Colorectal cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers in the Western world. The tumor starts off as a polyp but then turns into an invasive and violent cancer, which often spreads to the liver. Prof. Avri Ben-Ze’ev and Dr. Nancy Gavert of the Weizmann Institute’s Molecular Cell Biology Department reveal mechanisms that help this cancer metastasize.

In a majority of cases, colorectal cancer is initiated by changes in a key protein – beta-catenin. One of the roles of this protein is to enter the cell nucleus and activate gene expression. But in colorectal and other cancers, beta-catenin over-accumulates in the cell and inappropriately activates genes, leading to cancer.

Genetically modified wheat hasn’t yet been introduced into the U.S. market. When that happens, public acceptance of the product may depend on what people know about it. Currently, they don’t know much.

A Food Safety Consortium survey conducted by Kansas State University indicated that most respondents had little to no prior knowledge about biotechnology, but about the same number of people said they would still purchase genetically modified (GM) wheat products. But when provided information about opposition to GM products, respondents were more likely to refrain from buying GM products.

New research at the Weizmann Institute of Science says that the pace of evolution might speed up if the goals themselves change continuously.

Nadav Kashtan, Elad Noor and Prof. Uri Alon of the Institute’s Molecular Cell Biology and Physics of Complex Systems Departments create computer simulations that mimic natural evolution, allowing them to investigate processes that, in nature, take place over millions of years.

In these simulations, a population of digital genomes evolves over time towards a given goal: to maximize fitness under certain conditions. Like living organisms, genomes that are better adapted to their environment may survive to the next generation or reproduce more prolifically. Such computer simulations, though sophisticated, don’t yet have all the answers.

Men may be more willing than women to sacrifice achievement goals for a romantic relationship, according to a new study by Catherine Mosher of Duke Medical Center and Sharon Danoff-Burg from the University of Albany. Their findings challenge our preconceptions that women are more likely to prioritize people and relationships while men are more focused on themselves and their achievements. Their paper will be published in the next issue of the Springer journal, Gender Issues.

The authors looked at whether personality traits influence students’ life goals, and focused on the relative importance of romantic relationships and achievement goals in particular.

A study in the Scandinavian Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology reveals that pine bark extract from the French maritime pine tree, reduces “climacteric symptoms” such as hot flashes, depression, panic attacks, cholesterol and other common symptoms associated with women entering menopause transition. The results suggest Pycnogenol® may serve as an alternative treatment to estrogen replacement therapy, which is the most common remedy of pre-menopause (“perimenopausal”) symptoms.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, perimenopause is the natural part of aging that signals the ending of a woman’s reproductive years. It marks the time when a woman’s body begins its move into menopause and can last anywhere from two to eight years.

Do you remember exactly where you were when you learned of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks? Your answer is probably yes, and researchers are beginning to understand why we remember events that carry negative emotional weight.

Boston College psychologist Elizabeth Kensinger and colleagues explain when emotion is likely to reduce our memory inconsistencies.

Her research shows that whether an event is pleasurable or aversive seems to be a critical determinant of the accuracy with which the event is remembered, with negative events being remembered in greater detail than positive ones.