Potential Exists to Possibly Prevent Disease Before Onset Symptoms Appear, Suggests Report in February’s Journal of Nuclear Medicine
Using both brain function (PET) and anatomical structure (MR) imaging studies, Italian researchers—within the context of an Italian-British collaboration—discovered that degenerative and dysfunctional events occur in individuals many years before the onset of Huntington’s disease—particularly in the brain’s white matter—an area not previously considere
Water. Waste. Energy. This trio of problems is among the greatest challenges to the environmental health of society. Water purification alone is becoming more problematic in the world due to our increasingly reliance on contaminated sources, such as polluted rivers, lakes and groundwater.
“All of these issues are closely interrelated,” says Bruce Rittmann, director of the Center for Environmental Biotechnology in the Biodesign Institute at ASU. “For example, most of the pollutio
Synthetic biology experiment turns up a previously unrecognized gene-expression phenomenon
An experiment designed to show how a usually innocuous bacterium regulates the expression of an unnecessary gene for green color has turned up a previously unrecognized phenomenon that could partially explain a feature of bacterial pathogenicity.
In a paper published in the Feb. 16 issue of Nature, researchers at Boston University (BU) and the University of California, San Diego (U
Monoclonal antibody targets key tumor growth factor; Successfully causes brain tumor regression and improves animal survival
Gliomas are the most common primary brain tumors, and also one of the most complicated cancers to treat. Currently, treatment options such as surgery, radiation and chemotherapy are only marginally beneficial and present significant risks for patients, including loss of physical and cognitive abilities. But, a new study published today in Clinical Cancer
Researchers have identified a new compound called CDDO-Im that protects against the development of liver cancer in laboratory animals. The compound appears to stimulate the enzymes that remove toxic substances from the cells, thereby increasing the cells’ resistance to cancer-causing toxins. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Cancer Institute, agencies of the federal National Institutes of Health, provided funding to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Blo
A molecule in the brain essential for wakefulness and appetite has been found to play a central role in strengthening the neuron connections that lead to addiction. The discovery of how the neuropeptide orexin works at the molecular level makes it a strong new target for potential drugs to treat addiction, the researchers say.
The discovery by neuroscientists at UCSF’s Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center is being reported February 16 in the journal Neuron.
The research
Most people have heard stories about an older person who “dies of a broken heart” shortly after their partner’s death. A new study finds that hospitalization of a spouse for a serious illness also increases their partner’s risk of death. Further, the risk is greater with certain diagnoses, such as dementia, stroke and hip fracture. The study was sponsored by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The report, by Nicholas A. C
Women in developing countries who cook over a wood stove for years and inhale the smoke can develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and experience the same clinical characteristics, diminished quality of life and increased mortality rates as tobacco smokers.
These findings from a Mexican study appear in the second issue for February 2006 of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, published by the American Thoracic Society.
Over a s
Calcium and vitamin D supplements in healthy postmenopausal women provide a modest benefit in preserving bone mass and prevent hip fractures in certain groups including older women but do not prevent other types of fractures or colorectal cancer, according to the results of a major clinical trial, part of the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI). While generally well tolerated, the supplements were associated with an increased risk of kidney stones.
The study results are published in the
Researchers have developed a mouse strain in which the abnormal activity of the dopamine machinery in a specific part of the brain causes cognitive and behavioral impairments mimicking those in human schizophrenics.
The achievement is important, because creating an animal model of any schizophrenic characteristics has not been done before. And schizophrenia’s genetic and physiological complexities have seriously hindered efforts to understand the disorder.
Dr.s
X chromosome dosage compensation does occur in germ cells. A study published today in the open access journal Journal of Biology reveals that expression of the genes on the X chromosome is doubled in Drosophila germ cells to compensate for the missing second X chromosome. The study shows that this also occurs in C. elegans and mice somatic cells. In human female somatic cells, one of the two X chromosomes is inactivated to equilibrate expression between the sexes, but this unbalances the express
Loud music prolongs the effects of taking ecstasy for up to five days. A study published today in the open access journal BMC Neuroscience shows that the reduction in rats’ brain activity induced by 3,4 -Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or ecstasy) lasts long after administration of the drug – up to five days – if loud music is played to them simultaneously. The effects wear off within a day when no music is played.
Michelangelo Iannone from the Institute of Neurological Science,
Johns Hopkins researchers have announced the development of a Web-based, automated computer program that they say greatly simplifies the time-consuming and error-prone process of manually designing artificial pieces of DNA.
The program, called GeneDesign, guides the design of blueprints for DNA segments to the exacting specifications required for studying gene function and genetically engineering cells. The blueprints are then used by companies or other investigators to synt
Marine ecologists are working with fisheries across Europe to further understanding of natural and human influences on decreasing fish populations.
Work has begun in the North East Atlantic, Baltic, North East Atlantic and Iberian Sea area to increase the level of scientific information available to fisheries. This will allow the fishing industry to produce new strategies for providing fish stocks for human consumption. Professor Chris Frid from the University’s School of Biolog
Treatment in the form of floating in huge tanks of saltwater, so-called ‘floating,’ is effective for chronic stress-related pain. This is shown in a study at Karlstad University, Sweden, led by Professor Torsten Norlander.
The research study shows that individuals suffering from stress-related health problems such as chronic pain, depression, or anxiety are often helped a great deal by floating. The effect remains four months after the treatment period. A control group, which did
Boys are almost twice as likely as girls to burn themselves and children under three face particular risks, according to research published in the February issue of Journal of Clinical Nursing.
A team from Malmo University in Sweden looked at 148 children up to the age of six who were taken to the University Hospital and 21 health centres.
They discovered that 96 per cent of the accidents could have been prevented, as they happened at home when an adult was nearby, a
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