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Using commercially available parts, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists and colleagues have developed a new automated system for detecting insects based on the peculiar sounds the insects make while moving.

According to entomologist Richard Mankin of USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS), one likely application will be to automate routine monitoring of industrial-scale traps, especially those placed in hard-to-reach areas like crawl spaces or near food processing equipment.

Chevy Chase, MD—Levels of the hormone ghrelin are low in obese women and a recent study accepted for publication in Endocrinology, a publication of The Endocrine Society, reports that mice whose mothers had low ghrelin levels were less fertile due to a defect in implantation.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Seemingly every year there are reports of a young, apparently healthy athlete dying on the court or playing field.

The sudden death of Wes Leonard, a junior at Fennville High School, who died of cardiac arrest from an enlarged heart on March 3, may have parents and coaches wondering if enough is being done to identify athletes at risk for dying suddenly.

According to UK government statistics over 8 million working days per year are lost due to illness and about a third of these are due to minor ailments such as coughs, colds, sickness and diarrhea. Yet two individuals who are equally ill do not necessarily both report sick. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Public Health shows that conflicts and stress at work can trigger taking sick leave.

Published in the journal Royal Society Proceedings B: Biology, the brightly-coloured image shows the presence of amides – the organic compounds, or building blocks of life – in the ancient skin of a reptile, found in the 50 million year-old rocks of the Green River Formation in Utah, USA.

This image had never been seen by the human eye, until a team led by Dr Roy Wogelius and Dr Phil Manning used state-of-the-art infra-red technology at The University of Manchester to reveal and map the fossilized soft tissue of a beautifully-preserved reptile.

Public satisfaction with the NHS is at a record high, says John Appleby, Chief Economist at the King's Fund, in an article published on bmj.com today.

It follows a report in the Observer newspaper accusing England's Health Secretary Andrew Lansley of "burying" similar survey results because they undermine his case for urgent radical reforms.

A new trade agreement between India and Europe would block access to life saving drugs for billions of people living in developing countries, warns an expert on bmj.com today.

The EU wants India to adopt tough new patent protection rules for drugs so that no new generic drug could be sold in India without the permission of the company that owned the brand name version of the drug, writes James Love at Knowledge Ecology International in an editorial.

Specific genetic mutations in women with autoimmune diseases are associated with preeclampsia—a common pregnancy-related problem that can threaten the health of both baby and mother. Furthermore, investigation of these specific genetic mutations has revealed an association between similar mutations and preeclampsia in women without any underlying autoimmune disease. These are the findings of a study by Jane Salmon a rheumatologist from Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, USA, and colleagues and published in this week's PLoS Medicine.

The zeta toxins are a family of proteins that are normally present within various pathogenic bacteria and can mysteriously trigger suicide when the cells undergo stress. A team led by Anton Meinhart at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg has now found the mechanism underlying this programmed bacterial cell death. Their paper, publishing next week in the online, open access journal PLoS Biology, reports that zeta toxins convert a compound required for bacterial cell wall synthesis into a poison that kills bacteria from within.

Scientists have identified genetic errors in women with autoimmune diseases that increase the risk of preeclampsia, a potentially life-threatening condition that occurs in 10 percent of all pregnancies.

The researchers also found the same mutations in some women with preeclampsia who don't have underlying autoimmune diseases. Their findings provide genetic targets for new treatments and suggest that screening tests could one day identify women at risk of the condition, which accounts for 15 percent of all preterm births.

Scientists have discovered genetic defects that appear to predispose women to a common pregnancy-related medical problem called preeclampsia that can threaten the life of both baby and mother.

Lead investigator Jane Salmon, M.D., a rheumatologist and senior scientist at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, and colleagues uncovered genetic mutations in women with the autoimmune diseases associated with increased risk of preeclampsia, as well as in patients with preeclampsia who did not have an autoimmune disease.

CHICAGO --- A new study from Northwestern Medicine shows a high-fiber diet could be a critical heart-healthy lifestyle change young and middle-aged adults can make. The study found adults between 20 and 59 years old with the highest fiber intake had a significantly lower estimated lifetime risk for cardiovascular disease compared to those with the lowest fiber intake.

Richmond, Va. – (March 23, 2011) – Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center and VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine (VIMM) have discovered a novel mechanism in gene regulation that contributes to the development of a form of liver cancer called hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Currently, there is virtually no effective treatment for HCC, and this breakthrough identifies a promising new target for therapeutic intervention.

Obese teens may feel healthy, but blood tests show they have inflammation, insulin resistance, and high homocysteine levels , researchers report at the American Heart Association's Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism/Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention 2011 Scientific Sessions.

Although recent evidence suggests that the clinical benefit may be uncertain for fibrates, a class of drugs used for the treatment of high lipid levels, use of these drugs is common in the U.S. and Canada, with usage increasing steadily in the last decade in the U.S., especially for a brand-name fibrate product, according to a study in the March 23/30 issue of JAMA.