Body

Only one in three women participating in Germany's mammography screening programme (MSP) is well-informed about it: the higher the level of education, the greater the chance of women making an informed decision. These are the results of a study that health care researchers at Bielefeld University are publishing today (03.11.2015) in the international specialist journal PLOS ONE.

A team of researchers led by scientists from the University of Bonn has discovered a basis of communication in plant cells: The 'MICU' protein controls the calcium ion concentration in the cellular power stations. Using these chemical signatures, the plants regulate, for instance, the formation of organs and react to water stress. The results may be used in the future to optimize agricultural crops. The reputable journal The Plant Cell reports on the results in its current issue.

A large achievement gap between dyslexic and typical readers is already present at first grade and persists throughout school; therefore, it is critical to identify and provide effective interventions at the start of school, according to a report by the University of California-Davis and Yale School of Medicine.

The study is published online in the Journal of Pediatrics and in the Nov. 2015 print issue.

According to the researchers, it is no longer acceptable to wait until a child is in third grade or later before making efforts to identify or address dyslexia.

The fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) has long been a premier animal model for research and regulation related to environmental toxins. Unfortunately, however, genetic information about this species is incomplete. The lack of genome sequence information for the species has limited scientists' ability to dissect complex traits, evaluate genetic markers, identify gene regulatory sequences, and elucidate biological pathways.

AMES, Iowa - Company executives take note - marketing matters.

Not only does marketing pay off in the short-term, but it has a positive effect on long-term shareholder returns, according to new research from Iowa State University's College of Business. Hui (Sophia) Feng, lead author and assistant professor of marketing at Iowa State, says the study provides clear evidence of the marketing department's value.

The bottle brush, with its long stalk and dense spray of plastic bristles, is the unsung hero of kitchens everywhere, fitting through the narrow necks of water bottles and vases and into the hard-to-reach interiors of mugs and tumblers. With the gadget's unique design as inspiration, researchers now report in ACS Central Science the development of bottle-brush nanotags that can contain thousands of fluorophores, greatly enhancing the detection and analysis of cells.

Scientists have shown for the first time that tumour DNA shed into the bloodstream can be used to track cancers in real time as they evolve and respond to treatment, according to a new Cancer Research UK study published in the journal Nature Communications today (Wednesday).

WASHINGTON, DC (November 4, 2015) -- Adolescent exposure to environmental pollutants known as organochlorines may lead to defective sperm, according to a study published today by researchers at Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH) at the George Washington University and co-authors. The research is the first to look for associations between exposure to these chemicals in the teenage years and abnormalities in sperm that are associated with fertility problems later in life.

This news release is available in Spanish.

The hormone kisspeptin could be a safer and more effective way for harvesting eggs during IVF treatment, according to a new study presented today at the Society for Endocrinology annual conference in Edinburgh.

During conventional IVF treatment, doctors inject patients with the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), which helps ovaries mature eggs that are later harvested to mix with sperm to make an embryo. A potential side effect during this step of IVF is ovarian hyper-stimulation syndrome (OHSS) - a potentially life-threatening condition.

Just how bad was T. rex's bite? New research from the University of Bristol has found that the feeding style and dietary preferences of dinosaurs was closely linked to how wide they could open their jaws.

Using digital models and computer analyses, Dr Stephan Lautenschlager from Bristol's School of Earth Sciences studied the muscle strain during jaw opening of three different theropod dinosaurs with different dietary habits. Theropods (from the Greek for "beast-footed") were a diverse group of two-legged dinosaurs that included the largest carnivores ever to walk the Earth.

Scientists have developed a 3-D printing method capable of producing highly uniform 'blocks' of embryonic stem cells.

These cells - capable of generating all cell types in the body - could be used as the 'Lego bricks' to build tissue constructs, larger structures of tissues, and potentially even micro-organs.

The results are published today, Wednesday 4th November, in the journal Biofabrication.

Chemsex - sex under the influence of illegal drugs - needs to become a public health priority, argue experts in The BMJ this week.

The authors - specialists working in sexual health and substance abuse in London - say the growing popularity of chemsex may be putting users at risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections as well as serious mental health problems through drug dependence.

Chemsex describes intentional sex under the influence of psychoactive drugs, mostly among men who have sex with men.

An analysis of country-to-country aid for health over a 20-year period suggests wide variations among donor countries' giving that do not always reflect recipient countries' health needs.

The study, believed to be the first to examine these types of differences among bilateral, or country-to-country, donors, will be presented at the American Public Health Association's meeting in Chicago on Nov. 3.

DALLAS, Nov. 3, 2015 -- For the first time, guidelines have been developed for children with pulmonary hypertension, a sometimes fatal heart and lung disease that affects nearly two of every 1,000 babies born each year. The joint American Heart Association/American Thoracic Society guidelines are published in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation.