Body

This news release is available in German.

The BCG vaccine has been found to be more effective against the most common form of tuberculosis than previously thought, according to a new study in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

The system, presented at Gregorio Marañón Hospital, permits real-time interaction with the body of the patient (with its different tissues and cancer) as well as the radiotherapy applicator used to radiate the area affected by the tumor. This innovation will be used in the surgery of cancers treated with intraoperative radiotherapy in the hope of achieving greater precision in the radiation of potentially cancerous tissues after the removal of the tumor.

More than a thousand new species –nearly one-quarter of which are new toscience – have been discovered in Norway since a unique effort to find andname all of the country's species began in 2009.

The Norwegian Taxonomy Initiative is one of just two government effortsworldwide where scientists are being funded to find and catalogue the country's true species diversity.

Three stakeholder groups agree that regulators are not adequately prepared to manage the risks posed by nanotechnology, according to a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS One. In a survey of nano-scientists and engineers, nano-environmental health and safety scientists, and regulators, researchers at the UCSB Center for Nanotechnology in Society (CNS) and at the University of British Columbia found that those who perceive the risks posed by nanotechnology as "novel" are more likely to believe that regulators are unprepared.

Ducks, geese and swans are waterfowl, an order known to scientists as Anseriformes. Hens, pheasants, partridges and turkeys are game-birds (Galliformes). Both orders are famous not just for their flesh but also for their striking and elaborate plumages which are sought after as decorative flourishes. Some members of these orders show marked differences in appearance between the sexes: a phenomenon known as sexual dimorphism. Male and female mallards look so different that for many years they were thought to be different species.

As cancer maintains its standing as the second leading cause of death in the U.S., researchers have continued their quest for safer and more effective treatments. Among the most promising advances has been the rise of nanomedicine, the application of tiny materials and devices whose sizes are measured in the billionths of a meter to detect, diagnose and treat disease.

Philadelphia, PA, December 18, 2013 – New research indicates that inactive patients following cardiac surgery have a substantially higher risk of depression and that the number of patients suffering from depression after cardiac surgery is as high as 40%. Investigators recommend that cardiac patients should be assessed for depression and level of physical activity and remain as active as they safely can after surgery to minimize post-operative depression. The results are published in the December issue of the Canadian Journal of Cardiology.

Caterpillars of two species of butterflies in Colorado and California have evolved to feed rapidly at higher and at a broader range of temperatures in the past 40 years, suggesting that they are evolving quickly to cope with a hotter, more variable climate.

The work, led by Joel Kingsolver at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, represents a rare instance of how recent climate change affects physiological traits, such as the internal workings of how the body regulates feeding behavior.

College Park, MD – Angelina Jolie heightened awareness about breast cancer when she announced in a New York Times op-ed that she had undergone a preventive double mastectomy. But a new study led by researchers in the University of Maryland School of Public Health and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health reveals that widespread awareness of Jolie's story did not unfortunately translate into increased understanding of breast cancer risk.

Scientists have discovered a bacterium that could reduce the use of fertiliser in sugarcane production and improve yield.

If there is something that we all know about in the 21st century it is stress, whether it's the stress of work, financial stress or the stress of getting the next grant funded; we are all familiar with that heart-pounding, race-against-time feeling. But this is a very modern perspective on stress. As far as physiologists are concerned, stress is a well-known factor that has driven evolution and moulded the planet's ecosystems since life began.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—December 18, 2013—In 2012 the HIV antiretroviral drug Truvada became the first and only medication approved by the FDA for HIV prevention. Led by Gladstone Institutes' Investigator Robert Grant, MD, MPH, this research was hailed as an important step towards reducing the worldwide HIV/AIDS epidemic. Now, a new study provides further proof that regular Truvada use can reduce one's risk for contracting HIV—without increasing sexual risk behavior.

DURHAM, N.C. – A genetic trait known to make some people especially sensitive to stress also appears to be responsible for a 38 percent increased risk of heart attack or death in patients with heart disease, scientists at Duke Medicine report.

The finding outlines a new biological explanation for why many people are predisposed to cardiovascular disease and death, and suggests that behavior modification and drug therapies could reduce deaths and disability from heart attacks.

Many residents of Britain, Italy, and Belgium imagine there to be a kind of north-south divide in their countries, marking a barrier between different social groups and regional characteristics. Now a new study by MIT researchers reveals that such divides can be seen in the patterns of communication in those countries and others.