Waking up during surgery – it’s terrifying to think about. But it does happen. There is evidence that around 5 per cent of people may experience so-called anaesthesia awareness at some point on the operating table, though not everyone remembers it.

Living through such an event can be traumatic and painful. So what can be done to prevent it?

Anaesthetists have a few tools that can open a channel of communication while a patient is paralysed by neuromuscular blocking drugs.

A new study published in Nature Ecology and Evolution led by scientists from the University of Chicago challenges one of the classic assumptions about how new proteins evolve. The research shows that random, noncoding sections of DNA can quickly evolve to produce new proteins. These de novo, or “from scratch,” genes provide a new, unexplored way that proteins evolve and contribute to biodiversity.

“Using a big genome comparison, we show that noncoding sequences can evolve into completely novel proteins. That’s a huge discovery,” said Manyuan Long, PhD, the Edna K. Papazian Distinguished Service Professor of Ecology and Evolution at UChicago and senior author of the new study.

This app tests for anemia — and could save millions of lives.

A common oral bacteria has been found to release a molecule that accelerates the growth of colorectal cancers. The impressive new research could lead to new cancer treatments as well as offer a valuable biomarker to help doctors identify potentially aggressive cancers.