New insights into the role of estrogen receptor in mammary gland development may help scientists better understand the molecular origin of breast cancer, according to new research from the University of Cincinnati (UC).About a decade ago, U.S. scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) developed a standard estrogen receptor (ER) gene knock-out mouse model to study the estrogen receptor’s role in human diseases. [click link for full article]

Scientists know that inside each cell, a little engine called RNA polymerase II does one essential job: It copies instructions from genes in the nucleus that get carried to production units in the rest of the cell to support our daily needs. Now researchers at the University of Michigan Medical School have shown that RNA polymerase II also constantly scans the cell’s DNA for damage. [click link for full article]

“A hard rain’s gonna fall…” So the Dylan song went… but when rain and storm surges fall on lands protected by weak levees, this means trouble⬦big trouble. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita were devastating reminders of this frightening fact. [click link for full article]

In the dynamic world of the developing brain, neural stem cells give rise to neurons deep within the brain’s fluid-filled ventricles. These newborn neurons then migrate along the stem cell fibers up to the neocortex, the seat of higher cognitive functions. Now, scientists have discovered a key mechanism of this migration - one that may also play an important role in other developmental processes and diseases, including cancer. [click link for full article]

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that a single gene might control whether or not individuals tend to pile on fat, a discovery that may point to new ways to fight obesity and diabetes.”From worms to mammals, this gene controls fat formation,” said Dr. Jonathan Graff, associate professor of developmental biology and internal medicine at UT Southwestern and senior author of a study appearing in the Sept. 5 issue of Cell Metabolism. [click link for full article]

A forest fire in northeast Sierra Nevada is at last spreading in a direction which no longer threatens people’s homes in Pumas County, say authorities. However, another one in Santa Clara County is still causing serious concern for some 25 homeowners. The northeast Sierra Nevada has sent a plume of smoke and haze hundreds of miles away, where health warnings are still being issued. [click link for full article]

A combination of two drugs shows promise in treating a rare and therapy-resistant type of melanoma that originates in the eye and spreads to other organs, according to a new study led by Duke University Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers.The drugs — decitabine, which can turn on certain genes in cancer cells, and interferon gamma, an immune system protein — may work together to cause cancer cell death. [click link for full article]

According to the Nicaraguan Civil Defence Force, over 34,000 people have been affected by Hurricane Felix in Nicaragua’s northern Caribbean region and 8,441 houses were damaged. These figures are likely to increase as the rescue brigades reach communities isolated by the rain and swollen rivers. UNICEF representative in Nicaragua, Debora Comini said, “UNICEF will help the national authorities guarantee the supply of safe water, hygiene and nutrition to small children. [click link for full article]

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) expressed alarm at an upsurge in fighting in North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo that is hampering efforts to deliver food assistance to tens of thousands of people driven from their homes. At the same time, a shortage of funds is aggravating the situation, with supplies of WFP food assistance fast running out. [click link for full article]

A food security assessment prepared by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) indicates that thousands of people recovering from devastating August floods in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) require immediate and continued humanitarian food assistance including nutritional support for children and other vulnerable persons in the heavily-flooded counties. [click link for full article]