A team of researchers has identified the genetic mutation responsible for glycogen storage disease type IIIa in Inuit in northern Quebec, Canada, in a study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). The paper identifies a mutation in the gene encoding the glycogen debranching enzyme (AGL), which had previously been undetected in a decade of investigation by the same authors.

Wildfires send hot flames and smoke high into the air, including black carbon emissions associated with climate change and risk to human health. Unless the United States adapts sensible forest management policies, which means fewer instances of the Department of the Interior and environmental lobbyists conspiring to manipulate science reports, carbon emissions from wildfires in the contiguous U.S. could increase by 50 percent by 2050 and double by 2100.

Some media, such as the New York Daily News and NBC, have reported that the Asian H5N1 strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza has now entered the United States. This is incorrect and they were told it was not the same strain by the United States Geological Survey and then suggested it was anyway.

There was avian flu that was recently found, in a green-winged teal in Washington state, but it is a different strain and is not known to harm humans nor has it been found in domestic poultry. 

Product bundling is a common marketing strategy but retailers need to draw attention to the value of a package deal since consumers prefer products that are packaged individually.

"The advantages of bundling products may not be as straightforward as previously thought. Consumers may not always be aware of a bundle's added value over a single item and this could undermine the entire purpose of the bundling strategy. Without drawing attention to a product bundle's added value, a bundle may not be perceived as more attractive than the respective single product without the add-on," write authors Tobias Krüger, André Mata, and Max Ihmels (all University of Heidelberg).

Too much sitting has been shown to increase the risk of chronic diseases, particularly diabetes, heart disease, and some types of cancer. Current guidelines suggest adults do 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week, but more than a third (35.6%) of adults worldwide are sufficiently inactive.

Furthermore, the proportion of time spent being inactive rises with age: from 55% (7.7 hours) at 20-29 years, to 67% (9.6 hours) in those aged 70-79 years.

Two articles published in The BMJ this week argue that the 150 minute target is beyond the reach of some, especially older people, and say we should be promoting the benefits of small increases in daily physical activity rather than focusing on meeting current recommendations.

Teenagers with brothers and sisters who exhibit severe antisocial behavior share a similar impairment with their siblings in recognizing emotions, according to a new study from the University of Southampton.

The findings suggest that difficulties in recognizing emotions could be a factor that increases a child's risk of developing conduct disorder - a condition characterized by pathological aggression and antisocial behavior.

The CMS collaboration has released yesterday results of a search for Majorana neutrinos in dimuon data collected by the CMS detector in 8 TeV proton-proton collisions delivered by the LHC in 2012. If you are short of time and just need an executive summary, here it is: no such thing is seen, unfortunately, and limits are set on the production rate of heavy neutrinos N as a function of their mass. If you have five spare minutes, however, you might be interested in some more detail of the search and its results.

A team of scientists have shown that meltwater from the surface of an ice cap in northeastern Greenland can make its way beneath the ice and become trapped, refilling a subglacial lake. This meltwater provides heat to the bottom of the ice sheet.

The findings provide new information about atmospheric warming and its affect on the critical zone at the base of the ice. The warmth provided by the water could make the ice sheet move faster and alter how it responds to the changing climate.

Two new drug compounds - one of which has already proven useful in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis - appear to be effective in treating endometriosis, a disorder that, like MS, is driven by estrogen and inflammation, scientists report in Science Translational Medicine.

The researchers hope to eventually use the new compounds and others like them to treat a variety of disorders linked to estrogen signaling and inflammation: endometriosis, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory breast cancer, liver fibrosis, and cardiovascular and metabolic problems associated with obesity, for example.

People are more successful in taking up healthy habits if their partner makes positive changes too, according to research* published in JAMA Internal Medicine today (Monday).

Scientists at UCL funded by Cancer Research UK, the British Heart Foundation, and the National Institute on Aging looked at how likely people were to quit smoking, start being active, or lose weight in relation to what their partner did.**

They found that people were more successful in swapping bad habits for good ones if their partner made a change as well.