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Researchers from the University of Valencia (UV) and the Biomedical Research Centre Network (CIBER) in Epidemiology and Public Health studied the structure of the bacterial community in four types of environments in the Tablas de Daimiel National Park in Ciudad Real, Spain. These were the aquatic environment, the first few centimetres of sediment representing the interface between water and sediment (superficial sediment), deeper sediment (lower sediment), and the biofilms that grow on the areas bordering the water and non-inundated soil.

Scientists have just returned from a voyage with samples of rare animals and more than 10 possible new species in a trip which they say has revolutionised their thinking about deep-sea life in the Atlantic Ocean.

One group of creatures they observed - and captured - during their six weeks in the Atlantic aboard the RRS James Cook is believed to be close to the missing evolutionary link between backboned and invertebrate animals.

Using the latest technology they also saw species in abundance that until now had been considered rare.

Research from North Carolina State University offers a new means of determining the sex of skeletal human remains – an advance that may have significant impacts in the wake of disasters, the studying of ancient remains and the criminal justice system.

BOSTON (July 6, 2010) — The mechanism by which a herpes virus invades cells has remained a mystery to scientists seeking to thwart this family of viruses. New research funded by the National Institutes of Health and published online in advance of print in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology reveals the unusual structure of the protein complex that allows a herpes virus to invade cells. This detailed map of a key piece of the herpes virus "cell-entry machinery" gives scientists a new target for antiviral drugs.

CANADA/MONTREAL/July 5, 2010 — Sharing a bottle of red wine has always been considered the best recipe for a romantic interlude but a Concordia University study, which evaluated the effect of a wide range of drugs, including alcohol, on sexual behavior, definitively show that despite our preconceived notions, use of many recreational drugs can cause a loss in that lovin' feeling.

The findings were published in the journal Hormones and Behavior.

McLean, VA (July 5, 2010) – New findings indicate that cocoa flavanols may be an important part of a healthy diet for people with cardiovascular disease, which affects more than 80 million Americans, according to research by a team of internationally-renowned researchers, including scientists from Mars, Incorporated.

Doctors have highlighted potential problems with the breathing system filters used in anaesthesia, including intensive care units, after demonstrating that they don't provide protection from harmful bacteria and yeast when they become wet.

Research in the July issue of Anaesthesia has shown that when they were wet, six commonly available filters allowed substantial passage of Candida albicans (a yeast infection linked to a range of chronic illnesses) and coagulase-negative staphylococci (a common hospital-acquired bacterial infection).

A pregnant mother's diet may be able to interact with the genes her unborn child inherits and influence the type or severity of birth defect according to research funded by the Wellcome Trust and the British Heart Foundation (BHF). The study, published in the journal Human Molecular Genetics, suggests that mothers who eat a high fat diet before and through pregnancy could be inadvertently putting the health of their offspring at risk.

Scientists associated with VIB (Flanders Institute for Biotechnology) and Ghent University (UGent) have discovered that A20 protein plays an important protective role in diseases associated with chronic bowel inflammation. This makes A20 into a promising therapeutic target for the development of new anti-inflammatory drugs.

Chronic bowel inflammation

Scientists at the University of Bonn and at the SISMER centre in Bologna used a new micro-array technology that screens all chromosomes in one cell within 12 hours, allowing for fresh transfer of the egg into the female patient. They could identify the chromosomal status of the eggs in 89 % of all polar bodies analysed, Prof. Joep Geraedts told the 26th Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology today (Monday).

The hepatitis C virus is highly specialised. We humans are its natural hosts. The only other living organisms that could be infected with the hepatitis C virus in the lab are chimpanzees. Nevertheless it is – from the viewpoint of the virus – highly successful: around 170 million people are chronically infected with the virus. And with the chronic infection the risk of developing liver cancer also increases.

At first glance it may seem like a good idea to be a fish living the quiet life on a small and isolated reef.

But a team of researchers has found that the opposite is the case on Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

Scientists at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), a biomedical research institute of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), and the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, recently discovered that DNA polymorphisms related to the production of estrogen play an important role in the development of hormone-sensitive breast and endometrial cancer. The knowledge gained may help develop better measures for the prevention and treatment of breast cancer.

A new study by UCSF cardiologists and researchers found that high concentrations of cocoa flavanols decrease blood pressure, improve the health of blood vessels and increase the number of circulating blood-vessel-forming cells in patients with heart disease. The findings indicate that foods rich in flavanols – such as cocoa products, tea, wine, and various fruits and vegetables – have a cardio-protective benefit for heart disease patients.

The pioneering research, using detailed computer models, could help save lives through preventative treatment of those most at risk from a form of heart rhythm disorder called sick sinus syndrome.

This occurs when the activity of the heart's pacemaker, the sinoatrial node, is impaired. Up to now, no-one has been able to work out why this happens.

But groundbreaking research by Professor Henggui Zhang at The University of Manchester shows how gene mutation and activity of the nervous system can combine to seriously disrupt the heart's normal rhythm.