(European Society of Human Genetics) Researchers from the US and The Netherlands have found ways to earlier and better prediction of diseases such as diabetes, atherosclerosis, and heart disease by studying the genetic make-up of different varieties of lipids in blood plasma.

(University of North Carolina School of Medicine) Now, thanks to an in-depth analysis by a team led by Fernando Pardo-Manuel de Villena, Ph.D., in the UNC Department of Genetics and Gary Churchill, Ph.D., at the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine, researchers will be able to use an online resource dubbed the Mouse Phylogeny Viewer to select from among 162 strains of laboratory mice for which the entire genome has been characterized.

(University of Chicago) Moral responses to similar situations change as people age, says a study that combined brain scanning, eye-tracking and behavioral measures to understand how the brain responds to morally laden scenarios. Preschool children and adults distinguish between damage done either intentionally or accidentally when assessing whether a perpetrator had done something wrong. Adults are much less likely than children to think someone should be punished for damaging an object, especially if the action was accidental.

(University of Wisconsin-Madison) Estimates that are based on current, static population data can greatly misrepresent the true extent — and the pronounced variability — of the human toll of climate change, say University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers.

(University of California – San Francisco) In the first major study exploring the connection between vitamin D and multiple sclerosis in African-Americans, a team of scientists at the University of California, San Francisco has discovered that vitamin D levels in the blood are lower in African-Americans who have the disease, compared to African-Americans who do not.

(Stanford University) Stanford researchers have developed a way to see deeper — and more clearly — into bodily organs of laboratory mice used in studies of medications. Fluorescent carbon nanotubes, injected into the mice, provide clearer images.

(University of Calgary) New study in the Journal of Applied Physiology suggests that low intensity warm-ups enhance athletic performance.

(Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres) Researchers of the Max Delbrück Center have discovered what enables embryonic stem cells to differentiate into diverse cell types and thus to be pluripotent. This pluripotency depends on a molecule — E-cadherin — hitherto primarily known for its role in mediating cell-cell adhesion. If E-cadherin is absent, the stem cells lose their pluripotency. The molecule also plays a crucial role in the reprogramming of body cells into pluripotent stem cells.

(European Commission Joint Research Centre) Report shows how molecular technologies can provide clear answers to questions such as “what species does this fish product come from … where was this fish caught … is it wild or farmed?” The report by the Commission’s Joint Research Centre, is called “Deterring illegal activities in the fisheries sector” and shows how these technologies can help in the fight against illegal practices and support traceability — including of processed products such as canned fish — “from ocean to fork”.

(Friedrich-Schiller-Universitaet Jena) How does a dog run? Until now even experts found it nearly impossible to answer this simple sounding question. “We simply didn’t know”, says Professor Dr. Martin S. Fischer from the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany). Surely: A dog moves on four legs, in pacing, trotting or galloping. But so far even the Jena scientist could only guess at the exact motion sequence within the locomotor system.