Our immunosensory system detects virus such as influenza via specific characteristics of viral ribonucleic acid - and the immune system's ability to prevent viruses from using molecular camouflage to escape detection is quite good.

But how that works has been a mystery. Researchers have discovered that our immunosensory system attacks viruses on a molecular level to keep rotaviruses, a common cause of diarrheal epidemics, at bay. The results have been published in the renowned journal Nature.

In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court forced California to deal with the massive overcrowding in its prison system. The resulting reform shifted administrative and budgetary responsibility for low-level criminals from the state prison system to county jails. As a result, local California jails now face more overcrowding than ever, and local law enforcement is saddled with additional costs for imprisoning arrestees.

That is going to lead to higher crime rates, according to a new paper in the Journal of Public Economics which evaluated prison reform in Israel.  

"Doctor shopping" is the term for obtaining narcotic prescriptions by seeking out multiple providers that has led to measurable increases in drug use among postoperative trauma patients.

A new paper links doctor shopping to higher narcotic use among orthopedic patients.  

"There has been an alarming rise in opioid use in our country, and the diversion of opioids for non-therapeutic uses is dramatically increasing," said lead study author and orthopedic surgeon Brent J. Morris, MD. "Many suspect that orthopedic trauma patients may be at a higher risk for pre-injury narcotic use and 'doctor shopping.'"

Celebrity promotion of charities is ineffective at raising awareness, but can make the stars more popular with the public, according to two papers. This will be a surprise to both celebrities and charities, since campaigning for worthwhile groups has always been done by celebrities and charities seek them out because of the belief that people will donate after endorsements when they otherwise might not.

Or so it seems. It may be that organizations are biased toward success stories and don't see how often it does little.

Funding agencies spend a great deal of money to try and recruit females into math and science-related careers and a new psychology paper underlines the importance of mentoring and other social support systems for women pursuing those research professions. 

Gallstone pain is one of the most common reasons patients visit emergency rooms and how to handle gallstone patients is a cost and quality issue in health care. In the United States, 1 in 10 women and 1 in 15 men have gallstones, and more than 1 million people a year are hospitalized for gallstone disease. Fatty food common in U.S. diets is a contributing factor, according to studies.