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New Haven, Conn. — Yale researchers have harnessed the power of 21st century computing to confirm an idea first proposed in 1916 — that plants with rapid reproductive cycles evolve faster. Their findings appear in the October 3rd edition of Science.

A bacteria cell's 'crisis command centre' has been observed for thefirst time swinging into action to protect the cell from external stressand danger, according to new research out today (3 October) in Science.

The research team behind today's study says that finding out exactly howbacteria respond and adapt to stresses and dangers is important becauseit will further their understanding of the basic survival mechanisms ofsome of the most resilient, hardy organisms on Earth.

COLLEGE STATION, Oct. 2, 2008  The Atlantic bluefin tuna is the largest and most sought-after of all tunas, weighing as much as 1,400 pounds and capable of fetching as much as $50,000 or more in Asian markets where its meat is a prized commodity, one big reason why its numbers have declined precipitously since the 1970s. New research findings reported in Science have critical implications for how bluefin tuna are managed on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

LA JOLLA, CA — The Salk Institute for Biological Studies and Burnham Institute for Medical Research today announced 295 host cell factors that are involved in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. The study, published in the Oct. 3 issue of Cell, could lead to the development of a new class of HIV therapeutics aimed at disrupting the human-HIV interactions that lead to viral infection.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Aluminum toxicity, a global agricultural problem, halts root growth in plants, severely limiting agricultural productivity for more than half of the world's arable land.

For many years, scientists have puzzled over how toxic levels of aluminum damage the growing root. The popular understanding is that aluminum binds to several targets in the root system, blocking cell division, damaging DNA, and ultimately interrupting plant growth.

WASHINGTON, DC—A novel anti-tumor vaccine for neuroblastoma and melanoma developed by scientists and clinicians at Children's National Medical Center in collaboration with investigators from the University of Iowa is showing significant impact on tumor growth in mice, accor

ANN ARBOR, Mich.--- Think of it as the end of cars' slacker days: No more sitting idle for hours in parking lots or garages racking up payments, but instead earning their keep by providing power to the electricity grid.

Scientists at the University of Michigan, using a $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), are exploring plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) that not only use grid electricity to meet their power needs, but return it to the grid, earning money for the owner.

Cancer incidence is higher among liver transplant recipients in Finland compared to the general population, according to a new study in the October issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal by John Wiley & Sons. The article is also available online at Wiley Interscience (www.interscience.wiley.com).

Bethesda, MD (Oct. 1, 2008) – Patients who undergo a complete negative colonoscopy have a reduced incidence of colorectal cancer, confirms a study published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. However, in the proximal colon, the incidence reduction of colorectal cancer following complete negative colonoscopy differs in magnitude and timing. The reduction of colorectal cancer is observed in about half of the 14 follow-up years and for the most part occurs after just seven years of follow-up.

New York, NY (Oct. 2, 2008) — America does a mediocre job caring for its sickest people. The nation, says a new report, gets a C.

Palliative care programs make patients facing serious and chronic illness more comfortable by alleviating their pain and symptoms and counseling patients and their families.

New Rochelle, NY, October 2, 2008 — There has been rapid growth of new, innovative palliative care consultation services in the nation's hospitals. More than half of the 50-bed or larger hospitals in the U.S. offer palliative care services to ease pain and suffering for seriously ill patients and their families. However, the availability of these services varies widely across geographic regions, according to a study published in the October 2008 issue of the peer-reviewed, Journal of Palliative Medicine.

East Lansing, MI – October 2, 2008 –A new study in the journal Family Relations focuses on the experiences of the Sudanese refugees who were separated from their parents during the Sudanese civil war. Often called the Lost Boys of Sudan, these children faced multiple traumatic events and chronic hardships. In addition to being violently expelled from their homes and having to live in displacement camps, these children also struggled with uncertainty regarding the fate of their parents and siblings.

A group of researchers in Switzerland has published a study appearing in the Oct 1 advance online edition of the Journal Nature that shows how the cornea uses stem cells to repair itself.

Using mouse models they demonstrate that everyday wear and tear on the cornea is repaired from stem cells residing in the corneal epithelium, and that more serious repair jobs require the involvement of other stem cells that migrate from the limbus, a region between the cornea and the conjunctiva, the white part of the eye.

The internet is emerging as a valuable tool for scientists to gather data for critical research into rare diseases.

Disability researcher, Dr Helen Leonard, from Australia's Institute for Child Health Research, said its InterRett online database had greatly expanded research into the neurological disorder Rett syndrome, which affects 1 in 8500 girls.

Scientists at the University of Liverpool have tested an 'invisibility cloak' that could reduce the risk of large water waves overtopping coastal defences.

Mathematicians at Liverpool, working with physicists at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and Aix-Marseille Universite have found that coastal defences could be made 'invisible' when water is guided through a special structure called metamaterial.