Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have discovered inherited variations in certain genes that make children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) susceptible to the toxic side effects caused by chemotherapy medications. The researchers showed that these variations, called polymorphisms, occur in specific genes known to influence pharmacodynamics (how drugs work in the body and how much drug is needed to have its intended effect).

A study released today provides some of the first solid evidence that warming-induced changes in ocean circulation at the end of the last Ice Age caused vast quantities of ancient carbon dioxide to belch from the deep sea into the atmosphere. Scientists believe the carbon dioxide (CO2) releases helped propel the world into further warming. The study, done by researchers at the University of Colorado, Kent State University and Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, appears in the May 10 advance online version of the leading journal Science.

Bats generate a measurably distinct aerodynamic footprint to achieve lift and maneuverability, quite unlike birds and contrary to many of the assumptions that aerodynamicists have used to model animal flight, according to University of Southern California aerospace engineer Geoffrey Spedding.

The researcher, together with a multi-institutional team of scientists, found that bat flight is quite different from bird flight, particularly at very small scales. The team based its findings on new measurements of aerodynamic performance in the wing beats of a small species of bat.

How old are the oldest stars" Using ESO's VLT, astronomers recently measured the age of a star located in our Galaxy. The star, a real fossil, is found to be 13.2 billion years old, not very far from the 13.7 billion years age of the Universe. The star, HE 1523-0901, was clearly born at the dawn of time.

"Surprisingly, it is very hard to pin down the age of a star", the lead author of the paper reporting the results, Anna Frebel, explains.

Adult bone marrow stem cells may help cure certain genetic eye diseases, according to University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers.

Scientists have completed a study using mice which showed that bone marrow stem cells can switch roles and produce keratocan, a natural protein involved in the growth of the cornea—the transparent, outer layer of the eyeball. This ability of marrow cells to "differentiate" into keratocan-producing cells might provide a means for treating abnormal corneal cell growth in people.

Drylands, where 38 percent of the world's population lives, can be protected from the irreversible damage of desertification if local residents and managers at all levels would follow basic sustainability principles, according to a panel of experts writing in the May 11 issue of the journal Science.

The study makes a point of introducing hope rather than the usual gloom, said James Reynolds of Duke University, who is the first author. "(Given) recent advances in dryland development, concerns about land degradation, poverty, safeguarding biodiversity and protecting the culture of 2.5 billion people can be confronted with renewed optimism," the report said.

When male primates tussle and females develop their social skills it leaves a permanent mark – on their brains. According to research published in the online open access journal BMC Biology, brain structures have developed due to different pressures on males and females to keep up with social or competitive demands.

An international research team consisting of Patrik Lindenfors, Charles Nunn and Robert Barton examined data on primate brain structures in relation to traits important for male competition, such as greater body mass and larger canine teeth.

Researchers have uncovered a large area of low but increasing gravity over North America – the lingering effect of the last ice age when sheets of ice sometimes three kilometres thick covered nearly all of Canada and the northeastern U.S.

The study is the first to show a map of ongoing changes in the gravity field over North America due to the ice age. It provides an unprecedented image of the geometry of the long-vanished Laurentide ice sheet: a massive ice complex that had two major domes, one east and the other west of the Hudson Bay area, and raised global sea-level about 60 metres when it disappeared.

Does sex education promote sex among children or discourage it? What about drug campaigns?

"Research on attitude formation has increasingly recognized that attitudes can be comprised of separate negative and positive components which can result in attitude ambivalence," explain Gavin Fitzsimons (Duke University), Joseph C. Nunes (University of Southern California), and Patti Williams (University of Pennsylvania). "In the present research we focus on vice behaviors, those for which consumers are likely to hold both positive and negative attitudes.

A 'broken heart' is not just a period of emotional sadness. In some cases it is a traumatic physical event.

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is informally known as 'broken heart syndrome' because it often occurs due to an emotional or physical shock. It almost always happens to women and patients are typically in a critical state during the first 48 hours.