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A team of scientists has discovered new information about how Fragile X Syndrome interferes with signaling between the nucleus of neurons and the synapse, the outer reaches of the neuron where two neurons communicate via chemical and electrical signals. The discovery should help lead the way to the development of new treatments for FXS, the most common form of inherited mental retardation and also a genetic contributor to some types of autism and epilepsy.

Variations in a gene within the family of bacteria that causes syphilis may hold clinical, epidemiological and evolutionary significance. Researchers have identified sequence variations in the acidic repeat protein gene that allow straightforward differentiation of venereal syphilis from non-venereal Treponema pallidum subspecies.

Making a virginity pledge may help some young people postpone the start of sexual activity. Researchers found that adolescents who made pledges to remain virgins until they are married were less likely to be sexually active over the three-year study period than other youth who were similar to them, but who did not make a virginity pledge.

Every year, about 500 million people worldwide are infected with the parasite that causes dysentery, a global medical burden that among infectious diseases is second only to malaria. In a new study appearing in Genes and Development, researchers may have found a way to ease this burden by discovering a new enzyme that may help the dysentery-causing amoeba evade the immune system.

A new mouse model of osteosarcoma has been developed. Osteosarcoma is the most common type of malignant bone cancer, and one of the most lethal: The 5-year survival rate is only about 60%, and this statistic drops steeply once the cancer spreads.

Scientists have discovered an unknown regulator of fat and cholesterol production in the liver of mice, a significant finding that could lead to new therapies for lowering unhealthy blood levels of cholesterol and fats.

A blood substitute's effectiveness and safety was addressed in a large Phase III clinical trial by academic and industry researchers.