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Research conducted in Bimini in The Bahamas spanning almost two decades shows that female lemon sharks that were born there returned 15 years later to give birth to their own young, confirming this behavior for the first time in sharks. The study began in 1995, and has resulted in the capture, tagging, and release of more than 2,000 baby sharks over the 19-year, ongoing project.

San Francisco, CA, USA – December 5, 2013 – Archimedes Inc., a healthcare modeling and analytics company, today announced results of a simulated clinical trial which found that the seven single-nucleotide polymorphisms (7SNP) genetic test for breast cancer was most cost effective when used to guide MRI screenings for patients found to have an intermediate lifetime risk of developing the disease. The study, "Cost-effectiveness of a genetic test for breast cancer risk," appeared in the December 5th online issue of the peer-reviewed journal Cancer Prevention Research.

NEW HYDE PARK, NY – A new guideline released Thursday by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) notes that most people with compromised immune systems are especially vulnerable to illness and should receive the flu shot and other vaccinations. The guideline, entitled "Clinical Practice Guideline for the Vaccination of the Immunocompromised Host," was authored by Lorry G.

International time differences have a negative and economically significant impact on trade between countries, according to research published this week.

The study by Dr Edward Anderson, of the School of International Development at the University of East Anglia (UEA), found that each hour of time difference reduced international goods trade by between two and seven per cent. The effect of a five hour time difference, such as that between London and New York, was equivalent to an increase in geographical distance of between 1,000km and 3,000km.

In London alone, the daily tally is 67 - more than two classrooms-full, the calculations indicate.

National figures on smoking prevalence are available, but the researchers* wanted to estimate smoking uptake among children, to provide some baseline data to inform efforts for preventive measures, and focus attention and resources on what is "essentially a child protection issue."

As darkness descends upon the tropical rainforests of Malaysia, male chirping katydids of the Mecopoda complex are just getting warmed up for their usual nightly concerts to woo the females. These nocturnal suitors are favoured for chirping in synchrony as a chorus; however, singing in time with one another is no easy task as they have to co-ordinate in the presence of the noisy serenades from a very closely related katydid species.

CINCINNATI—The retinoblastoma (Rb) protein plays a critical role in suppressing the multi-step process of cell migration through the bloodstream, lymphovascular invasion and the metastasis of an aggressive type of breast cancer to the lung, researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) Cancer Institute, the Cincinnati Cancer Center (CCC) and the UC Brain Tumor Center have found.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Fertility technology in the United States has a huge influence on the frequency of twins, triplets, and other multiple births, according to new estimates published Dec. 5 in the New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Eli Y. Adashi, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Brown University, and his colleagues calculated that more than a third of twin births and more than three-quarters of triplets or higher-order births in the United States in 2011 were the result of fertility treatments.

Baltimore, Md. — December 4, 2013. Investigators at the Institute for Genome Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have developed a new technique that can track the activity of a disease-causing microbe and the host cell response to that pathogen simultaneously. Using the new method to examine Chlamydia trachomatis infection, the study team observed how the response of the infected cell contributes to one of the hallmark outcomes of chlamydial disease -- tissue scarring. Their findings appear in the December 4 issue of PLOS One.

A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published online ahead of print in the journal Nutrition and Cancer describes the laboratory synthesis of the most active component of grape seed extract, B2G2, and shows this synthesized compound induces the cell death known as apoptosis in prostate cancer cells while leaving healthy cells unharmed.

COLUMBIA, Mo. – African-American mothers breast-feed their children at lower rates than Caucasian, Latina and Asian mothers. This difference often has been attributed to socio-demographic factors such as age, income, education and personal experience with breast-feeding. Now, a researcher at the University of Missouri has discovered that African-American college students are aware of the benefits of breast-feeding for infants, yet some still are hesitant about breast-feeding future children.

BOSTON, December 3, 2013 – A protein called Tet1 is partly responsible for giving primordial germ cells a clean epigenetic slate before developing into sperm and egg cells, according to a new study by researchers at Boston Children's Hospital. This discovery could help provide clues to the cause of some kinds of neonatal growth defects and may also help advance the development of stem cell models of disease.

In all but the shortest supply chains, food travels through wholesale distribution centers on its way from farm to consumer, and the location of these distributors can have a big impact on the efficiency of a food system. Now, a new mathematical model can help business owners and policy makers determine the optimal locations for such distributors, thanks to a research team led by an engineer in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) —The age and origin of the E280A gene mutation responsible for early-onset Alzheimer's in a Colombian family with an unusually high incidence of the disease has been traced to a single founder dating from the 16th century.

Kenneth S. Kosik, Harriman Professor in Neuroscience at UC Santa Barbara and co-director of the campus's Neuroscience Research Institute (NRI), conducted the study. The findings appear in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia.

CLEVELAND, Ohio (December 4, 2013)—For women, passing midlife can deal a blow to their sex drive. But two new studies just published online in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society, offer hope to women who want to get their sexual mojo back.