Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have discovered a molecular link between a high-fat, Western-style diet, and the onset of type 2 diabetes. In studies in mice, the scientists showed that a high-fat diet disrupts insulin production, resulting in the classic signs of type 2 diabetes.

In an article published in the December 29, 2005, issue of the journal Cell, the researchers report that knocking out a single gene encoding the enzyme GnT-4a glycosyltransferase (GnT-4a

One in five teens needing inpatient psychiatric care may be manic-depressive

Clinicians at Bradley Hospital, the nation’s first psychiatric hospital for children and adolescents, have found that bipolar disorder is more common than expected in teens in a psychiatric inpatient setting.

“In the past, mental health professionals thought that about one percent of teens was bipolar – our research indicates that if a strict definition of the illness is applied, up to twen

A perspective article by Stephen Soumerai, professor in the Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention (of Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care), suggests that the new Medicare Drug Benefit may be harmful to the health of the poor, elderly, and disabled, the so-called “dually eligible” beneficiaries enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid. This article appears in the Dec. 29 New England Journal of Medicine, and was lead by Rachel Elliott, a Commonwealth Fund Harkness Fellow at

It is possible to produce bioethanol and other valuable chemicals, such as bioplastics, by utilising the metabolism of cells

Biofuel from agricultural waste utilising yeast cells

VTT has developed yeast-based methods for efficient production of biofuel from agricultural waste. In addition to bioethanol, several other valuable chemicals, such as bioplastics, xylitol, pigments and medicines, can be produced by utilising the metabolism of cells. The engineering of the

In a study to be published in the January 2006 issue of Nature Biotechnology, researchers led by a team of scientists at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center have devised a novel strategy that uses stem cell-based gene therapy and RNA interference to genetically reverse sickle cell disease (SCD) in human cells. This research is the first to demonstrate a way to genetically correct this debilitating blood disease using RNA interference technology.

To prevent the production of

A new gene therapy technique that has shown promise in skin disease and hemophilia might one day be useful for treating muscular dystrophy, according to a new study by researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine.

In the study, scheduled to be published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the week of Jan. 2, the researchers used gene therapy to introduce a healthy copy of the gene dystrophin into mice with a condition that mimics muscular dys

For the first time, researchers compared dosing regimens of an antiepileptic drug (AED) used for treatment of partial epilepsy in adults, in conjunction with other AEDs. They looked at dosing used in clinical everyday life (flexible dosing) and that used in classical clinical trials (fixed dose) and discovered that the flexible dosing method was superior. The study is published in Epilepsia, the official journal of the International League Against Epilepsy.

Researchers observed how pati

On the one hand, farmed salmon has more heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids than wild salmon. On the other hand, it also tends to have much higher levels of chemical contaminants that are known to cause cancer, memory impairment and neurobehavioral changes in children. What’s a consumer to do?

In general, a new study shows that the net benefits of eating wild Pacific salmon outweigh those of eating farmed Atlantic salmon, when the risks of chemical contaminants are considered

A deficiency in vitamin B1 can be a serious complication following a popular surgery to treat obesity, according to a case study published in the December 27, 2005 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology. If untreated, vitamin B1 deficiency can lead to Wernicke encephalopathy, a severe neurological condition.

In the study, a 35-year-old woman developed many difficulties after gastric bypass (bariatric) surgery for obesity. Difficulties included

Despite the prevailing belief that adult brain cells don’t grow, a researcher at MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory reports in the Dec. 27 issue of Public Library of Science (PLoS) Biology that structural remodeling of neurons does in fact occur in mature brains.

This finding means that it may one day be possible to grow new cells to replace ones damaged by disease or spinal cord injury, such as the one that paralyzed the late actor Christopher Reeve.

Raquel Villar Becares, in her PhD thesis at the Public University of Navarre, has developed new derivatives of benzo[b]tiophene 1,1-dioxide that enable their application in the pharmaceutical field. Moreover, the researcher tested for the antitumoural activity of these derivatives, concluding that 23 of the 24 compounds analysed proved to be active or very active against one or more of the tumoural cell lines tested.

Treatment of diabetes or high blood pressure

Alth

West Nile virus (WNV) is a serious infection spreading across the world.

Spread by mosquitoes, it can cause high fever, encephalitis, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, loss of vision, numbness, paralysis and death. There is no vaccine and no cure.

Now, there is a chance that a team of researchers have identified a promising drug target.

In the latest issue of the Biochemical Journal, Alex Strongin of The Burnam Institute,

Implications for new therapeutic targets for B cell lymphomas and other EBV-associated illnesses

Earlier this year, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine identified a link between a critical cancer pathway and an Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) protein known to be expressed in a number of EBV-associated cancers. Their findings demonstrated a new mechanism by which EBV can transform human B cells from the immune system into cancerous cells, which can lead to B

Specialists of the Gamalei Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, and the Botkin Clinical Hospital have developed the method that allows to significantly simplify examination of patients suffering from stomach and duodenal diseases caused by the Helicobacter pylori bacteria. The researchers have created immunological test-system capable to discover the pathogene toxin in the patients’ saliva and faeces without resorting to traditional complicate

A sensor developed by a team of analytical chemists of the Voronezh Technological Academy allows you to determine the quality of meat, to learn whether it is fresh, and how long it has been kept. Researchers headed by Professor Yakov Korenman and Tatiana Kuchmenko, Doctor of Science (Chemistry), have produced a sensor which helps to quickly and accurately analyse the scent of meat; to identify the adipose and muscular tissue oxidation products through the piesoelectric microweighing method.

The chemical engineers at Delft University of Technology are entering the new discipline of nanochemical technology. Building upon their solid background in chemical and process engineering, they want to build a bridge between the new fundamental concepts involved in nanotechnology and the process technology needed to turn them into practical applications. A recruitment campaign for three new academic chairs begins this week in Dutch and international journals.

Until now, Delft has conc