A blitz of attacks across Afghanistan led to the deaths of 52 armed Taliban members in the past day, the Ministry of Interior said Wednesday.
Aid fears after coup in C.A.R.
Since a coup in the Central African Republic, 200 people have been injured. Now aid groups fear a humanitarian crisis.
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Tracking the rumor that just won’t die: The Facebook phone
This urban legend is alive and well, despite regular denials. Here, we’ve rounded up the rumors from the past two-and-a-half years. [Read more]
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Cowboys Reach 6-Year, $108 Million Deal With Quarterback Tony Romo
The deal makes Romo — who has one playoff victory — the highest-paid player in franchise history. The agreed-to terms stipulate that $ 55 million are guaranteed.
Mapping a nuclear ghost town
Cars remain where they were crushed by falling walls two years ago, drink vending machines stand in gloomy isolation outside shuttered shops and traffic lights still blink amber in deserted streets.
The Slipper Didn’t Fit: Elite Eight March On Without Cinderella
Florida Gulf Coast’s run as NCAA darlings has ended, but it was an outcome the stats predicted. Michigan also rallied Friday, joining the likes of Duke and Louisville. The remaining eight teams will be vying this weekend to make the Final Four.
Making life easier for disabled vets
Dale Beatty’s nonprofit helps disabled veterans who have various housing issues. Sometimes it finds them a new home, sometimes it modifies an existing home.
Minesweeper lifted from Philippine reef
The Guardian is gone. What was left of the former U.S. Navy minesweeper was lifted off a Philippine reef on Saturday.
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Afghans say airstrike killed civilians
An investigation is under way into whether civilians were killed as a result of a coalition airstrike in Afghanistan, a spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force said Saturday.
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Scientists identify genetic causes for cancer
More than 80 genome regions that can raise a person’s risk of developing prostate, breast and ovarian cancers, have been identified in a huge study led by scientists from the University of Cambridge and The Institute of Cancer Research, London.
Scientists say that the work, conducted through COGS (Collaborative Oncological Gene-Environment Study), will push forward our understanding of the biological causes of cancer. They warn, however, that the findings do not provide enough data to currently predict who will develop breast, prostate or ovarian cancers on the basis of genetics alone.
COGS is an EU-based consortium where more than 160 research groups from all over the world coordinate their work.
Coordinator of the COGS, Per Hall, said “People are already asking us, ‘Shouldn’t you genotype all people, to determine their individual risk for being diagnosed with these cancers?’,… But it’s too early.”
COGS has released a batch of 13 papers in five journals this week, including: Nature Communications, Nature Genetics, PLOS Genetics, the American Journal of Human Genetic, and Human Molecular Genetics.
The study will lead to a deeper understanding of how these cancers develop, and hopefully new therapies and targeted screening, the authors explained.
Seeking out SNPs or “spelling mistakes”
The researchers were specifically looking for SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) – genetic variations – that might be associated with a greater risk of developing cancer. Authors from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, who were involved in the study, describe the SNPs as “genetic spelling mistakes” or “typos”.
SNPs are part of our natural heritage, genetic “typos” we inherit. How they affect a person depends on where on the DNA strand the genetic defect is found.
The scientists studied the DNA of more than 100,000 cancer patients and an additional 100,000 individuals from the general population. They discovered mutations that patients with ovarian, breast or prostate cancers had in common.