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Research at the University of Liverpool suggests pets and other domesticated animals could provide new clues into the emergence of infections that can spread between animals and humans.

The study showed that the number of parasites and pathogens shared by humans and animals is related to how long animals have been domesticated.

The findings suggest that although wild animals may be important for the transmission of new diseases to humans, humanity's oldest companions – livestock and pets such as cattle and dogs provide the vital link in the emergence of new diseases.

Poor-quality sleep during the third trimester of pregnancy can increase the odds of weight gain and metabolic abnormalities in offspring once they reach adulthood, according to a new study published online May 8, 2014, in the journal Diabetes.

The researchers linked the excess weight and changes in metabolism to epigenetic modifications that reduce expression of the gene for adiponectin—a hormone that helps regulate several metabolic processes, including glucose regulation. Lower levels of adiponectin correlate with increased body fat and reduced activity.

PHILADELPHIA — Young adults who smoked water pipes in hookah bars had elevated levels of nicotine, cotinine, tobacco-related cancer-causing agents, and volatile organic compounds (VOC) in their urine, and this may increase their risk for cancer and other chronic diseases, according to a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Cincinnati, OH, May 16, 2014 -- Magnet ingestions by children have received increasing attention over the past 10 years. With the growing availability of new and stronger neodymium-iron-boron magnets being sold as "toys," there has been an increase of cases of ingestion, resulting in serious injury and, in some cases, death. In a new study scheduled for publication in The Journal of Pediatrics, researchers studied the trends of magnetic ingestions at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), Canada's largest children's hospital.

One in ten 16-year-olds surveyed in a new study by Queen's University and the University of Ulster have considered self-harm or taking an overdose.

Research published in Diabetologia suggests that two large meals (breakfast and lunch), rather than six small meals with the same total calories, are better for controlling weight and blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes. The research is by Dr Hana Kahleová, Diabetes Centre, Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic, and colleagues.

Despite enormous investment in Iraq's health system in the 10 years since the US-led invasion, the health condition of Iraqis has deteriorated and will fail to improve unless more is done to improve living conditions. A review published today in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine concludes that continual investment in health services is crucial to elevate the health status of the Iraqi population, but that progress will be limited without improvements in housing, water and sanitation, electricity, transport, agriculture, education and employment.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — If studying a single gene or a diet that might extend longevity is like searching for a fountain of youth, then a new study calls for looking at something more like the whole watershed. Brown University biologists who experimentally throttled three such factors in fruit flies found that lifespan depended more on interactions among the factors than on the factors themselves.

Trypanosome parasites transmitted by tsetse flies cause devastating diseases in humans and livestock. Different subspecies infect different hosts: Trypanosoma brucei brucei infects cattle but is non-infectious to humans, whereas T. b. gambiense and T. b. rhodesiense cause sleeping sickness in humans. A study published on May 15th in PLOS Pathogens reveals how humans can fight off some trypanosomes but not others.

WASHINGTON — A new technique that allows the growth of both normal and cancer cells and keeps them alive indefinitely is transforming and expediting basic cancer research, say investigators from Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Washington, DC (May 15, 2014) — A newly approved US policy regarding allocation of kidneys from deceased donors will likely improve patient and transplant survival, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). The true effects of the new policy are yet to be seen, however, and officials will evaluate its intended and unintended consequences on an ongoing basis.

Zinc is essential for optimal plant growth and development but when high levels of the metal are present in the soil, it can become toxic to the plant. Consequently, plants need to trigger mechanisms capable of coping with that stress. Researchers from the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC) have now discovered a novel genetic mechanism that protects plants from toxic zinc levels.

Tumor cells in bone marrow of early breast cancer patients predict a higher risk of relapse as well as poorer survival, but bone marrow biopsy is an invasive and painful procedure. Now, it may be possible to identify tumor cells in a routine blood sample and use them as prognostic markers, according to a study published May 15 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Tempe, Ariz. (May, 15, 2014) - Overweight young people are more likely to be rejected as friends by peers who are of normal weight, according to new research by Arizona State University social scientists.

As Bike to Work week continues, New Yorkers got some good news from a team of researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. Using funds from the federally funded Safe Routes to School program enacted in 2005 in an effort to create safe environments for American children to walk or bike to school, New York City made safety changes to the most dangerous intersections near schools.