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A study of non-western and western women's body shapes found that the "perfect" hour-glass or pear shape supposedly favoured by men where the waist to hip ratio is 0.7 or less, is rarely found among women who have to rely on their own resources, such as going out to work or to search for food, to support themselves and their families.

Synthetic biology promises to enable cheap, lifesaving new drugs to treat the 350-500 million people who suffer from malaria, and to create innovative biofuels that can help solve the world's energy problems.

A Canadian and American research group including the team of Dr. Robert Koenekoop from the Research Institute at the Montreal Children's Hospital of the MUHC has just been awarded $2.4 million from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Foundation Fighting Blindness Canada (FFB). This five-year grant will fund an ambitious research project to develop innovative gene therapies for a number of human degenerative retinal diseases.

A brand new process that could revolutionise the reliability and durability of surgical implants, such as hip and knee replacements, has received recognition for its medical and commercial potential by achieving one of the world's most sought after accolades.

(Swedish Research Council) Research in the theory of evolution includes a number of accepted theories about how men and women choose their partners. Among the more established ones is that men place more emphasis on attractive appearance, whereas resources and social status are more important to women.By examining lonely hearts advertisements, researchers at the university of Gothenburg and the University of Oxford have now tested how valid these presumed preferences are when modern individuals choose partners.

Scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center have determined that the immune-system protein interferon plays a key role in "teaching" the immune system how to fight off repeated infections of the same virus. The findings, available online and in the Dec. 15 issue of the Journal of Immunology, have potential application in the development of more effective vaccines and anti-viral therapies.

The HFSP Journal, the new interdisciplinary journal for scientists conducting high quality, innovative research at the interface between biology and the physical sciences is pleased to announce that a special issue focusing on the fundamental process of protein folding approached both experimentally and theoretically is now available online at http://hfspj.aip.

Scientists have successfully created the first induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell lines from adult monkey skin cells. The research, published by Cell Press in the December issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, demonstrates that the method of direct reprogramming is conserved among species and may be useful for creation of clinically valuable primate models for human diseases.

Scientists in Texas, California, and Maryland are reporting development of high-tech "wipes" that are capable of quickly decontaminating people and equipment exposed to a broad range of military and industrial chemicals, including the deadly blister agent known as "mustard." The next generation wipes, which are a major step toward a universal personal decontamination system for nearly any toxic or hazardous chemical, could help save the lives of soldiers and civilians.

(Catholic University) Moderate alcohol intake is associated with higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids in plasma and red blood cells. This is the major finding of the European study IMMIDIET that will be published in the January issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The study suggests that wine does better than other alcoholic drinks. This effect could be ascribed to compounds other than alcohol itself, representing a key to understand the mechanism lying behind the heart protection observed in moderate wine drinkers.