News by Subject Biology

E-cigarette brand JUUL's Twitter handle is attracting adolescents to the point that at least a quarter of its followers appear to be under age 18. Many of these minors -- to whom it is illegal to sell nicotine-delivery products -- are retweeting JUUL's messages, amplifying its advertisements.

In the ongoing chemical battles among bacteria and their microbial neighbors, a new toxin has been uncovered. This unfamiliar toxin behaves in a familiar way. Its actions against other bacteria resemble the mechanisms of cholera, pertussis and diphtheria toxins. Some bacteria deploying this toxin have safeguards against self-poisoning.

New research from Duke and Yale universities shows added flavorings in e-cigarettes or vaping devices react to e-liquid, or e-juice, creating new compounds that could trigger irritation and inflammation when inhaled.

A study of liver cells exposed to the common painkiller acetaminophen found a novel mechanism for the drug's toxicity at high doses. Researchers say a protein modification called glutathionylation, kicked off by acetaminophen treatment, impairs liver cell mitochondria.

Researchers have found that rutin, an inexpensive, plant-based compound may protect envenomed mice from bleeding and inflammation problems, according to a study published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases by Ana Teresa Azevedo Sachetto of Institute Butantan, São Paulo, Brazil.