Researchers have isolated bacteria which can grow on and ‘mop up’ smelly compounds in the mouth that are linked to bad breath. These smelly, highly reactive ‘one-carbon’ compounds are naturally produced from the breakdown of sulphur-containing amino acids in the mouth.

Dr Ann Wood and her colleagues at Kings College, London, reported these findings in the August issue of Environmental Microbiology. The odour-eating methylotrophic bacteria were isolated from the tongue, tooth plaq

The latest review of the Government Chemist (GC) presents an account of LGC’s analytical, advisory and strategic work for the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) during 2004. An overview of the year’s achievements, the review shows significant growth in the role of the GC and the subsequent benefits for government, businesses and consumers.

The review focuses on the GC’s three main responsibilities: its statutory referee function to provide evidence to resol

A specialized subpopulation of the antibody-producing B cells of the immune system plays a “double-barreled” role in triggering both kinds of immunity — innate and acquired, Duke University Medical Center immunologists have discovered. The division of labor between B-1a and B-1b cells they have uncovered offers basic insights that could contribute to more rational development of vaccines, they said.

B cells are the arms factories of the immune system, producing antibodies that t

Combining partially differentiated stem cells with gene therapy can promote the growth of new “insulation” around nerve fibers in the damaged spinal cords of rats, a new study shows. The treatment, which mimics the activity of two nerve growth factors, also improves the animals’ motor function and electrical conduction from the brain to the leg muscles. The finding may eventually lead to new ways of treating spinal cord injury in humans. The study was funded in part by the National Institute

How did University of Alberta researchers discover that animals zig when they were only supposed to zag? A little birdie told them.

In studying the spatial memory of wild-caught mountain chickadees, University of Alberta researchers were surprised to discover the birds contradicting prior research that showed how animals navigate. This study is the first to reveal a different pattern. Previously, only animals that had been raised in human-made enclosures had been tested.

Exactly what behavioral mechanisms determine variation in male mating success is important because different mechanisms may have different evolutionary consequences. In addition to competition for mates and mate choice, indirect mate choice can cause sexual selection on male traits. This is when females have preferences for “external traits” determined by male competition.

One suggested example is when females prefer to mate at certain sites that males fight over, claimed to be

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have identified an elusive subunit of a neurotransmitter receptor found in both humans and the much-studied laboratory nematode C. elegans which may open new pathways of research on muscle function.

The neurotransmitter acetylcholine binds to two different nicotinic receptors at the nematode’s neuromuscular junctions, causing them to contract. Previously, researchers knew the subunit composition only of the levamisole-sensi

CINCINNATI-Cincinnati scientists have discovered how blood-regenerating stem cells move from bone marrow into the blood stream.

The finding has led to the development of a new chemical compound that can accelerate this process (called stem cell mobilization) in mice–which could eventually lead to more efficient stem cell harvesting for human use.

The researchers, from the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the University of Cincinnati (UC), studi

Doctors and other carers often overlook some important aspects of outcome amongst patients who have suffered head injuries, according to a new study published today in BMC Family Practice. The researchers interviewed patients who had suffered head injuries and highlight areas of outcome of importance to patients that are currently often overlooked by health care professionals. According to the authors, consideration of these areas may help to understand the effects of head injury and they suggest sev

Specialists at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne have been chosen to co-ordinate a multi-million pound nationwide network of healthcare professionals to increase the amount of research being carried out into stroke – the third most common cause of death in the UK after heart disease and cancer.

Newcastle University has been chosen by the Department of Health to co-ordinate the UK Stroke Research Network, in collaboration with the Universities of Birmingham, Glasgow, Nottingham

Researchers at Johns Hopkins and The Brady Urological Institute have identified three risk factors and developed a simple reference tool that doctors can use to determine who is at high risk of death after prostate cancer recurrence following surgery. The new tool – a set of tables that assess a combination of blood tests, the surgical pathology results and time following surgery – can be used to tell which men with recurring cancer after surgery are most likely to die from their renewed disease and

The rate of new illnesses associated with pesticide exposure at schools increased significantly in children from 1998 to 2002, according to an article in the July 27 issue of JAMA.

“Exposure to pesticides in the school environment is a health risk facing children and school employees,” background information in the article states. Pesticides continue to be used both on and around school property, with some schools at risk of pesticide exposure from neighboring farms. Currently, n

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute researchers are developing a tiny, highly efficient heat spreader to be used in a new device to be implanted in the brain of patients who suffer from severe epileptic seizures. The implant device is designed to detect and arrest epileptic seizures as they begin by cooling a small region of the brain, thereby effectively blocking the erratic electrical activity.

G. P. “Bud” Peterson, provost and professor of mechanical, aerospace, and nuclear engineeri

Scientists from the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB) associated with the University of Antwerp have achieved a new breakthrough in their research on the origins of Alzheimer’s disease. Their alternative approach opens up new prospects for developing a treatment which can slow the disease’s progress. The researchers have shown that ´the plaques´ which form in the brain of patients are linked to damage to nearby blood vessels. Leakage appears to occur between the blood vesse

Measuring the biochemical changes in breast tumors with magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy enables radiologists to more accurately distinguish benign tumors from cancerous ones, according to a study appearing in the August issue of the journal Radiology.

“Adding spectroscopy to breast MR examinations will not only reduce concern over possible missed cancers and unnecessary biopsy procedures, it may also improve the efficiency and quality of patient care,” said co-author Si

Development, the process that gives rise to an adult organism also causes aging, according to Harvard Medical School researchers Joao Pedro de Magalhaes and George Church. Joao Pedro de Magalhaes is a Portuguese microbiologist.

In “Genomes Optimize Reproduction: Aging as a Consequence of the Developmental Program,” appearing in the August issue of the journal Physiology, Joao Pedro de Magalhaes and George Church assert that the aging process is driven by the same genetic processes t