A common arthritis drug may also be an effective way to help treat patients with blood cancers—at one thousandth the cost of another drug that works the same way.

Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) cause an overproduction of blood cells resulting in symptoms that include night sweats, itching, and tiredness. MPNs are most often diagnosed in people in their 50s and 60s. Current treatment is limited to aspirin, removal of excess blood, and mild chemotherapy. 

Researchers at the University of Georgia have a message for Southern tree farmers worried about unexplainable pine tree deaths: Don't panic.

It is well known that muscles need resistance (gravity) to maintain optimal health, and when they do not have this resistance, they deteriorate. A new report published in the July 2015 issue of The FASEB Journal, however, suggests that this might not be true for all muscles, offering hope that there may be ways to preserve muscle mass and strength for individuals in low-resistance environments, whether it be the microgravity of space, extended periods in a hospital bed, or a 9-5 job behind a desk.

Across the entire world, women have a greater life expectancy than men. But why? Was this always the case?

According to a new study led by University of Southern California Leonard Davis School of Gerontology researchers, significant differences in life expectancies between the sexes first emerged as recently as the turn of the 20th century. As infectious disease prevention, improved diets and other positive health behaviors were adopted by people born during the 1800s and early 1900s, death rates plummeted, but women began reaping the longevity benefits at a much faster rate.

Researchers have discovered that a human antibody specific to dengue virus serotype 2, called 2D22, protects mice from a lethal form of the virus -- and they suggest that the site where 2D22 binds to the virus could represent a potential vaccine target.

The mosquito-borne virus, which infects nearly 400 million people around the world each year, has four distinct serotypes, or variations, and there is currently no protective vaccine available.

Flu vaccines can be a shot in the dark - they must they be given yearly and there's no guarantee the strains against which they protect will be the ones circulating once the season arrives. 

New research suggests it may be possible to harness a previously unknown mechanism within the immune system to create more effective and efficient vaccines against this ever-mutating virus.