Body

In a new study published today in the journal Nature, scientists discovered an entirely new way to change the genetic code. The findings, though early, are significant because they may ultimately help researchers alter the course of devastating genetic disorders, such as cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy and many forms of cancer.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The first organisms to emerge after an ancient worldwide glaciation likely evolved hardy survival skills, arming themselves with tough exteriors to weather a frozen climate.

Malaria is a devastating disease caused by the Plasmodium parasite which is transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes. Hundreds of millions of new cases of malaria are reported each year, and there are more than 750,000 malaria-related deaths annually. As a result, there is an urgent need for vaccines to combat infection. Now, a new study uncovers a powerful strategy for eliciting an immune response that can combat the parasite during multiple stages of its complex life cycle and describes what may be the most effective next-generation vaccination approach for malaria.

MONTREAL, June 15, 2011 – The results of a national online study show that 45% consider their parents to be their sexuality role model. Shattering stereotypes that parents and society hold about teen sexuality, the survey also revealed that only 32% looked to their friends and just 15% took inspiration from celebrities. Dr. Jean-Yves Frappier, a researcher at the University of Montreal's affiliated CHU Sainte-Justine Hospital Research Centre will be presenting the results at the Canadian Paediatric Society's 88th Annual Conference on June 18, 2011.

When consumers think about the groups they belong to, they recall ads better, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.

"A key determinant of how much consumers remember from an ad is the connection between the ad content and the consumer's own self-concept," write authors Kathryn R. Mercurio (UCLA) and Mark Forehand (University of Washington, Seattle).

Strongly identifying with an organization or workplace can change people's lives in profound ways, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.

Magical thinking, usually dismissed as naïve and irrational, can actually help consumers cope with stressful situations like trying to lose weight, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.

"Magical thinking occurs when an individual invokes mystical, supernatural forces to understand, predict, or even influence events to overcome these stressful situations," write authors Yannik St. James (HEC Montreal), Jay M. Handelman, and Shirley F. Taylor (both Queen's University, Kingston, Canada).

Having an attractive model shill for a product only helps influence sales in certain situations, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. It seems it all depends on the set-up for the advertising.

Consumers react strongly to their product choices being copied, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. They really dislike it when the copycat is someone similar to them.

"Have you ever gone to a party only to learn upon arrival that another guest is wearing the same dress or shirt as you?" ask authors Katherine White (University of British Columbia) and Jennifer J. Argo (University of Alberta). The researchers looked at what happens when someone else copies a consumer's product choice.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Like rock stars of the rodent world, the flashiest performers of a Central American mouse species get the most attention from the ladies, a University of Florida study shows.

Neotropical singing mice woo their mates with high-pitched vocal trills, and a bravura performance attracts more interest from females, according to a study published online this week in the journal Animal Behaviour by doctoral candidate Bret Pasch and colleagues in the department of biology at the University of Florida.

There may be a natural solution to the mystery of how small amounts of a banned drug that disrupts thyroid function and plumps up livestock gets into their bodies — and the bodies of humans, scientists are reporting. Their study, which appears in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, reports the first evidence that the substance can form naturally in feed and food.

The quest for better ways of encapsulating medicine so that it can reach diseased parts of the body has led scientists to harness — for the first time — living human cells to produce natural capsules with channels for releasing drugs and diagnostic agents. The report appears in ACS' journal Nano Letters.

A high level of a hormone that regulates phosphate is associated with an increased risk of kidney failure and death among chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients, according to a recent study led by researchers at the University of Miami and funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Diseases and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) at the National Institutes of Health. Results are in the June 15 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Every living plant cell and animal cell is surrounded by a membrane that helps it communicate with other cells and the outside world. These cellular membranes contain receptor molecules that serve as the cell's eyes and ears.

The receptor molecules accomplish three basic things in the communication process: 1) recognize an outside signal, 2) transport that signal across the cell's membrane and 3) initiate the reading of the signal inside the cell and then initiate the cell's response to that signal. These steps are collectively known as transmembrane signaling.

Men are sometimes criticized for being unwilling to ask for directions when they travel, but they can benefit from looking for help as they begin their journeys as fathers, according to a researcher on fatherhood at the University of Chicago.

Along the way, they should not shy from asserting their roles, said Jennifer Bellamy, an Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration.