Scientists at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) are a step closer to preventing the kind of injuries that affect ageing race horses like champion hurdler Rock on Ruby, the winner of Coral Hurdle at Ascot in 2015.

For the first time, the team at QMUL's School of Engineering and Materials Science were able to show how the types of proteins differ in parts of the tendon, and importantly how this changes as the tendon ages.

Co-author Dr Chavaunne Thorpe said: "When a horse runs, its muscles generate a massive amount of energy that is stored and released by the tendons in their legs. These can be likened to massive elastic bands that absorb energy as they are stretched, and release it again when they recoil.

Scientists have identified a genetic mutation responsible for a rare form of inherited hives induced by vibration, also known as vibratory urticaria. Running, hand clapping, towel drying or even taking a bumpy bus ride can cause temporary skin rashes in people with this rare disorder. By studying affected families, researchers discovered how vibration promotes the release of inflammatory chemicals from the immune system's mast cells, causing hives and other allergic symptoms. 

An investigation published by The BMJ today raises new concerns about the top-selling anti-clotting drug, rivaroxaban (Xarelto).

It questions the validity of a pivotal trial - known as the ROCKET-AF trial - that was used to gain approval for rivaroxaban from the US and European regulators.

The trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) in 2011, compared rivaroxaban with the older anti-clotting drug warfarin for preventing strokes in patients with irregular heartbeat (atrial fibrillation).

But there are now concerns about the trial results after The BMJ discovered that the blood clotting test device used during the trial had been recalled in December 2014 after giving falsely low test results.

SALT LAKE CITY - Anyone who's spent a night in a hospital knows the drill: In comes a phlebotomist, first thing in the morning, for lab tests. Physicians have long recognized that lab testing isn't necessary for all hospitalized patients on a daily basis. Regardless, such tests are often conducted because of routine.

A new paper, authored by University of Utah hospitalists and published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine, outlines how the 500-bed academic medical center used a tool developed at University of Utah Health Care, Value Driven Outcomes (VDO), to reduce superfluous lab testing, which is expensive, doesn't improve health outcomes and can harm patients.

Dallas, Texas -February 4, 2016 - MorNuCo Laboratories of West Lafayette, Indiana, and their ONCOblot® Test recently completed a retrospective clinical trial focusing on the early detection of malignant mesothelioma, with the exciting results that the ONCOblot® test detected a molecular marker that is indicative of the presence of mesothelioma, 4-10 years in advance of clinical symptoms appearing. MorNuCo Laboratories is elated to share these results with the public, as early detection is widely considered the corner stone of an effective strategy to reduce cancer-related deaths.

How fast tropical forests recover after deforestation has major consequences for climate change mitigation. A team including Smithsonian scientists discovered that some secondary tropical forests recover biomass quickly: half of the forests in the study attained 90 percent of old-growth forest levels in 66 years or less. Conservation planners can use their resulting biomass-recovery map for Latin America to prioritize conservation efforts.

Twenty thousand years ago, when humans were still nomadic hunters and gatherers, low concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere allowed the earth to fall into the grip of an ice age. But despite decades of research, the reasons why levels of the greenhouse gas were so low then have been difficult to piece together.

New research, published today in the leading journal Nature, shows that a big part of the answer lies at the bottom of the world. Sediment samples from the seafloor, more than 3 kilometers beneath the ocean surface near Antarctica, support a long-standing hypothesis that more carbon dioxide was dissolved in the deep Southern Ocean at times when levels in the atmosphere were low.

Boston, MA - A new study suggests that the current recommendation to treat severely malnourished children with routine antibiotics does not increase the likelihood of nutritional recovery in uncomplicated cases. Given this finding, the study's authors say that routinely using antibiotics may not be necessary or beneficial for severely malnourished children being treated at home when there is adequate local health infrastructure.

Reducing routine antibiotic use would be prudent given global concern over the problem of antibiotic resistance, say the researchers.

The study will appear in the February 4, 2016 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- In a review article published in the Feb. 4 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, a pair of Mayo Clinic Cancer Center researchers provide an in-depth look at the issues associated with the care of women in families with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome who have not yet developed cancer themselves. The article addresses optimal risk assessment for breast and ovarian cancers, the usefulness of risk-reducing surgery, side effects of these procedures, alternative strategies for cancer prevention and the best ways to help with the decision-making process.

PHILADELPHIA (February 3, 2016) - Cases of pertussis (whooping cough) have increased dramatically over the past five years, putting infants at risk of serious illness or death. Most infants are infected by a caregiver who has not received a Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis) booster, so caregiver immunization is particularly important. However, many caregivers go unvaccinated, and new strategies are needed to convince those living with infants to get the Tdap booster.