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Concentrations of iron similar to those delivered through standard treatments can trigger DNA damage within 10 minutes, when given to cells in the laboratory.

This is the finding of scientists from Imperial College London, who suggest that researchers need to look carefully at the amount of iron given in standard treatments, such as tablets and infusions, and the effects this could be having on the body.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Scientists at Indiana University have modified a plant gene that normally fights bacterial infection to confer resistance to a virus.

The method, described in a paper to be published Feb. 12 in the journal Science, is the first time a plant's innate defense system has been altered to deliver resistance to a new disease. It is also the subject of a patent filing by the IU Research and Technology Corp.

A natural extract derived from India's neem tree could potentially be used to treat pancreatic cancer, according to a new study in the journal Scientific Reports.

Members of a research collaboration have succeeded in experimentally verifying the properties of crystals of chiral magnetic materials, which may lead to the development of new types of magnetic memories with unprecedented storage capacities. The collaboration "A Consortium to Exploit Spin Chirality in Advanced Materials" was established in 2015 between scientists in several countries including Japan, Russia, and the UK.

PHILADELPHIA (February 11, 2016) - Public health efforts to reduce dietary sodium intake have been hindered by an incomplete understanding of the complex process by which humans and other mammals detect salty taste.

Now, a multidisciplinary team from the Monell Center has further characterized the identity and functionality of salt-responding taste cells on the tongue. The knowledge may lead to novel approaches to develop salt replacers or enhancers that can help reduce the sodium content of food.

Fighting ants, giant solider termites, and foraging worker ants recently discovered in 100-million-year-old amber provide direct evidence for advanced social behavior in ancient ants and termites--two groups that are immensely successful because of their ability to organize in hierarchies.

MADISON, Wis. -- By genetically reprogramming the most common type of cell in mammalian connective tissue, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have generated master heart cells -- primitive progenitors that form the developing heart.

PHILADELPHIA -- (Feb. 11, 2016) -- When it comes to our immune system, dendritic cells serve as a sort of lighthouse for T-cells. These specialized immune cells break down cancer cells into smaller pieces known as antigens. Once this happens, they can signal white blood cells that are now able to recognize these matching antigens in cancer cells and respond appropriately.

Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have discovered that three transcription factors--proteins that direct gene expression--interact with each other and the genome to influence how a heart forms in an embryo. Without these protein interactions, severe congenital heart defects can occur. By understanding how the transcription factors work together during heart development, researchers may discover new ways to treat heart disease.

Long-term use of liraglutide, a substance that helps to lower blood sugar levels in patients with type 2 diabetes, can have a deteriorating effect on insulin-producing beta cells, leading to an increase in blood sugar levels. This according to a study on mice implanted with human insulin-producing cells conducted by a team of scientists from Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, and the University of Miami, USA. The researchers flag the possible consequences of this popular form of therapy in the next issue of the journal 'Cell Metabolism'.

BOSTON -- It's not unusual for siblings to seem more dissimilar than similar: one becoming a florist, for example, another becoming a flutist, and another becoming a physicist.

A discovery in a transparent roundworm has brought scientists one step closer to understanding nerve degeneration.

University of Queensland researchers have discovered the worm contains two proteins that play a role in the degeneration of axons in nerve cells.

Project leader Associate Professor Massimo Hilliard, from the Queensland Brain Institute, said axons - long, thread-like nerve cell sections that transmit information - were one of the first parts destroyed in neurodegenerative disease.

Lung cancer is one of the most prevalent types of cancer, with more than 20,000 new cases diagnosed each year in Spain. Lung adenocarcinomas carrying oncogenic KRAS, the engine driving these tumours in 30% of cases, constitute the most aggressive sub-type because, unlike other types of lung cancer, there are no targeted therapies beyond the standard cisplatin-based treatment.

Toronto - We're told diamonds -- and their value -- are forever.

But new research into the re-sale of diamond engagement rings shows a diamond's value is affected by the story people attach to it and whether it fits with their ideas about what a good ring needs to be.

When relationships tank so does the value of the rings meant to honour them. Rings disclosed as products of divorce and other failed relationships were much less likely to sell -- and sold at lower prices -- than rings without a negative history.

(BOSTON) - Biosensors are powerful tools in synthetic biology for engineering metabolic pathways or controlling synthetic and native genetic circuits in bacteria. Scientists have had difficulty developing a method to engineer "designer" biosensor proteins that can precisely sense and report the presence of specific molecules, which has so far limited the number and variety of biosensor designs able to precisely regulate cell metabolism, cell biology, and synthetic gene circuits.