Body

Paying ransoms to terrorist kidnappers may encourage more abductions and worsen the situation for others, according to new research from UT Dallas.

Countries that negotiated with terrorists to release hostages faced up to 87 percent more kidnappings than those that did not pay ransoms, according to the research, which was recently published in the European Journal of Political Economy.

Boston, MA - Some bacteria, called fusobacteria, commonly found in the mouth, use a sugar-binding protein to stick to developing colorectal polyps and cancers, according to a new study by researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Dental Medicine. While certain fusobacteria have previously been shown to worsen colorectal cancer in animals by the Garrett Lab at Harvard Chan School, this study is the first to demonstrate how they may get to and stick to developing tumors.

Chemotherapy treatment during pregnancy may affect the future fertility of unborn baby girls, a study suggests.

Researchers have found that a drug called etoposide can damage the development of mouse ovary tissue grown in the lab.

The drug affects specialised cells called germ cells, which give rise to eggs. Further research is needed to assess whether the drug has similar effects on human tissue.

Experts say their findings may mean that affected baby girls should be warned in later life that they may undergo an early menopause.

Scientists from the Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge and University College London have discovered an essential feature of the HIV virus that it uses to infect cells whilst avoiding detection by the immune system. This discovery, published in Nature, presents a new drug target and the opportunity to re-evaluate existing treatments for HIV to improve their efficacy.

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) who receive frozen embryos during in vitro fertilization have safer and more successful pregnancies than those who get fresh embryos, according to the results of a recent collaboration between Penn State College of Medicine and Chinese researchers.

Johns Hopkins researchers say they have identified a new disease gene that, when mutated, appears to increase the risk in a small number of people of developing emphysema and a lung-scarring condition known as pulmonary fibrosis.

The affected gene, NAF1, joins a handful of genes in which mutations increase the risk of certain disorders linked to malfunctioning, shortened telomeres -- the protective "caps" or ends of chromosomes.

Scientists have devised a way to destroy blood stem cells in mice without using chemotherapy or radiotherapy, both of which have toxic side effects.

Blood stem cell transplantation, widely known as bone marrow transplantation, is a powerful technique that potentially can provide a lifelong cure for a variety of diseases. But the procedure is so toxic that it is currently used to treat only the most critical cases.

Ribozymes - ribonucleic acid enzymes - are RNA molecules that catalyse chemical reactions. Much like DNA, RNA is a linear molecule made by connecting four chemical building blocks called bases represented by the letters A, C, G, and U following the genetic information encoded in DNA.

Ospemifene (tradename: Senshio) is approved for the treatment of moderate to severe symptomatic vulvovaginal atrophy (VVA) in post-menopausal women who are not candidates for local vaginal oestrogen therapy. The drug has been on the market in Germany since May 2016. In an early benefit assessment, the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) has now examined whether it has advantages or disadvantages in comparison with the appropriate comparator therapy.

Many cancers only become a mortal danger if they form metastases elsewhere in the body. Such secondary tumours are formed when individual cells break away from the main tumour and travel through the bloodstream to distant areas of the body. To do so, they have to pass through the walls of small blood vessels. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim and Goethe University Frankfurt have now shown that tumour cells kill specific cells in the vascular wall.

For the first time, researchers have revealed the nanostructure of the mesoporous magnesium carbonate Upsalite® and pore size control was achieved without organic templates or swelling agents. By controlling the pore structure of the material the amorphous phase stabilisation exerted on poorly soluble drug compounds can be tuned and the drug delivery rate can be tailored.

Future Science Group (FSG) today announced the publication of a new article in Future Science OA examining the effects of diabetes on hospitalization risk, chances of multiple admissions, and length of hospitalization stay, for patients suffering from solid-organ malignancies such as breast, colorectal, lung and pancreas, among others.

The BioScience Talks podcast features discussions of topical issues related to the biological sciences.

Cold seeps are places where hydrocarbons, mostly methane, emanate from the sea floor. Unlike the hydrothermal vents, the fluids and bubbles are no hotter than the surrounding seawater, thus the name.

But like the hydrothermal vents, cold seeps can support high densities of specialized life forms through a process called chemosynthesis.

These seeps can dramatically influence many aspects of the overall seabed community, even in the frigid and dark Arctic Ocean, new study featured in Marine Ecology Progress Series shows.

Toronto, August 10, 2016 - Could a small drop in the alcohol content of beer or other drinks reduce the harmful effects of alcohol in society at large?

A new review in Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology, which explores the evidence, suggests this approach may be worth pursuing. Alcohol accounts for significant death and disability worldwide. Among those aged 20-39, nearly one-quarter of deaths can be attributed to alcohol, according to the World Health Organization.