Everyday exposure to naturally occurring asbestos increases the risk of developing malignant mesothelioma, according to a study by UC Davis researchers.

The study - the largest to examine the question - will be published this fall in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

This composite image shows the combined structure of Coxsackievirus A21 and a "receptor molecule" called ICAM-1.Biologists at Purdue University have determined the combined structure of a common-cold virus attached to a molecule that enables the virus to infect its host, information that ultimately may help researchers develop methods for treating certain viral infections.

Coxsackievirus A21 infects host cells first by recognizing a "receptor molecule" called ICAM-1, which is located on the cell's surface, and then by anchoring itself to the molecule. ICAM-1 stands for intracellular adhesion molecule 1.

Women who take soy or herbal supplements, such as black cohosh, red clover and ginseng, should do so with care, says a Cornell University expert affiliated with the Program on Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors (BCERF) at Cornell, the land-grant institution of New York state.

Some women who use a combination of estrogen and progestin to control the symptoms of menopause might find symptoms return when they stop the hormones, according to the latest findings from the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), a major clinical trial of the risks and benefits of menopausal hormone therapy supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

A systematic search through human genes has begun at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany. Working within the MitoCheck consortium that includes 10 other institutes throughout Europe, the EMBL scientists will silence all human genes, one-by-one, to find those involved in cell division (mitosis) and to answer fundamental questions of how cell division is regulated.

A new way to monitor the effects of climate change on rainforests is being investigated at Cambridge University. Researchers are using biomarkers in the shape of epiphytes ('air-plants' which grow on other plants) to find out how their photosynthesis and water evaporation have been affected by climate change over the last 50 years.

A modification to an "ace" gene prediction program by computer scientists at Washington University in St. Louis now enables scientists to predict the very beginnings of gene transcription start sites and where the first splice occurs thereby defining the first exon of the gene.

Caterpillars are bleeding defensive! Insects are known to lack an antibody-mediated immune response, and research in caterpillars has recently shown that, instead, they produce protective proteins in response to bacterial infection. The pattern recognition receptors (PRR) and antibacterial effectors produced at a first infection still function to protect against a repeated challenge. These results raise important issues in insect research which will be reported by Dr. Ioannis Eleftherianos at the Society of Experimental Biology Annual Meeting at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona on Wednesday 13th of July.

Ever wondered why you aren't able to swat a fly? The fly's secret in avoiding death in this way lies in its decision to jump rather than to fly out of the way. "This kind of low-power decision-making could be of interest to those building autonomously navigating robots", according to Gwyneth Card of the California Institute of Technology, who will be presenting her work on triggered escape response at the Society for Experimental Biology Annual Main Meeting in Barcelona, on Wednesday 13th July [session A7.15].