The switch controls the growth of telomeres, the timekeepers of cells.

Fats are often considered the enemy of good nutrition, but when included in a healthy diet they can boast several potential health benefits. In the September issue of Food Technology magazine published by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), Contributing Editor Linda Milo Ohr writes about how fatty acids and nutritional oils may benefit cognition, weight management, heart health, eye and brain development, and even mood. 

Dangerous new pathogens such as the Ebola virus invoke scary scenarios of deadly epidemics, but even ancient scourges such as the bubonic plague are still providing researchers with new insights on how the body responds to infections.

The current Ebola outbreak now requires a “rapid response at a massive global scale”, according to experts at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. 

A ‘game changer,’ says UCLA’s Dr. Antoni Ribas, the study’s principal investigator.

When they are not busy attacking us, germs go after each other. But when viruses invade bacteria, it doesn’t always spell disaster for the infected microbes: Sometimes viruses actually carry helpful genes that a bacterium can harness to, say, expand its diet or better attack its own hosts.

Sleep difficulties may be linked to faster rates of decline in brain volume, according to a study published in the September 3, 2014, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Acoustic device that separates tumor cells from blood cells could help assess cancer’s spread

 Home Microbiome Project announces results of study on household microbes

Research from University of Leicester sniffs-out smell of disease in feces.

Los Alamos and partners test ionic liquids to break bacterial biofilm layer and save lives.

Even the most careful chosen meal can contain surprises. To defend against infectious microbes, viruses or other potential hazards that find their way to the intestines, a dedicated contingent of immune cells keeps watch within the thin layer of tissue that divides the contents of the gut from the body itself.