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Hundreds of mutations exist in leukemia cells at the time of diagnosis, but nearly all occur randomly as a part of normal aging and are not related to cancer, new research shows.

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that even in healthy people, stem cells in the blood routinely accumulate new mutations over the course of a person's lifetime. And their research shows that in many cases only two or three additional genetic changes are required to transform a normal blood cell already dotted with mutations into acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

HOUSTON — It's been a burning question in melanoma research: Tumor cells are full of ultraviolet (UV)-induced genetic damage caused by sunlight exposure, but which mutations drive this cancer?

None have been conclusively tied to melanoma. The sheer abundance of these passenger mutations has obscured the search for genetic driver mutations that actually matter in melanoma development and progression.

VANCOUVER - While clinical trial results are being released regarding drugs intended to decrease amyloid production - thought to contribute to decline in Alzheimer's disease - clinical trials of drugs targeting other disease proteins, such as tau, are in their initial phases.

DETROIT – Even though the human papillomavirus (HPV) is a risk factor for certain head and neck cancers, its presence could make all the difference in terms of survival, especially for African Americans with throat cancer, say Henry Ford Hospital researchers.

According to their new study, HPV has a substantial impact on overall survival in African Americans with oropharyngeal cancer, a cancer that affects part of the throat, the base of the tongue, the tonsils, the soft palate (back of the mouth), and the walls of the pharynx (throat).

A majority of previous epidemiologic studies have shown that moderate drinking is associated with a lower risk of kidney cancer, which may affect about 1% of the general population. In published prospective cohort studies, the risk for such cancer among moderate drinkers is usually about 25% less than the risk seen among non-drinkers.

A new study from Lund University in Sweden has opened the way for new approaches to slowing the development of AIDS in HIV-1-infected patients. It is hoped that this could lead to better treatment methods and preventive measures to combat HIV and AIDS.

The findings have just been published in the distinguished scientific journal New England Journal of Medicine.

NEW YORK (July 19, 2012)— A dramatic photo of a male leopard dragging a massive gaur (or Indian bison) calf in Karnataka's Bandipur Tiger Reserve turned out to be the same animal photographed by a WCS camera trap nearly eight years ago.

PHILADELPHIA — Inhibitors of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) are being assessed in clinical trials as a potential treatment for recurrent or refractory solid tumors. Clear genetic rationale for these trials, together with evidence that primary and metastatic lung tumors might be particularly susceptible to the drugs, is now reported in a preclinical study published in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Belgian scientists of the Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM) in Antwerp, Belgium made a breakthrough in bridging high tech molecular biology research on microbial pathogens and the needs of the poorest of the poor. After sequencing the complete genome of Leishmania donovani (a parasite causing one of the most important tropical diseases after malaria) in hundreds of clinical isolates, they identified a series of mutations specific of 'superparasites' and developed a simple assay that should allow tracking them anywhere.

Could volcanic eruptions in the south-west Pacific save the Great Barrier Reef?

Could the pumice that surges into the ocean once a volcano erupts in Tonga or elsewhere in the south-west Pacific save the Great Barrier Reef?

World-first research conducted by Queensland University of Technology geologist Dr Scott Bryan indicates that yes, this is not only possible, but could be how the Great Barrier Reef formed in the first place.

Dr Bryan and colleagues studied the westward flow or rafting of pumice after volcanic eruptions in Tonga in 2001 and 2006.

A new study finds elevated levels of caffeine at several sites in Pacific Ocean waters off the coast of Oregon—though not necessarily where researchers expected.

This study is the first to look at caffeine pollution off the Oregon coast. It was developed and conducted by Portland State University master's student Zoe Rodriguez del Rey and her faculty adviser Elise Granek, assistant professor of Environmental Science and Management, in collaboration with Steve Sylvester of Washington State University, Vancouver.

Most of the world's species are still unknown to science although many researchers grappled to address the question of how many species there are on Earth over the recent decades. Estimates of non-microbial diversity on Earth provided by researchers range from 2 million to over 50 million species, with great uncertainties in numbers of insects, fungi, nematodes, and deep-sea organisms.

The largest oil spill on open water to date and other environmental factors led to the historically high number of dolphin deaths in the Gulf of Mexico, concludes a two-year scientific study released today.

A team of biologists from several Gulf of Mexico institutions and the University of Central Florida in Orlando published their findings in the journal PLoS ONE.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A new study answers a question that has baffled researchers for more than 15 years: How does the western corn rootworm – an insect that thrives on corn but dies on soybeans – persist in fields that alternate between corn and soybeans? The answer, researchers say, has to do with enzyme production in the rootworm gut.

Their findings are described in a paper in Ecology and Evolution.