Study explores views of Arab Americans, Hispanics, blacks and whites
Many Arab Americans would prefer not to go to a nursing home as they near the end of their lives, while many African Americans are comfortable with nursing homes and hospitals. Many Hispanic people are strongly concerned about dying with dignity. And many white people don’t want their families to take care of them, but they – like members of other racial and ethnic groups – want their families nearby as th
Scientists have for many years debated the cause of the Plague of Athens. Analysis carried out by Manolis Papagrigorakis and colleagues using DNA collected from teeth from an ancient Greek burial pit points to typhoid fever as the disease responsible for this devastating epidemic. The study appears on the online version of The International Journal of Infectious Diseases (IJID) published by Elsevier on behalf of the International Society for Infectious Diseases.
The plague that began in Ethi
In a discovery that could greatly accelerate the search for genetic causes of heart disease, a multi-disciplinary Duke University research team has found that the common fruit fly can serve as a powerful new model for testing human genes implicated in heart disease.
The finding is important, the Duke team said, because the entire genome of the fruit fly is well understood and catalogued, enabling researchers to systemically screen genes to identify potential gene mutations or vari
Aspirin is typically prescribed for people at risk of having an ischemic stroke to prevent blood clots. Because aspirin may cause bleeding, it is typically avoided in people who have had a hemorrhagic stroke, also called intracerebral hemorrhage. A new study, however, finds that aspirin may not increase the risk of recurrent intracerebral hemorrhage. The study is published in the January 24, 2006 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN).
Rese
Though linked to aging and cancer, reactive oxygen species plays another role
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are normally produced as a product of metabolism, and, as their name implies, they are highly reactive with surrounding biological components. The ability of ROS to damage DNA and other critical molecules underlies their reputation for causing deleterious cellular effects and their association with aging, carcinogenesis, and atherosclerosis. However, in an unanticipated discovery sugge
The function of tubular organs like the kidneys, lungs, and vessels of the vascular system is critically dependent on the length and diameter of the tubular branches of which they are composed. Several devastating pathological conditions like polycystic kidney disease and ischemias have been intimately linked to the aberrant sizes of tubular organs. Yet the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms that control tube size are poorly understood, and, consequently, drugs that intervene in tubular
Erectile dysfunction may provide a warning sign of significant coronary heart disease researchers from the University of Chicago report in the January 23 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. Although recent studies suggest an association between erectile dysfunction and atherosclerotic vascular disease, this is the first study to link ED with abnormal results on cardiac stress testing, including evidence for severe coronary artery blockages and markers of a poor cardiovascular prognosis.
Research could revolutionize care of transplant patients
Carnegie Mellon University scientist Chien Ho and his colleagues have developed a promising tool that uses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to track immune cells as they infiltrate a transplanted heart in the early stages of organ rejection. This pre-clinical advance, described in an upcoming issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), ultimately could provide a non-invasive way to detect transplan
Study also finds human evolution slower than apes
Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have found genetic evidence that seems to support a controversial hypothesis that humans and chimpanzees may be more closely related to each other than chimps are to the other two species of great apes – gorillas and orangutans. They also found that humans evolved at a slower rate than apes.
Appearing in the January 23, 2006 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of
In an article appearing online today in the journal Nature Methods, researchers at the EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) unveil a powerful new tool that will facilitate genetic research and open up new avenues for the clinical treatment of genetic disease.
The researchers have combined several gene manipulation techniques and incorporated them into a single lentiviral vector – a gene delivery system partly derived from HIV. When injected into living cells – either
ALOS, Japan’s latest Earth Observation satellite, was successfully launched at 02:33 CET (10:33 Japan time) on 24 January. Environmental data and imagery from ALOS will be provided to European and African users through a cooperative agreement between ESA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
The Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) is a four-tonne satellite dedicated to land-based Earth Observation. It was lifted-off from the Tanegashima Space Centre on an H-
An increased demand for meat in Afghanistan could play an important role in stemming the international flow of heroin, according to a new study led by the Macaulay Institute, Aberdeen.
The price of meat in urban markets is now high enough that livestock production could provide an alternative source of income if Afghani farmers are forced to give up growing opium poppies, says the report, which looked at meat, wool, skin and hide production.
Project leader Iain Wright, Ch
Commenting on the Government’s publication today on the formal terms of reference for the consultation stage of the energy review, the UK Chemical Industries Association (CIA) confirmed that it would be making a major contribution to the review.
Stephen Elliott, Director, Business Environment, said:
“This consultation stage is a real chance for all stakeholders to help set the scene for future British energy policy. CIA intends to grab that chance with both hands. We r
Scientists at the University of York have played a crucial role in developing a way of using plants to clean up land contaminated by explosives.
The research, by a team led by Professor Neil Bruce in CNAP (Centre for Novel Agricultural Products) in the University’s Department of Biology, uses micro-organisms found in soil to turn trees and plants into highly-effective pollution-busters. The research findings are published in Nature Biotechnology.
Decades of military activ
A single molecule working as the nano scale version of the steam engine: that’s the molecular motor developed by a group of UT scientists led by prof. Julius Vancso of the MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology. Natural ‘motor molecules’, capable of converting chemical energy into movement, have been the source of inspiration for this new synthetic version: a polymer molecule that stretches and shrinks caused by redox reactions. The results appear on the cover of Rapid Macromolecular Rapid Com
Infections could play a key role in triggering certain types of adult brain cancer, according to results from a new statistical analysis of the disease.
The international study, led by Dr Richard McNally at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, was funded by Cancer Research UK, the Dutch Cancer Society, and the Christie Hospital Research Endowment Fund.
The British and Dutch team* analysed a database of adult brain tumours diagnosed in patients from the North Brab
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