are emerging. Scientists are developing a new way of administering the medicine orally with tiny vesicles that can deliver insulin where it needs to go without a shot. Today, they share their in vivo testing results.

Charles McLaren, a doctoral student in materials science and engineering at Lehigh University, arrived last fall for his semester of research at the University of Marburg in Germany with his language skills significantly lagging behind his scientific prowess. "It was my first trip to Germany, and I barely spoke a word of German," he confessed.

Bacteria that cause tuberculosis, leprosy and other diseases, survive by switching between two different types of metabolism. EPFL scientists have now discovered that this switch is controlled by a mechanism that constantly adapts to meet the bacterium's survival needs, like a home's thermostat reacting to changes in temperature.

An African desert-dwelling male bird favours his biological sons and alienates his stepsons, suggests research published today in Biological Letters.

"Nepotism has likely played a vital role in the evolution of family life in this species," said Martha Nelson-Flower, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of British Columbia's faculty of forestry but formerly of the University of Cape Town, where she conducted the research.

LAWRENCE -- When most major airlines began charging flyers for checked bags in 2008, travelers grumbled. Southwest Airlines -- one of the most successfully run airlines in history -- even resisted and seized a new marketing slogan "bags fly free."

However, a new study that includes a University of Kansas researcher has found checked baggage fees have actually improved the departure performance of U.S. airlines in addition to boosting revenue.

SEATTLE -- A tiny hair barrette and an anguished moment marked the turning point for one mother in coming to fully accept that her child, who was born a boy, was a transgender girl.

Quinn had expressed a preference for girls' clothing and accessories at a young age, but Jessica and her husband, Steve, would not allow her to wear them outside their home.

One day, picking her up from school, Jessica watched Quinn quickly remove a barrette from her hair and slip it into her pocket, ashamed that her mother might have seen.

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) 90-90-90 targets call for 90% of all people living with HIV to know their HIV status, 90% of all people diagnosed with HIV infection to receive antiretroviral therapy (ART), and 90% of those receiving ART to achieve durable viral suppression by the year 2020.

Providing HIV medication to both members of a couple may substantially reduce the risk of transmission within that couple, according to a study in PLOS Medicine. Jared Baeten of the University of Washington and colleagues conducted a prospective implementation study to test the feasibility and acceptability of a program to initially offer antiretroviral medications to both members of couples in which one member was HIV-positive and the other was HIV-negative (HIV-serodiscordant couples).

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (AUGUST 23, 2016). Seventy percent of football players in the US are youths 9 to 14 years of age, yet most data on head impacts sustained in this sport have been from high school, college, and professional football players. This makes it difficult to make informed decisions on how best to structure practices and games to protect younger players from concussion. A new study reported in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics will hopefully change that.

The exotic and colorful snub-nosed monkey spends its days foraging about the treetop in the mountain forests in China, Myanmar and Vietnam. Though once widespread, this endangered species is only limited to fragmental mountain forests, and the highest altitude (up to 4,500 meters) of any primate, making them a fascinating subject for evolutionary biologists to study to reveal the genetics behind their adaptations.

Two studies appearing in the August 23/30 issue of JAMA examine the use of genetic tests to help rule out a serious bacterial infection in infants with fever, and also to determine if an infection is bacterial or viral in children with fever.

In a study appearing in the August 23/30 issue of JAMA, Jason D. Wright, M.D., of the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, and colleagues examined trends in the route of hysterectomy (abdominal, minimally invasive, or vaginal), use of electric power morcellators (a procedure in which the uterus is fragmented into smaller pieces, and may result in the spread of undetected malignancies), and prevalence of abnormal pathology before and after a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning.

Invasions from alien species such as Japanese Knotweed and grey squirrels threaten the economies and livelihoods of residents of some of the world's poorest nations, new University of Exeter research shows.

The damage caused by non-native species like the Harlequin ladybird and mink threaten global biodiversity and cost global economies US$1.4 trillion annually. They can transmit disease, choke river systems and wells, prevent cattle being able to graze and out-compete or eat native species.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- For people with weight problems, news headlines in recent years may have brought relief, as researchers studying the microscopic creatures inside our bodies reported possible links between obesity and an out-of-whack balance of microbes.

But a new study, done by pooling data from most of those studies, throws cold water on the idea that extra pounds may stem from an imbalance of the bacteria inside us.