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One of the consequences of globalization and increased worldwide freight trade is the introduction of invasive alien species. In the list of the 100 worst invasive alien species in the world , there is only one terrestrial flatworm: Platydemus manokwari, also called New Guinea flatworm. This species has now been found in France, Caen, and was identified by an international team led by Jean-Lou Justine of Institute of Systematics, Evolution, Biodiversity, Paris, France (Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle / CNRS / UPMC / EPHE).

In a study that began in a pair of infant siblings with a rare heart defect, Johns Hopkins researchers say they have identified a key molecular switch that regulates heart cell division and normally turns the process off around the time of birth. Their research, they report, could advance efforts to turn the process back on and regenerate heart tissue damaged by heart attacks or disease.

Boston, MA -- New federal standards launched in 2012 that require schools to offer healthier meals have led to increased fruit and vegetable consumption, according to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers. The study, the first to examine school food consumption both before and after the standards went into effect, contradicts criticisms that the new standards have increased food waste.

Researchers have come a step closer to understanding how gonorrhea infections are transmitted. When Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the bacteria responsible for gonorrhea, are exposed to seminal plasma, the liquid part of semen containing secretions from the male genital tract, they can more easily move and start to colonize. The research, led by investigators at Northwestern University in Chicago, appears in mBio®, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

• The bulk of knowledge about alcohol consumption and problems comes from high-income countries.
• The International Alcohol Control (IAC) study was established to collect and compare data from both high- and middle/low-income countries.
• New IAC results show that heavy-drinking New Zealanders tend to buy cheaper, off-premise alcohol, and purchase it at later times.

1. Study of highly-motivated GenX physicians shows that women spend more time than men on parenting and household labor

CINCINNATI—Findings by Cincinnati Cancer Center researchers show that levels of bisphenol A (BPA) in men's urine could be a marker of prostate cancer and that low levels of BPA exposure can cause cellular changes in both non-malignant and malignant prostate cells.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — The very premise of prison invites members of society to think of the people there as walled-off and removed. But more than 95 percent of prisoners will return to the community, often carrying significant health burdens and associated costs with them.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A new study finds gender differences in parenting and household labor persist among a group of highly motivated physician-researchers in the early stages of their career.

The finding could shed light on why female academic physicians in general do not have the same career success as their male colleagues.

HOUSTON — For women with breast cancer undergoing radiation therapy, yoga offers unique benefits beyond fighting fatigue, according to research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Griffith researchers have undertaken a study to clarify the number of species which existed of the extinct New Zealand moa.

The findings have been published in 'Complex species status for extinct moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes) from the genus Euryapteryx', in the open access journal PLOS ONE.

Lead author Dr Huynen said the challenges of understanding extinct fauna can be formidable and particularly so when it comes to this ancient bird.

People's racial prejudices are influenced by where they live, reports a new study led by Oxford University psychologists.

The researchers found that levels of racial prejudice among white people drop significantly when they live in ethnically mixed communities, even when they do not have direct contact with minorities. Simply seeing white strangers interacting positively with ethnic minorities is enough to reduce racial prejudice.

CALI, COLOMBIA (3 MARCH 2014)—A comprehensive new study of global food supplies confirms and thoroughly documents for the first time what experts have long suspected: over the last five decades, human diets around the world have grown ever more similar—by a global average of 36 percent—and the trend shows no signs of slowing, with major consequences for human nutrition and global food security.

Washington, D.C.— In many ways, plants act as chemical factories, using energy from sunlight to produce carbon-based energy and taking nutrients from the soil in order to synthesize a wide variety of products. Carnegie scientists asked the question: How much does the portfolio of chemicals generated by plants vary, depending on the surrounding environment, and what can this tell us about how we interact with forests?

Keck School of Medicine of USC neuroscientists have unlocked a piece of the puzzle in the fight against Lou Gehrig's disease, a debilitating neurological disorder that robs people of their motor skills. Their findings appear in the March 3, 2014, online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, the official scientific journal of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.