Research published today details the first-ever successful elimination of a fatal chytrid fungus in a wild amphibian, marking a major breakthrough in the fight against the disease responsible for devastating amphibian populations worldwide. The highly-infectious chytrid pathogen has severely affected over 700 amphibian species worldwide; driving population declines, extirpations and species extinctions across five continents.

When I was an elementary school student, schools in my hometown administered IQ tests every couple of years. I felt very scared of the psychologist who came in to give those tests.

I also performed terribly. As a result, at one point, I was moved to a lower-grade classroom so I could take a test more suitable to my IQ level.

Consequently, I believed that my teachers considered me stupid. I, of course, thought I was stupid. In addition, I also thought my teachers expected low-quality work from a child of such low IQ. So, I gave them what they expected.

Researchers have discovered several new species of marine fungi inhabiting previously undescribed branches of the tree of life. Though there is always talk about what little we do know going extinct, little is known about species on land, now or in the past, much less about the fungi flourishing in the world's oceans.

It turns out that many marine fungi are very different from those found on land.

The research, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, used large-scale DNA sequencing to describe the diversity of fungal microbes in a wide range of marine environments.

Highlights

• An increase in serum phosphorus levels in African Americans with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with faster progression to kidney failure, known as end-stage renal disease (ESRD).
• The study confirmed in African Americans what previous studies in Caucasians demonstrated, that an increase in the biomarker predicted ESRD risk.
• The research, from the Indiana University School of Medicine, was presented at ASN Kidney Week 2015 November 3-8 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, CA.

Athens, Ga. - A University of Georgia researcher has found that low levels of vitamin D may limit the effectiveness of HIV treatment in adults.

Those with human immunodeficiency virus--commonly known as HIV--often struggle with declining health because their immune systems can't effectively respond to common pathogens. Their immune statuses, usually measured by CD4+T cells, normally improve when given HIV treatment.

Jülich, 17 November 2015 - The overheating of computer chips is a major obstacle to the development of faster and more efficient computers and mobile phones. One promising remedy for this problem could be a class of materials first discovered just a few years ago: topological insulators, which conduct electricity with less resistance and heat generation than conventional materials. Research on these materials is still in its early stages. A team from Jülich and Aachen has now found a way to control the desired conducting properties of this type of material more precisely and reliably than ever before. The results have been published in the current edition of the journal Nature Communications (DOI: 10.1038/ncomms9816).

Last month, it was announced that Belgium based Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) and London based SABMiller have agreed to merge for around $106 billion, the third largest deal in corporate history. The new company will produce an estimated one third of all beer sold worldwide.

Smokeless tobacco is used far less than cigarettes, primarily among men and young people, but it has become a cause for concern due to links with adverse health effects and identification as a cause of cancer.

Survey results and biomarkers published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers&Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, find that U.S. adults who used only smokeless tobacco products had higher levels of biomarkers of exposure to nicotine and a cancer-causing toxicant -- the tobacco-specific nitrosamine NNK -- compared with those who only used cigarettes.

 Brian Rostron, PhD, an epidemiologist in the Center for Tobacco Products at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

More than half, namely 60% of college graduates are female. Is this discrimination against men? And is the currently loudly demanded (and at Missouri University apparently well received) number of 10% Black faculty reasonable, or is this rather racist anti-East-Asian anti-Semitic discrimination?

Tasers, created to save lives by subduing criminals and others without shooting them, are now the target of health papers. They are used by over 16,000 police forces in 107 countries and use compressed nitrogen to fire two barbed electrical probes that deliver a pulsed 50,000 volt shock, causing intense skeletal muscle contractions and pain.

Writing in BMJ, journalist Owen Dyer says the health risks are greater than previously thought. Of recent concern is the police use of Tasers against mentally ill patients, which has prompted the UK home secretary, Theresa May, to order a review of police use of force against mentally distressed people.