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Researchers have learned more about how a leading drug prevents certain types of arthritis from eating away at bone. Precursors to bone-eating cells are a likely target of next-generation arthritis treatments.

A nuclear receptor protein, known for controlling the ability of cells to burn fat, also exerts powerful anti-inflammatory effects in arteries, suppressing atherosclerosis in mice prone to developing the harmful plaques. The research offers a new and specific target for the development of drugs that specifically treat cardiovascular complications associated with metabolic syndrome.

Women whose breast cancer came back after treatment had almost twice as much estrogen in their blood than did women who remained cancer-free -- despite treatment with anti-estrogen drugs in a majority of the women.

Many children with autism have elevated blood levels of serotonin -- a chemical with strong links to mood and anxiety. But what relevance this "hyperserotonemia" has for autism has remained a mystery. Investigators provides a physical basis for this phenomenon, which may have profound implications for the origin of some autism-associated deficits.

Scientists have shown that just listening to a cell phone while driving is a significant distraction, and it causes drivers to commit some of the same types of driving errors that can occur under the influence of alcohol. Brain imaging reveals drivers are distracted even if they don't talk.

Solving a long-standing biological mystery, stem cell researchers have discovered that blood stem cells, the cells that later differentiate into all the cells in the blood supply, originate and are nurtured in the placenta.

Scientists have discovered how to prevent certain craniofacial disorders in what could ultimately lead to at-risk babies being treated in the womb. They have successfully treated mice with Treacher Collins syndrome -- a rare genetic disorder characterised by underdeveloped facial bones, absent or deformed ears and occasionally cleft palate. Researchers have shown that preventing neural crest cells from dying allowed mice with the Treacher Collins gene to develop normally. The principle could also be applied to other single-gene birth defects.

Authorities often fail to recognize or treat the physic damage suffered by siblings in families where only one child is abused. In chilling anecdotes extrapolated from cases, the study chronicles how parents can force siblings to become either emotionally numb or hostile toward the abuse victim.

New guidelines for colorectal cancer screening have been made. The guidelines add two new tests to the list of recommended options: stool DNA (sDNA) and CT colonography (CTC), also known as virtual colonoscopy, and for the first time include a preference for screening tests that can not only detect cancer early but also detect precancerous polyps, as those tests provide a greater potential for cancer prevention through polyp removal.

The bacteria Oxalobacter formigenes (O. formigenes), a naturally occurring bacterium that has no known side effects, is associated with a 70 percent reduction in the risk of recurrent kidney stones. According to the researchers, up to 80 percent of kidney stones are predominately composed on calcium oxalate (CaOx) and urinary oxalate is a major risk factor for CaOx stone formation. O. formigenes metabolizes oxalate in the intestinal tract and is present in a large proportion of the normal adult population.