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"We have, on the one hand, scientists who are convinced that they should be left alone in their ivory tower and that neither politicians nor the general public should interfere with their research activities. In their eyes, the key to conducting responsible science is to protect it from external interest because that will introduce harmful biases. Science should therefore be completely independent and self-regulated in order to be responsible," says communication researcher Maja Horst from the University of Copenhagen. She continues:

The world's biodiversity is in an ongoing dramatic decline that despite conservation efforts remains unprecedented in its speed and predicted effects on global ecosystem functioning and services. The lack of available integrated biodiversity information for decisions in sectors other than nature conservation has been recognized as a main obstacle and the need to provide readily accessible data to support political decisions has been integrated into the CBD's "Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020" and the Aichi targets.

BETHESDA, MD – April 8, 2014 – Technical objections to the idea that Neandertals interbred with the ancestors of Eurasians have been overcome, thanks to a genome analysis method described in the April 2014 issue of the journal GENETICS. The technique can more confidently detect the genetic signatures of interbreeding than previous approaches and will be useful for evolutionary studies of other ancient or rare DNA samples.

Although a greater proportion of teenage boys than girls watch and fantasise about sex they have seen in pornography, there are no differences between the sexes when it comes to what types of sex they fantasise about. This is shown in a new study from Uppsala University that is published in Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.

Ann Arbor, MI, April 8, 2014 – While preventable, carbon monoxide poisoning is a serious and sometimes fatal condition. Large weather events, such as snowstorms and heavy storms that cause power outages, can lead to an increase in the number of reported carbon monoxide exposures. Researchers from Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut explored the link between these major storms and the rise in carbon monoxide exposure cases.

An antimicrobial agent found in common household soaps, shampoos and toothpastes may be finding its way inside human noses where it promotes the colonization of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria and could predispose some people to infection. Researchers at the University of Michigan report their findings this week in a study published in mBio®, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

Gastric banding can play a vital role in the treatment of type 2 diabetes in people who are overweight and not obese, according to new research.

The Monash University study, led by Emeritus Professor Paul O'Brien and Dr John Wentworth from the Centre for Obesity Research and Education (CORE), has determined that weight loss surgery (gastric banding) for overweight people with diabetes had a profound impact on the illness.

The research has been released today in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology.

A new study into how the world's highest flying bird, the bar-headed goose, is able to survive at extreme altitudes may have future implications for low oxygen medical conditions in humans.

An international team of scientists recently tracked the bar-headed goose while it migrated across the Himalayas. Now they have shown how these birds are able to tolerate running at top speed while breathing only 7% oxygen.

At the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting, a University of Colorado Cancer Center study showed that the chemical silibinin, purified from milk thistle extract, affects cell signaling associated with inflammation and thus also the formation and survival of colorectal cancer stem cells.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — With the political divide over health care reform still strong going into this year's elections, a new analysis of state-level decisions shows signs of an emerging middle way toward reducing the ranks of the uninsured.

The approach centers on efforts by governors and legislatures to get federal permission to customize Medicaid expansion in ways that satisfy political conservatives – while still allowing them to collect federal funding to increase health insurance coverage in their state.

The difference between an immune response that kills cancer cells and one that conversely stimulates tumor growth can be as narrow as a "double-edged sword," report researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine in the April 7, 2014 online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Genetic variants associated with enjoying the effects of d-amphetamine—the active ingredient in Adderall—are also associated with a reduced risk for developing schizophrenia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), report scientists from the University of Chicago in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on April 7. The results support a long-standing hypothesis that dopamine, the neurotransmitter connected with the euphoric effects of amphetamine, is related to schizophrenia and ADHD.

Laboratory chamber walls have been stealing vapors, causingresearchers to underestimate the formation of secondary organicaerosol in the atmosphere.

A study published April 7 in PNAS Online Early Edition describes howa team of scientists, including researchers from the University ofCalifornia, Davis, showed that vapor losses to the walls oflaboratory chambers can suppress the formation of secondary organicaerosol, which in turn has contributed to the underprediction of SOAin climate and air quality models.

New insights into a surprisingly flexible immune system present in bacteria for combating viruses and other foreign DNA invaders have been revealed by researchers from New Zealand's University of Otago and the Netherlands.

A team led by Dr Peter Fineran of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology are studying the genetic basis of adaptive immunity in bacteria that cause potato 'soft rot' and in E. coli bacteria. Through their recent collaboration they have found that these bacterial immune systems are much more robust and responsive than previously thought.

Genes amplify the stress of harsh environments for some children, and magnify the advantage of supportive environments for other children, according to a study that's one of the first to document how genes interacting with social environments affect biomarkers of stress.

"Our findings suggest that an individual's genetic architecture moderates the magnitude of the response to external stimuli—but it is the environment that determines the direction" says Colter Mitchell, lead author of the paper and a researcher at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research (ISR).