A single dose of the bivalent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine (Cervarix) offers a similar level of protection against the HPV-16/18 infections - which cause about 70% of cervical cancers - as current two- and three-dose schedules, according to data from two large phase 3 trials.

Worldwide, cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women. The bivalent vaccine targets HPV types 16 and 18 that are responsible for about 70% of cervical cancers. The HPV-16/18 vaccine was initially approved to be given in three doses over 6 months, but many countries are moving to a two-dose schedule in adolescents.

Researchers have identified individual stem cells that can regenerate tissue, cartilage and bone.

The stem cells are mixed within human bone marrow stromal cells (MSCs) but are similar in appearance and previously, scientists had difficulty in distinguishing between them. The researchers isolated individual MSCs and analyzed their different properties.

This allowed researchers to identify those stem cells which are capable of repairing damaged cartilage or joint tissue opening the way for improved treatment for arthritis.

Non-invasive prenatal testing for Down syndrome is feasible, acceptable to parents, and could be introduced into the National Health Service (NHS), researchers in the United Kingdom say. 

The results of a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) study carried out by the first NHS laboratory to provide  non-invasive prenatal testing  testing were reported to the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics Saturday. 

 If you want to blame something for an overcast day, it's safe to go with the tropics. Water vapor originating from the Earth's tropics is transported to mid-latitudes on long filaments of flowing air that intermittently travel across the world's oceans.

When these airy tendrils make landfall, they can cause severe floods and other extreme weather events. Yet despite the importance of these "atmospheric rivers" for the global water and heat cycles, the mechanism behind their formation is still a mystery.

A lot of problems, associated with the mixing of the liquid in the microchannels, could be solved via proper organization of the inhomogeneous slip on the walls of these channels, according to a joint group of Russian and German scientists lead by Olga Vinogradova, professor at the M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University. 

Scientists are beginning to unwrap the biology behind why some people are more prone to major depression and other psychiatric disorders than others when experiencing stressful life events.

The researchers found that cellular activity in response to stress hormone receptor activation differs from individual to individual.

The study, led by Janine Arloth, Ryan Bogdan, and Elisabeth Binder at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Germany, also shows that the genetic variations underlying this difference in stress response correlate with dysfunction in the amygdala, a brain region that is an important part of the stress hormone response.