A team of researchers has discovered a molecular missing link that helps explain why fasting brings on acute attacks of the genetic disease hepatic porphyria, according to a new report in the 26 August issue of the journal Cell. The finding could help improve treatments for those suffering from the disease, which may have been the culprit behind the “madness” of King George III of England.
Porphyria disease is caused by defects in the enzyme pathway that produces heme, a critical iron
Insulin resistance is a fundamental factor in non-insulin-dependent diabetes. Prolonged activation of the insulin receptor, inflammation, and excessive insulin levels can induce insulin resistance by decreasing levels of insulin receptor substrate (IRS) proteins. However, the mechanism(s) underlying the destruction of IRS proteins and subsequent resistance to insulin have not been well defined. Proteins of the SOCS family have been implicated in the negative regulation of insulin signaling and
Myelodysplastic / myeloproliferative diseases (MDS/MPD) are blood stem cell disorders characterized by ineffective formation and development of blood cells in the bone marrow, resulting in abnormal development of bone marrow precursor cells and a reduction in the number of blood cells. The broad spectrum of symptoms makes MDS/MPD difficult to treat, and there are no good prognostic markers available. No single gene defect has been found for these diseases, and no animal model was available
Top British ecologists will gather at Kingley Vale Nature Reserve in West Sussex on Tuesday 30 August to celebrate the life and work of Sir Arthur G. Tansley, widely regarded as the father of modern ecology and one of the 20th century’s most important conservationists. The event coincides with the 50th anniversary of Tansley’s death in 1955.
Present at the event, which will include the unveiling and rededication of a memorial stone to Tansley at Kingley Vale, will be vice presid
The European Bioinformatics Institute and Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB)–Ghent University have launched the PRoteomics IDEntifications database (PRIDE; www.ebi.ac.uk/pride). PRIDE allows researchers who work in the field of proteomics – the large-scale study of proteins – to share information much more readily than was previously possible. This will allow them to exploit the growing mass of information on how the body’s complement of proteins is altered in many disease
The Government’s new Child Trust Fund, which helps children save a tax-free cash ‘nest egg’ for their 18th birthday, has broad support from political parties, state departments, think tanks and pressure groups alike, according to new research sponsored by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).
However, today’s 18-year-olds want to see greater restrictions on how the money is eventually spent, says the study led by Professor Andrew Gamble of the University of Sheffield.
Scientists from the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB) have achieved a new breakthrough in cancer research. The researchers, connected to Ghent University, have discovered the function of an important mediator involved in suppressing the development of tumors. Using a mouse model, they have shown that absence of the mediator makes the mice susceptible to the development of cancer. Through this research, the scientists are contributing to a better understanding of the molec
The rate of insulin-stimulated energy production is significantly reduced in the muscles of lean, healthy young adults who have already developed insulin resistance and are at increased risk of developing diabetes later in life, according to a Yale School of Medicine study.
The new research by Gerald Shulman, M.D., professor of internal medicine, endocrinology, and senior author of the study, indicates that a decreased ability to burn sugars and fats efficiently is an early and c
Research led by Dr. Anne Mueller at Stanford University School of Medicine demonstrates that successful eradication of Helicobacter may not prevent future aggressive gastric lymphoma since resting B cells are left behind. The paper by Mueller et al., “The role of antigenic drive and tumor-infiltrating accessory cells in the pathogenesis of Helicobacter-induced MALT lymphoma,” appears in the September issue of The American Journal of Pathology.
Helicobacter pylori, a spiral bac
Scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) have created a computer simulation showing Earth’s climate in unprecedented detail at the time of the greatest mass extinction in the planet’s history. The work gives support to a theory that an abrupt and dramatic rise in atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide triggered the massive die-off 251 million years ago. The research appears in the September issue of Geology.
“The results demonstrate how rapidly rising tem
Researchers from Queen’s University and the Georgia Institute of Technology have discovered a new environmentally-friendly way to make chemicals for pharmaceutical and other industries, such as plastics, pesticides, dyes and fragrances.
The team, led by Queen’s chemist Dr. Philip Jessop, has developed new solvents (liquids that dissolve other substances) that are both cleaner and cheaper when used in the production of many chemicals. Because each step in a chemical process o
UCI study helps identify one reason why women have lower stroke risk than men
Estrogen’s role as an inhibitor of toxic-free radicals in cerebral blood vessels may be a key reason why premenopausal women have a lower stroke risk than men.
According to UC Irvine School of Medicine researchers, estrogen has a powerful and positive influence on women’s health by increasing the energy production efficiency of mitochondria – the tiny power plants that provide cells the energy
Carrying the right bacterial hitchhiker can make the difference between life and death for an aphid.
Pea aphids are often under attack by wasps seeking to lay their eggs inside aphids, turning them into an all-you-can-eat buffet for the larval wasps.
The aphids vary in their resistance to the wasps, which scientists had chalked up to genetic differences between aphids.
But it’s not in their genes at all — the wasp-resistant aphids owe their lives to the
University of Arizona physicists have discovered what it takes to make metal ’nanowires’ that last a long time. This is particularly important to the electronics industry, which hopes to use tiny wires — that have diameters counted in tens of atoms — in Lilputian electronic devices in the next 10 to 15 years.
Researchers predict that such nanotechnology will be the next Big Thing to revolutionize the computing, medical, power and other industries in coming decades.
New portable device captures pictures beneath the living brain’s surface
Researchers at Stanford University have demonstrated a promising, minimally invasive optical technique that can capture micron-scale images from deep in the brains of live subjects. The method, called two-photon microendoscopy, combines a pair of powerful optical and mechanical techniques into one device that fits in the palm of the hand. The results appear in the September 1, 2005 issue of Optics Lette
For young Americans, the “food landscape” in television advertising is packed with junk food, according to a new study.
The study by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is the first to explore the nutritional composition of foods advertised to children using Nutrition Facts labeling.
Nutrient-poor high-sugar foods – candy, sweets and soft drinks – dominate (nearly 44 percent) the foods advertised during the TV programs children ages 6 to 11 wa
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