Body

The first comprehensive study of captive black rhino reproduction in Europe highlights how hormone analysis could improve the success of breeding programmes.

Researchers from Chester Zoo, The University of Manchester and the University of Liverpool carried out a six-year study which encompassed 90% of European population of black rhino.

August 22, 2014 – A new study finds a wide range of epigenetic changes—alterations in DNA across the genome that may be related to key environmental exposures—in children with Crohn's disease (CD), reports Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, official journal of the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA).

Milk allergy is frequently confused with lactose intolerance. However, these are two entirely different mechanisms that occur in the body. People with lactose intolerance do not digest lactose properly because they lack an enzyme known as lactase. In the case of the potentially much more dangerous cow milk allergy, however, the body's immune system attacks milk proteins with its own IgE antibodies.

Boston, MA – Although the Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC) reports no known cases of Ebola transmission in the United States, a Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH)/SSRS poll released today (August 21, 2014) shows that four in ten (39%) adults in the U.S. are concerned that there will be a large outbreak in the U.S., and a quarter (26%) are concerned that they or someone in their immediate family may get sick with Ebola over the next year.

Cigarettes with very low levels of nicotine may reduce addiction without increasing exposure to toxic chemicals, according to a new study from the University of Waterloo.

The study published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology monitored the smoking behaviours of 72 adults as they switched to three types of cigarettes with markedly reduced nicotine levels.

In a new study published in Nature Communications, research scientists from Uppsala University present for the first time a large-scale study of the significance of genetic, clinical and lifestyle factors for protein levels in the bloodstream. The results of the study show that genetics and lifestyle are determining factors for protein levels, a discovery which greatly influences the possibilities for using more biomarkers to identify disease.

Stanford, CA—Everyone's heard of the birds and the bees. But that old expression leaves out the flowers that are being fertilized. The fertilization process for flowering plants is particularly complex and requires extensive communication between the male and female reproductive cells. New research from an international team from Stanford, Regensburg, Heidelberg, and Munich, and including Carnegie's Wolf Frommer, David Ehrhardt, and Guido Grossmann reports discoveries in the chemical signaling process that guides flowering plant fertilization.

A new species of carnivorous crustacean has been identified, which roamed the seas 435 million years ago, grasping its prey with spiny limbs before devouring it. The fossil is described and details of its lifestyle are published in the open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology.

For many people, finding motivation to exercise is a challenge. Thankfully, there are Zombies chasing you.

At least that's the approach of Zombies, Run!—one of more than 31,000 health and fitness apps on the market today, and one of the growing number of apps that use games to increase physical activity.

Gamification is currently the popular trend for mobile fitness app makers looking to cash in to help people get fit. Whether or not it's the best way to exercise remains to be seen.

Ann Arbor, Mich. — Using heart-lung support technology, the University of Michigan's Transplant Center was able to increase the number of kidneys, livers and pancreases available for transplant by about 20 percent.

The results were published in the journal Transplantation and detail the impact of more than 10 years of using Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation, or ECMO, to improve the quality and viability of organs donated after circulatory determination of death.

Athens, Ga. – An international team of scientists including researchers from the University of Georgia recently published the genome of Brassica napus—commonly known as canola—in the journal Science. Their discovery paves the way for improved versions of the plant, which is used widely in farming and industry.

Using telecommunications to connect stroke experts to stroke patients in rural areas continued to improve and sustain stroke care, according to new research in the American Heart Association's journal Stroke.

Researchers at the University of Surrey have discovered how the receptors responsible for contractions in the bladder, regulate the body's clock genes.

The new study, published today in The FASEB Journal, has found that this clock activity in turn regulates the cycle of all cells in the body. The team of researchers also discovered that the local biological clock and its control are weakened in ageing bladders, demonstrating the importance of the clock in bladder physiology and ageing.

Bottom Line: Vision loss can adversely affect the ability of older adults to perform instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), such as using the telephone, shopping and doing housework, which are all measures of an individual's ability to live independently, and that subsequently increases the risk for death.

Author: Sharon L. Christ, Ph.D., of Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind., and colleagues.

Bottom Line: Patients with advanced laryngeal cancer appear to have better survival if they are treated with surgery than nonsurgical chemoradiation.

Author: Uchechukwu C. Megwalu, M.D., M.P.H., of the Ichan School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, and colleagues.