Obesity can worsen the impact of asthma and may also mask its severity in standard tests, according to researchers in New Zealand, who studied lung function in asthmatic women with a range of body mass indexes.
- Article Source

Cross-sectional studies from around the world show a consistent increased risk of obesity among short sleepers in children and adults. This study showed a consistent pattern of increased odds of being a short sleeper if you are obese, both in childhood and adulthood.
- Article Source

Short and long sleepers are more likely to have metabolic syndrome, or a combination of medical disorders that increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. According to the results, the odds for having the metabolic syndrome increased by more than 45 percent in both short and long sleepers.
- Article Source

Therapies under development to treat prostate cancer by inhibiting the ability of insulin-like growth factor to activate its target receptor could have unexpected results especially if a major tumor suppressor gene — p53 — is already compromised.
- Article Source

Men whose prostate cancer screenings show high grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia may find themselves in limbo, “stuck” between diagnoses — they are told prostate cancer has not yet developed, but it might, and they are advised to undergo repeated needle biopsies as a precaution.
- Article Source

Based on research using a new mouse model of gastritis and stomach cancer, researchers say that prompt treatment of Helicobacter pylori infections reverses damage to the lining of the stomach that can lead to cancer.
- Article Source

The relatively recent expansion of China’s overseas trade probably accounts for China’s being less invaded than the United States by alien plants, but the potential for invasion of China by shrubs, trees, climbers and aquatic plants is high. Decisive action is needed now to avert potentially large economic losses from invasive plants in China and other countries in Asia.
- Article Source

Bacteria that feed on seaweed could help in the disposal of pollutants in the world’s oceans, according to a new study. Researchers explain that as marine pollution is on the increase novel approaches to removing toxic contaminants is becoming an increasingly pressing issue.
- Article Source

“Plays well with others.” That popular phrase on a T-shirt is being taken to a whole new level in higher education these days, as experts in a variety of fields increasingly must work together to address some of society’s biggest challenges, from a warming planet to cancer. Policy scientists are uncovering how scientists from different disciplines form working relationships. The findings will shed light on scientific collaboration — a process about which little is known, but much is expected.
- Article Source

A new space mission, due to launch this month, is going to shed light on some of the most extreme astrophysical processes in nature — including pulsars, remnants of supernovae, and supermassive black holes. It could even help us comprehend the origin and distribution of dark matter.
- Article Source