MIT biologists have discovered a new type of RNA-splicing regulation that helps to determine which protein-coding exons will be included in messenger RNA transcripts.

People in their late teens and early 20s may be more sensitive to nicotine and more susceptible to nicotine addiction than middle aged adults, according to a new study in mice from researchers in the Penn State Department of Biobehavioral Health. The results provide evidence that the effects of drugs on the body — both medication and misused substances — change over the lifespan in ways that clinicians and researchers need to consider when developing and prescribing treatments, the researchers said.

Breast cancer incidence trends in U.S. women under 40 vary by geography and supports incorporating location information with established risk factors into risk prediction, improving the ability to identify groups of younger women at higher risk for early-onset breast cancer.