For the first time, researchers have combined gene therapy and stem cell transplantation to successfully reverse the severe, crippling bleeding disorder hemophilia A in large animals, opening the door to the development of new therapies for human patients.

North Carolina State University researchers have uncovered evidence that evolutionary "breakpoints" on canine chromosomes are also associated with canine cancer. Mapping these "fragile" regions in dogs may also have implications for the discovery and treatment of human cancers.

Even remote tropical forests, like this forest in Panama, are affected by nitrogen pollution. Scientists braved ticks and a tiger to discover how human activities have perturbed the nitrogen cycle in tropical forests. Studies at two remote Smithsonian Institution Global Earth Observatory sites in Panama and Thailand show the first evidence of long-term effects of nitrogen pollution in tropical trees.

Bright light arouses us. Bright light makes it easier to stay awake. Very bright light not only arouses us but is known to have antidepressant effects. Conversely, dark rooms can make us sleepy. It's the reason some people use masks to make sure light doesn't wake them while they sleep.

The discovery of a new gene is helping researchers at Michigan State University envision more-efficient molecular factories of the future.

Rebecca Murphy, lead author of the Chesapeake Bay study, is a doctoral student in the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering at Johns Hopkins. Efforts to reduce the flow of fertilizers, animal waste and other pollutants into the Chesapeake Bay appear to be giving a boost to the bay's health, a new study that analyzed 60 years of water quality data has concluded. The study, published in the November 2011 issue of Estuaries and Coasts, was conducted by researchers from the Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.