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Kaiser Permanente study: National rates of death due to heart disease, stroke leveling off

OAKLAND, Calif., June 29, 2016 -- After more than a decade of steady improvements, the decline in mortality rates from heart disease and stroke has slowed nationally and nearly leveled out since 2011, according to a new analysis from Kaiser Permanente published in JAMA Cardiology.

"Continued innovation is essential in our efforts to address the ongoing challenge of cardiovascular disease prevention," said lead author Stephen Sidney, MD, MPH, director of research clinics at the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research.

UK wildlife calendar reshuffled by climate change

Climate change is already reshuffling the UK's wildlife calendar, and it's likely this will continue into the future, according to new research published this week in the journal Nature.

The results suggest that seasonal events -such as the timing of flowering in plants and breeding in birds - are generally more sensitive to temperature change, than to changes in precipitation such as rain and snowfall. Plants and animals respond differently to temperature changes at different times of year.

Birmingham researchers devise test to predict sepsis in burns patients

Researchers have created a potentially life-saving new test that will allow clinicians to predict which burn victims will develop sepsis during their treatment.

Their findings, published in Annals of Surgery, show that using just three biomarkers of neutrophil function on the day of injury can determine which patients with major burn injuries are likely to become septic.

Anti-PD-L1 immunotherapy responsive in microsatellite-stable mCRC comb with MEK inhibition

BARCELONA-LUGANO, 29 June 2016 - Anti-PD-L1 immunotherapy may achieve a response in patients with microsatellite-stable metastatic colorectal cancer if combined with a MEK inhibitor, according to phase I data presented at the ESMO 18th World Congress of Gastrointestinal Cancer in Barcelona, Spain.

Protein associated with improved survival in some breast cancer patients

A family of proteins that help cancer cells survive and spread around the body may be associated with improved prognosis for some women receiving treatment for breast cancer, research has shown.

The study, led by academics at The University of Nottingham and published online by the academic journal Oncotarget, discovered that when high levels of the protein calpain were detected in large primary breast tumours from patients given chemotherapy treatment to shrink their tumour before surgery, these patients were more likely to survive.

Modeling NAFLD with human pluripotent stem cell derived immature hepatocyte like cells

Researchers from the Institute for Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine at the University Clinic of Düsseldorf have established an in vitro model system for investigating nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The study led by Prof. James Adjaye has now been published in the journal Stem Cells and Development.

Analysis of 1976 Ebola outbreak holds lessons relevant today

With the recent Ebola epidemic in West Africa reviving interest in the first outbreak of the deadly hemorrhagic fever 40 years ago, scientists led by Dr. Joel Breman of the Fogarty International Center at the National Institutes of Health have released a report highlighting lessons learned from the smaller, more quickly contained 1976 outbreak.

Northern bird found to be more resilient to winter weather

One of the UK's most widespread songbirds, the Wren, varies in its resilience to winter weather depending on where it lives in Britain - according to new research from the University of East Anglia and the British Trust for Ornithology.

Findings published today in the Royal Society journal Open Science reveal that Scottish Wrens are larger than those living in southern Britain, and more resilient to hard winter frosts.

Educating parents on healthy infant sleep habits may help prevent obesity

Teaching parents bedtime techniques to encourage healthy sleep habits in their infants may help prevent obesity, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers. Strong links exist between inadequate sleep and childhood obesity.

Immune system link to kidney disease risk, research finds

A gene which forms part of our body's first line of defence against infection may be associated with an increased risk with a type of kidney disease, research involving academics at The University of Nottingham has discovered.

The work, which is published in the academic journal Science Translational Medicine, found that the difference in the number of copies of the alpha-defensin genes was a major genetic factor in developing the condition IgA nephropathy.

New species of spider discovered 'next door' at the the borders of cereal fields in Spain

The image that comes to mind when we think of new species being discovered is that of scientists sampling in remote tropical forests, where humans have barely set foot in. However, new species waiting to be discovered can in fact be very close to us, even if we live in a strongly humanized continent like Europe.

Allergy-causing 'bad guy' cells unexpectedly prove life-saving in C. difficile

Surprising discovery points to way to prevent life-threatening consequences of C. difficile infections
C. diff kills one in seven infected in North America
But probiotics that ensure the presence of certain cells in the gut may stave off infection
Finding 'as unexpected as it is important,' with 'immediate implications for therapy'

Saved by the sun

A new twist on the use of renewable energy is saving children's lives in Africa. The innovation--a solar powered oxygen delivery system--is providing concentrated oxygen in hospital for children suffering from severe pneumonia.

The device created by Dr. Michael Hawkes, an assistant professor in the University of Alberta's Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, is the focus of a recently published study in The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease and is already in use in two hospitals in Uganda.

Researchers identify the molecular roots of lung damage in preemies with GI disease

Johns Hopkins researchers report they have figured out a root cause of the lung damage that occurs in up to 10 percent of premature infants who develop necrotizing enterocolitis, a disorder that damages and kills the lining of the intestine. The finding, they say, led them to identify and successfully test a potential treatment for the lung damage in a mouse, which may one day be offered to human infants.

Mountaineering ants use body heat to warm nests

For their colonies to survive at high altitudes, army ants keep their underground nests as much as 13 degrees F warmer than surface temperatures, according to a new study by Drexel University scientists.

Although they're a nomadic species -- which is relatively rare for ants -- Labidus praedator create underground nests (called bivouacs) that harbor their eggs and young offspring (brood). How hot or cold that bivouac gets may be critical for the ability of the ants to stay mobile and raise their young.