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Measles causes significant absence from school or work and has a much larger impact on people's daily lives than illnesses like flu or chicken pox, according to a new study by researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Public Health England. The study, published in PLOS ONE, is the first of its kind to look at the short-term impact of measles on individuals' health-related quality of life.

September 9, 2014 -- Male shoppers in search of emergency contraception do not always have an easy time making these purchases and may be turned away at their local pharmacies. A "mystery shopper" survey conducted in New York City by researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and Columbia University Medical Center showed that males had a 20 percent likelihood of not being able to purchase emergency contraception. Nearly three-quarters of the pharmacies in the study created barriers for the males to get the contraception.

One of the goals of genome sequencing is to identify genetic mutations associated with increased susceptibility to disease. Yet by and large these discoveries have been made in people of European or Asian ancestry, resulting in an incomplete picture of global genetic variation in disease vulnerability.

The effort to develop therapeutics and a vaccine against the deadly Ebola virus disease (EVD) requires a complex understanding of the microorganism and its relationship within the host, especially the immune response. Adding to the challenge, EVD can be caused by any one of five known species within the genus Ebolavirus (EBOV), in the Filovirus family.

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 9, 2014 – The ability of pathogenic bacteria to evolve resistance to antibiotic drugs poses a growing threat to human health worldwide. And scientists have now discovered that some of our microscopic enemies may be even craftier than we suspected, using hidden genetic changes to promote rapid evolution under stress and developing antibiotic resistance in more ways than previously thought. The results appear in a new paper in the journal Biomicrofluidics, from AIP Publishing.

A genetic region responsible for red blood cell invasion was among a small number of areas found to differ between the genomes of malaria parasites that affect chimpanzees and Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite responsible for the deaths of more than half a million children each year.

New York, NY—September 9, 2014—Led by Itsik Pe'er, associate professor of computer science at Columbia Engineering, a team of researchers has created a data resource that will improve genomic research in the Ashkenazi Jewish population and lead to more effective personalized medicine. The team, which includes experts from 11 labs in the New York City area and Israel, focused on the Ashkenazi Jewish population because of its demographic history of genetic isolation and the resulting abundance of population-specific mutations and high prevalence of rare genetic disorders.

WASHINGTON D.C. Sept. 9, 2014 -- Artificial membranes mimicking those found in living organisms have many potential applications ranging from detecting bacterial contaminants in food to toxic pollution in the environment to dangerous diseases in people. Now a group of scientists in Chile has developed a way to create these delicate, ultra-thin constructs through a "dry" process, by evaporating two commercial, off-the-shelf chemicals onto silicon surfaces.

This news release is available in German.

The research team of Annette Rompel from the Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, University of Vienna explore the mechanisms behind the "browning reaction" during the spoilage of mushrooms. The researchers were able to demonstrate that the enzyme responsible is already formed prior to fungal spoiling. The detailed study is published online in the well renowned journals, Phytochemistry and Acta Crystallographica.

Leipzig. In tropical rainforests, most young trees grow spatially independent from their parent trees. This means that it is not possible to predict where seedlings will take root, and less specialised species therefore have an advantage even in the species-rich rainforests of the tropics.

Fairfax, Va., September 9, 2014—Radiation therapy with concurrent paclitaxel chemotherapy following surgery is an effective treatment for patients with high-risk endometrial cancer, according to a study published in the September 1, 2014 edition of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology ● Biology ● Physics (Red Journal), the official scientific journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

• Britain hit by extremely unsettled winter weather
• Three all-time high and two all-time low NAO values recorded in the last decade showing huge contrast in conditions
• Month of December shows biggest variation in weather.

British winters are becoming increasingly volatile due to extreme variations in pressure over the North Atlantic according to scientists from the University of Sheffield.

In the domain of electronics, the continuous quest for miniaturisation is pushing us towards the creation of devices which are continuously becoming smaller and more efficient. However, silicon - the basic component for most of these devices which caused a true revolution in electronics - , begins to disclose its physical limits. The smaller the silicon system, the harder it gets to control its return. The point has been reached where scientists have started looking for alternative materials, better fit for the miniaturised formats.

September 9, 2014 – Poverty—rather than biased reporting—seems to account for the higher rates of child abuse and neglect among black children, reports a study in the September Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, the official journal of the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — If you want to learn more about the people in urban communities – from their health habits to what their neighborhood needs – save a stamp on mailing a survey. Just text them.

A new pilot study among low-income African-Americans in Detroit suggests that there is a clear preference on how residents choose to communicate – whether it's by researchers asking questions for a health study or community advocates gauging resource needs. They want you to talk to them through their phones.