The family of a North Carolina man who died after driving his car off a collapsed bridge while following Google Maps directions is suing the technology giant for negligence

John Grisham, Jodi Picoult and George R

A dispute about whether Ukrainian grain should be allowed to enter the domestic markets of Poland and other European Union countries has pushed the tight relationship between Kyiv and Warsaw to its lowest point since Russia invaded Ukraine last year

Bats could hold the key to unlocking new ways to combat cancer, a new study suggests. A paper published by Oxford University Press, looks at the rapid evolution of bats for their abilities to both host and survive infections such as Covid-19 as well as cancer. The animals are known to have a strong immune system which helps fight off many viruses and diseases. These mammals are also thought to have played a role in the emergence of Covid-19 and scientists say such characteristics are interesting to investigate due to the implications it might have on human health. According to the research, understanding the mechanisms of the bat’s immune system that allows these animals to fight off viral infections – may pave the way to understanding how to prevent disease outbreaks from animals to people. To conduct the study, researchers sequenced the genomes of two bat species - the Jamaican fruit bat and the Mesoamerican mustached bat. The team used advanced technology from Oxford Nanopore Technologies and bat samples collected by the American Museum of Natural History in Belize. They then compared the bat genomes to those of other mammals. The results revealed that bats possessed genetic adaptations in proteins which are related to DNA repair and cancer suppression. It was found that bats had adaptations in six DNA repair-related proteins and 46 cancer-related proteins. The study also found that bats had more than double the number of altered cancer-related genes compared to other mammals, which provided further evidence that they have the ability to suppress cancer. “By generating these new bat genomes and comparing them to other mammals we continue to find extraordinary new adaptations in antiviral and anticancer genes,” said the paper’s lead author, Armin Scheben. “These investigations are the first step towards translating research on the unique biology of bats into insights relevant to understanding and treating ageing and diseases, such as cancer, in humans.” The results open up new paths for understanding and studying the links between cancer and immunity, which offers hope that these insights from bats might possibly lead to new treatments for human illnesses. According to the United States Department of the Interior, there are over 1,400 species of bats worldwide and are mostly found in extreme deserts and polar regions. In the US and Canada, there are about 45 species of bats. Read More British bats ‘can help identify coronaviruses with potential to infect humans’ Coronavirus origins still a mystery 3 years into pandemic Groundbreaking migraine treatment offers ‘new hope’ for patients World Sepsis Day: What is the condition and its symptoms? Duran Duran’s Andy Taylor says he’s ‘asymptomatic’ after end-of-life diagnosis

India has advised its citizens to be careful when traveling to Canada as a rift between the two nations widens further in the wake of Ottawa’s allegations that India may have been involved in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in suburban Vancouver

Leading Chinese planners have voiced confidence in the outlook for the world's second-largest economy, holding key interest rates steady amid signs of improvement in some areas such as services

Kai Koerber was a junior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School when a gunman murdered 14 students and three staff members on Valentine’s Day in 2018

Asian shares are mostly lower as markets await a decision by the Federal Reserve on interest rates

A pickup in losses in China bonds has sent local money managers rushing to reassure jittery clients that

Actor and philanthropist Michael J

Actor and philanthropist Michael J

The tiny Pacific island nation of Niue has come up with a novel plan to protect its vast and pristine territorial waters — it will get sponsors to pay