Scientists have developed a new test to identify patients who are at risk of suffering a relapse from testicular cancer.

Assessing just three features of a common kind of testicular cancer - called non-seminomatous germ cell tumor - can identify those at most at risk of relapse even where there is no evidence of tumor spread.

The researchers believe the test could be used in the clinic to make decisions about which patients should be given chemotherapy.

Scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, analyzed 177 tumor samples from patients with stage I non-seminomatous tumors enrolled in clinical trials through the Medical Research Council (MRC) Clinical Trials Unit. 

Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is a serious disease of immune-compromised individuals and the most common invasive mold infection in humans. Although more than 250 different Aspergillus species are found in nature, and most contribute spores to the air we breathe, over 80% of human disease is caused by one particular culprit called Aspergillus fumigatus. A study published on October 15th in PLOS Pathogens explores what distinguishes this fungus from its relatives and likely makes it so dangerous.

The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences lost a great deal of respect when it published a study claiming female hurricane names were taken less seriously by the public. A new paper on racism in crosswalks won't add more credibility to the humanities and the social sciences about what is really happening in the world outside a p=.05 value. Luckily, PNAS did not publish this one, Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behavior did.

Plotting on a grid just how a chicken walks may one day give farmers more insight into how best to protect their flock from non-airborne pathogens that can also hurt their profit.

Low-income housing residents who live in "green" buildings that are built with eco-friendly materials and energy-efficient features appear to have fewer "sick building" symptoms (SBS) than residents of traditionally constructed low-income housing, according to a new study led by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Asthma outcomes--hospitalizations, attacks, and missed school days due to asthma--were also significantly lower for children living in the green buildings. 

A new paper in the Journal of Environmental Analytical Chemistry states next generation 'heated' tobacco devices - confusing to the public because heating nicotine vapor is the mechanism behind e-cigarette devices - produce side-stream emissions similar to secondhand cigarette smoke.

Horses need help when it comes to insect pests like flies but many horse owners are in the dark about how best to effectively manage it.

A new overview of equine fly management in the latest issue of the Journal of Integrated Pest Management, an open-access journal that is written for farmers, ranchers, and extension professionals.

One fly-management method that is gaining ground is the use of wasps that are parasitoids of fly pupae. The female wasp inserts an eggs into the fly puparium, and when the egg hatches, the wasp larva eats the fly pupa.

The authors conducted research on two wasp species that are sold commercially to see what type of manure they preferred.

Social networking makes it easy to monitor the status and activities of a former romantic partner, an often unhealthy use of social media known as interpersonal electronic surveillance (IES) by about five scholars on the planet who hope the term will catch on.

In the real world it is probably called cyber-stalking when it is not just stalking. There are warning signs it will occur but people often assume the best and ignore those. But after the fact, psychological and relationship factors and how individuals cope with the termination of a romantic relationship can help predict their use of online surveillance, according to a study published in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.

Cigarette smoking is bad because it's nicotine that is addictive but it is the hundreds of carcinogens in smoke that kills people. They are a deadly combination. For that reason, advocates often promote harm reduction techniques while smoking cessation happens - gums, patches and e-cigarettes all replacement the nicotine with the cigarette smoke.

What is happening in the brain? It's a lot like codeine.

According to new research in rat models, nicotine use over time increases the speed that codeine is converted into morphine within the brain, by increasing the amount of a specific enzyme. It appears smokers' brains are being primed for a bigger buzz from this common pain killer - which could put them at a higher risk for addiction, and possibly even overdose.

They stayed up late into the evening, averaged less than 6.5 hours of sleep a night and rarely napped.

College students during final exams? Working moms? No, says a UCLA-led team of researchers who studied sleeping patterns among traditional peoples whose lifestyles closely resemble those of our evolutionary ancestors. Instead it was pre-industrial humans, according to a team that studied the Hadza of Tanzania, the San of Namibia and the Tsimane of Bolivia challenges conventional wisdom about their sleeping habits. The findings, published today in Current Biology, suggest that the industrialized world's sleep habits do not differ much from those that humans evolved to have.