Researchers at Stanford University Medical Center have identified a genetic marker that can explain why some people experience side effects to common antidepressants while others do not. They also found that a key liver enzyme involved in breaking down these antidepressants surprisingly played no role in the development of side effects nor in how well the drugs worked. The findings may lead to fewer side effects for patients undergoing antidepressant drug therapy.
“Antidepressants are among
Does the body’s synthesis of certain substances affect the relationship between obesity and blood pressure?
The number of overweight Americans has reached record levels, and obesity now affects almost one in three citizens. Published findings from the 1999-2000 report of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), the definitive measure for weight matters in the United States, show that 59 million (31 percent) of adults are obese. One third of adult women are obese
Millions of animals could be needlessly slaughtered and billions of dollars lost from economies, unless the world backs an international science team to develop new tools to fight foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).
A group of world-leading researchers aims to develop a more effective FMD vaccine and better diagnostic tests that would enable livestock disease control agencies to isolate and eventually eliminate the disease. The team of scientists from the United Kingdom, Canada, United States, and
Findings Could Lead to New Treatments of HIV Infection
Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine used positron emission tomography (PET) scans to identify sites of replicating HIV in the lymphatic system of people recently infected with the virus. PET scan imaging is typically used to detect tumors. The researchers believe PET scans could lead to greater understanding of HIV disease and new methods for treating the in
As doctors tout the toxin found in Botox for its ability to iron out wrinkles, calm muscle spasms and treat migraine headaches, defense agencies condemn it as a weapon that could wipe out large numbers of civilians.
While it is well known that this toxic substance can paralyze the body’s muscles, including the ones that help us breathe, how it infiltrates cells to do this has not been determined.
In a paper published in the Sept. 29 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology, resea
The world’s particle physics community today announced the launch of the first phase of the LHC computing Grid (LCG). The LCG is designed to handle the unprecedented quantities of data that will be produced by experiments at CERN ’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) from 2007 onwards. “The LCG will provide a vital test-bed for the new Grid computing technologies that are set to revolutionise the way scientists use the world’’s computing resources in areas ranging from fundamental research to
Astronomers have discovered two of the smallest moons yet found around Uranus. The new moons, uncovered by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, are about 8 to 10 miles across (12 to 16 km) — about the size of San Francisco.
The two moons are so faint they eluded detection by the Voyager 2 spacecraft, which discovered 10 small satellites when it flew by the gas giant planet in 1986. The newly detected moons are orbiting even closer to the planet than the five major Uranian satellites, which
Social structures form through group dynamics, not trait selection
From her work studying social insects, Arizona State University biologist Jennifer Fewell believes that these remarkable animals suggest a an alternate cause behind the development of complex societies. In a viewpoint essay in the September 26 issue of the journal Science, Fewell argues that complex social structures like those seen in social insect communities can arise initially from the nature of group interactions
The latest ESA Earth Observation data show that reports of the demise of the ozone hole appearing annually above Antarctica have been greatly exaggerated.
The ozone hole is normally at its largest in September, but 2002 saw it at its smallest extent for more than a decade: 40% down on previous years. And a year ago yesterday ongoing satellite measurements of ozone – gathered by the Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute (KNMI) from the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) instrume
Many medications such as therapeutic DNA, insulin and human growth hormone must enter the body through painful injections, but a Johns Hopkins researcher is seeking to deliver the same treatment without the sting. Justin Hanes wants to pack the drugs inside microscopic plastic spheres that can be inhaled painlessly. Inside the lungs, the particles should dissolve harmlessly, releasing the medicine at a predetermined pace.
“We’ve made significant progress,” said Hanes, an assistant prof
Researchers find positive results in people with HIV
The evolving science of “flushing” hidden reservoirs of HIV from cells got a encouraging boost today as researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center demonstrated how an experimental intranasal drug can activate the immune system and send HIV viral counts in white blood cells to undetectable levels.
Published in the latest issue of Peptides, this is the first human study to assess antiviral and immune effects of the
The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Md., has opened the door to using reliable digital video as evidence in court by developing a system that identifies an attempt to alter digital video evidence.
“It’s not too hard to make changes to digital video,” says Tom Duerr, APL’s project manager. “But our system quickly and conclusively detects any alterations made to the original tape.” For the past two years Duerr has led development of the project for th
Using laser light as tweezers and a scalpel, scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated the use of artificial cells as nanovials for ultrasmall volume chemistry. The approach may be useful for faster, cheaper identification of new pharmaceuticals and for studying cellular-level processes. The researchers will report their results in the Sept. 30 edition of Langmuir.
The artificial cells, called liposomes, are tiny spherical containers that se
A Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientist, in collaboration with an international team of colleagues, has reported that noticeable changes in the sub-polar climate and ecosystems appear to be linked to variations in the sun’s intensity during the past 12,000 years.
The research, titled “Cyclic Variation and Solar Forcing of Holocene Climate in the Alaskan Subarctic,” is reported in today’s (Sept. 26) issue of Science.
Using core sediment samples from Arolik Lake
Residential fuel cells sound almost too good to be true. Take a hydrocarbon fuel such as natural gas, use a catalyst to extract hydrogen from it, react the hydrogen with air and, presto, you have a home power plant!
As the hydrogen and the oxygen in the air combine, they produce electricity. The primary “waste products” of the whole process are water and heat. But that’s not all! The “waste” heat can be captured to provide space or water heating for the home.
Residential fuel
Designers of semiconductor devices are like downhill skiers – they thrive on speed. And achieving speed in the semiconductor business is all about the stuff you start with. While silicon is still the mainstay of the industry, circuit designers also would like to put materials like gallium nitride and silicon carbide into wider use. Such advanced semiconductor materials can operate at higher voltages and provide faster switching speeds, an important characteristic in determining how fast a semiconduct
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