Findings may lead to treatments for hemochromatosis and anemia of chronic disease
A new UCLA and University of Utah study found how a hormone called hepcidin regulates the iron uptake from the diet and its distribution in the body. The study may help develop future treatments for chronic anemia and for diseases of iron overload, such as hemochromatosis. Published online in the journal Science this week, researchers discovered that the hormone hepcidin controls ferroportin, an
Overactivity of protein kinase C (PKC), an enzyme that is implicated in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, markedly impairs higher brain functions in animals, according to a Yale study published Oct. 29 in Science.
The research adds to mounting evidence that excessive activity of PKC may underlie the distractibility, impaired judgment, impulsivity, and disturbed thinking seen in bipolar disorder (also known as manic depressive illness), and in schizophrenia.
The study
Insect-borne parasites usually like to “stick” around inside their hosts while they mature and prepare to infect again. Now, Jesus Valenzuela and colleagues have identified the molecular receptor inside the midgut of the sand fly Phlebotomus papatasi that provides the “flypaper” for the parasite that causes the major form of leishmaniasis, a tropical disease with both mild and fatal forms. PpGalec is the receptor protein that the parasite uses to bind to the fly’s midgut and avoid being excreted a
Researchers at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Cancer Cell Unit, Cambridge have gained an important new insight into the role of the breast cancer gene known as BRCA2. It appears to have a key function in cell division which needs to happen accurately for normal cell reproduction and repair, otherwise disease occurs. The findings are published today (29 Friday October 2004) in the journal Science.
Around 30 to 50 per cent of breast cancers that run in families are thought to
A spray that halves the healing time of burns and wounds is being designed for immediate use. Marina Murphy explains how the spray could be the difference between having a disfiguring scar or not in Chemistry & Industry magazine.
Tissue Therapies of Brisbane, Australia are developing an active ingredient that could help avoid the need for skin grafting sheets, significantly reduce scarring in children and help in healing chronic diabetic ulcers. ‘Our aim is to reduce healing time
This image shows Titan in ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths, taken by the NASA/ESA/ASI Cassini-Huygens spacecraft on 26 October 2004, during the close fly-by.
This image is constructed from four images acquired through different colour filters. Red and green colours represent infrared wavelengths and show areas where atmospheric methane absorbs light.
These colours reveal a brighter (redder) northern hemisphere. Blue represents ultraviolet wavelengths and shows the high
When Darwin’s skeptics attack his theory of evolution, they often focus on the eye. Darwin himself confessed that it was “absurd” to propose that the human eye evolved through spontaneous mutation and natural selection. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) have now tackled Darwin’s major challenge in an evolutionary study published this week in the journal Science. They have elucidated the evolutionary origin of the human eye.
Researchers in the labora
Natural product inhibited anti-inflammatory mediator release from human airway epithelial cells
Homing in on mechanisms for the reported effectiveness of resveratrol, which is found in red wine, researchers at Imperial College London, England, confirmed its broad anti-inflammatory action, and found potential for applications in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, and possibly even arthritis. Clinical preparation and delivery remain issues, though an aerosol ve
Rich pecan pie is a long-time favorite dessert of the holiday season. But this year, the amount of pecans harvested will be dramatically down due to substantial damage from the 2004 hurricanes, say plant health specialists with The American Phytopathological Society (APS).
Pecan growers in Georgia and Alabama, two of the primary pecan growing areas were already expecting a light production year due to reduced nut set on many cultivars, said Tim Brenneman, APS member and plant p
A little over a year ago, the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB), the D. Collen Research Foundation, and the Catholic University of Leuven invested in the acquisition of a new technology provided by the zebra fish. This small aquarium fish can be used to aid the study of the function of human genes. That this investment is reaping returns is evident from the study that VIB researchers at the Catholic University of Leuven are publishing today in the renowned journal Nature.
Red wine may protect against the development of lung cancer in men, suggests research in Thorax, with each daily glass conferring additional benefit. No other type of alcohol seemed to have the same effect, the study found.
The researchers assessed the lifestyles of 132 patients with lung cancer and 187 patients requiring minor surgery at the same hospital in north west Spain between 1999 and 2000.
Everyone was asked about their diet, smoking habits, occupation, and the t
Babies who are breastfed have a lower risk of developing childhood leukemia, according to a new analysis of 14 studies by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.
The paper, to be published November in the journal Public Health Reports, found that breastfeeding was linked to lower risks of both acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common of the childhood cancers, and acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML).
“Our paper is the first to systematically r
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) and Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) In Humans
The Institute of Food Science & Technology, through its Public Affairs and Technical & Legislative Committees, has authorised the following Information Statement, dated October 2004, replacing the Statement of October 2001 and any previous version.
Special Note
This updated Information Statement takes account of available data and published research up to
Linking continuous monitoring of ‘health behaviour’ through non-invasive wearable sensors with decision support HEARTS offers support to healthy, ill, and high-risk people alike.
“The value added of the HEARTS system, which offers continuous monitoring, is its decision support capabilities. This innovative, patient-centric approach involves improved automatic diagnosis features based on disease knowledge. This is gathered by monitoring the ‘health behaviour’ of the wearer,” expl
University of Leeds life sciences company Syntopix Ltd has secured further capital of just under £180,000 through a consortium of regional investors.
Formed in 2003, Syntopix is based on the leading research of husband and wife team Drs Jon Cove and Anne Eady, both microbiologists in the University’s Skin Research Centre. Their work focuses on developing novel therapeutics for dermatological diseases, including acne and Staphylococcus aureus infections such as the ‘superbug’ MRSA.
University of California, San Diego neurobiologists have discovered a chemical responsible for the bursts of electrical activity in the brain that guide the development of the visual system, a finding that may bring rewiring of damaged visual circuits closer to reality.
The scientists, who presented their evidence at a session of the annual Society for Neuroscience meeting in San Diego, said their discovery could also lead to a better understanding of birth defects in children born
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