The humble fruit fly and a grant from the AICR – the Association for International Cancer Research - are helping a leading scientist in London identify potential targets for drugs that block the spread of cancer.

A surprising new study finds that women in their 60s have as many risk factors for heart disease as men, and by their 70s have more, according to research led by demographers at the University of Southern California.

The body's mast cells are mainly associated with allergic reaction in the way they release histamine and other inflammatory substances. However, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have now demonstrated how the mast cells can also contribute to diseases like psoriasis and cancer.

Frozen bubbles in Siberian lakes are releasing methane, a greenhouse gas, at rates that appear to be "... five times higher than previously estimated" and acting as a positive feedback to climate warming, said Katey Walter, in a paper published today in the journal Nature.

To speed healing at sites of injury - such as heart muscle after a heart attack or brain tissue after a stroke - doctors would like to be able to hasten the formation of new blood vessels. One promising approach is to "mobilize" patients' blood vessel-forming cells, called angiogenic cells, so these cells can reach the injured area.