An ancient kitten-sized predator is one of the smallest species reported in the extinct order Sparassodonta, which were carnivorous marsupials (metatherian mammals, anyway) native to South America lived in Bolivia about 13 million years ago.

The researchers can't name the new species because the specimen lacks well-preserved teeth, which are the only parts preserved in many of its close relatives.

The skull, which would have been a little less than 3 inches long if complete, shows the animal had a very short snout. A socket, or alveolus, in the upper jaw shows it had large, canines, that were round in cross-section much like those of a meat-eating marsupial, called the spotted-tailed quoll, found in Australia today, the researchers said.

When ovarian cancer spreads from the ovaries it almost always does so to a layer of fatty tissue that lines the gut. A new study has found that ovarian cancer cells are more aggressive on these soft tissues due to the mechanical properties of this environment. The finding is contrary to what is seen with other malignant cancer cells that seem to prefer stiffer tissues.

"What we found is that there are some cancer cells that respond to softness as opposed to stiffness," said Michelle Dawson, an assistant professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. "Ovarian cancer cells that are highly metastatic respond to soft environments by becoming more aggressive."

Proteins, those workhorses of the cell responsible for almost all biological functions, have to be adaptable and that means chain-like molecules must engage in an intricate three-dimensional conformation.

This process - protein folding - is one of the most important in biology. In the event of improper folding, proteins can't perform their duties and may even lump together in aggregates, which can lead to severe diseases like Alzheimer's or Parkinson's.

To prevent that, specialized proteins, so-called chaperones, help other proteins to adopt their proper shape. 

If you ask rural people in the American east which is more damaging to the ecology, coyotes or deer, it may be a toss-up. But that doesn't mean it is a good idea for one to just take the other out.

In most states, deer population management also brings revenue benefits - hunting licenses and meat - but coyotes aren't hunted. They haven't been arrived that long. Coyotes -- Canis latrans -- have long inhabited the American West but are a relatively recent arrival to eastern North America, appearing first in the region in noticeable numbers in the 1970s. They have already become a significant source of deer mortality and most often prey on whitetail fawns in the earliest months of their lives.

Scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory have found that certain enzymes responsible for desaturating fatty acids, the building blocks of oils, can link up to efficiently pass intermediate products from one enzyme to another.

Getting plants to accumulate high levels of more healthful polyunsaturated fatty acids, or unusual fatty acids that could be used as raw materials in place of petroleum-derived chemicals in industrial processes, are a few possible outcomes.

Metabolic channeling

A statistical modeling paper has projected rates of obesity and overweight status in both male and female Europeans for 2030 and found that, when it comes to being fat, not all 53 Euro-region countries are equal.

The statistical model incorporated all available data on body mass index (BMI) and obesity/overweight trends in all 53 of the WHO's Euro-region countries. Their model "enables obesity trends to be forecast forward providing estimates of the dynamic epidemiology of the disease".

Definitions were based on the WHO's standard cut=offs - healthy weight (BMI ≤24.99 kg/m²), overweight and obesity combined (BMI ≥25 kg/m²) and obesity (≥30 kg/m²).

A few minutes spent filling out a mental health assessment called a CES-DC in a health care provider's waiting room could make a big difference for some teenagers suffering from depression, according to new paper.

Nationally, it's estimated that five to 20 percent of adolescents suffer from depression, but many don't receive the treatment they need. Both the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners and the American Academy of Pediatrics have promoted screening for mental health problems in primary care.

Type-2 diabetes has dramatically spread in the last decade and is most often associated with being overweight and suffering from obesity. Moreover, nutritionists believe that inactive and sedentary lifestyles together with bad eating habits are the basis for weight gain.  

 Obesity puts people at risk of type-2 diabetes and while no program can be one-size-fits all, surely there must some combination of diet and exercise that can save people individual trial and error.

University of Illinois researchers have developed materials that not only heal, but regenerate - and not just tiny microscopic cracks, large cracks and holes. All by regrowing material.

The regenerating capabilities build on the team's previous work in developing vascular materials. Using specially formulated fibers that disintegrate, the researchers can create materials with networks of capillaries inspired by biological circulatory systems.

Such self-repair capabilities would be a boon not only for commercial
goods – imagine a mangled car bumper that repairs itself within minutes of an accident – but also for parts and products that are difficult to replace or repair, such as those used in aerospace applications.

The rind is the boundary layer between a cheese and the environment. It hosts a variety of microorganisms that comprise the microbiome, a symbiotic community whose members perform different tasks.

Some break down proteins and fats on the rind, creating volatile sulfur and ammonia compounds that are responsible for the intensive odor of some types of cheese. 

There are different curing methods for cheese. Some, like Limburger, Tilsiter and Appenzeller, need specific bacteria on their rinds. Others, like Camembert and Brie, develop their aroma with the assistance of molds. 

Vorarlberger Bergkäse - a model cheese