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Now biologists can get much more accurate information about endangered bats, birds and insects. A new recording system, developed at the University of Southern Denmark, has revealed many previously unknown and highly valuable details about bats.

A second systematic review of a diagnostic test for tuberculosis (TB) endorsed by the World Health Organisation (WHO), has confirmed the accuracy of the test. The updated review assessing the accuracy of Xpert® MTB/RIF includes new studies published since the original Cochrane Review was published in January last year. Led by Karen Steingart, an Editor with the Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group at LSTM, the researchers found that Xpert® MTB/RIF is more accurate than smear microscopy for diagnosing TB and also accurate for detecting rifampicin resistance.

Our most common male ancestor walked the earth 209,000 years ago – earlier than scientists commonly thought - according to new research from the University of Sheffield.

The pioneering study, conducted by Dr Eran Elhaik from the University of Sheffield and Dr Dan Graur from the University of Houston, also debunked the discovery of the Y chromosome that supposedly predated humanity.

A European consortium of epilepsy researchers has reported the discovery of a new gene involved in severe childhood epilepsy. Using a novel combination of technologies, including trio exome sequencing of patient/parental DNA and genetic studies in the tiny larvae of zebrafish, the EuroEPINOMICS RES consortium found that mutations in the gene CHD2 are responsible for a subset of epilepsy patients with symptoms similar to Dravet syndrome – a severe form of childhood epilepsy that is in many patients resistant to currently available anti-epileptic drugs.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Researchers report in a new study that several bird species – some of them relatively rare – are making extensive use of soybean fields in Illinois. The team found significantly more birds and a greater diversity of bird species nesting, roosting and feeding in no-till soybean fields than in tilled fields.

PASADENA, CALIF., 21, 2014 — Men who reported being sedentary with low levels of physical activity were at a significantly higher risk for heart failure than those who were more active, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published today in the journal Circulation: Heart Failure. The study shows the increased risk of heart failure with prolonged sedentary behavior.

A St. Jude Children's Research Hospital study found that despite being diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses, childhood cancer patients are no more likely than their healthy peers to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The research appears in the current online edition of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Young cancer patients were also more likely than children who experience other stressful events to report having benefited from the experience. Reported benefits included developing greater empathy and growing closer to family and friends.

ANN ARBOR—Spraying fungicide to kill coffee rust disease, which has ravaged Latin American plantations since late 2012, is an approach that is "doomed to failure," according to University of Michigan ecologists.

In a study titled, "Virtuous or Vitriolic: The Effect of Anonymity on Civility in Online Newspaper Reader Comment Boards," University of Houston assistant professor Arthur D. Santana at the Jack J. Valenti School of Communication found a significant correlation between anonymity and civility.

PHILADELPHIA, PA, January 21, 2014 – The transition from adolescence to adulthood presents individuals with many challenges. Perhaps none are as important as those relating to health and quality of life. Young adults, aged 18 to 25, are at high risk for weight gain. Being mild to moderately overweight during this period substantially increases the likelihood of obesity at age 35 to 37.

PHILADELPHIA, PA, January 21, 2014 – Young adults are at particularly high risk for excessive weight gain. Although weight gain intervention for young adults attending two- or four-year colleges has been studied extensively, there has been little research into effective weight management programs targeting low-income, non-college bound young adults.

URBANA, Ill. – For a non-nocturnal bird, the yellow-breasted chat spends a significant amount of time visiting other birds' territories during the night. A University of Illinois researcher who was studying birds' movement during the day noticed that males were active almost every night, while the females were active at night but particularly during the window of time when they were fertile.

MAYWOOD, Il. – Findings from a Loyola University Medical Center study ultimately could lead to tests to screen for and diagnose bladder cancer.

Bladder cancer is the fourth most common non-skin cancer. But there is no good screening test for it, and there has been limited progress in characterizing how aggressive an individual's bladder cancer will be.

Liquid crystals are remarkable materials that combine the optical properties of crystalline solids with the flow properties of liquids, characteristics that come together to enable the displays found in most computer monitors, televisions and smartphones.

ROCHESTER, Minn. ― Jan. 17, 2014 ― Researchers at Mayo Clinic have found amplification of HER2, a known driver of some breast cancers, in a type of bladder cancer called micropapillary urothelial carcinoma (MPUC) and have shown that the presence of HER2 amplification is associated with particularly aggressive tumors. These findings suggest that administering trastuzumab to MPUC patients with HER2 amplification could improve outcomes, just as it has for breast cancer. The study is published in this month's Modern Pathology.