A protein in mice known as RGS13 suppresses allergic reactions, including the severe, life-threatening allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis, according to scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Because RGS13 is also a protein found in humans and is expressed in only a limited number of cells—including the immune system’s mast cells that are central to allergic reactions—scientists believe the protein may be an attractive target for developing new drugs to treat and prevent certain allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis.

Animal conservationists in Manchester are turning to physics to investigate whether global warming is responsible for killing sun-loving South American tree frogs.

A rapid production of therapeutic human drugs using modified mushrooms may help mount a quicker response to various public health problems, according to plant pathologists who have received a federal grant to perfect their technique.

Adding another layer of competition to the mating game, scientists are reporting possible biochemical proof that the reproductive system of female mammals can “sense” the presence of sperm and react to it by changing the uterine environment. This may be the molecular mechanism behind post-copulatory sexual selection, in which females that have mated with several partners play a role in determining which sperm fertilizes their egg.

Researchers here have shown that in cell cultures, the stress hormone norepinephrine appears to promote the biochemical signals that stimulate certain tumor cells to grow and spread.

Dr. Daron Faris, family medicine physician and director of the MCG Gynecologic Cancer Prevention Center, is studying a new vaccine for the nine of the most harmful strains of human papillomavirus. The new vaccine, called nine-valent, is being compared with Gardasil, a quadrivalent vaccine already on the market that works against the two most deadly HPV types. Credit: Medical College of Georgia A new vaccine against nine of the most harmful strains of human papillomavirus is under study at the Medical College of Georgia.

The advent of the cultivation of grains was a boon to humankind, giving humans a type of food that could be stored long term and would sustain them through drought and famine. Grains, however, lack many of the nutrients needed to sustain life.

M.C. Escher’s ambiguous drawings transfix us: Are those black birds flying against a white sky or white birds soaring out of a black sky? Which side is up on those crazy staircases?