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Quebec City, November 27, 2013 – The decrease in snowfall observed in recent years in Canada's subarctic regions has led to worrisome desiccation of the regions' lakes. This is the conclusion arrived at by researchers from Université Laval, Wilfrid Laurier University, Brock University and the University of Waterloo in a study published this week on the website of the scientific journal Geophysical Research Letters.

Rip currents claim more lives in Australia on average each year than bushfires, floods, cyclones and sharks combined, UNSW research shows.

Rip currents are the cause of an average 21 confirmed human fatalities per year, compared with 5.9 for bushfires, 4.3 for floods, 7.5 for cyclones and 1 for sharks.

"Rips account for greater overall loss of human life than other high profile natural hazards. Yet they do not get anywhere near as much attention and dedicated funding," says Dr Rob Brander, a coastal geomorphologist at UNSW, and lead author of the study.

A recently discovered HIV strain leads to significantly faster development of AIDS than currently prevalent forms, according to new research from Lund University in Sweden.

The period from infection to development of AIDS was the shortest reported among HIV-1 types, at around five years.

There are over 60 different epidemic strains of HIV-1 in the world, and geographic regions are often dominated by one or two of these. If a person becomes infected with two different strains, they can fuse and a recombined form can occur.

Boston – Hysterectomy and oophorectomy (the removal of ovaries) are performed to treat various diseases in women, including cancer. These procedures are accompanied not only by a decline in estrogen but also testosterone levels in the blood. Many women who have undergone surgical removal of their uterus and/or ovaries can develop symptoms of sexual dysfunction, fatigue, low mood and decreased muscle mass.

It is well known that hip and vertebral fractures increase the risk of premature death. Until now, little has been known about the clinical impact of non-hip, non-vertebral fractures – so new Australian research showing that they may also increase the risk of death will better inform treatment.

Non-hip, non-vertebral fractures make up 50% of all osteoporotic fractures, and while they are less severe than hip and vertebral fractures, they are potentially very serious, and should be treated with bone-strengthening drugs to reduce the risk of further fracture.

Dr. Hanna Mikkola and researchers at UCLA's Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research have identified a specific type of cell and a related cell communication pathway that are key to the successful growth of a healthy placenta. The findings could greatly bolster our knowledge about the potential causes of complications during pregnancy.

LOS ANGELES (Nov. 27, 2013) – Researchers in the Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute have designed and tested a novel, minute-long procedure to prepare human amniotic membrane for use as a scaffold for specialized stem cells that may be used to treat some corneal diseases. This membrane serves as a foundation that supports the growth of stem cells in order to graft them onto the cornea.

This new method, explained in a paper published this month in the journal PLOS ONE, may accelerate research and clinical applications for stem cell corneal transplantation.

We all know the feeling, it's a hot summer afternoon and you have no appetite and don't want to do anything apart from lay on the couch.

A team of researchers from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University has shown that ocean warming may make some large reef fish feel the same way.

Researcher Dr Jacob Johansen said that fish rely on swimming for almost all activities necessary for survival, including hunting for food and finding mates.

PHILADELPHIA — Women who are members of families with BRCA2 mutations but who test negative for the family-specific BRCA2 mutations are still at greater risk for developing breast cancer compared with women in the general population, according to a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

A new study published 26th November in the open access journal PLOS Biology, identifies a new target in the search for therapeutic interventions for Huntington's disease – a devastating late-onset neurodegenerative disorder.

The disease is genetic, affecting up to one person in 10,000, and from the age of about 35 leads to increasingly severe problems with movement, mental function, and behavior. Patients usually die within 20 years of onset, and there is to date no treatment that will modify the disease onset or progression.

WASHINGTON, DC (Nov. 26, 2013)—A research team consisting of more than 60 collaborators in 26 countries has estimated the global death toll from the 2009 outbreak of the H1N1 virus to be 10 times higher than the World Health Organization's count, which was based on laboratory-confirmed cases of this flu. The study, which appears online in PLOS Medicine, suggests that the pandemic virus caused up to 203,000 respiratory deaths around the world.

Long-term (24-month) supplementation with multivitamins plus selenium for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients in Botswana in the early stages of disease who had not received antiretroviral therapy delayed time to HIV disease progression, was safe and reduced the risk of immune decline and illness, according to a study appearing in the November 27 issue of JAMA.

New research from North Carolina State University shows that iron may play a role in preserving ancient tissues within dinosaur fossils, but also may hide them from detection. The finding could open the door to the recovery of more ancient tissues from within fossils.

Among children and adolescents with Crohn disease not responding to treatment, use of the drug thalidomide resulted in improved clinical remission after 8 weeks of treatment compared with placebo, according to a study appearing in the November 27 issue of JAMA.

An analysis indicates that the prevalence of undiagnosed human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection among state prison entrants in North Carolina was low, at 0.09 percent, according to a study appearing in the November 27 issue of JAMA.