Body

The immune system has evolved to recognize and respond to threats to health, and to provide life-long memory that prevents recurrent disease. A detailed understanding of the mechanism underlying immunologic memory, however, has remained elusive. Since 2001, various lines of research have converged to support the hypothesis that the persistence of immune memory arises from a reservoir of immune cells with stem-cell-like potential. Until now, there was no conclusive evidence, largely because experiments could only be carried out on populations of cells.

Odds are, there’s a virus living inside your gut that has gone undetected by scientists for decades. A new study led by researchers at San Diego State University has found that more than half the world’s population is host to a newly described virus, named crAssphage, which infects one of the most common types of gut bacteria, Bacteroidetes. This phylum of bacteria is thought to be connected with obesity, diabetes and other gut-related diseases. The research appears today in Nature Communications.

Washington, DC (July 21, 2014) – It seems common practice. After a long day at work, sometimes you just want to turn on the TV or play a video game to relax, decompress. This is supposed to make you feel better. But, a recent study published in the Journal of Communication, by researchers at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany, and VU University Amsterdam, found that people who had high stress levels after work and engaged in television viewing or video game play didn't feel relaxed or recovered, but had high levels of guilt and feelings of failure.

Children, teenagers and young adults living near Sellafield or Dounreay since the 1990s are not at an increased risk of developing cancer according to research published in the British Journal of Cancer today* (Wednesday).

(Philadelphia, PA) – Asking patients if a suspicious skin lesion is painful or itchy may help doctors decide whether the spot is likely to be cancerous, according to a new study headed by Gil Yosipovitch, MD, Chairman of the Department of Dermatology at Temple University School of Medicine.

Bottom Line: An enhanced recovery program for patients after colorectal surgery appears to be feasible in a community hospital setting after having been shown to be successful in international and academic medical centers.

Author: Cristina B. Geltzeiler, M.D., of Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, and colleagues.

Bottom Line: A postoperative pneumonia prevention program for patients in the surgical ward at a California Veterans Affairs hospital lowered the case rate for the condition, which can cause significant complications and increase the cost of care.

Author: Hadiza S. Kazaure, M.D., of the Stanford University School of Medicine, California, and colleagues.

Background: Pneumonia is a common infection that accounts for about 15 percent of all hospital-acquired infections and as much as 3.4 percent of complications among surgical patients.

In lab experiments using tissue samples cultured from cystic fibrosis patients, scientists at the UNC School of Medicine and the UNC Marsico Lung Institute have shown that a new CF drug counteracts the intended beneficial molecular effect of another CF drug.

The finding, published today in the journal Science Translational Medicine, shows how a mutant CFTR protein becomes unstable and loses its ability to function properly when in the presence of the two drugs. The research offers several insights into how novel CF pharmacotherapies could be improved.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Spinach gave Popeye super strength, but it also holds the promise of a different power for a group of scientists: the ability to convert sunlight into a clean, efficient alternative fuel.

Purdue University physicists are part of an international group using spinach to study the proteins involved in photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert the sun's energy into carbohydrates used to power cellular processes.

A new study supports a growing body of research suggesting a safe and effective role for natural steroid hormones in treating postmenopausal breast cancer, with fewer detrimental side effects and improved health profile than with standard anti-hormone therapies. The study will be published in final format today in the open-access journal Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology.

Tracking of blue whales by satellite over a 15-year period off the U.S. West Coast suggests that the whales consistently return to feed in specific locations each year, according to a study published July 23, 2014 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Ladd Irvine from Oregon State University and colleagues. These data may be used to mitigate human threats to the whale population.

Dogs exhibit more jealous behaviors, like snapping or pushing their owner, when their owners displayed affectionate behaviors towards what appeared to be another dog compared to random objects, according to a study published July 23, 2014 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Christine Harris and Caroline Prouvost from UC San Diego.

NEWPORT, Ore. -- A comprehensive 15-year analysis of the movements of satellite-tagged blue whales off the West Coast of the United States found that their favored feeding areas are bisected by heavily used shipping lanes, increasing the threat of injury and mortality.

New research from North Carolina State University shows that urban "heat islands" are slowly killing red maples in the southeastern United States. One factor is that researchers have found warmer temperatures increase the number of young produced by the gloomy scale insect – a significant tree pest – by 300 percent, which in turn leads to 200 times more adult gloomy scales on urban trees.

BOSTON –– In a massive effort to catalog the molecular causes of stomach cancer, scientists, including researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, have identified four subtypes of tumors based on shared mutations and other molecular abnormalities. They say the new classification promises to advance clinical research to develop improved therapies for the third-leading cancer killer worldwide.