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Researchers from the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences in Japan have identified the first gene to be associated with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (also called AIS) across Asian and Caucasian populations. The gene is involved in the growth and development of the spine during childhood.

Their study is published today in the journal Nature Genetics.

PHILADELPHIA—A new study looking at the genomes of more than 13,000 men identified four new genetic variants associated with an increased risk of testicular cancer, the most commonly diagnosed type in young men today. The findings from this first-of-its-kind meta-analysis were reported online May 12 in Nature Genetics by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

Almost two thirds of common plants and half the animals could see a dramatic decline this century due to climate change – according to research from the University of East Anglia.

Research published today in the journal Nature Climate Change looked at 50,000 globally widespread and common species and found that two thirds of the plants and half of the animals will lose more than half of their climatic range by 2080 if nothing is done to reduce the amount of global warming and slow it down.

New mutations that are absent in parents but appear in their offspring account for at least 10% of severe congenital heart disease, reveals a massive genomics study led, in part, by researchers at the Yale School of Medicine.

IRAPUATO, MEXICO/BUFFALO, N.Y. — Genes make up about 2 percent of the human genome. The rest consists of a genetic material known as noncoding DNA, and scientists have spent years puzzling over why this material exists in such voluminous quantities.

Now, a new study offers an unexpected insight: The large majority of noncoding DNA, which is abundant in many living things, may not actually be needed for complex life, according to research set to appear in the journal Nature.

The clues lie in the genome of the carnivorous bladderwort plant, Utricularia gibba.

Experiments at Johns Hopkins have unearthed clues about which protein signaling molecules are allowed into hollow, hair-like "antennae," called cilia, that alert cells to critical changes in their environments.

Every year, thousands of babies are born with severely malformed hearts, disorders known collectively as congenital heart disease. Many of these defects can be repaired though surgery, but researchers don't understand what causes them or how to prevent them. New research shows that about 10 percent of these defects are caused by genetic mutations that are absent in the parents of affected children.

Findings from the first large-scale sequencing analysis of congenital heart disease bring us closer to understanding this most common type of birth defect. The analysis found that spontaneous, or de novo, mutations affect a specific biological pathway that is critical to aspects of human development, including the brain and heart. Congenital heart disease can cause infants to be born with structural heart problems, which can be serious or even life-threatening.

It has been known for some time that fishing bats use echolocation to detect and classify acoustical cues from insects along and above water surfaces, and also to detect small water-dwelling prey breaking the water surface for a very short time.

People with higher levels of cadmium in their urine appear to be nearly 3.5 times more likely to die of liver disease than those with lower levels, according to a study by Johns Hopkins scientists.

They haven't found that cadmium causes liver disease, this is a review of information from a large population-based survey, but it suggests an association that needs more investigation.

Scientists know that control mechanisms known collectively as "epigenetics" play a critical role in human development, but not how alterations in this extra layer of biochemical instructions in DNA contribute to development.

In the first comprehensive analysis of epigenetic changes that occur during development, scientists discovered how modifications in key epigenetic markers influence human embryonic stem cells as they differentiate into specialized cells in the body.

Two teams of investigators published studies revealing many previously unknown components of an innate system that defends sex cells – the carriers of inheritance across generations – from the ravages of transposable genetic elements.

When activated, these troublesome segments of DNA, also called jumping genes or transposons, can copy and insert themselves at random spots across the chromosomes. In sperm and egg cells the proliferation of transposons can be particularly devastating, causing severe developmental impairments in offspring as well as sterility.

Many medical issues affect nerves, from injuries in car accidents and side effects of chemotherapy to glaucoma and multiple sclerosis. The common theme in these scenarios is destruction of nerve axons, the long wires that transmit signals to other parts of the body, allowing movement, sight and sense of touch, among other vital functions.

Denver, CO (May 11, 2013): Use of TYRX, Inc.'s AIGISRx® Antibacterial Envelope reduced major infection rates by more than 90% in patients undergoing Cardiovascular Implantable Electronic Device (CIED) replacement procedures compared to similar high-risk cohorts, according to the CITADEL & CENTURION clinical study results presented on Saturday at the Late Breaking Clinical Trials session at Heart Rhythm 2013, the Heart Rhythm Society's 34th Annual Scientific Sessions.

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- In the summer of 1968, a new strain of influenza appeared in Hong Kong. This strain, known as H3N2, spread around the globe and eventually killed an estimated 1 million people.