Doctors and their patients have puzzled over why certain cholesterol-lowering drugs work better in some people than others. In research results published in the December issue of the journal Nature Genetics, the common minnow helps provide an answer.
Researchers Douglas Crawford and Jennifer Roach of the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS) and Marjorie Oleksiak of North Carolina State University studied the genetic make-up of
The type of fat ingested may create the conditions for or, on the other hand, prevent the development of obesity. This is the conclusion drawn by Patricia Pérez Matute, PhD student at the Department of Physiology and Nutrition at the University of Navarre in her research which has received an international award from the medical journal, Clinical Science.
The work was presented at the 6th Congress of the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids (ISSFAL, 2004) held in Br
A vitamin B pill that drastically lowers blood levels of the toxic amino-acid homocysteine could one day be used to prevent dementia, and save health services billions of pounds annually.
Clinical trials, starting in January 2005, will seek to confirm that adding the B vitamins to a powerful antioxidant results in “prompt, striking and sustained clinical improvement” in patients. The move follows a licensing agreement this week between COBALZ Limited, a U.K. company specialisin
Using brain waves to control screen cursor movements, rather than moving a mouse by hand, seems like science fiction! Yet such direct control over our environment is an integral part of the development work being undertaken by participants in the Presencia project.
The IST project Presencia is not due for completion until October 2005, yet project researchers have already developed a working brain/computer interface able to provide direct control of computers. The method is primi
With the current success of the BBC programme ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ you may be led to believe that only fit, young celebrities can get the most out of regular dancing, but research by Dr Sara Houston, currently at the University of Surrey, shows otherwise. Older people, whatever their physical condition, can take part in dance and may reap many benefits from their participation.
The project took place over three years and saw a regular programme of dance introduced to around 40
University of Leeds and Cambridge research into climate change, published today (December 2nd) in Science Express, reveals that there is no regular pattern in the duration of warm phases (interglacials) on land over the last 350,000 years. This raises doubts over our ability to predict when the onset of the next ice age might occur.
For over 30 years it’s been thought that interglacials lasted about 10,000 years. On this basis, our current interglacial, already 11,500 years old, would appe
Natural honey-bee products such as propolis, royal jelly, caffeic acid, honey and venom may have applications in cancer treatment and prevention, say Croatian researchers in Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture this month.
Nada Orsolic and colleagues from the University of Zagreb found that bee products significantly decreased tumour growth and / or spreading (metastasis) in mice when they were applied orally or by injection.
The researchers tested both the p
In the current issue of Science magazine (Vol. 306, Dec. 3, 2004), scientists from the Max-Born-Institute for Nonlinear Optics and Short Pulse Spectroscopy (MBI) in Berlin, Germany, report the direct observation of atomic motions in a semiconductor nanostructure. They use a novel, laser-driven source for ultrashort x-ray pulses to take a movie of atomic motions in a semiconductor nanostructure. “We can observe changes on ultrashort timescales with our femtosecond x-ray diffraction setup”, says
3D MDCT accurate for imaging liver arteries
3D MDCT angiography is a more efficient way to classify liver arterial anatomy before liver surgery, according to researchers from Duke University in Durham, NC. In the study, 43 patients were evaluated before using 3D MDCT angiography. In 40 of 43 patients, surgical findings concurred with MDCT findings, indicating that 3D MDCT is an accurate method for imaging liver arteries prior to surgery, said Erik K. Paulson, MD, an author on th
Benefits of weight loss may depend on alignment of affected leg, study suggests
A painful and sometimes crippling disease characterized by progressive cartilage loss, osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee affects an estimated 6 percent of adults over age 30. AT present, no treatments are available that have been shown to impede the destructive course of this disease, apart from knee replacement surgery. Numerous studies have shown that being overweight increases the risk of developing kn
Northeastern environmental scientist finding could improve global warming forecast models
A Northeastern University researcher today announced that he has found that the soil below oak trees exposed to elevated levels of carbon dioxide had significantly higher carbon levels than those exposed to ambient carbon levels. The findings are consistent with the hypothesis that elevated carbon dioxide levels are increasing carbon storage in terrestrial ecosystems and slowing the build-up
Special section in journal details new studies
Five articles published in a Special Section in the December 2004 issue of BioScience, the monthly journal of the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS), provide new global assessments of how well protected areas such as parks can safeguard the numerous animal and plant species at risk of becoming extinct. The new analyses lead to the conclusion that although nominally protected areas now approach 12 per cent of the Earth&#
Researchers at Northwestern University have discovered a molecular mechanism — a tiny protein attacking nerve cells — that could explain why the brain damage in early Alzheimer’s disease results in memory loss and not other symptoms such as loss of balance or tremors.
The research team, led by William L. Klein, professor of neurobiology and physiology, found that toxic proteins, called “amyloid ß-derived diffusible ligands” (ADDLs, pronounced “addles”), from the brain tis
Scientists studied the winds and rains in the eastern Indian Ocean for hints at developing El Ninos. They used that information to create an “Index” or gauge that accurately predicted the El Nino of 2002-2003.
El Nino is signaled by a warming of the ocean surface off the western coast of South America that occurs every 4 to 12 years when cold, nutrient-rich water does not come up from the ocean bottom. It causes die-offs of plankton and fish and affects Pacific jet stream winds,
Organ damage that goes beyond the liver due to alcoholism is often seen as a barrier to liver transplantation, despite a lack of data on how a transplant affects these complications. A new study describes a patient with alcoholic liver disease complicated by peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage affecting the arms and legs) who underwent a liver transplant and regained almost normal muscle strength.
The results of this study appear in the December 2004 issue of Liver Transplantation,
A new study on early steroid withdrawal following liver transplantation found that there was a higher incidence of rejection and a lower incidence of glucose intolerance necessitating treatment for diabetes. It was the first double-blind placebo-controlled study to examine the effects of early steroid elimination.
The results of this study appear in the December 2004 issue of Liver Transplantation, the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (
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