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Unlike illicit trade in drugs, guns or pornography, illicit trade in rare wildlife doesn't have to hide on the 'darknet' because people can find whatever rare species they want in the open marketplace.

The so-called darknet is not required for trade in species such as rhino or elephant, because laws protecting wildlife trade online are so poorly enforced, research by the University of Kent suggests.

PHILADELPHIA--Many facets of the immune system can be manipulated to combat cancer, including macrophages, an immune cell subset that is commonly associated with aiding tumor growth.

February 29, 2016 - A previous history of cancer doesn't necessarily preclude treatment with antibodies against tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) for patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), suggests a study in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, official journal of the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA). The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.

Today, the ICES Journal of Marine Science publishes a special issue on ocean acidification, the most-studied single topic in marine science.

A study led by the University of Leeds has found that about 80,000 deaths are prevented each year due to the introduction of European Union (EU) policies and new technologies to reduce air pollution.

The study, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, is the first to look into the effectiveness of specific EU policies to reduce air pollution across Europe. It reveals that the policies have led to a 35% reduction of fine particles in the atmosphere over the period 1970 to 2010, which has improved public health across Europe.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- It may be tempting to hand an iPad or Smartphone to a tantrum-throwing child -- and maybe more so for some parents.

Children with social and emotional difficulties in low income homes were more likely to be given mobile technology to calm them down or keep peace and quiet in the house, according to a small study led by a pediatrician at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital at the University of Michigan.

The findings appear in a research letter in today's JAMA Pediatrics.

Mesothelioma is a rare but deadly form of cancer: the five-year survival rate for patients diagnosed with the disease is between five and ten percent. Although aggressive surgery can help some patients with early-stage mesothelioma, current treatments for patients with more advanced mesothelioma are not effective.

Bottom line / takeaway message: Metastatic prostate cancer, where better therapeutic strategies are desperately needed, appears to be tailor-made for precision oncology, according to a new study by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. They found that a single metastasis within an individual patient can provide consistent molecular information to help guide therapy in metastatic prostate cancer.

CAMBRIDGE, MA, February 29, 2016 - In a paper published in Nature Biotechnology, researchers from the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute describe a new method that dramatically simplifies an arduous experimental process in early drug discovery. Their method, called PRISM, uses a molecular barcoding system to test potential drug compounds on cancer and other cell lines at an unprecedented scale and speed.

An international study of almost 120,000 women has newly identified five genetic variants affecting risk of breast cancer, all of which are believed to influence how breast cells respond to the female sex hormone oestrogen.

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women. Around one in eight women in the general population is expected to develop the disease at some point in her life. The majority of cases occur in women aged 50 and over.

• A study, which examined more than 15,000 people in England over ten years, showed there was an increasing trend in people aged over 50 developing a second or third disease
• The study also found that people who were physically active were healthier

The number of older people in England living with more than one chronic condition could have risen by ten per cent in the last decade putting increasing pressure on the NHS, new research has suggested.

Two scientists have produced an illustrated key to define the subtle differences between the 41 species of snout moth grass borers that currently dwell in the Western Hemisphere. The researchers conclude that the adults moths are too tough to tell apart by external characters, and therefore, the only way to identify the species is by dissecting and comparing genitalia. The study is published in the open-access journal ZooKeys.

Researchers at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem have developed a nanotechnology-based delivery system containing a protective cellular pathway inducer that activates the body's natural defense against free radicals efficiently, a development that could control a variety of skin pathologies and disorders.

An operational assessment of a national free ambulance services programme reveals a drastic reduction in pregnancy-related deaths in rural Ethiopia, suggesting that the innovative model could offer a cost-effective way to improve maternal health outcomes across Sub-Saharan Africa. This argument is presented in an article published today in the Journal of Global Health.

Dutch and American researchers have developed waders equipped with temperature sensors that enable fly-fishers to find the best fishing locations while collecting data to help scientists study streams. The research is published today (29 February) in Geoscientific Instrumentation, Methods and Data Systems (GI), an open access journal of the European Geosciences Union.