A group of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have provided strong evidence that a popular hypothesis concerning the origins of a genetic mutation common among Caucasians of Northern European descent that protects against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is wrong.
The hypothesis suggests that the mutation conferred resistance against bubonic plague in the Middle Ages, much as it does against HIV today. This idea was based on the fact that the mutation first appeared around the s
New research – published by Science Magazine within the Science Express Web site and released today at the 2004 AAAS Annual Meeting — may be a first step toward methods for treating diabetes, osteoarthritis, Parkinson’s and other diseases, by producing replacement cells unlikely to trigger immune-system rejection.
Transplantation medicine based on stem cells remains a distant hope for now, Science editors cautioned. But, the Science study describes intriguing early results:
Finding mice suggests that abnormalities of this beta-catenin protein underlie certain muscle diseases in human
The organization and stability of growing muscles in both embryonic and adult mice depends on the ability of a protein called Ozz to direct the timely destruction of membrane-bound â-catenin, according to scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. â-catenin is one of the key proteins that orchestrates this process. Ozz directs destruction of â-catenin by assem
Team shows tumors can be triggered in normal cells by signals from nearby supporting cells
Like a detective combing the scene of a crime for clues, researchers often target their search for cancer causes in the cells known as epithelial cells. After all, it is these cells that most often become cancerous, so it makes sense to look for what goes wrong inside these cells.
However, a new report from a team of Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center scientists demonstrates that tumors ca
A team of cell biologists at the Stanford University School of Medicine has developed a new imaging technique using biosensors that precisely monitor the timing of cell division. Researchers tested the technique by observing and measuring the slowdown of cell division associated with an anti-cancer drug. They believe the discovery may allow them to screen for many more anti-cancer compounds in the future.
Tissues and organs form and grow through a highly regulated process of cell division k
Genes play a strong role in how well our memory works, according to a study of families with more than one person with Alzheimer’s disease. The study is published in the February 10 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Located in DNA and RNA, a gene is a unit of inheritance that determines one or more traits.
“These results are exciting because if we can identify the genes that are responsible for memory, they may lead us to identifying more of the
Children of smokers have nicotine in their bodies, even if their parents smoke outdoors with the door closed. This is revealed in a study included in a doctoral dissertation by registered nurse and public health researcher AnnaKarin Johansson at Linköping University.
Going outdoors to smoke with the doors and windows closed is nevertheless clearly the best way to protect your child from passive smoking. The parents of 216 of 366 children aged 2-3 years used this method. But not even that pro
Infants who experience fevers before their first birthday are less likely to develop allergies by ages six or seven, according to a new study funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The study, published today in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, lends support to the well-known “hygiene hypothesis,” which contends that early exposure to infections might protect children against allergic diseases in late
Rats subjected to extreme electromagnetic fields produce dangerous levels of the toxic gas ozone, according to a new study out of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory that is sure to reenergize the decade-dormant debate about safety around power lines and household appliances.
It is the first experiment to conclusively link an electromagnetic field with a health-adverse chemical effect in the presence of an animal, said Steven Goheen, a scientist at the Department of Energy lab and lead
Hypercholesterolemia patients now have a new method of diagnosis that enables them to know for sure if they are suffering from Familial Hypercholesteloremia (FH) or not. The new tool, known as Lipochip, is the first biochip for the diagnosis of Familial Hypercholesteloremia (a pathology that affects some 100,000 persons in Spain).
The majority of those currently suffering from FH are not diagnosed as such. It is calculated that less than 30% of them have received a correct diagnosis with th
A new way of predicting whether skin cancers will spread to other organs is published this week in the British Journal of Cancer. This means that resources can be concentrated on those patients most in need of close follow up, and lead to earlier detection of the cancer spreading.
Malignant melanomas result in 1,600 deaths a year in the UK due to the spread of the disease to other parts of the body. By measuring the density of lymph vessels surrounding a melanoma, scientists at Bristol Univ
Results of a Phase III clinical study using botulinum toxin type A to treat primary axillary hyperhidrosis, or excessive underarm sweating, show that botulinum toxin type A is safe and effective for treatment of hyperhidrosis and that it markedly improves quality of life in patients who suffer from this medical condition. The data were announced today at the 2004 American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) annual meeting in Washington, D.C. by Dr. Dee Anna Glaser, Associate Professor of Dermatology and Vic
Fractures are serious problems for kidney patients
Scientists working with a mouse model of chronic kidney disease have found a treatment that appears to block the devastating effects kidney damage can have on bones.
“We still have some mechanical and structural testing to do to prove that the skeletons of these mice are normal, but if this works out and we’re able to apply it in humans, we could be on our way to producing a major improvement in the well-being of patien
Medical malpractice cases frequently try to link injuries to the white matter of a newborn’s brain — a precursor to cerebral palsy and other disorders — to the baby’s delivery, though a new Johns Hopkins study demonstrates that such injuries are more closely associated with neonatal infections.
White matter, the tracts of nerve fibers that communicate messages in the brain, is generally injured at so-called “end zones” between the long, penetrating arteries that supply blood to
American Stroke Association meeting report
Women aged 55 and older have a one in five chance of suffering a stroke during their lifetime, while men the same age have a one in six chance, according to data from the Framingham Heart Study presented today at the American Stroke Association’s 29th International Stroke Conference.
“The lifetime risk of stroke has not been previously reported in the U.S. population,” said study lead author Sudha Seshadri, M.D., assistant profe
A team of European researchers lead by Carles Arús, professor at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, have developed a system that facilitates the interpretation of magnetic resonance spectra of brain tumours and improves their diagnosis. It is a computer-based tool that visually classifies the different types of tumours. The new system has significantly improved the reliability of the diagnosis in preliminary tests with 16 patients.
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