he New England Journal of Medicine’s Sept. 26 issue carries the first published report showing that a combination treatment with peginterferon alfa-2a (Pegasys) – a new long-acting interferon drug – and an antiviral medication is more beneficial than the standard combination therapy for people with the most-difficult-to-treat and most common strain of hepatitis C.
The large international study, headed by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is also the first p
A new species of climbing milkweed has been named by Alexander Krings, curator of the North Carolina State University Herbarium (also NCSC, its international Index Herbariorum abbreviation). The species – Gonolobus tenuisepalus Krings – was first collected in the tropical rainforests of southern Costa Rica while Krings was a graduate student in the Department of Forestry.
“The flowers are tiny (about 6-8 millimeters in diameter), purplish to dark brownish-red and borne in
If you think that summers are getting hotter, you could be right — depending on where you live. Summers are heating up if you live in or near any major U.S. city. But in rural areas, temperatures have remained relatively constant.
“What surprised me was the difference in the extreme temperature trends between rural and urban areas,” says Arthur T. DeGaetano, Cornell associate professor of earth and atmospheric sciences, who reviewed temperature trends from climate-reporting stations across
Study suggests macroscopic bilaterian animals did not appear until 555 million years ago
The traces left behind by ancient animals may hold the key to determining when macroscopic bilaterians — animals that are symmetric about a central axis, with a body divided into equivalent right and left halves, and with an anterior-posterior polarity (e.g., this includes worms, ants, and ranging up to humans) — first appeared. A team led by Dr. Mary Droser, professor of geology at the Univers
A common spermicide gel which has previously been proposed as a preventative agent against HIV-1 infection has been shown to be ineffective, according to authors of a study in this week’s issue of THE LANCET-and could actually increase HIV-1 transmission if used frequently.
Nonoxynol-9 is an inexpensive over-the-counter spermicide; laboratory studies have suggested that it could be a barrier to HIV-1 infection and other sexually transmitted diseases, although previous studies among women hav
UK researchers have developed a novel method of treating uterine fibroids that allows women to be treated under local anaesthetic as outpatients. Their technique, which uses a laser guided by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), is reported today (Friday 27 September) in Europe’s leading reproductive medicine journal, Human Reproduction.*
Around a quarter of women have fibroids – benign fibrous tumours – in their wombs. Many have no symptoms but others suffer heavy or prolonged periods and pain
According to Douglas Adams, in his famous book The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy, space is big. However, it seems near-Earth space is not big enough. In December 2001, the Space Shuttle pushed the International Space Station away from a discarded Russian rocket booster that was due to pass uncomfortably close. Space litter is a growing problem but smarter satellite design may help in the future.
From the beginning of the space era, satellites and deep-space probes have populated the Solar
While biomedical devices such as prosthetic heart valves, heart-assist devices, oxygenators, vascular grafts and hemodialysis systems can help to save or significantly extend lives, these same devices also can damage the blood cells which travel through them. Severe consequences can result when blood cells are damaged or broken down, said Marina Kameneva, Ph.D., research associate professor of surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
Dr. Kameneva will discuss the issue in
University of Melbourne scientists have found clues to why patients with insulin-dependent diabetes are often unable to sense their need to take life-saving glucose.
The evidence came from a known and potent appetite stimulant released by the brain called Neuropeptide Y (NPY). Studies using diabetic rats have shown the NPY levels in the brains of diabetic rats differ significantly to those of normal rats under conditions of low glucose.
It was known that specific nerves in the bra
Last night an innovative ‘airbag’ car jack developed in conjunction with engineers from Sheffield Hallam University won yet another major national award, when Leeroy Brown beat off stiff competition to scoop the coveted Consumer Award at the BBC’s Tomorrows World Awards, in association with NESTA.
He collected the £5000 prize at a glittering awards ceremony, held at London’s Television Centre. Leeroy had secured his place at the awards by winning his round of BBC ONE’s Best Inventions, broa
“Recalling products because of design flaws in the packaging can be prevented.” Packaging experts badly needed in industry
Delft researcher Roland ten Klooster will defend his thesis on Monday the 30th of September at TU Delft. He has developed systematic plan for the development of packaging for products. Ten Klooster: “There are number of aspects play a part in the development of packaging, my model helps the packaging designer to see, and use these aspects.” In his thesis, Ten Kloo
Scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have discovered a common component to the burning sensation produced by chili peppers and the pain associated with arthritis. The finding, published in the September 26 issue of Neuron, could help scientists devise new strategies to block the pain hypersensitivity associated with inflammation.
“The receptor activated by chili peppers in the mouth and other tissues also increases in the terminals of sensory neurons in the skin after inflamma
Finding may lead to new treatments for neurologic disease and nerve injury
Why do some nerve cells survive and regrow after injury while others shrink away and die? A new discovery by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) shows that the expression of a particular gene may be responsible for protecting neurons from death. The results, published in the September 26 issue of Neuron, could lead the way for new treatment strategies for a variety of neurological diseases.
Oxidative stress is implicated in a fast-growing list of human conditions, from the superficial (e.g., wrinkled skin) to the deadly: diseases such as cancer, heart disease and neurodegenerative disorders including Lou Gehrig’s disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS).
Researchers at The Jackson Laboratory announced that they have located a gene that protects certain brain and retinal neurons from oxidative stress, and prevents neurodegeneration.
Many normal metabolic func
A University of Toronto botanist has identified a protein that ultimately could provide chemical-free ways to protect crops from disease.
“Finding this protein, called DIR1, could help make it possible to genetically engineer crops that resist disease-causing organisms,” says Robin Cameron, a professor of botany at U of T and the senior investigator of the study, which appears in the Sept. 26 issue of Nature. “In the long run, having a better understanding of the whole process of disease re
An international team of scientists led by researchers at The Wistar Institute has combined two different imaging techniques to uncover the molecular-level framework of a common bacteriophage, a virus that infects bacteria. The results, reported in the October issue of Nature Structural Biology, suggest that viruses developed a continuum of progressively more complex architectural strategies to cope with their increasing size as they evolved. An image from the study is featured on the journal’s
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