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Baltimore, Md., February 17, 2016 - In a new study, University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers have had promising results with a new treatment for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). The study, published today in the journal Science Translational Medicine, found a new treatment that protected mice from MERS infection.

DNA results show that shelter workers are often mistaken when they label a dog as a pit bull, with potentially devastating consequences for the dogs, a new University of Florida study has found.

"Animal shelter staff and veterinarians are frequently expected to guess the breed of dogs based on appearance alone," said Julie Levy, a professor of shelter medicine at the UF College of Veterinary Medicine and the lead author of a study published recently in The Veterinary Journal.

A new study of humans on Sanak Island, Alaska and their historical relationships with local species suggests that despite being super-generalist predators, the food gathering behaviors of the local Aleut people were stabilizing for the ecosystem.

The findings provide insights into how human roles and behavior impact complex ecological networks and offer new quantitative tools for studying sustainability.

Cold Spring Harbor, NY - Using several different methods of DNA analysis, an international research team has found what they consider to be strong evidence of an interbreeding event between Neanderthals and modern humans that occurred tens of thousands of years earlier than any other such event previously documented.

A multidisciplinary team which included participants from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) has discovered that Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens crossbred over 100,000 years ago. This puts back the previously first-known case of a hybrid produced by the two species by 50,000 years. This earlier genetic exchange, which may have taken place in the Near East, has not been detected in European Neanderthals. The results of the work appear in the latest edition of 'Nature' magazine.

Hideki Aihara, Zhiqi Yin, and Ke Shi of the University of Minnesota, along with colleagues from Cornell University and St. Louis University have made a major stride in exploring new therapies to combat HIV/AIDS and retrovirus-based cancers.

LA JOLLA--Using cutting-edge imaging technology, Salk Institute and Harvard Medical School researchers have determined the structure of a protein complex that lets viruses similar to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) establish permanent infections within their hosts.

Using several different methods of DNA analysis, an international research team has identified an interbreeding event between Neanderthals and modern humans that occurred an estimated 100,000 years ago, which is tens of thousands of years earlier than other such events previously documented. They suggest that some modern humans left Africa early and mixed with Neanderthals. These modern humans later became extinct and are therefore not among the ancestors of present-day people outside Africa who left Africa about 65,000 years ago.

• Nanotechnology Approach Restores Glucose Regulation and Motor Function in In Vivo Preclinical Models of Diabetes and Multiple Sclerosis, Respectively; Joint Swelling and Destruction Resolved in In Vivo Model of Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Parvus' Approach Can Be Tailored to Treat Diverse Diseases

Washington, DC - February 17, 2016 - Researchers from Maryland and New York have identified a novel herpes virus in cells taken from a bat. The work, published this week in mSphere, the American Society for Microbiology's new open access journal, could lead to better understanding of the biology of these viruses and why bats serve as hosts for a number of viruses that can potentially transfer to humans.

If buying a Rolex is a guilt-inducing extravagance, would the knowledge that a portion of the price is donated to Save the Children ease one's conscience and smooth the sale? New research seems to indicate that it will, upending common wisdom among luxury retailers that such tactical marketing actions - co-branding with charity at the point of sale - are too risky.

With the outbreak of viruses like Zika, chikungunya, and dengue on the rise, public health officials are desperate to stop transmission.

Virginia Tech experts explore one way -- through the genetic engineering of mosquitoes to maleness -- in the Feb. 17 issue of the journal Trends in Parasitology.

Sometimes so-called synonymous mutations occur in DNA. These do not lead to a change in the protein sequence but which may still have major negative effects on the ability of bacteria to survive. New research from Uppsala University has now shown that an organism can efficiently compensate for the negative effects. These findings have been published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution.

Individuals subjected to chronic low-dose exposure to organochlorine pesticides show and increased risk to obtain a future diagnosis of cognitive impairment. This is shown in a study now published in Environmental International.

DENVER - Preliminary research has identified autoantibodies, immune proteins found in the blood specific for one's own proteins, that can potentially detect lung cancer early by distinguishing between smokers with or without lung cancer and also discriminate between lung cancer and low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) detected non-cancerous lung lesions.