Results from a new study indicate that hybrid laboratory antibodies derived from chimpanzees and humans may provide a potentially safe and effective way to treat the serious complications that can occur following smallpox vaccination–and possibly may even protect against the deadly disease itself. The study, led by researchers with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), appears online this week in the Proceedings of th

Flowers are innately beautiful to the human eye, but how does a sunflower achieve its stunning disc of intersecting spirals or a daisy its delicate symmetry?

That was the question tackled by University of Calgary computer scientists, who have answered one of biology’s enduring questions with an animated model that provides the most detailed simulation of how plants grow into recognizable shapes.

In the article “A plausible model of phyllotaxis” published in this we

OHSU scientists using Xenopus eggs demonstrate Fanconi genes’ importance to DNA duplication, repair

A large, clawed frog is helping Oregon Health & Science University researchers gather a princely sum of knowledge on Fanconi anemia, a rare, genetic, cancer-susceptibility syndrome.

Scientists in the OHSU School of Medicine’s Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology are the first to report a new approach using eggs of the African clawed frog, which goes

In an important new study forthcoming from The American Naturalist, biologists from the University of Oxford tracked a colony of mute swans for more than two decades to explore a longstanding evolutionary question: whether the number of eggs laid by a female bird – known as “clutch size” – changes in accordance with natural selection.

“Extensive debate in the literature…was first focused on the question: Why does a population’s average clutch size differ from the most prod

University of Toronto study dispels decades-old theory

After decades of debate, a U of T researcher has finally determined that duck-billed dinosaurs’ massive but hollow crests had nothing to do with what many scientists suspected — the sense of smell.

Speculation about their function has led to theories that the crests functioned as everything from brain coolers to snorkels for underwater feeding. Now, David Evans, a PhD student in zoology at the University of To

Researchers at Johns Hopkins restored the normal growth of specific nerve cells in the cerebellum of mouse models of Down syndrome (DS) that were stunted by this genetic condition. The cerebellum is the rear, lower part of the brain that controls signals from the muscles to coordinate balance and motor learning.

The finding is important, investigators say, because the cells rescued by this treatment represent potential targets for future therapy in human babies with DS. And i

Bacteria and viruses utilize a natural mechanism to get inside cells and grow, researchers say.

These pathogens gain entry the same way millions of receptors on the cell’s surface routinely do after they get activated, says Dr. Yehia Daaka, professor and Distinguished Chair in Oncologic Pathology at the Medical College of Georgia. Dr. Daaka is corresponding author on an article published Jan. 23 by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

By moving off the cell su

Nine of 16 trials found that extracts from the aerial parts of the plant Echinacea purpurea could reduce the symptoms of colds in adults if started early enough. One further trial showed a trend towards this effect. This was the conclusion of an updated systematic Review published in the latest update of The Cochrane Library.

While there are signs of promise, the Authors sound a note of caution. “Our systematic review found some evidence that preparations based on the aerial part of Ech

Traditional herbal medicines may improve symptoms of abdominal pain, disturbed bowel movements, and/or bloating and distension caused by Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). This was the conclusion of a systematic review of clinical studies that is published in the latest update of The Cochrane Library.

Authors searched for studies that evaluated the effectiveness of traditional herbs including Chinese, Tibetan and Indian herbal medicines and found 75 different randomised trials. The trials va

The length of time patients spend under anesthesia during facial plastic surgery procedures does not appear to be linked to their risk of complications or death, Yale School of Medicine researchers report this month in Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery.

Several high profile patient deaths in office-based plastic surgery facilities have led state regulatory agencies and medical boards to develop policies regarding the procedures performed at these locations. Some states, among them Penns

A combination of older malaria drugs could treat malaria efficiently in some parts of Africa until a newer antimalarial drug called is widely available in those areas, a new review of recent studies suggests.

After 28 days of treatment, there were fewer cases of malaria among children taking a combination of the older sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (sold under the brand name Fansidar) and amodiaquine than among patients taking a combination of Fansidar and artesunate, a drug based on t

Low-tech, at-home preparation in the last month before childbirth could help pregnant mothers avoid one of the more common surgeries performed on women in the United States, a new review suggests.

The review looked at studies in which women used a massage technique in the last four or five weeks of pregnancy to train the lower genital tract for childbirth. During perineal massage a women kneads the tissue below the vagina to prepare the tissue to expand more easily during birth

Amidst all the talk about the risk of an influenza pandemic, little has been said about the difficult decisions that would have to be made in an overwhelming health care crisis. An article in the February issue of Academic Emergency Medicine, the Official Journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, outlines a sample set of guidelines for prioritizing the use of a piece of equipment likely to be in short supply in a pandemic: mechanical ventilators.

Drs. John L. Hi

Women pondering hormone-replacement therapy also should consider regular exercise. A new study at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign suggests that being physically fit offsets cognitive declines attributed to long-term therapy.

“This study not only tells us that there is a benefit to being highly fit, it pinpoints where in the brain it matters for postmenopausal women who have been using the two strategies,” said lead author Kirk I. Erickson, a postdoctoral re

Results Suggest Alzheimer’s Disease May Be More Common than Previously Recognized

A new study from Rush University MedicalCenter helps explain why gait problems are often progressive in old age and related to risk of dementia and death.

The study, published in the January issue of the Annals of Neurology, found that neurofibrillary tangles in the substantia nigra, a part of the brain that is subject to cell loss in Parkinson’s disease, are associated with gait i

Health economics study questions recent policy on screening of US blood donations for West Nile Virus

A recent mandate to screen blood donations in all US states for West Nile virus (WNV) makes little sense from a public health point of view, say researchers from Columbia University and Harvard School of Public Health.

And while this is not yet the time of year to worry about mosquitoes, it seems a good time to take a look at the current policy on screening blood produ