Researchers have identified a section of the anthrax toxin Lethal Factor that could help produce a more effective vaccine.

Anthrax is a potentially lethal disease caused by a bacterium called Bacillus anthracis. The bacteria produce spores that when inhaled, ingested or absorbed into the skin release toxins. When anthrax affects the lungs or intestines it can cause death within a few days whilst infection of the skin (cutaneous anthrax) is less dangerous.

With the bursting of spring, pollen is in the air. Most of the pollen that is likely tickling your nose and making your eyes water is being dispersed in a sexually immature state consisting of only two cells (a body cell and a reproductive cell) and is not yet fertile. While the majority of angiosperm species disperse their pollen in this early, bicellular, stage of sexual maturity, about 30% of flowering plants disperse their pollen in a more mature fertile stage, consisting of three cells (a body and two sperm cells). And then there are plants that do both.

In old movies, humans feared invaders from other planets, but they had better watch out for us.

In "War of the Worlds" we took out the Martians using nothing but microorganisms, so if imagine if we really tried.

Interplanetary exchange of organisms is little discussed in a summer movie world of "Independence Day" invaders, but three recent scientific papers examined the risks using research from the International Space Station.

Public health works. In 2000, the United Nations drafted aggressive goals for both standards of living and public health. So far, they are ahead of schedule on both.

Two analyses by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington show that  international efforts to address maternal and child mortality have resulted in millions of lives being saved globally.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were created to drive maternal and child deaths down by 2015. They had been dropping in most countries since the 1980s but the pace accelerated and, if the trend continues, child deaths will fall from over 6 million in 2013 to fewer than 4 million in 2030.

Given a choice, it's better to be miserable in a heated jacuzzi than be homeless on the streets of New York City during a blizzard.

But that 'money can't buy happiness' saying arose because some people just can't be happy - and money won't help. Psychology is subjective and relative so we're only left with averaging surveys but, generally, people who spend more on life experiences are happier than people who just buy stuff. Plenty of people are happy when they buy a new phone or a TV but it quickly becomes commonplace. If you are a football fan, and finally buy that trip to the Super Bowl, you are pretty happy.

New York, NY, May 1, 2014 – We may soon be able to make easy and early diagnoses of prostate cancer by smell. Investigators in Finland have established that a novel noninvasive technique can detect prostate cancer using an electronic nose. In a proof of principle study, the eNose successfully discriminated between prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) by "sniffing" urine headspace (the space directly above the urine sample). Results using the eNose are comparable to testing prostate specific antigen (PSA), reports the Journal of Urology®.

RICHLAND, Wash. – Killer whales and other marine mammals likely hear sonar signals more than we've known.

That's because commercially available sonar systems, which are designed to create signals beyond the range of hearing of such animals, also emit signals known to be within their hearing range, scientists have discovered.

The sound is likely very soft and audible only when the animals are within a few hundred meters of the source, say the authors of a new study. The signals would not cause any actual tissue damage, but it's possible that they affect the behavior of some marine mammals, which rely heavily on sound to communicate, navigate, and find food.

Physically active kids who spend a lot of time outdoors are not only healthier, they have a stronger sense of self-fulfillment and purpose than those who don't - and more spirituality too.

In the Journal of the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture paper, children who played outside five to 10 hours per week said they felt a spiritual connection with the earth and felt their role is to protect it.