Limb loss in lizards -- evidence for rapid evolution

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Small skink lizards, Lerista, demonstrate extensive changes in body shape over geologically brief periods. Research published in the open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology shows that several species of these skinks have rapidly evolved an elongate, limbless body form.

'Arid aquaculture' among livelihoods promoted to relieve worsening pressure on world's drylands

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"Arid aquaculture" using ponds filled with salty, undrinkable water for fish production is one of several options experts have proven to be an effective potential alternative livelihood for people living in desertified parts of the world's expanding drylands.

Without enzyme, biological reaction essential to life takes 2.3 billion years

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CHAPEL HILL – All biological reactions within human cells depend on enzymes. Their power as catalysts enables biological reactions to occur usually in milliseconds. But how slowly would these reactions proceed spontaneously, in the absence of enzymes – minutes, hours, days? And why even pose the question?

NC State finds new nanomaterial could be breakthrough for implantable medical devices

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A team of researchers led by North Carolina State University has made a breakthrough that could lead to new dialysis devices and a host of other revolutionary medical implants. The researchers have found that the unique properties of a new material can be used to create new devices that can be implanted into the human body – including blood glucose sensors for diabetics and artificial hemo-dialysis membranes that can scrub impurities from the blood.

Doctors should disclose off-label prescribing to their patients

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Doctors should be required to disclose when they are prescribing drugs off-label, argues a new article in this week's PLoS Medicine. Michael Wilkes and Margaret Johns from the University of California Davis argue that the ethics related to informed consent and shared decision-making provide an imperative for doctors to inform patients about the risks of a medical treatment when their use has not been approved by regulators.

Marine invasive species advance 50km per decade, World Conference on Marine Biodiversity told

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A rapid, climate change-induced northern migration of invasive marine is one of many research results announced Tues. Nov. 11 during opening day presentations at the First World Conference on Marine Biodiversity, Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, in Valencia.

Blood pressure control inequality linked to deaths among blacks

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Racial disparity in the control of hypertension contributes to the deaths of almost 8,000 black men and women in the United States annually, according to a first-of-its-kind study published today in the Annals of Family Medicine by University of Rochester Medical Center researchers.

The researchers concluded that the deaths could be avoided or postponed if blacks had their hypertension, or high blood pressure, controlled to the same level as whites.

Black and south Asian people benefiting less from interventions to reduce blood pressure, says study

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People from black and south Asian communities in the UK are not benefiting as much as white people from doctors' interventions to reduce their blood pressure, according to a new study published today in the journal Annals of Family Medicine.

The study looked at the treatment of over 8,800 people with high blood pressure, visiting 16 family doctor practices across Wandsworth in southwest London in 2005. It was carried out by researchers from Imperial College London and Wandsworth Primary Care Trust.

First trial of gene therapy for advanced heart failure shows promising results

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NEW YORK (Nov. 10, 2008) -- Phase I results of the first clinical trial of gene therapy for patients with advanced heart failure show the approach to be promising, with improvements in several measures of the condition's severity.

In Phase I clinical trials, researchers test a new treatment in a small group of people for the first time to evaluate its safety, determine a safe dosage range, and identify side effects.

OHSU finds association between Epstein-Barr virus, inflammatory diseases of the mouth

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PORTLAND, Ore. — Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University's School of Dentistry (www.ohsu.edu/sod) have found that a significant percentage of dental patients with the inflammatory diseases irreversible pulpitis and apical periodontitis also have the Epstein-Barr virus. The Epstein-Barr virus is an important human pathogen found in more than 90 percent of the world population. It is associated with many diseases, including infectious mononucleosis, malignant lymphomas, and naspharyngeal carcinoma.