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Matjaz Gregoric, a research associate at the Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU), Jovan Hadzi Institute of Biology, and coauthors studied the mating behavior of the Madagascan Darwin's bark spider (Caerostris darwini), a sexually size dimorphic species from Madagascar with females several times larger and heavier than males. They uncovered a rich sexual repertoire in C. darwini that predictably involved sexual cannibalism and genital mutilation.

A new research report appearing in the May 2016 issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, suggests that specific enzymes, called "salt-inducible kinases," may be able to help curb runaway inflammation associated with autoimmune diseases like Crohn's disease, arthritis, and psoriasis. In particular, Swiss researchers found that by inhibiting the effects of salt-inducible kinases, they were able to significantly limit the production of inflammatory molecules by certain types of human immune cells.

How birds' beaks evolved characteristic shapes to eat different food is a classic example of evolution by natural selection.

However, new research from the Universities of Bristol, Sheffield, Madrid and York, published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found this does not apply to all species, and that raptors in particular have not enjoyed this evolutionary flexibility.

Scientists are working diligently to prepare for the expected increase in global population -- and therefore an increased need for food production-- in the coming decades. A team of engineers at Washington University in St. Louis has found a sustainable way to boost the growth of a protein-rich bean by improving the way it absorbs much-needed nutrients.

The fabrication of a prototype tissue having functional properties close to the natural ones is crucial for effective transplantation. Tissue engineering scaffolds are typically used as supports which allow cells to form tissue-like structures essentially required for the correct functioning of the cells under the conditions close to the three-dimensional tissue.

TUCSON, Ariz. - Researchers are one step closer to understanding the genetic and biological basis of diseases like cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's and rheumatoid arthritis - and identifying new drug targets and therapies - thanks to work by three computational biology research teams from the University of Arizona Health Sciences, University of Pennsylvania and Vanderbilt University.

Belgian scientists from VIB and UGent developed Virotrap, a viral particle sorting approach for purifying protein complexes under native conditions. This method catches a bait protein together with its associated protein partners in virus-like particles that are budded from human cells. Like this, cell lysis is not needed and protein complexes are preserved during purification. The development and application of this pioneering technique are described in a paper published this week in Nature Communications.

International researchers led by the University of Bath have demonstrated a cheap, effective and environmentally-friendly way to sterilise medical implants without changing their properties, in contrast to some techniques.

This inexpensive technology could save time and money while effectively sterilising medical implants, does not require extensive training and produces no waste products

Jena (Germany) With the arrival of spring many insects leave their winter quarters. Presently swarms of the mining bee (Andrena vaga) emerge along sandy river valleys. These whitish-grey haired wild bees live in galleries and cavities in the ground. They feed on nectar and pollen mostly collected from willow trees. "Sometimes the first bees come out very early, weeks before it would actually be their time," says PD Dr Hans Pohl of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany). This usually indicates that the insects are infested by specific parasites, explains the entomologist.

Researchers at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III (CNIC) have demonstrated the crucial role of the NOTCH signaling pathway in the development of a fundamental heart structure, the heart valves. These valves ensure unidirectional bloodflow with each heartbeat, and open and close millions of times during a person's lifetime.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Whitehead Institute scientists have determined that a plant protein involved in the timing of flowering could in fact be a prion. This is the first time that a possible prion has been identified in plants.

Infamous for causing fatal degenerative brain diseases, such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, known more commonly as "mad cow disease," Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and scrapie, prions are proteins that have the ability to self-perpetuate when they assume a particular conformation. They can be inherited separately from DNA.

TUCSON, Ariz. - Researchers are one step closer to understanding the genetic and biological basis of diseases like cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's and rheumatoid arthritis - and identifying new drug targets and therapies - thanks to work by three computational biology research teams from the University of Arizona Health Sciences, University of Pennsylvania and Vanderbilt University.

Exposure to pathogens early in life is beneficial to the education and development of the human immune system.

In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) published a series of monographs on the evaluation of various carcinogenic risks. In a monograph on air pollution, the organization pointed out the difficulty of assessing the effects of pollution on multiple types of cancers, given their different etiologies, risk factors and variability in the composition of air pollutants in space and time. However, the IARC identified certain key components of air pollution, including particulates.

Researchers have found that long-term exposure to environmental pollutants was associated with increased risk of mortality for many types of cancer in an elderly Hong Kong population.

The study between the University of Birmingham and University of Hong Kong, published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, adds to growing concern around the health risks of prolonged exposure to ambient fine particulate matter.