Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have discovered a molecular regulator that allows salmonella bacteria to switch from actively causing disease to lurking in a chronic but asymptomatic state called a biofilm.

Their findings are published in the online journal, eLife.

• Conversely, nations that produce most greenhouse gases less vulnerable

After evaluating content on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis on almost 200 websites, researchers found that the information on Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
(IPF) from these sites was often incomplete, inaccurate and outdated. 

Doctors recommend several days of rest after a person suffers a concussion, but that is often good advice for many things. It works, but why? New data from animal models explains why.  

Georgetown University Medical Center neuroscientists say rest allows the brain to reset neural networks and repair any short-term injury. The new study in mice also shows that repeated mild concussions with only a day to recover between injuries leads to mounting damage and brain inflammation that remains evident a year after injury.

Why people lose their locks in old age may be related to the aging of hair follicle stem cells, two new studies suggest. Though it is known that mammals that live for longer lifespans lose their hair, the mechanisms underlying this fate have been a mystery. Hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs), which generate the sacs or follicles that produce hair, keep hair growth going repeatedly over time. Surprisingly, they have even been shown, in mice experiments, to resist aging. To better understand the role HFSCs might play in aging-associated hair loss, Hiroyuki Matsumura and colleagues studied hair follicles in a mouse model of accelerated hair loss.

A new analysis of one of the most widespread honeybee viruses, deformed wing virus, or DWV, shows that the virus has gone from an endemic to a global epidemic because of greater movement of a major vector, the Varroa mite. The mite has spread in large part due to human trade of the bee colonies it infests. The study contributes greatly to scientists' understanding of the globally pressing issue of pollinator health by describing the worldwide transmission routes and dynamics of DWV based on analysis of a new and large molecular data set. Previous evidence indicates that the presence of the mite Varroa increases the spread of DWV across honeybee populations, not only by acting as a vector but also by increasing the virulence of the virus.

The incidence and severity of both traditional and emerging cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors as well as the response to treatment may differ between genders. In this narrative review, several emerging CVD risk factors (i.e. inflammatory and haemostatic markers, endothelial dysfunction, homocysteine, lipid disorders, microalbuminuria/proteinuria, coronary artery calcium score, arterial stiffness, periodontitis, inflammatory bowel syndrome, obstructive sleep apnea, impaired glucose metabolism, metabolic syndrome and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease) are discussed in the context of gender differences.

The brain still has a lot to learn about itself. Scientists at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute have made a key finding of the striking differences in how the brain's cells can change through experience.

Their results were published this week in PLOS ONE.

Using a special profiling technique, scientists at Princeton have determined the mechanism of action of a potent antibiotic, known as tropodithietic acid (TDA), leading them to uncover its hidden ability as a potential anticancer agent.

TDA is produced by marine bacteria belonging to the roseobacter family, which exist in a unique symbiosis with microscopic algae. The algae provide food for the bacteria, and the bacteria provide protection from the many pathogens of the open ocean.

DURHAM, N.C. -- Chronic inflammation in the gut increases the risk of colon cancer by as much as 500 percent, and now Duke University researchers think they know why.

Their new study points to a biomarker in the cellular machinery that could not only serve as an early warning of colon cancer, but potentially be harnessed to counteract advanced forms of the disease, the second-largest cause of cancer death in the U.S.

In the study, published online on February 4 in the journal Cell Stem Cell, Duke biomedical engineers show how colon cancer development is intricately linked to a specific microRNA that dictates how cells divide.