A cell surface protein regarded as a potential troublemaker in the lungs plays an unexpected protective role mitigating the damage caused by chronic pulmonary diseases such as asthma, University of Texas Medical School at Houston scientists report in the January edition of The Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI).

Genetically knocking the protein out of a specialized strain of mouse that models chronic lung disease resulted in higher levels of inflammation, mucus, and tissue

In a study that could benefit medical and food-safety research, scientists have used comparative genomics tools to find clues about why some strains of the bacterium Campylobacter – which each year cause more than 400 million cases of gastrointestinal disease – are more virulent than others.

The study, which appears in the January 2005 issue of PLoS Biology, compares the complete genome sequences of two strains of Campylobacter jejuni – the species most often associated with h

The replenishment of missing neurons in the brain as a treatment for Parkinson disease reached the stage of human trials over 15 years ago, however the field is still in its infancy. Researchers from Kyoto University have now shown that dopamine-producing neurons (DA neurons) generated from monkey embryonic stem cells and transplanted into areas of the brain where these neurons have degenerated in a monkey model of Parkinson disease, can reverse parkinsonism. Their results appear in the January

Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers have made new discoveries that shed new light on the mystery of why human tissues, such as skin, age. The findings focus on the composition and assembly of key chromosomal protein complexes involved in shutting down reproduction of aging cells. The report by molecular and cell biologist Peter D. Adams, Ph.D. and his colleagues appears in the January 2005 issue of Developmental Cell.

“In the lab, aging cells are called senescent cells. Senesce

Using naturally-occurring mutant mice with a defective collagen gene, scientists at Harvard have identified a signaling molecule involved in one of the most common causes of disability among the elderly in the United States, osteoarthritis. Inhibitors of this molecule’s signaling may eventually be used to slow down the progression of the disease, thus helping to relieve chronic pain in a large segment of the population.

The research appears as the “Paper of the Week” in the

New technique could lead to more effective therapies for AIDS

When researchers came up with the powerful cocktail of anti-HIV drugs known as highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), they hoped they had found a way to finally rid the body of the virus. But they were wrong. The virus instead goes into hiding, dormant and practically undetectable in the body – and impervious to attack. While HAART manages to keep the virus at bay, it’s still quite capable – given the rig

Over the past 20 years, there has been speculation about a connection between immunizations and an increase in autism. However, a study by Mayo Clinic researchers published in the January issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine suggests the increase may be due to improved awareness, changes in diagnostic criteria and availability of services, not environmental factors or immunizations.

“This study is the first to measure the incidence — the occurrence of new c

A multi-state outbreak of urinary tract infections caused by drug-resistant Escherichia coli was probably due to consumption of a contaminated food product of animal origin, such as meat or milk, according to an article in the Jan. 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online.

Urinary tract infections, or UTIs, are one of the most common infections in women. Although they are not typically considered “outbreak” diseases, it is likely that a cluster of UTIs resulti

An estrogen-like chemical commonly used to synthesize plastic food containers has been shown to encourage the growth of a specific category of prostate cancer cell, potentially affecting the treatment efficacy for a subset of prostate cancers.

According to a study published in the January 1 issue of Cancer Research, such prostate cancer cells proved to be vulnerable to exposure to the chemical BPA (bisophenol A), an industrial chemical and nonsteroidal environmental estrogen used

A recently developed mouse model of brain tumors common in the genetic disorder neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1) successfully mimics the human condition and provides unique insight into tumor development, diagnosis and treatment, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

After validating their animal model, the team made two important discoveries: New blood vessels and immune system cells may be essential to the initial formation of tumors and

Undergrad discovered natural form in venomous snails in 1979

The natural form of Prialt – a new drug for severe pain approved this week by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration – was discovered at the University of Utah in 1979 by an incoming freshman studying toxins produced by cone snails.

The student, J. Michael McIntosh, worked in the laboratory of University of Utah biologist Baldomero “Toto” Olivera, the summer before his freshman year as the result of a scholars

Shrubs have become more abundant in the Arctic over the past 30 years as air temperatures have increased, a change that is likely to affect the grazing of caribou and the communities that rely on them for food. According to an article in the January 2005 issue of BioScience, a variety of evidence now suggests that winter biological processes form a positive feedback mechanism that is contributing to the expansion of shrubs in the Arctic. The effect could have important implications for the global c

The polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), the most common endocrine disorder among reproductive-age women, produces a wide variety of body changes with both physical and emotional implications for sufferers.

Many women with PCOS are found to have insulin resistance, a condition that allows excessive levels of insulin to circulate in the blood and increases the risk for Type 2 diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. PCOS is also the leading cause of androgen excess in women. Although

Minimally invasive surgery to alleviate the pain and pressure of sinusitis is a safe, effective therapy for geriatric patients who can’t be helped by medication alone, according to new research.

“This tells us that we should not neglect sinus problems in the elderly; that if medicines don’t work, we have a surgical technique that is not that invasive and results in good outcomes,” says Dr. Stilianos E. Kountakis, otolaryngologist, vice chair of the Medical College of Geor

FINDINGS: UCLA researchers for the first time showed that advanced heart failure patients with diabetes who are treated with insulin faced a mortality rate four times higher than heart failure patients with diabetes treated with oral medications.

IMPACT: The new study may help raise awareness among physicians and patients of this previously unknown relationship between insulin use and increased mortality in advanced heart failure patients. More research is needed to ex

Johns Hopkins researchers, using a novel birthing simulator designed by biomedical engineering faculty, staff and students at the University, have identified what may be the least forceful way to deliver a baby whose shoulders are stuck in the birth canal.

Shoulder dystocia, in which the baby’s shoulders won’t move past the mother’s bony pelvis during delivery, occurs in about 5 percent of births. Of these, up to a quarter of deliveries may result in an injury to the baby’s brachi