Body

This news release is available in Spanish.

Popular diets across the world typically focus on the right balance of essential components like protein, fat, and carbohydrates. These items are called macronutrients, and we consume them in relatively large quantities. However, micronutrients often receive less attention. Micronutrients are chemicals, including vitamins and minerals, that our bodies require in very small quantities. Common mineral micronutrients include zinc, iron, manganese, magnesium, potassium, copper, and selenium.

How the Neolithic people found their way to Europe has long been a subject of debate. A study published June 6 of genetic markers in modern populations may offer some new clues.

Their paper, "Maritime route of colonization of Europe," appears in the online edition of the Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences.

Vancouver, BC - Today the International Cooperation to Sequence the Atlantic Salmon Genome (ICSASG) announced completion of a fully mapped and openly accessible salmon genome. This reference genome will provide crucial information to fish managers to improve the production and sustainability of aquaculture operations, and address challenges around conservation of wild stocks, preservation of at-risk fish populations and environmental sustainability. This breakthrough was announced at the International Conference on Integrative Salmonid Biology (ICISB) being held in Vancouver this week.

Vancouver, BC - Today the International Cooperation to Sequence the Atlantic Salmon Genome (ICSASG) announced completion of a fully mapped and openly accessible salmon genome. This reference genome will provide crucial information to fish managers to improve the production and sustainability of aquaculture operations, and address challenges around conservation of wild stocks, preservation of at-risk fish populations and environmental sustainability. This breakthrough was announced at the International Conference on Integrative Salmonid Biology (ICISB) being held in Vancouver this week.

WASHINGTON, DC – June 10, 2014 - Scientists believe they have an explanation for the axiom that stress, emotional shock, or overexertion may trigger heart attacks in vulnerable people. Hormones released during these events appear to cause bacterial biofilms on arterial walls to disperse, allowing plaque deposits to rupture into the bloodstream, according to research published in published today in mBio®, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

Men who keep a mobile phone in their trouser pocket could be inadvertently damaging their chances of becoming a father, according to a new study led by the University of Exeter.

Previous research has suggested that Radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR) emitted by the devices can have a detrimental effect on male fertility. Most of the global adult population own mobile phones, and around 14% of couples in high and middle income countries have difficulty conceiving.

This may have implications for overall long term health, says the author of a linked editorial. Reduced variation in gut microbes (microbiota) has been linked to obesity and other health problems, while increased diversity has been associated with a favourable metabolic profile and immune system response.

The researchers analysed faecal and blood samples from 40 professional rugby players in the midst of a rigorous training programme to assess the range of microbiota they were hosting in their guts.

More than a third of adults in England now have pre-diabetes, the findings suggest, with those who are disadvantaged and of black and minority ethnicity disproportionately affected. If nothing is done to halt this trend, the country faces a steep rise in the prevalence of diabetes, as up to one in 10 of those with pre-diabetes will progress to diabetes every year, warn the authors.

This suggests that permanent dyes and perming treatments may contain toluidines, which are subject to a European Union-wide ban in cosmetics on account of their carcinogenic properties, say the authors.

They measured the levels of eight potentially carcinogenic aromatic amines, to include toluidines, in the blood of 295 female hairdressers, 32 regular users of hair dyes, and 60 people who had not used any of these products in the past 12 months.

WASHINGTON — Up to 40 percent of lung cancer patients do not respond to a targeted therapy designed to block tumor growth — a puzzling clinical setback that researchers have long tried to solve. Now, scientists at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and the National Cancer Institute have discovered why that intrinsic resistance occurs — and they pinpoint a drug they say could potentially reverse it.

(Boston)--Should U.S. women be screened for cervical cancer with Pap tests, HPV tests or both? According to researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC) while the merits of screening tests and screening intervals warrant further discussion, they firmly believe that increasing the number of women who participate in cancer screenings and ensuring that women are not lost to follow-up with lengthened screening intervals is more important than the choice of test to decrease rates of cervical cancer.

Researchers have uncovered a previously unknown biological process involving vitamin B12 and taurine that regulates the production of new bone cells. This pathway could be a potential new target for osteoporosis treatment.

PHILADELPHIA, PA (June 9, 2014)—There's much to learn from the recent release of unprecedented amounts of data from the nation's second largest health insurer, Medicare, but only if interpreted cautiously, write two doctors at Fox Chase Cancer Center in the June 9 online edition of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

"The 3D visualization of subcellular structures only seen in 2D views was very satisfying," says Cahoon. "Some were just as you would imagine but others were surprisingly organized—for example, amorphous aggregates in the petal cell vacuoles that had been dismissed in previous electron microscopy studies as artifacts or uninteresting. The 3D view of these structures revealed a regular pattern appearing in almost every petal mesophyll cell used in our study. When molecules are organized like this, it suggests function and poses new questions."