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Microbes can manipulate molecular machinery of host cells to influence health

All animals -- from sea sponges to modern-day humans -- evolved in a world already teeming with microbes. These single-celled microorganisms now cover practically every surface of our bodies and are as much a part of our biology as our own tissues and organs.

17 May 2017

History of sleep: what was normal?

We used to sleep in two phases, with a first sleep and then a second sleep. Arguably from time immemorial to the nineteenth century, the dominant pattern of sleep in Western societies was biphasic, whereby most preindustrial households retired between 9 and 10pm, slept for 3 to 3 ½ hours during their “first sleep,”

17 May 2017

Researchers identify many dangerous strains of TB pathogens

Researchers from the Vavilov Institute of General Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences (VIGG) and the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology have established a catalog of mutations in 319 virulence genes of mycobacteria that cause tuberculosis.

16 May 2017

Scientists shed light on evolutionary history of multidrug-resistant enterococci bacteria

Enterococci bacteria are the bane of hospitals, causing thousands of multidrug-resistant infections in patients each year.

11 May 2017

Research lays groundwork to develop realistic ‘biomimetic neuroprosthetics’

By applying a novel computer algorithm to mimic how the brain learns, a team of researchers – with the aid of the Comet supercomputer based at the San Diego Supercomputer Center at UC San Diego and the Center's Neuroscience Gateway – has identified and replicated neural circuitry that resembles the way an unimpaired brain controls limb movement.

11 May 2017

Breast cancer drug offers protection against obesity-related metabolic disorders

Tamoxifen, a selective estrogen receptor modulator, is the gold standard for endocrine treatment of estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer.

11 May 2017

Evolution of overall brain size accounts for most of the differences, study reveals

Which came first, overall bigger brains or larger brain regions that control specialized behaviors? Neuroscientists have debated this question for decades, but a new Cornell University study settles the score.

11 May 2017

Transmission of mosquito-borne diseases may happen at lower temperatures than previously thought

Transmission of mosquito-borne diseases, such as Zika, occur at lower temperatures than previously thought, a recently released study co-authored by two University of South Florida researchers shows.

9 May 2017

Research finds evidence that human-like cognition may have emerged 1.8 million years ago

By using highly advanced brain imaging technology to observe modern humans crafting ancient tools, an Indiana University neuroarchaeologist has found evidence that human-like ways of thinking may have emerged as early as 1.8 million years ago.

9 May 2017

Study findings shed new light on evolution and interaction of ancient proteins

How did protein interactions arise and how have they developed? In a new study, researchers have looked at two proteins which began co-evolving between 400 and 600 million years ago.

9 May 2017

Researchers develop fast algorithm that provides new insights into protein evolution

Understanding evolution is one of the cornerstones of biology - evolution is, in fact, the sole explanation for life's diversity on our planet.

9 May 2017

Breast-feeding transfers beneficial bacteria to the baby’s gut, new study finds

Mothers protect their babies and teach them habits to stay healthy and safe as they grow. A new UCLA-led study shows that beneficial bacteria from mothers do much the same thing.

8 May 2017

Study shows how influenza A hijacks human cellular machinery to replicate

Much is known about flu viruses, but little is understood about how they reproduce inside human host cells, spreading infection. Now, a research team headed by investigators from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is the first to identify a mechanism by which influenza A, a family of pathogens that includes the most deadly strains of flu worldwide, hijacks cellular machinery to replicate.

5 May 2017

Scientists uncover thousands of human genes that are expressed differently in the two sexes

Men and women differ in obvious and less obvious ways -- for example, in the prevalence of certain diseases or reactions to drugs. How are these connected to one's sex? Weizmann Institute of Science researchers recently uncovered thousands of human genes that are expressed -- copied out to make proteins -- differently in the two sexes.

4 May 2017

Study: Patients operated by higher volume mitral surgeons experience lower mortality and reoperations

Surgeons who perform more than 25 mitral valve operations a year are more likely to perform repairs that are durable, and their patients are more likely to be alive a year after the operation, than when operations are performed by lower-volume surgeons, an Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai study has found.

3 May 2017

Scientists map genetic changes that help drive aggressive brain tumor

University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers and collaborators have mapped genetic changes that help drive an aggressive tumor as it develops in the brain – helping to lay the foundation for targeted treatment of the disease.

3 May 2017