A newly discovered gene fusion is highly expressed in a subset of prostate cancers, according to a new study. The findings may lead to more accurate tests for prostate cancer. The gene fusion biomarker may also represent an entirely new mechanism that cancer cells use to outgrow their healthy neighbors.

The enchantingly colored seashells that lend beaches their charm could also provide information about how the brain converts memories and sensory information into action, according to research from the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Pittsburgh published online April 7 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Ohio State University researchers have developed a new strategy to overcome one of the major obstacles to a grand challenge in physics. What they've discovered could eventually aid high-temperature superconductivity, as well as the development of new high-tech materials.

The study, published in the current issue of Nature, reveals that the Far Infrared Background, or FIRB, originates from individual galaxies some 7 to 10 billion light years away.

Heterochromatin is the super-condensed portion of the cell's genetic material that hides unneeded genes and potentially dangerous DNA sequences such as transposons from the cell's DNA-activating machinery. CSHL scientists led by Dr. Leemor Joshua-Tor have now identified a critical requirement for heterochromatin assembly. They show that it depends on the strength with which a protein called Chp1 binds to a specific site on a histone protein that is attached to the DNA double helix.

Researchers from Peninsula Dental School and the UCL Eastman Dental Institute have used data from the Hospital Episodes Statistics resource to identify a marked increase in the number of hospital admissions for children with caries and other dental conditions, between 1997 and 2006.

A new statistical method that can estimate the origin and time of an aerosolized release of the pathogen causing anthrax, following detection of the first few cases has been developed. The method predicts where the most critically affected areas will be following the release of this highly pathogenic agent, which may enable preventative treatment of individuals at risk and protection from the disease.

All African Pygmies, inhabiting a large territory extending west-to-east along Central Africa, descend from a unique population who lived around 20,000 years ago, according to an international study led by researchers at the Institut Pasteur in Paris. The research, published April 10 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics, concludes that the ancestors of present-day African Pygmies and farmers separated ~60,000 years ago.

A new therapy for metastatic prostate cancer has shown considerable promise in early clinical trials involving patients whose disease has become resistant to current drugs. Chemists and biologists at UCLA, and colleagues, including at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, have created a new drug to treat a particularly lethal form of prostate cancer: castration resistant prostate cancer.

While the number of times a scientific article is cited by other articles is currently the gold standard for ranking its impact, online publishing offers another measure: the number of unique downloads. A recent analysis in the online Journal of Vision finds that downloads are a good predictor of citations -- and they are available significantly faster.

University of Maryland chemistry Professor John Fourkas and his research group have developed a new laser technique called RAPID (Resolution Augmentation through Photo-Induced Deactivation) lithography that creates ever smaller computer chip features without the use of expensive ultraviolet light.

Medical College of Wisconsin researchers have developed a set of free tools called ViPDAC (virtual proteomics data analysis cluster), for use in combination with Amazon's inexpensive "cloud computing" service, providing the option to rent processing time on its powerful servers; and free software from the NIH and the University of Manitoba, to put this very expensive and promising field within reach of scientists everywhere. Their paper appears online today, in the Journal of Proteomic Research

Taking herbal food supplements is certainly not free of risk. Since 2005, the poison emergency centers in the German cities of Freiburg and Goettingen have registered a total of 17 patients with health problems after taking Chinese slimming capsules. The pharmacologist Dieter Mueller and his coauthors describe the documented cases of poisoning in the current edition of Deutsches Aerzteblatt International.

Researchers in the Midwestern United States have examined the effects of flooding on soil, and have discovered new ways in which short-term ponding conditions can affect soil aggregation and the chemistry of the soil-water system. These conditions can have a great impact on soil quality and agriculture in the region.

The deployment of military personnel to active war zones, which involves issues of separation, time away from home, and eventual reunion, increases the vulnerability of their families, The heavy reliance on National Guard and Reservists and the downsizing of traditional installations means that military families are increasingly likely to live in local communities rather than on military installations.