Body

Two new beautiful wasp species are added to the rare pompilid genus Abernessia, which now contains a total of only four known species. The two new species A. prima and A. capixaba are believed to be endemic for Brazil alongside the rest of the representatives of the genus. Both wasps are distinguished by the large size (almost 3cm in length) and the beautiful black color with metallic shine typical for the family. The study was published in the open access journal ZooKeys.

Viruses are as simple as they are "smart": too elementary to be able to reproduce by themselves, they exploit the reproductive "machinery" of cells, by inserting pieces of their own DNA so that it is transcribed by the host cell. To do this, they first have to inject their own genetic material into the cells they infect. An international team of researchers, including Cristian Micheletti from SISSA (the International School for Advanced Studies in Trieste), has studied how this occurs and how long it takes for this process to be completed.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a group of heterogeneous diseases with considerable diversity in terms of genetic abnormalities. Mutations of CEBPA, a tumour suppressor, are found in about 10 per cent of human AML patients. In two separate studies on CEBPA mutations in AML subtypes, researchers successfully identified and validated a gene known as Sox4 as a potential therapeutic target and a class of anti-cancer drugs, histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors, as potential candidates in the treatment of certain AML.

A molecular technique that will help the scientific community to analyze -- on a scale previously impossible -- molecules that play a critical role in regulating gene expression has been developed by a research team led by a chemist and a plant biologist at Penn State University. The scientists developed a method that enables more-accurate prediction of how ribonucleic acid molecules (RNAs) fold within living cells, thus shedding new light on how plants -- as well as other living organisms -- respond to environmental conditions.

In research published today in Nature Cell Biology, scientists from the EMBL Australia research team based at Monash University's Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI) have revealed new insights into how cells organise and form an early mammalian embryo.

When golden staph enters our skin it can identify the key immune cells and 'nuke' our body's immune response.

Now we know how, thanks to an international research group led by dermatologists from the Centenary Institute and the University of Sydney.

Using state-of-the art microscopy techniques, the team identified the key immune cells that orchestrate the body's defenders against invading golden staph, and also how the bacteria can target and destroy these cells, circumventing the body's immune response.

November 25, 2013, Shenzhen, China - In a collaborative study, researchers from Lanzhou University, BGI and other institutes have succeeded in unraveling the whole genome sequence of desert poplar, Populus euphratica, and the genetic bases underlying poplar to against salt stress. This work provides new insights for understanding the genetic basis of tree adaptation to salt stress and facilitating the genetic breeding of cultivated poplars for saline fields.

CHICAGO – A new study reports that individuals who underwent embolization of the left gastric artery for gastrointestinal bleeding experienced a 7.9 percent decrease in body weight three months after the procedure. Results of the study, which offer a potential new avenue for obesity research, will be presented next week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

A new study has found that several months after surgery for esophageal cancer, different symptoms cluster together in different types of patients. In addition, patients with certain symptom clusters have an increased risk of dying from their disease. The findings are published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

(BOSTON, MA) A collaborative team led by a Northeastern University professor may have altered the way we look at drug development for HIV by uncovering some unusual properties of a human protein called APOBEC3G (A3G).

In an article published in Nature Chemistry, Prof. Mark Williams and his graduate student Kathy Chaurasiya, along with several collaborators, show how these unusual properties help us to fight HIV infection.

APOBEC3G

The more women there are on a corporate board the less a company pays for its acquisitions, according to a new study by researchers at UBC's Sauder School of Business.

The forthcoming Journal of Corporate Finance paper shows the cost of a successful acquisition is reduced by 15.4 per cent with each female director added on a board. It also reveals that each additional female director reduces the number of a company's attempted takeover bids by 7.6 per cent.

Awe-inspiring moments — like the sight of the Grand Canyon or the Aurora Borealis — might increase our tendency to believe in God and the supernatural, according to new research.

The new findings — published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science — suggest that awe-inspiring sights increase our motivation to make sense of the world around us, and may underlie a trigger of belief in the supernatural.

RICHLAND, Wash. – Scientists have charted a significant signaling network in a tiny organism that's big in the world of biofuels research. The findings about how a remarkably fast-growing organism conducts its metabolic business bolster scientists' ability to create biofuels using the hardy microbe Synechococcus, which turns sunlight into useful energy.

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health have used RNA interference (RNAi) technology to reveal dozens of genes which may represent new therapeutic targets for treating Parkinson's disease. The findings also may be relevant to several diseases caused by damage to mitochondria, the biological power plants found in cells throughout the body.

November 24, 2013, Shenzhen, China - In a paper published in Nature Genetics, researchers from Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, Korea Genome Research Foundation, BGI, and other institutes presented the first high-depth minke whale genome and their new findings on how whales successfully adapted to ocean environment. The data yielded in this study will contribute to future studies of marine mammal diseases, conservation and evolution.