Don’t judge a book -- or a plant -- by its cover

The kwongan is a type of bushland that is only found in South-West Australia and is exceptionally rich in terms of biodiversity, despite existing on some of the most infertile soils in the world. Its unique nature enabled the researchers to discover that plants use an amazing variety of root strategies to obtain nutrients from these poor soils. “Ecosystems all around the world are being altered at an alarming rate. In order to protect biodiversity as best as we possibly can, we need to understand how these systems work. To achieve that goal, our study shows that it’s important to go beyond what’s immediately visible to study what nature has hidden below ground,” an author of the new study says. - Source      

Don’t judge a book -- or a plant -- by its cover

Drugs stimulate body’s own stem cells to replace the brain cells lost in multiple sclerosis

Scientists have identified two topical drugs (miconazole and clobetasol) capable of stimulating regeneration of damaged brain cells and reversing paralysis in animal models of MS. - Source      

Drugs stimulate body’s own stem cells to replace the brain cells lost in multiple sclerosis

India to give befitting reply to threat by Hafiz Saeed, govt says

With Hafiz Saeed reportedly terming India as “enemy number one”, the government said India was a responsible power and would give befitting reply to any threat to it. - Source      

India to give befitting reply to threat by Hafiz Saeed, govt says

Big bottoms aren't everything to male baboons

While the female baboon’s big red bottom may be an eyesore to some, it has an aphrodisiac effect on her mates. Biologists have long thought that baboon males prefer females with bigger backsides as the mark of a good mother, but a new study reveals that the size of a female’s swollen rump doesn’t matter as much as previously thought. - Source      

Big bottoms aren't everything to male baboons

Clues to why older people get more tendon injuries

New research into how tendons age has found that the material between tendon fiber bundles stiffens as it gets older and that this is responsible for older people being more susceptible to tendon injuries. - Source      

Clues to why older people get more tendon injuries

Higher-than-expected pediatric cancer rates identified in two Florida areas

Higher-than-expected rates of pediatric cancers have been identified in the Miami metro area and an area west of the Everglades in a series of five statistical analyses. Comparisons across analyses reveal characteristics of the detected patterns, including the number of cases (two), types of cancer (leukemia or brain/central nervous system cancer) and the racial composition and timing of the cluster west of the Everglades. - Source      

Higher-than-expected pediatric cancer rates identified in two Florida areas

Use of radiotherapy after prostate cancer surgery declining, despite evidence of benefit

Despite strong evidence and guidelines supporting its use, post-surgical radiation therapy for prostate cancer patients at risk of recurrence is declining in the United States. This study finds fewer than 10 percent of patients at risk of recurrence received postoperative radiotherapy within six months of surgery in the U.S. - Source      

Use of radiotherapy after prostate cancer surgery declining, despite evidence of benefit

Pancreatic cancer breakthrough: Scientists turn cancer cells into normal cells

Scientists have found a novel avenue for therapeutic intervention of the “silent cancer.” A new research study has shown that pancreatic cancer cells can be coaxed to revert back toward normal cells by introducing a protein called E47. E47 binds to specific DNA sequences and controls genes involved in growth and differentiation. The research provides hope for a new treatment approach for the more than 40,000 people who die from the disease each year in the United States. - Source      

Pancreatic cancer breakthrough: Scientists turn cancer cells into normal cells

Ways to avoid catching diseases from pets

Pets can pass diseases to humans, especially when a pet owner’s immune system is compromised. Here, veterinarians outline ways for families to avoid disease transmission by choosing the right type of pet–or making small changes in the ways they enjoy the pets they already have. - Source      

Ways to avoid catching diseases from pets

Giant magnetic effects induced in hybrid materials

For a magnetic thin film deposited onto a transition metal oxide film, the magnetic properties change dramatically as the oxide undergoes a structural phase transition. The hybrid between a simple magnetic material and a transition-metal oxide provides a “window” to understand the metal-to-insulator transition and offers dramatic tunability of magnetic properties. Potential applications are envisioned in the fields of information storage and power transmission. - Source      

Giant magnetic effects induced in hybrid materials

Strong currents promote release of Arctic greenhouse gas

Ocean and Earth Science researchers reveal how the interplay between ocean currents and marine microbiology serve to regulate potentially damaging emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane, created beneath the Arctic Ocean. - Source      

Strong currents promote release of Arctic greenhouse gas

Vampire squid discovery shows how little we know of the deep sea

Among soft-bodied cephalopods, vampire squid live life at a slower pace. At ocean depths from 500 to 3,000 meters, they don’t swim so much as float, and they get by with little oxygen while consuming a low-calorie diet of zooplankton and detritus. Now, researchers have found that vampire squid differ from all other living coleoid cephalopods in their reproductive strategy as well. - Source      

Vampire squid discovery shows how little we know of the deep sea

Reducing global tobacco use

Although global efforts to cut tobacco use have had some success, more can be done to reduce the number of deaths from smoking, according to a new commentary. More than 170 countries have signed the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control agreement since it was adopted in 2005. However, smoking rates are still high in many low- and middle-income countries compared with Canada and other high-income countries where efforts to curb smoking have been more successful. - Source      

Reducing global tobacco use