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Treating intensive care patients who develop life-threatening bacterial infections, or septicemia, with insulin potentially could reduce their chances of succumbing to the infection, if results of a new preliminary study can be replicated in a larger study.

A research team has determined the structure for three proteins in a class known as intrinsically disordered proteins. The findings are important because they show how these proteins fold with the regulator protein phosphatase-1, which must happen for biological instructions to be passed along.

Dendritic cells are the grand sentinels of the immune system, standing guard 24/7 to detect foreign invaders such as viruses and bacteria, and bring news of the invasion to other immune cells to marshal an attack. These sentinels, however, nearly always fail to respond adequately to HIV, the virus causing AIDS. Now scientists have discovered a sensor in dendritic cells that recognizes HIV, spurring a more potent immune response by the sentinels to the virus.

In groups with high rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), such as the survivors of the Nazi Death Camps, the adjustment problems of their children, the so-called "Second Generation", have received attention by researchers. Studies suggested that some symptoms or personality traits associated with PTSD may be more common in the Second Generation than the general population. It has been assumed that these trans-generational effects reflected the impact of PTSD upon the parent-child relationship rather than a trait passed biologically from parent to child.

Scientists have identified a new gene that is required for memory formation in Drosophila, the common fruit fly. The gene may have similar functions in humans, shedding light on neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease or human learning disabilities.

Researchers are examining how iris discrimination performs in twins to confirm prior claims that biometrics is capable of differentiating between twins.

Researchers shed light on a paradox that has puzzled biologists since the discovery of telomeres, the protective tips of chromosomes: while broken chromosome ends generated by DNA damage (such as radiation or cigarette smoke) are quickly joined together, telomeres are never tied to each other, thus allowing for the correct segregation of the genetic material.

An international team of scientists has discovered the reason why some people who eat a high-fat diet remain slim, yet others pile on the weight. The study found that a high-fat diet causes brain cells to become insulated from the body preventing vital signals, which tell the body to stop eating and to burn energy, from reaching the brain efficiently.

Scientists have developed a new strategy for quicker and more precise detection of biomarkers -- proteins which indicate disease. The work could pave the way for new tools to detect early stages of Alzheimer's and cancer at the molecular level.

Scientists are calling for more research on the possibility that some supposedly healthful plant-based antioxidants -- including those renowned for their apparent ability to prevent cancer -- may actually aggravate or even cause cancer in some individuals. Their recommendation follows a study in which two such antioxidants -- quercetin and ferulic acid -- appeared to aggravate kidney cancer in severely diabetic laboratory rats.