Body

Researchers report that low levels of sodium, known as hyponatremia, prior to transplantation does not increase the risk of death following liver transplant. Full findings are published in Liver Transplantation, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the International Liver Transplantation Society.

It's not a hair-brained idea: A new research report appearing in the April 2014 issue of The FASEB Journal explains why people with a rare balding condition called "atrichia with papular lesions" lose their hair, and it identifies a strategy for reversing this hair loss. Specifically the report shows for the first time that the "human hairless gene" imparts an essential role in hair biology by regulating a subset of other hair genes.

Researchers from the National Collection of Yeast Cultures (NCYC) at the Institute of Food Research (IFR) have identified a new globe-trotting yeast species that lives on tree-associated beetles. This new species demonstrates the importance of preserving biodiversity, as yeasts like this may help efforts to develop renewable fuel sources in the future.

To improve recovery for heart attack patients, hospitals should maintain normal day and night cycles for those patients during the first few days after the attack, say University of Guelph researchers.

Their new study shows for the first time that interrupting diurnal rhythms impairs healing immediately after a heart attack, said Prof. Tami Martino of the Department of Biomedical Sciences.

Raimon Guitart, lecturer in Toxicology at the UAB, and Vernon Thomas, emeritus professor of the University of Guelph, analysed in detail the environmental effects of using lead ammunition in shooting sports, in an article published in the AMBIO journal. Although the number of Olympic athletes specialising in these sports is reduced, and the ammunition is recovered and recycled after the competitions, there are many amateurs who practice this sport around the world, making it almost impossible to recover the ammunition after being used.

Nagoya, Japan – Professor Stephan Irle of the Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM) at Nagoya University and co-workers at Kyoto University, Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL), and Chinese research institutions have revealed through theoretical simulations that the molecular mechanism of carbon nanotube (CNT) growth and hydrocarbon combustion actually share many similarities.

This news release is available in German.

As the Earth's human population marches toward 9 billion, the need for hardy new varieties of grain crops has never been greater.

It won't be enough to yield record harvests under perfect conditions. In an era of climate change, pollution and the global spread of pathogens, these new grains must also be able to handle stress. Now, researchers at Michigan Technological University have identified a set of genes that could be key to the development of the next generation of super rice.

In particular, the protein that activated hair follicle growth was shown to also inhibit fat production.

The world first research confirmed that changes in the hair growth cycle led to fluctuations in the thickness of the underlying fat layer of the skin – essentially meaning that the skin can regulate fat production.

The research was led by Professor Fiona Watt at King's College London in collaboration with Professor of Dermatology Rodney Sinclair from the University of Melbourne and Epworth Hospital.

There are differences in prognosis in cutaneous malignant melanoma depending on cohabitation status and gender, according to a new study published in the scientific periodical Journal of Clinical Oncology. Single men of all ages are more likely to die of their disease.

More than 1.1 million spouses, parents and friends are caring for the injured and disabled who have served in the U.S. military since Sept. 11, 2001, often doing so without a formal support network and putting their own well-being at risk, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

PORTLAND, Ore. — Medical researchers often presented the findings of their clinical trials in a different way on a federal government website than they did in the medical journals where their studies were ultimately published, according to an Oregon Health & Science University analysis published April 1 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

In 1990, the Jamaican iguana was removed from the list of extinct species when a small population was re-discovered on the island. Unfortunately, the species continues to be critically endangered, with only a single location left for the recovering population, now greater than 200 individuals, in a protected area called the Hellshire Hills, part of the Portland Bight Protected Area.

WACO, Texas (March 31, 2014) – Early strengthening activities can lead to a decrease in cardiometabolic health risks in children and adolescents, according to results of a new study by a Baylor University professor and a team of researchers.

Until recently, treatment for adolescent obesity and associated health problems has focused mostly on diet modifications and aerobic exercise such as walking or swimming.

OTTAWA, Canada, April 1, 2014 — Clinical investigators at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) have developed a new screening tool to help diagnose obstructive sleep apnea in children. Their findings are published in Pediatric Pulmonology.