Scientists have uncovered a protein that plays a key role in the recycling of iron from blood. Their work could lead to new therapies for certain inherited blood disorders such as beta-thalassemia, a condition that causes chronic anemia. Read more…

Embryologists have helped solve an evolutionary riddle that has been puzzling scientists for over a century. They have identified a key mechanism in the initial stages of an embryo's development that helps differentiate more highly evolved species, including humans, from less evolved species, such as fish. Read more…

Colorectal cancer constitutes one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. A German research group has shown that the expression of Interleukin-8, a multifunctional cytokine, correlates not only with CRC onset, but also with tumor progression and the development of colorectal liver metastases. The expression level of IL-8 might thus be a useful tool to evaluate the prognosis of patients with CRC with a high likelihood of impact on future treatment strategies. Read more…

Determining how thousands of chemicals found in the environment may be interacting with the genes in your body to cause disease is becoming easier because of a new field of science called toxicogenomics. Toxicogenomic technologies provide tools to better understand the mechanisms through which environmental agents initiate and advance disease processes. They can also provide important information to help identify individuals that are more susceptible to disease risks posed by certain environmental agents than the general population. Read more…

A new, rapid and cheap way of estimating the potential risk posed to human health by volcanic ash has been devised. Scientists have developed a sieving technique which analyses the grain size of volcanic ash to determine its possible threat to many thousands of humans affected by the estimated 70 volcanic eruptions which happen worldwide each year. Read more…

Researchers have discovered that a key protein controls how stem cells 'choose' to become either skeletal muscle cells that move limbs, or smooth muscle cells that support blood vessels. The results suggest new ways to treat atherosclerosis and cancer, diseases that involve the creation of new blood vessels from stem cell reserves that would otherwise replace worn out skeletal muscle. Read more…

The population dynamics of complete copies of primate endogenous retrovirus family K in the genomes of humans, chimpanzee and rhesus monkey have revealed a surprising pattern. Human ERV-K had a similar demographic signature to that of the rhesus monkey, both differing greatly from that of the chimpanzee. Read more…

Male sex tourists, largely from the United States and Europe, may be fueling an HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Caribbean, and efforts to stop the epidemic will be severely hampered unless HIV prevention dollars are diverted to help male prostitutes, a new study suggests. Read more…

The saltiness of the sea comes from dissolved minerals, especially sodium, chlorine, sulfur, calcium, magnesium, and potassium, says a professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences. Today's ocean salt has ancient origins. As the earth formed, gases spewing from its interior released salt ions that reached the ocean via rainfall or land runoff. Read more…

Many of the colors we see in fall are always present, but normally they're hidden from view. The leaves of trees and other plants contain three main pigments: carotene, anthocyanin, and the photosynthetic pigment, chlorophyll, which captures the sun's energy to make food for plants. As the most abundant pigment, chlorophyll is what gives leaves their green hue in spring and summer. Read more…

In a molecular tour de force, researchers have provided an exquisitely detailed picture of natural selection as it occurs at the genetic level. Over many generations, a single yeast gene divides in two and parses its responsibilities to be a more efficient denizen of its environment, they show. The work illustrates, at the most basic level, the driving force of evolution. Read more…

The cow as a killer of the climate: This inglorious role of our four-legged friends, peaceful in itself, is well-enough recognised, because, with their digestion, the animals produce methane, which is expelled continuously. Now, however, scientists have been able to show that bovine animals can also boost the production of this climate changing gas in soil. Read more…

A case study of the world's largest open-pit coal mine reveals the hidden costs of coal from Colombia, in particular the effects on indigenous and Afro-Colombian villages. Opened in 1983, the continual expansion of the Cerrejon mine - at the rate of about 1,482 acres a year - has led to the forced displacement of indigenous Wayuu and Afro-Colombian communities. Some assessments have been made of the environmental effects on ground water, marine life and air quality - all of which affect the rural and fishing communities. Read more…

By adding features to commonly used chemical-engineering software packages, researchers have developed adaptive technology that allows blind or visually impaired students and working professionals to perform the essential functions of chemical-engineering process design. Read more…

Scientists have found a novel way to "look" at atomic orbitals, and have directly shown for the first time that they change substantially when interacting at the interface of a ferromagnet and a high-temperature superconductor. This finding opens up a new way of designing nanoscale superconducting materials and fundamentally changes scientific convention, which suggests that only electron spin and atomic charge -- not atomic orbitals -- influence the properties of superconducting nanostructures. Read more…

Scientists have shown that a protein called transthyretin (TTR) that is present in the blood may accelerate the development of atherosclerosis -- a potentially fatal heart disease in which the arteries are progressively narrowed and hardened over time, reducing blood flow to the heart. Read more…

Scientists report that the concentration of a compound called apolipoprotein B in the blood is better at predicting whether Chinese have coronary heart disease -- in which fatty deposits clog arteries that supply blood and oxygen to the heart -- than other substances such as blood cholesterol levels. This finding could help improve the diagnostic and treatment of coronary heart disease in Chinese and maybe in other populations as well. Read more…

Scientists have uncovered a hidden weapon that one of the most invasive wetland plants in the United States uses to silently and efficiently "bump off" its neighbors. The invasive strain of Phragmites australis, or common reed, believed to have originated in Eurasia, exudes from its roots an acid so toxic that the substance literally disintegrates the structural protein in the roots of neighboring plants, thus toppling the competition. Read more…

Software for a robotic extension of existing NASA technology for remote operations on the International Space Station has been shown to improve astronauts' performance on high-precision tasks. Using graphical overlay information, researchers were able to achieve significant results in efficiency and accuracy. The new technology can be added to existing flight hardware. Read more…

The search for a vaccination against HIV has been in progress since 1984, with very little success. Traditional methods used for identifying potential cellular targets can be very costly and time-consuming. The key to creating a vaccination lies in knowing which parts of the pathogen to target with which antibodies. A new study has come up with a way to match pathogens to their antibodies. Read more…

Using household cleaning sprays and air fresheners as little as once a week can raise the risk of developing asthma in adults, according to researchers. Such products have been associated with increased asthma rates in cleaning professionals, but a similar effect in nonprofessional users has never before been shown. Read more…

Statins are known to be good for lowering cholesterol and maybe even fighting dementia, and now they have another reported benefit: they appear to slow decline in lung function in the elderly -- even in those who smoke. Read more…

In China, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in people over the age of 40 is much more prevalent than previously thought, according to researchers in Guangdong. Men were more than twice as likely to have COPD as women. Read more…

Magnetic resonance images (MRI) of a large group of patients with multiple sclerosis has provided the first evidence that those with a history of MS in their families show more severe brain damage than patients who have no close relatives with the disease. Read more…

Taking the medical history of a grassland may seem a bit esoteric. However, scientists have discovered plant viruses from as early as 1917 containing information crucial not only for plant scientists, but for those in ecology, human health and bioterrorism. Scientists isolated historical viral RNA sequences in native and invasive grasses revealing a complex picture of struggles of species, interactions of insects and implications for the ways viruses behave today. Read more…