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Some ecological relationships among plants are robust and independent of geography. Expanding the validation of these relationships requires data from under-represented geographic regions and plant groups. Recent research on the Elaeocarpus joga tree from the island of Guam addressed these concerns, and the results appeared in the November 2015 issue of the journal HortScience.

One way in which cancer cells flourish is by concealing themselves against cytotoxic immune cells. Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells are rare helper immune cells that activate these cytotoxic cells when cancers go into hiding. Indeed, the level of iNKT cells in the blood is a good predictor of clinical outcome.

Reflecting the overall structural alterations in the tissue, changes in the flow of interstitial fluid in articular cartilage could be an indicator revealing the onset of osteoarthritis, according to a new study from the University of Eastern Finland.

The oldest and longest record of nematodes revived after dried storage was for 39 years, which was reported in 1946. Another record reported on the revival and subsequent reproduction of nematodes from moss after having been frozen for 25 years. In regard to tardigrades, the previous longest records of revival after the long-term storage were 9 years for eggs in dried storage at room temperature and 8 years for animals in dried storage under a frozen condition.

Citrus greening disease, also known as Asiatic huanglongbing (HLB), is spread by the Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri). The disease mars leaves, shrinks and turns fruit bitter, and eventually kills trees. So far incurable, it has cost the Florida citrus industry alone $1.3 billion.

Orlando, FL (February 16, 2016) - Mangos contain numerous compounds that have been shown to exhibit antioxidant properties. These compounds include vitamin C and beta carotene, as well as several polyphenolic compounds including gallic acid and their larger polymers gallotannins,that have been linked to anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory activities in previous in vitro and in vivo studies [1-3].

In 2012, a group of UCLA researchers set out to mine thousands of electronic health records for a more accurate and less expensive way to identify people who have undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes. The researchers got much more than they bargained for.

The mechanism used by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to allocate government research funds to scientists whose grants receive its top scores works essentially no better than distributing those dollars at random, new research suggests.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] -- Imagine a hand-held environmental sensor that can instantly test water for lead, E. coli, and pesticides all at the same time, or a biosensor that can perform a complete blood workup from just a single drop. That's the promise of nanoscale plasmonic interferometry, a technique that combines nanotechnology with plasmonics--the interaction between electrons in a metal and light.

BOSTON -- How well a flu shot protects you from the virus can depend on your ethnic background and other inherited factors, report Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists.

The researchers, led by Wayne Marasco, MD, PhD, a cancer immunologist and virologist at Dana-Farber, found unexpected ethnicity influences on genetic variation in a key immune system gene that generates antibodies that can recognize and ward off the common influenza A virus.

In 2012, a group of UCLA researchers set out to mine thousands of electronic health records for a more accurate and less expensive way to identify people who have undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes. The researchers got much more than they bargained for.

• One of the first reproductive health studies to focus on young men, fatherhood
• Young men less concerned about risky sex are 30 percent more likely to not live with offspring
• Schools, doctors can intervene, prevent unwanted teen pregnancies, nonresident fathers

CHICAGO --- A new Northwestern Medicine study has found an adolescent male's attitude toward risky sex, pregnancy and birth control can predict whether or not he will end up living with his future offspring.

Key findings:

Membership of social groups, such as book clubs or church groups, after retirement is linked to a longer life, with the impact on health and wellbeing similar to that of regular exercise, suggests research published in the online journal BMJ Open.

The more groups an individual belongs to in the first few years after s/he stops working, the lower their risk of death, the findings show.

Wide and stubborn variations in longevity have persisted across Europe over the past 20 years, indicates research published online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.

People can expect to live to a ripe old age in northern Spain, north eastern Italy, and in southern and western France, but not so much in parts of The Netherlands, Scandinavia, and the UK, the figures show.

And the UK has one of the highest proportions of the population living in areas of low old age survival.