Scientists at the University of North Carolina have successfully treated mice with hemophilia A using a new approach to gene therapy – RNA trans-splicing. The experimental procedure repairs a mutated section of the gene responsible for hemophilia A, a hereditary bleeding disorder.
Dr. Hengjun Chao, a research assistant professor at the UNC School of Medicine, Gene Therapy Center will present the new research Saturday June 8 in Boston at the Presidential Symposium of the American Society of
Consider the plight of the lonely nene goose: Fated to occupy just one island in all the world; reduced in numbers to fewer than 30 individuals by the middle of the last century; each bird as closely related to the others as human siblings.
What caused the narrowing of the nenes’ circumstances to the point of near-extinction? Was the isolation of island living to blame for draining their gene pool to a puddle, or was it caused by the 20th century population decline? How did they surviv
Inks which cannot be photocopied – to confound bank-note forgers – are exciting printers of most of the world`s major currencies. A team from colour chemistry, led by Professor David Lewis and Dr Long Lin, has created an ink which changes colour when copied or scanned, to prevent forgers colour matching banknotes.
“There are already hundreds of security measures in place for banknotes,” said Professor Lewis. “But these don`t stop forgeries – some estimates put the number of forged banknotes
Ph.D. candidate Nina Isoherranen wins Kaye Awards
Nina Isoherranen, a Ph.D. candidate at the Hebrew University School of Pharmacy, was awarded a Kaye Innovation Award this week for developing a new medication to treat epilepsy, migraine headaches, and chronic pain that does not cause birth defects in animal models, unlike other medicines currently used to treat epilepsy.
Ms. Isoherranen explained that 1% of the population suffers from epilepsy, a central nervous system (CNS)
New measurements show that the flow of ice in the Greenland ice sheet has been accelerating since 1996 during the summer melt season. The results suggest that the ice sheet may be responding more quickly to the warming climate than previously thought.
In an article published in Science magazine’s online Sciencexpress June 7, Jay Zwally, an ICESat Project scientist at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., Waleed Abdalati, a Polar Program scientist at NASA Headquarters, W
Along with Canadian colleagues, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill scientist has discovered fossils of plants dating back some 420 million years.
The discovery, made on Bathurst Island in the Northwest Territories about 800 miles from the North Pole, shows vascular plants were more complex at that time than paleontologists previously believed and is significant for that reason, the UNC researcher said.
“These are not the earliest vascular plants ever found, but they are
Photovoltaics is a science that examines light-electricity conversion. Conversion of solar energy carried by photons is transformed by solar cells into direct-current electrical energy. Interest in the use of photovoltaic (PV) solar technologies is growing rapidly, as it will permit the direct production of electricity from solar radiation without any harmful emissions or noise. Rising energy costs, the finite nature of fossil fuels and worries about climate change has renewed interest in making the
Top quality colour printing could be revolutionised thanks to the revival in Bristol of an old printing process once used to create, among other things, colour charts for selecting glass eyes. Art researchers from the University of the West of England have discovered a 21st century use for the process, known as collotype, which fell out of favour during the early 1900s. As an added bonus, new inks are being developed which unlike current computer colour printouts, won`t fade over time.
In th
In this month`s issue of EMBO Reports Kahle et al. describe how they genetically engineered a mouse to show pathological symptoms similar to those of human patients suffering from the neural disease Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), also known as Shy-Drager-Syndrome. The model could help researchers to develop and test new efficient drugs against this wide spread disease.
More than 100,000 Europeans and 100,000 US-Americans suffer from MSA. Affected individuals either show symptoms similar to t
A study of the ancient Mediterranean Sea will help to produce more accurate predictions of climate change.
A team led by Royal Holloway geologist Dr Michal Kucera will map sea-surface temperature of the Mediterranean over past millennia. The data will provide a new target to test the computer models on which our predictions of climate change are based.
We currently make climate change predictions using mathematical models developed using climate records of the last two centuries. T
Genital infections with Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) have risen in western Scotland over the last 15 years, particularly among young women, finds a study in this week’s BMJ.
Researchers reviewed all genital samples of herpes simplex processed between 1986 and 2000 at the West of Scotland Specialist Virology Centre.
Of the 3,181 swabs testing positive for the virus, 63% were from women and 37% were from men. Twenty-nine per cent of patients were aged 21-25 years. In 1986-1988,
Probiotics (microbes that protect their host and can prevent disease) can prevent diarrhoea associated with the use of antibiotics, finds a study in this week’s BMJ.
Researchers at the Hammersmith Hospital in London reviewed nine trials carried out to study the benefits of probiotics in the prevention of antibiotic associated diarrhoea. In all nine trials, the probiotics were given in combination with antibiotics and the control groups received placebo and antibiotics.
They found t
The progressive lack of the tumor suppressor gene Rb2/p130 could be an early indicator of prostate cancer in males, according to a study by researchers at Temple University’s College of Science and Technology.
The results of the study, “Expression of Cell-Cycle-regulated Proteins pRb2/p130, p107, p27kip1, p53, Mdm-2, and Ki-67 (MIB-1) in Prostatic Gland Adenocarcinoma,” appear in the June issue of Clinical Cancer Research ( clincancerres.aac
Research designed to enable a goalkeeper to significantly improve his chance of saving a penalty may help England to banish the penalty shootout nightmares that have dogged the team in major competitions over the past decade.
University of Greenwich sports scientists, working with West Ham United football academy, have completed a study proving that penalty takers subconsciously give readable physical clues to the direction of their penalty kicks. These clues could be used by goalkeepers to
British consultants, Oakdene Hollins, have published a technical and commercial study of how an electrolytic production process developed at Cambridge University could transform prospects for the exploitation of rare-earth magnets. The process is already attracting development funds from the US Navy.
Rare-earth permanent magnets offer significantly improved performance characteristics over those of conventional magnets, but are more expensive. Although costs have fallen over recent years due
Prioritise resources towards primary prevention, say EUROPREVAL researchers
The largest study on the prevalence of cancer in Europe is published today (Thursday 6 June) in Annals of Oncology, journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology.
Thirty-eight cancer registries in 17 countries provided data on 3 million cancer patients for EUROPREVAL. An objective of the study was to provide health systems with essential information for health planning and resource allocation.
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