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The Marine Board-ESF published its 13th Position Paper, which presents a view from marine mammal specialists on the research needed to assess the effects of anthropogenic sound upon marine mammals.

The research strategy presented in Marine Board Position Paper 13 results from the activities and proceedings of an Expert Group on anthropogenic sound and marine mammals convened at the joint European Marine Board and National Science Foundation (US) Workshop at Tubney House on October 4-8 2005 in Oxford, with financial and logistical support of the Marine Board.

The future use of land space worldwide and of natural resources in the light of climate change is the topic of a high level German-American scientific conference organised by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation), the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), taking place in Berlin this week.

The roadmap to the future of the gorgeously-decorated fish which throng Australia's coral reefs and help earn the nation $5 billion a year from tourism may well be written in their genes.

Of particular importance may be to protect 'pioneer' fish populations which are able to re-colonise regions of reef devastated by global warming and other impacts or settle new areas as the corals move south, says Dr Line Bay of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University (JCU) and Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS).

Waltham, MA—A novel Brandeis University study this week in PLoS Biology reports on some of the molecular gymnastics performed by a protein involved in regulating DNA transcription. Using state-of-the art tools, researchers observed the shape and behavior of individual DNA molecules bent into tight loops by Lac repressor, a protein from the bacterium E.coli that switches on and off individual genes.

Birth size, and in particular birth length, correlates with subsequent risk of breast cancer in adulthood, according to a new study published in PLoS Medicine by researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Associations between birth size, perhaps as a marker of the pre-natal environment, and subsequent breast cancer risk have been identified before, but the findings from epidemiological studies have been inconsistent.

Froghoppers, also known as spittlebugs, are the champion insect jumpers, capable of reaching heights of 700 mm - more than 100 times their own body length. Research published today in the open access journal BMC Biology reveals that they achieve their prowess by flexing bow-like structures between their hind legs and wings and releasing the energy in one giant leap in a catapult-like action.

HOUSTON - In a first-of-its-kind finding, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have discovered that exposure to the hepatitis B virus (HBV) may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer.

The study, published in the Oct. 1 edition of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, also suggests that patients with this lethal form of cancer treated with chemotherapy may face danger of reactivation of their HBV.

Study Summary: Hepatitis B could be a risk factor for pancreatic cancer

A new study has shown that evidence of past hepatitis B infection was twice as common in people with pancreatic cancer than in healthy controls. This study is the first to report an association between past exposure to the hepatitis B virus and pancreatic cancer, but researchers cautioned that more studies are necessary to evaluate the nature of the link.

Virginia Commonwealth University Institute of Molecular Medicine and VCU Massey Cancer Center researchers have discovered how a gene, melanoma differentiation associated gene-9/syntenin (mda-9/syntenin), interacts with an important signaling protein to promote metastasis in human melanoma cells, a discovery that could one day lead to the development of the next generation of anti-metastatic drugs for melanoma and other cancers.

SALT LAKE CITY – In a two-year multicenter study led by University of Utah doctors, the dietary supplements glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate performed no better than placebo in slowing the rate of cartilage loss in the knees of osteoarthritis patients.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Common strains of tuberculosis-causing bacteria have hijacked the human body's immune response to play tricks on cells in the lungs, scientists say.

The results of this takeover are mixed. The cells essentially welcome the bacteria into the lungs and invite them to stay a while, meaning the human host becomes infected with the TB bacterium. But in about 90 percent of these cases, the infection remains latent and the infected person never has any symptoms of illness.

The secret weapon in this stealth attack is sugar.

Noise from commercial and military jet aircraft causes environmental problems for communities near airports, obliging airplanes to follow often complex noise-abatement procedures on takeoff and landing. It can also make aircraft interiors excessively loud.

PHILADELPHIA - Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have found that some proteins of the immune system can promote tumor growth. Investigators found that instead of fighting tumors, the protein C5a, which is produced during an immune response to a developing tumor, helps tumors build molecular shields against T-cell attack. These findings appeared online this week in Nature Immunology.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., September 29, 2008 – Higher levels of testosterone are correlated with financial risk-taking behavior, according to a new study in which men's testosterone levels were assessed before participation in an investment game. The findings help to shed light on the evolutionary function and biological origins of risk taking.