Body

Washington, D.C. (November 14, 2013)—Provocative new research shows that the Plasmodium vivax parasite, responsible for nearly 20 million cases of malaria in 2010, may be "rapidly evolving" to overcome the natural resistance conferred by a blood type found in millions of Africans, scientists reported today at the annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH).

Las Vegas, Nov. 15, 2013 – As science continues to support the role of protein in building and maintaining lean muscle, maintaining weight and aging healthy, consumers are embracing the important role of protein in the diet. But not all proteins are created equal and it turns out that protein quality really does matter.

CLEVELAND—Researchers at Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute have discovered recent genetic mutations in a parasite that causes over 100 million cases of malaria annually—changes that may render tens of millions of Africans who had been considered resistant, susceptible to infection.

Arnhem, The Netherlands – Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing (CPET) assessment and exercise training in an elderly population is safe and well tolerated, according to the results of a new feasibility study, conducted in the UK.

BETHESDA, MD, SEATTLE, WA, and WHITE PLAINS, NY, NOVEMBER 14, 2013 – Leading researchers and global health organizations today issued a call-to-action to advance a comprehensive research agenda to address the global burden of preterm birth, which has become the leading cause of newborn deaths worldwide.

Groundbreaking global studies on preterm birth and disability carried out by almost 50 researchers at 35 institutions and launched in association with World Prematurity Day finds baby boys are at a higher risk of death and disability due to preterm birth than baby girls. These disabilities range from learning problems and blindness to deafness and motor problems, including cerebral palsy.

The six major papers in Pediatric Research, published by Nature, show that boys are 14 percent more likely to be born preterm than girls.

An international team of researchers led by the University of Leicester has "harnessed the power of evolution" to create a new drug for possible use against heart disease, inflammation and other illnesses.

Researchers in the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences and Department of Biochemistry at the University of Leicester, together with colleagues in Cambridge, the USA and Italy, have employed a new technique to create protein-based drugs.

STANFORD, Calif. — Those of us who want to learn about our ancestors — who they were, where they came from and how they mingled (or didn't) with others around them — often turn to historical records or elderly family members for answers. But a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine indicates that the answers can also be found within our own genes.

Historical records are often used to learn about ancestry but a new approach, using genetics, is currently being applied. In a recent study, published in PLOS Genetics, scientists from the Stanford University School of Medicine and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine compared patterns of genetic variation found in populations in and around the Caribbean.

Evolution does not operate with a goal in mind; it does not have foresight. But organisms that have a greater capacity to evolve may fare better in rapidly changing environments. This raises the question: does evolution favor characteristics that increase a species' ability to evolve?

For several years, biologists have attempted to provide evidence that natural selection has acted on evolvability. Now a new paper by University of Pennsylvania researchers offers, for the first time, clear evidence that the answer is yes.

TORONTO, Nov. 13, 2013— Two new research studies show that location is the most important factor in determining drowning survival.

"Ontarians from rural areas are almost three times more likely to die of drowning than urban residents," said Dr. Stephen Hwang of the Centre for Research on Inner City Health at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto.

Rural residents' increased access to open water, and possibly decreased access to swimming lessons, were some of the factors that the study's authors felt might account for the difference between rural and urban drowning rates.

A new report from the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health calls into question whether existing federal and voluntary standards for alcohol advertisements curtail potentially damaging content and protectpublic health.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- A University of Maryland-led, multi-organizational team has created the first high-resolution global map of forest extent, loss and gain. This resource greatly improves the ability to understand human and naturally-induced forest changes and the local to global implications of these changes on environmental, economic and other natural and societal systems, members of the team say.

ARLINGTON, Va. (November 14, 2013) – What exactly does "zero deforestation" mean? In an article published in the journal Science, authors Dr. Sandra Brown, of Winrock International, and Dr. Daniel Zarin, of the Climate and Land Use Alliance, posit that, while the idea seems simple and compelling, ambiguity surrounding global definitions and metrics actually creates risks for forest conservation and accountability.

Wolves likely were domesticated by European hunter–gatherers more than 18,000 years ago and gradually evolved into dogs that became household pets, UCLA life scientists report.

"We found that instead of recent wolves being closest to domestic dogs, ancient European wolves were directly related to them," said Robert Wayne, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology in UCLA's College of Letters and Science and senior author of the research. "This brings the genetic record into agreement with the archaeological record. Europe is where the oldest dogs are found."