Scientists have discovered a way to regrow bone tissue using the protein signals produced by stem cells, which improves on older therapies by providing a sustainable source for fresh tissue and reducing the risk of tumor formation that can arise with stem cell transplants.

The authors of the new study say they are the first to extract the necessary bone-producing growth factors from stem cells and to show that these proteins are sufficient to create new bone. The stem cell-based approach was as effective as the current standard treatment in terms of the amount of bone created and could help treat victims who have experienced major trauma to a limb, like soldiers wounded in combat or casualties of a natural disaster. 

A recent study concluded that low-income and uninsured women in states that are not expanding their Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid coverage are less likely to receive breast and cervical cancer screenings compared to states that are implementing expansions, even though such low income people are now given health care coverage under the ACA.

Transposable elements are DNA sequences that are capable of changing their genome position by cut and paste or copy and paste through the enzyme transposase.

This ability can be harmful for hosts if transposable elements destroy functioning genes, but it can also bring advantages. From an evolutionary point of view, transposable elements diversify the genome and open up chances for adaptation.

The bacteria that sneak past the brain's defenses to cause deadly bacterial meningitis are clever adversaries - they convince their host that they are harmless yet then have freedom to cause disease by taking advantage of a molecular warning signal and inducing the brain's cellular armor to temporarily break down, letting in the bacterial horde.

The blood-brain barrier is a thin network of blood vessels whose cells abut each other very closely, forming protein junctions too tight for bacteria and viruses to fit through. The barrier's purpose is to prevent unwanted material from crossing over from the surrounding bloodstream into brain tissue.

Like with car pool lanes, the rationale for more bicycling infrastructure is that if they are built, more people will use them, and it will save the environment, public health, etc. but like with car pool lanes, the reality turns out to be different. In actual usage 25 percent of highways or more get blocked off for vehicles with multiple occupants while 7 percent of occupants use them, which leads to higher traffic, and the stress and accidents that go with it, and worse emissions due to slower cars.

Men with naturally high levels of the female hormone estrogen have a greater risk of developing breast cancer, according to according to an epidemiology paper published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

This is the first time a link between estrogen levels in the blood and male breast cancer has been identified, despite its connection to breast, womb and ovarian cancers in women, according to study author Professor Tim Key, Cancer Research UK's hormone and nutrition expert at the University of Oxford. Men with the highest levels of estrogen were two and a half times more likely to develop breast cancer than men with the lowest levels of the hormone.