The first cases of Mad Cow disease in humans - properly known as variant Creutzfeld Jakob Disease, or vCJD, though no one recognizes that name - occurred in the late 1990s and were thought to be the consequence of eating contaminated beef products.

Since then, several cases of secondary infections caused by transfusions with blood from donors who subsequently developed vCJD have been reported, raising concerns about the safety of blood and blood products. A new paper describes an assay that can detect prions in blood samples from humans with vCJD and in animals at early stages of the (asymptomatic) incubation phase.

Phone dating apps used by gay men to find a sexual partner lead to a higher risk of getting common sexually transmitted infections than meeting online or in bars and clubs, suggests a new paper in Sexually Transmitted Infections.

Previous research has suggested that gay and bi-curious men who meet online are more likely to indulge in unprotected sex and to have more partners than men meeting potential partners in other ways. Smartphone apps such as Grindr, Scruff, and Recon have become an increasingly popular way to hook up with potential sexual partners. They allow registered users to use their smartphone's GPS (global positioning system) to locate and network with other users in the vicinity. 

Selecting graduate students in the fields of science and engineering based on an assessment of "character", whatever that means, is better than relying almost entirely on their scores on a standardized test like the GRE.

The goal in that would be to boost participation by women. Underrepresented even more in academia are Republicans and handicapped people, but the authors aren't worried about all minorities, just the correct ones. 

After analyzing core samples from the seabed off the coast of Spain and Portugal, near the Strait of Gibraltar, scientists say they have proof of shifts of climate change over the past six million years.  

The team also discovered new evidence of a deep-earth tectonic pulse in the region, as well as thick layers of sand within mountains of mud in a vast sheet, spreading out nearly 100km into the Atlantic from the Gibraltar gateway.

The quantity of sand is far more than was expected and has been caused by the strength, speed and long duration of bottom currents flowing through the Strait of Gibraltar from the Mediterranean.

In humans, no therapy for  amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease,  has ever been discovered that could extend lifespan more than a few additional months.

ALS was first identified as a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disease in the late 1800s but only gained international recognition in 1939 when it was diagnosed in American baseball legend Lou Gehrig. It's known to be caused by motor neurons in the spinal cord deteriorating and dying, and has been traced to mutations in copper, zinc superoxide dismutase, or SOD1. Ordinarily, superoxide dismutase is an antioxidant whose proper function is essential to life.

In the most comprehensive genetic study of the Mexican population to date, researchers from  Mexico's National Institute of Genomic Medicine (INMEGEN), UC San Francisco and Stanford University, have identified tremendous genetic diversity.

So much diversity there basically are no Mexicans.  But it explains some confounding aspects of Latino health, like why there is such a variety of health factors among Latinos of Mexican descent, including differing rates of breast cancer and asthma, as well as therapeutic response.