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People with ancestors exposed to stressors have improved immune response to stress

Having ancestors who were frequently exposed to stressors can improve one's own immune response to stressors, according to Penn State researchers.

23 Jan 2019

Scientists aim to find genetic causes of developmental abnormalities in the vagina and uterus

A percentage of females are born with a missing or underdeveloped vagina and uterus, and scientists are working to analyze the genes of hundreds of them to get a better idea about causes, improve genetic counseling and ideally treatment.

22 Jan 2019

UC Riverside biologists study evolution of dorsal fin in molly and Limia fish

To female molly and Limia fish, nothing is hotter than a male with a large dorsal fin. But these fins aren't just decorations to attract females.

18 Jan 2019

MAR treatments unlikely to be cause of premature or low birth weight babies

Children born through medically assisted reproduction, such as IVF, are at higher risk of being premature and to be born low birth weight, but it’s unlikely to be due to the procedures used, according to a new study published in The Lancet from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

14 Jan 2019

Study raises hopes for new approaches to treat osteoporosis

A handful of brain cells deep in the brain may play a surprising role in controlling women's bone density, according to new research by UC San Francisco and UCLA scientists.

11 Jan 2019

Protein discovery could lead to mosquito "birth control"

Researchers have discovered a way of preventing mosquito eggs from hatching, paving the way for drugs that could serve as “birth control” within mosquito populations.

9 Jan 2019

Research reveals factors at play in genetic incompatibility of different species

Most evolutionary biologists distinguish one species from another based on reproductivity: members of different species either won't or can't mate with one another, or, if they do, the resulting offspring are often sterile, unviable, or suffer some other sort of reduced fitness.

4 Jan 2019

Bulldogs' screw tails linked to rare inherited syndrome in humans

With their small size, stubby faces and wide-set eyes, bulldogs, French bulldogs and Boston terriers are among the most popular of domestic dog breeds. Now researchers at the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine have found the genetic basis for these dogs' appearance, and linked it to a rare inherited syndrome in humans.

3 Jan 2019

Molecule discovery could hold the key to novel gene therapies for skin problems

Scientists at the University of Birmingham have discovered a protein that could hold the key to novel gene therapies for skin problems including psoriasis - a common, chronic skin disease that affects over 100 million people worldwide.

20 Dec 2018

New $1.6 million NIH grant supports study on a gene vital to circadian rhythms

Circadian rhythms (from the Latin circa diem -- "around a day") based on the Earth's 24-hour rotation have been observed since the fourth century.

18 Dec 2018

Diets containing GM maize have no harmful effects on health or metabolism of rats

For six months, rats were fed a diet containing either GM maize (MON 810 or NK603) or non-GM maize, in varying concentrations.

14 Dec 2018

Study sheds new light on disease-spreading mosquitoes

When the West Nile virus (WNV) was initially isolated in two patients at a Queens, N.Y., hospital in the summer of 1999, it would have been hard to anticipate how quickly one common species of house mosquito, Culex pipiens, would help begin to spread the virus throughout the western hemisphere.

13 Dec 2018

New book encompasses the vast history of reproduction

A new book is the first to encompass the vast history of how living things procreate, from the banks of the ancient Nile to the fertility clinics of today.

7 Dec 2018

Study reveals why women have poorer health than men in older age

Genes that act late in life could explain why women have poorer health than men in older age, according to new research.

28 Nov 2018

Blood-suckers carrying malaria parasites can be traced back up to 100 million years

The microorganisms that cause malaria, leishmaniasis and a variety of other illnesses today can be traced back at least to the time of dinosaurs, a study of amber-preserved blood-sucking insects and ticks show.

27 Nov 2018

Certain dietary supplements can have beneficial effect on sperm quality, study suggests

Infertility affects 15% of the world population and is recognized by the World Health Organisation as a global health problem.

26 Nov 2018

Starved ticks try harder to find hosts

Ticks are hardy little brutes that can go as long as a year without a meal. Now scientists at the University of Cincinnati say the hungrier ticks are, the harder they try to find you or other hosts. The findings could have implications for the spread of tick-borne disease such as Lyme or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

21 Nov 2018

Storage failures of eggs and embryos gain a new perspective

On March 3, 2018, a liquid nitrogen storage tank at the University Hospitals Fertility Center in Cleveland failed. Dr. Eli Adashi, a professor of medical science at Brown University's Warren Alpert Medical School, characterized the event as a "tragic accident" in which 950 patients lost more than 4,000 frozen eggs and embryos.

20 Nov 2018

Disrupting reproduction strategy of disease-causing parasites could help fight malaria

Malaria parasites know good times from bad and plan their offspring accordingly, scientists have found, in a development that could inform new treatments.

15 Nov 2018

Climate change could pose threat to male fertility

Climate change could pose a threat to male fertility - according to new research from the University of East Anglia.

13 Nov 2018