"A bend and a twist, then stretch and turn, now relax". What sounds like a series of exercise instructions, are also words that describe the various shapes a piece of DNA can assume. The classic double helix structure that one associates with DNA is but an extremely limited view of its physical 'shape'. The molecule that holds the codes of life is capable of further winding itself into myriad complex shapes called 'supercoils' that are capable of affecting gene expression patterns. Now, researchers from the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bangalore, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA, have elucidated this pattern of supercoiling across the genome of the much studied bacterium E. coli.

MIAMI, March 31, 2016 -- A recent study by researchers at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine showed that a microRNA called miR-181a dampens signals from the cancer-driving NFκB protein pathway in the most aggressive large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL). By reducing NFκB signaling, miR-181a controls tumor cell proliferation and survival and could be the target of novel therapies. The study was published in the journal Blood.

The mystery of a rare, debilitating disease that has afflicted generations of European families - and long baffled their doctors - has been solved by an international collaboration involving Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers.

Dr Seth Masters from the institute, working in conjunction with Dr Adrian Liston and Dr Carine Wouters from Belgium, studied families in France, Belgium and England who had been living with an unknown condition that caused severe skin lesions, fevers, pain and exhaustion.

Every generation, half of the children of the people who suffered from this unknown disease develop the same symptoms.

People buying fake 'luxury brand' goods experience a range of psychological motivations - including the 'thrill of the hunt' - new research has shown.

Consumer behavioural expert Dr Xuemei Bian, of the University of Kent, together with researchers from three other universities, carried out the first in-depth study of why consumer demand for counterfeit brands is growing.

The researchers found that the 'thrill of the hunt' and 'being part of a secret society' are often prime motivational factors behind purchases. They also found that, following the purchase of known counterfeit goods, people experienced a range of associated emotional outcomes, including shame and embarrassment as well as positive hedonistic feelings.

After being one of the few who picked the Mets to make it to the postseason in 2015, NJIT Mathematical Sciences Professor and Associate Dean Bruce Bukiet has published his projections of how the standings should look at the end of Major League Baseball's 2016 season.

And things look good for the Mets again.

Atmospheric scientists have found that California's highest temperatures are almost always associated with blocking ridges, regions of high atmospheric pressure than can disrupt wind patterns - including one known as the Ridiculously Resilient Ridge. The Triple R, as it's called, is also linked with California's drought.

In new research published online this week in the journal Science Advances, a team of researchers led by Stanford University scientist Noah Diffenbaugh analyzed the occurrence of large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns that occurred during California's historical precipitation and temperature extremes.