Significant for Huntington’s disease and colon cancer
Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered the inner workings of a defective DNA repair process and are first to explain why certain mutations are not corrected in cells. The finding is important because genetic instability and accumulations of mutations lead to disease. This discovery may lead to ways of fixing the process to avoid Huntington’s disease and some types of colon cancer.
The Mayo team discovered that unde
Virginia Commonwealth University researchers studying hemoglobin genes, mutations of which play a role in genetic blood disorders like sickle cell anemia and beta-thalassemia, have shown in studies with mice that the KLF2 protein is crucial for making young red blood cells.
The findings may point researchers to future gene therapies for patients with sickle cell anemia and beta-thalassemia.
In the October issue of Blood, the journal of the American Association for Hem
For the first time, a team of investigators at Carnegie Mellon University has shown that the binding of metal ions can mediate the formation of peptide nucleic acid (PNA) duplexes from single strands of PNA that are only partly complementary. This result opens new opportunities to create functional, three-dimensional nanosize structures such as molecular-scale electronic circuits, which could reduce by thousands of times the size of today’s common electronic devices. The research results wi
Two new studies on Hepatitis C (HCV) patients who underwent liver transplants examined a potential biomarker that could be used to predict who might develop hepatic fibrosis, a formation of scar-like tissue that can lead to cirrhosis. The studies found that changes in a certain type of liver cell were useful in determining those who were at the greatest risk for developing this serious complication.
The results of these studies appear in the October 2005 issue of Liver Transplanta
Obese mice are more susceptible to liver abnormalities
Mice that were fed diets high in fat and sugar developed immune system abnormalities in their livers, including reduced numbers of natural killer T (NKT) cells. These diet-related changes may contribute to obesity-related liver disease, according to a new study. The study is published in the October 2005 issue of Hepatology, the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). Published by J
Phase 2 enzyme inducers appear to stop harmful inflammation
Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered that plant-derived compounds known for their ability to protect tissue also appear to block the activity of an enzyme that triggers inflammation in joints. Their findings, based on experiments with human cells in a lab, could lead to new arthritis treatments and better methods of making artificial cartilage.
The discovery was detailed in a paper published in the Sept.
Broadband access terminals from the ESA supported project ‘Pacific Skies’ are being used in the Aceh region of Indonesia, scene of the devastating 2004 tsunami. The communications needs of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and local people are being met in an area that suffered severe infrastructural damage.
The service is being deployed in co-operation with the AirPutih Foundation. One of the foundation’s key roles is to provide emergency telecommunication facilities and a medi
Bovines of different ages need different kinds of social environments. Calves enjoy a safe environment with other familiar members of their species. Heiferson the other hand, can benefit from the social experience resulting from being introduced to a new group.
In her thesis, Senior Scientist Satu Raussi from Agrifood Research Finland observes that calves brought up in pairs show fewer symptoms of stress than those that have reared in individual pens, although they are a little m
Using a new precision bonding process they developed, Penn State researchers have designed and fabricated tiny new piezoelectric microactuators — the largest only a hair’s breadth wide — based on coupling commercially available materials with existing micromachining technology.
The new actuators promise to be low cost, and capable of providing controlled force, high resolution and large displacements appropriate for applications in RF switches for cell phones, for exa
Australian researchers have found Envisat’s MERIS sensor can detect coral bleaching down to ten metres deep. This means Envisat could potentially monitor impacted coral reefs worldwide on a twice-weekly basis.
Coral bleaching happens when symbiotic algae living in symbiosis with living coral polyps (and providing them their distinctive colours) are expelled. The whitening coral may die with subsequent impacts on the reef ecosystem, and thus fisheries, regional tourism and
Humans have cultivated potatoes for millennia, but there has been great controversy about the ubiquitous vegetable’s origins. This week, writing in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences, a team led by a USDA potato taxonomist stationed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has for the first time demonstrated a single origin in southern Peru for the cultivated potato.
The scientists analyzed DNA markers in 261 wild and 98 cultivated potato varieties to assess w
When added to standard treatment, steroids significantly reduce the odds of developing heart damage in children with Kawasaki’s disease, according to a study in the October issue of Pediatrics. These findings address a gap in knowledge. Current guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics state that the evidence for steroid treatment is lacking and recommend the standard treatment for Kawasaki’s, which is aspirin and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG).
“This gap in kno
Exercise, eating right could ease IBS, diarrhea and constipation in obese Americans
Physical activity may help reduce gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms in people who are obese. In a study published today in the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, researchers found that a high body mass index (BMI) and lack of physical activity were associated with an increase in GI symptoms such as stomach pain, diarrhea, constipation and irr
A new digital angiography flat panel system reduces the radiation dose to patients undergoing interventional treatment for liver cancer by about one-fourth, a new study shows.
The study compared the radiation dose to patient’s skin during transcatheter arterial embolization, a procedure that blocks the flow of a blood to a tumor. Doses were assessed for 12 patients using a new angiography unit with a digital flat-panel system and 12 using a conventional unit for angiogra
A modified technique that uses the eyes as the line of reference means a 50 percent reduction in the time necessary to take MRI images of the fetal brain.
“One of the challenges of imaging the fetal head is that the fetus can move during the study, so it is often difficult to obtain the three different imaging views that best show intracranial anatomy especially when study time is prolonged.” said Keyanoosh Hosseinzadeh, MD, Chief of Body MRI at the University of Pittsburgh Me
A new drug is demonstrating impressive results in the fight against malaria, according to a forthcoming paper in the open access journal PLoS Medicine. The study of a malaria control program in South Africa shows how hospital admissions for malaria were dramatically reduced following the introduction of an antimalarial combination called artemether-lumefantrine (AL) and the partial reintroduction of the insecticide DDT. The malaria epidemic has been particularly resurgent in recent years as the pa
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