Hereditary angioedema (HAE) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by recurrent painful swellings of the skin and mucous membranes. Without treatment, patients’ quality of life is noticeably compromised: Angioedema may not only be disfiguring; in the gastrointestinal tract it may lead to severe abdominal colic ad in the upper airways it can even be fatal if left untreated. The frequency of angioedema attacks is unpredictable and varies from patient to patient; swellings may occur up to several times a week. The disorder affects about one to two in a hundred thousand people. 

The exact science of tree sap transport has puzzled plant physiologists for many years. Sap’s migration throughout tree trunks and branches is linked heavily to transpiration, the movement and subsequent evaporation of moisture from plants. As carbon dioxide diffuses inward from the air to plant leaves, a vapor pressure deficit between the leaf interior and surrounding atmosphere causes evaporation. This generates tension within leaf cell walls that is then transmitted via sap to tracheids — conductive hollow wood cells with vertical grooves that comprise the trunk, stem, and branches of trees and are collectively called sapwood. The resulting negative sap pressure draws water from roots to leaves, sometimes to heights of over 300 feet. 

Plants have to defend themselves against drought, enemies and disease. But different threats demand different responses. So how do plants know what’s attacking them?

Tropical Storm Jongdari appeared much more organized in visible imagery from NASA’s Terra satellite when passed over the Northwestern Pacific Ocean.

A global biodiversity collapse is imminent unless we take urgent, concerted action to reverse species loss in the tropics, according to a major scientific study in the prestigious journal Nature.  

Scientists at Scripps Research have uncovered a new strategy to kill tumors, including some triple-negative breast cancers, without harming healthy cells, a discovery that could lead to more ways to treat tumors while reducing side effects.

Rice University scientists have released the first results of extensive water sampling in Houston after the epic flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey. They found widespread contamination by E. coli, likely the result of overflow from flooded wastewater treatment plants.

Data from ESA (European Space Agency) and NASA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) has captured the dynamic movement of the Sun’s atmosphere for over 20 years. Today, we can hear the Sun’s movement — all of its waves, loops and eruptions — with our own ears.

The 2014 megafires in Canada's Northwest Territories burned 7 million acres of forest, making it one of the most severe fire events in Canadian history.

New-generation lung cancer drugs have been effective in a large number of patients, but within about a year, the patients tend to develop resistance to the therapy. Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science, in collaboration with physicians, have conducted a study in mice, in which they used existing drugs in a new combination to help crush potential resistance to the treatment. Their findings were published recently in the journal Clinical Cancer Research.