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CORVALLIS, Ore. - As tropical forests become increasingly broken up by roads, farm fields, pastures and other developments, corridors of trees provide vital pathways for pollinators and contribute to a rich diversity of plant species, scientists have confirmed.

A study at the Las Cruces Biological Station in Costa Rica shows that when forests are linked by continuous corridors of trees, pollination has a greater likelihood of success. In contrast, when patches of forest are isolated from each other, pollinators are less abundant and plants frequently fail to reproduce.

Death rates from leukaemia among people of all ages in Europe are falling, according to the latest predictions for European cancer deaths in 2016, published in the leading cancer journal Annals of Oncology [1] today (Wednesday).

MADISON, Wis. -- In October 2015, a team of researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Universidad de Sucre in Colombia ran the first tests confirming the presence of Zika virus transmission in the South American country.

In a study published today [Jan 26, 2016] in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, the team documents a disease trajectory that started with nine positive patients and has now spread to more than 13,000 infected individuals in that country.

The first human farmers needed hundreds of years and a lot of good luck to shape the first domesticated crops. Modern plant breeders wait weeks or months, not centuries, to discover what the literal fruits of their labors might be; now, a study led at Illinois and supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has explored the strengths of a molecular method that reduces this wait time to a few days.

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Expanding lung cancer screening to include people who quit smoking more than 15 years ago could detect more cases and further reduce associated mortality, according to a study by Mayo Clinic researchers published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology.

Osteoporosis may have its origins in early life, but the consequences are not apparent until late adult life, meaning that opportunities that can reduce its occurrence or severity may be overlooked. It remains an extremely common health burden in all societies, with enormous public health consequences due to the morbidity and mortality of the resulting fractures. Wood et al. discuss the developmental origins of osteoporosis and outline some of the modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors in early life, both antenatal and postnatal.

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System report data suggesting that e-cigarettes are toxic to human airway cells, suppress immune defenses and alter inflammation, while at the same time boosting bacterial virulence. The mouse study is published January 25 by the Journal of Molecular Medicine.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- A team led by a researcher at the University of California, Riverside has adapted the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system for use in a yeast strain that can produce useful lipids and polymers.

The development will lead to new precursors for biofuels, specialty polymers, adhesives and fragrances.

Washington, DC (January 26, 2016) - Public trust is incredibly hard won once a corporation has been mired in negative publicity. Volkswagen and Chipotle face huge obstacles in regaining consumers after debacles, but can simply owning up to their transgressions on social media really help? A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Minnesota and Youngstown State University found that embracing supporting and opposing perspectives to comments by a corporation can enhance its trustworthiness.

ATLANTA -- Jan. 26, 2016 -- A new report estimates there were 4.3 million new cancer cases and more than 2.8 million cancer deaths in China in 2015, with lung cancer the most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer death in China.

With increasing incidence and mortality, cancer is the leading cause of death in China and is a major public health problem. But China's massive population (1.37 billion) has limited previous national incidence and mortality estimates to small samples of the population (less than 2%) using data from the 1990s or based on a specific year.

Cancer is a mysterious disease for many reasons. Chief among the unknowns are how and why tumors form.

Two University of Iowa studies offer key insights by recording in real time, and in 3-D, the movements of cancerous human breast tissue cells. It's believed to be the first time cancer cells' motion and accretion into tumors has been continuously tracked. (See accompanying videos.)

Women who began having menstrual cycles at a younger age are at greater risk of developing gestational diabetes, a disease affecting up to 7 percent of pregnant women that can cause babies to develop type 2 diabetes and other complications, new research shows.

Documenting that it's never too late to quit smoking, a large study of breast cancer survivors has found that those who quit smoking after their diagnosis had a 33 percent lower risk of death as a result of breast cancer than those who continued to smoke.

The study involved more than 20,600 women with breast cancer, and is one of the largest studies of survival outcomes according to smoking habits in women with a history of breast cancer, and the first study to assess smoking habits both before and after diagnosis.

If you're thinking of creating a massive conspiracy, you may be better scaling back your plans, according to an Oxford University researcher.

While we can all keep a secret, a study by Dr David Robert Grimes suggests that large groups of people sharing in a conspiracy will very quickly give themselves away. The study is published online by journal PLOS ONE.

Data sharing in medical research could soon become the norm, according to a series of articles published this month in PLOS Medicine. The papers, representing authors from the World Health Organization, the pharmaceutical corporation GlaxoSmithKline, the US National Library of Medicine, and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, and summarized in an Editorial by the PLOS Medicine Editors, discuss recent progress towards acceptance of data sharing, in particular for research related to public health emergencies, and for reports from clinical trials.