More than 1 percent, or 1 in every 88 children, is diagnosed with autism today, including 1 in 54 boys, according a new report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). This is a 78% percent increase of autism in children in 6 years (2002-2008) and a staggering 10-fold (1000%) increase in reported prevalence over the last 40 years.

In a remarkable 36-hour operation transplant surgeons at the University of Maryland performed the most extensive full face transplant.  The face transplant included both jaws, teeth and tongue.  This marks the first time in the world that a full face transplant was performed by a team of plastic and reconstructive surgeons with specialized training and expertise in craniofacial surger

According to a new study, a monoclonal antibody (REGN727) to the protein PCSK9 can significantly reduce bad cholesterol.  PCSK9 (proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin 9) is a serine protease.  LDL cholesterol levels in the blood increases when its receptors (LDL receptor) are degraded by binding to PCSK9.

A petition to increase NIH budget to $33 billion dollars in 2012-2013 fiscal year is under way. According to the petition being promoted on the White House website, a flat $30.7 billion funding for the year will kill jobs and hurt research.

Researchers have identified the intracellular mechanisms regulated by vitamin D3 that may help the body clear the brain of amyloid beta. Amyloid beta is the main component of plaques associated with Alzheimer's disease. Amyloid beta, also called Abeta, is a peptide of 36–43 amino acids long that is cleaved from the parent peptide,  Amyloid precursor protein.

Unexpected new findings by a University of Maryland team of geochemists show that some portions of the Earth's mantle (the rocky layer between Earth's metallic core and crust) formed when the planet was much smaller than it is now, and that some of this early-formed mantle survived Earth's turbulent formation, including a collision with another planet-sized body that many scientists

A new technique holds promise for the creation of catalytic materials that can serve as effective low-cost alternatives to platinum for generating hydrogen gas from water that is acidic. The technique for creating a new molecule that structurally and chemically replicates the active part of the widely used industrial catalyst molybdenite has been developed by researchers with the U.S.