Weizmann Institute Scientists discover how an HIV protein fragment shuts down an immune response. Their finding may have implications for autoimmune disease treatment.

The HIV virus hides out in the very immune system cells that are meant to protect the body from viral infection. But how does it prevent these cells from mounting a full-scale attack against the invader? In research published today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, a team at the Weizmann Institute of Science ha

Novel cues drive animal behavior; ’our thirst for novelty begins in the eye itself,’ scientists say

Researchers at Harvard University have found evidence that the retina actively seeks novel features in the visual environment, dynamically adjusting its processing in order to seek the unusual while ignoring the commonplace. The scientists report in this week’s issue of the journal Nature on their finding that this principle of novelty-detection operates in many visual

As successful fishermen know, if you want to catch fish, you have to use the right bait or lure. This is true even in the deep sea, where scientists recently discovered a new species of jelly that attracts fish by wiggling hundreds of glowing red lures. This is the first time any marine invertebrate has been found to use a bioluminescent lure or to display red bioluminescence. This discovery is described in an article written by Steven Haddock of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MB

Study shows significant benefit

Early screening of prostate cancer in asymptomatic men may reduce their risk of death from metastatic prostate cancer by as much as 35 per cent, researchers from the University of Toronto have found.

“Early screening with the prostate specific antigen (PSA) is quite controversial. There are many arguments both for and against the efficacy of this form of early screening,” says Vivek Goel, professor of public health sciences and health pol

Patients suffering from oral cancer have increased levels of certain bacteria in their saliva, according to new research published today in the Open Access journal, Journal of Translational Medicine. Six common species of bacteria were found at significantly higher levels in the saliva of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) than in the saliva of healthy individuals. The researchers were able to use three of the six species as a diagnostic tool to predict more than 80% of oral cancer

Researchers have discovered a key regulatory molecule whose overactivation by the abnormal protein produced in Huntington’s disease (HD) causes the central pathologies of the disease. The abnormal HD protein activates the regulatory protein called p53, which in turn switches on a host of other genes. This abnormal gene activation damages the cells’ power plants, called the mitochondria, and kills brain cells.

The researchers also speculated that disturbances in p53 may also pla

Overcopied pigment-cell gene may serve as target for future drug attacks

A team of researchers led by scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have discovered a genetic abnormality in the cells of some advanced melanoma patients that worsens their chances of survival, but also might be a target of future drug attack against the dangerous skin cancer.

Dana-Farber’s Levi Garraway, MD, PhD, and William Sellers, MD, the paper’s first and senior authors, and their

Discovery could counteract use of deadly virus for bioterrorism

UCLA scientists have discovered how the deadly Nipah virus infiltrates human cells to cause encephalitis. Designated as a potential bioterrorism agent by the National Biodefense Research Agenda, the virus exploits a protein essential to embryonic development to enter cells and launch its attack. The online edition of Nature reports the findings July 6.

“In its natural state, the Nipah virus can be used as a

A better grasp of immune cell lineages may improve outcomes for transplant, other immunosuppressed patients

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have recently clarified the role of the Notch protein in T-cell development. T cells are required for many aspects of immunity, including fighting viral infections, providing cancer surveillance, and regulating multiple aspects of the immune response.

T cells are made in the thymus, a small organ si

A trail of feathers led a team of Purdue University scientists to confirm that eagles from central Asia are quite possibly the most faithful of birds.

By performing DNA analysis on the feathers left behind at nesting sites, the researchers were able to identify individual Eastern imperial eagles in a nature reserve in Kazakhstan. Their analysis showed that not one adult strayed from its mate – a degree of fidelity highly unusual among birds, the vast majority of which mate with an

A disease treatment programme started three years ago by Imperial College London has now treated over ten million African children and adults for schistosomiasis and intestinal worm infections in six sub-Saharan countries.

Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease that leads to chronic ill-health affecting more than 200 million people in developing countries. Intestinal worms cause debilitating malnutrition, stunted growth and anaemia.

The Schistosomiasis Control Initiativ

People in their 50s who have normal blood pressure could live up to five years longer than those with hypertension (high blood pressure), an international study has found.

The study, which has been published in the current issue of Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association, tracked 3128 people who celebrated their 50th birthday while enrolled in the Framingham Heart Study, which looks at risk factors for heart disease.

It was the first study of a larg

Household dust is the main route of exposure to flame retardants for people — from toddlers to adults — followed by eating animal and dairy products, according to a report in the July 15 issue of the American Chemical Society’s journal Environmental Science & Technology. ACS is the world’s largest scientific society. Until this study, which is based on a computer model developed by Canadian researchers, scientists have been unsure exactly how people are being exposed.

PBDEs (polybromi

Significantly more and smaller liver tumors can be detected by contrast-enhanced MRI when compared to whole-body FDG PET, say researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

For the study, the researchers analyzed 79 liver tumors in 30 patients. MRI detected all 79 of the lesions, of which 33 were less than 1 cm. PET detected 65 lesions, of which only 12 were less than 1 cm. In a per-lesion analysis, MRI had an accuracy rate of 75.5% compared to 64.1% for PET.

A new gait-stabilizing device called the Yaktrax Walker has shown to reduce the risk of injurious falls during winter months in older adults who are fall-prone, reports a study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Yaktrax Walker is a plastic netting sized to conform to the bottom of a boot or shoe. Participants in the study were asked to wear the device outdoors over their normal winter footwear and kept a diary of any falls.

A total of 43 outdoor fall

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the leading reason given for death among infants one month to one year old. Studies have shown that sharing a bed with parents who smoke increases the risk of SIDS. A study in the July issue of The Journal of Pediatrics found a relationship between SIDS and bedsharing among infants less than 11 weeks old, even if parents are non-smokers.

David Tappin, MD, MPH and colleagues from University of Glasgow and Ecob Consulting evaluated 123 cases