Scientists have used a powerful molecular imaging technique to see inside living cells infected with the most pervasive and potentially fatal childhood respiratory virus known to medicine — respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The technique is yielding insight on viruses – such as RSV, human influenza, hepatitis C, West Nile virus and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) — that replicate with the help of proteins encoded by ribonucleic acid (RNA) inside the cell. Ultimately, the research could

Researchers have discovered the first African hantavirus, a type of rodent-borne virus that can cause life-threatening infections in humans when it is inhaled through aerosolized rodent urine or droppings.

A team led by Jan ter Meulen while he was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) international research scholar at the University of Conakry in the Republic of Guinea, identified the new virus in an African wood mouse (Hylomiscus simus) in Sangassou, Guinea. Their findings

Cuttlefish are wizards of camouflage. Adept at blending in with their surroundings, cuttlefish are known to have a diverse range of body patterns and can switch between them almost instantaneously. New research from MBL Marine Resources scientists, to appear in the May 2006 issue of the journal Vision Research, confirms that while these masters of disguise change their appearance based on visual cues, they do so while being completely colorblind.

While previous research has reported cu

Microarray analysis could help spur new studies, new treatment approaches

The meta analysis, which examined more than 4.5 million data points on more than 100 microarrays from mouse models, also identified more than 1,300 functional groups, including signaling and transcription pathways, which may also play an important role in establishing a capacity for a “high level of alcohol consumption.”

The results of the study could lead to a better understanding of the molecular

Everybody has experienced a sense of “losing oneself” in an activity–whether a movie, sport, sex, or meditation. Now, researchers have caught the brain in the act of losing “self” as it shuts down introspection during a demanding sensory task. The researchers–led by Rafael Malach and Ilan Goldberg of the Weizmann Institute of Science reporting in the April 20, 2006, issue of Neuron–say their findings show that self-related function actually shuts down during such intense sensory tasks. Thus, an

Evolution has always been a game of wins and losses.

Anatomical features, scientists know, come and go. The animal kingdom is full of critters that have independently gained or lost similar features. Whales and snakes, for instance, have lost their legs. Winged flight evolved separately in birds, bats and pterosaurs at different times in evolutionary history.

Now, writing today (April 20, 2006) in the journal Nature, a team of scientists from the Howard Hughes Medical Inst

The complete sequencing of human chromosome 17 and mouse chromosome 11 offers unique insights into the evolution of the genome of higher mammals, said a Baylor College of Medicine researcher who participated in this effort reported in today’s issue of the journal Nature.

The work represents the first time that a mouse chromosome has been completely sequenced and annotated, said Dr. James R. Lupski, vice chair and professor in the BCM department of molecular and human geneti

Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have discovered a neural circuit that is likely to play an important role in the visual perception of moving objects. Their finding, published in the April issue of the journal Neuron, forces neurobiologists to rethink the neural pathways that our brain relies on to detect motion.

It had long been assumed that sensory information about color and fine detail is relatively unimportant for the perception of moving objects.

Considerable gaps exist among European national pandemic plans, according to a new report published in the online edition of The Lancet on 20 April 2006.

The report, ‘How prepared is Europe for Pandemic Influenza? An analysis of national plans’, issued by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), reveals marked discrepancies in pandemic preparedness across Europe. The authors conclude that further planning and implementation is needed so that governments can e

Adults and children with asthma will breathe deeper and have better control over their asthma with inhaled corticosteroids than with the medicine cromolyn, according to a new review of recent studies comparing the two treatments.

Adult asthma patients using inhaled steroids such as the brand names Beclovent, Pulmicort and Flovent had on average three fewer severe asthma flare-ups each year compared to patients using inhaled cromolyn, sold under the brand name Intal.

Patients taki

The mitral valve is an essential part of your heart. Matter of fact, you wouldn’t exist without it. The valve is essentially a small, round hole with two flaps on the top and bottom. Its job is to open and close rapidly, regulating the flow of blood between the upper and lower chambers of the heart’s left side- the main pumping chambers that send oxygen-rich red blood to your limbs and organs.

In some people, however, the mitral valve can leak, usually because of a congenital d

Pulmonary complications, including pneumonia and respiratory failure, are a common – and dangerous – problem for patients following major surgery. To address this issue, a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis in the April 18, 2006 issue of The Annals of Internal Medicine provides clinicians with new guidelines to use prior to surgery in assessing a patient’s risk of developing pulmonary problems postoperatively.

“Independent of surgical complications, such as infec

Caspase-12 is a molecule with a death-wish. Found only in people of African descent, this protein shuts down our body’s immune system, opening the door to potentially lethal infections. In a groundbreaking new study published in the prestigious journal Nature this week, the team that first discovered the role of caspase-12 in humans has now uncovered the mechanism by which it sabotages us, allowing researchers to develop methods to counter its damaging effects.

Caspase-12 is found in aro

Scientists have long known that the social insects in the order Hymenoptera–which includes ants, bees, and wasps–have an unusual mechanism for sex determination: Unfertilized eggs develop into males, while fertilized eggs become females. But the development of an unfertilized egg into an adult (called parthenogenesis) remains a mysterious process.

One mystery has been the origin of the centrosome, an essential cellular component that is ordinarily derived from the sperm after fertiliz

In the latest issue of the journal Nature, scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) describe a new understanding about how long-term immunity works–findings that may lead to new ways of thinking about how to enhance certain immune responses and how to improve vaccines.

Led by immunologist Ronald Germain, M.D., Ph.D., the scientists took videos through a microscope to document what happens inside the lymph

Scientists in the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center say that just one, single, malfunctioning microRNA is sufficient to cause cancer in mice. The discovery offers new insight into the development of some forms of leukemia and lymphoma and at the same time underscores the powerful role that these tiny snippets of non-coding RNA play in cell signaling pathways active in carcinogenesis.

“To the best of our knowledge, this is the first direct evidence that overexpression of a