Scientists have rendered the first gene and protein networks of human aging, an important step in understanding the genetic mechanisms of aging. The work led by Joao Pedro de Magalhaes from Harvard Medical School is detailed in the July 30 issue of FEBS Letters.

The work involved the integration of all genes, in both humans and animal models, previously shown to influence aging. By using a combination of bibliographic information and modern high-throughput genomics, employing softwa

Scientists studying a whale carcass in Monterey Canyon recently announced the discovery of two new species of unique worms that feed on the bones of dead whales. In the July 30 issue of Science, the researchers describe these worms, whose bodies and feeding strategies differ from those of any other known animal. The worms have no eyes, legs, mouths, or stomachs, but they do have colorful feathery plumes and green “roots.” They use the roots to infiltrate the bones of dead whales, digesting the fats

UCSF scientists are reporting what they say is compelling evidence that the infectious agent known as prion is composed solely of protein. Their findings promise to create new tools for early diagnosis of prions causing bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or “mad cow” disease, in cattle and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in people, they say. The researchers believe that their work may also help advance investigations of more common neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson&#146

Researchers reveal Argonaute2 as the catalytic engine of mammalian RNA interference

RNA interference (RNAi) has emerged as a fundamentally important biological phenomenon and as a versatile, powerful tool for biomedical research. In organisms from fungi and flies to plants and mammals, RNAi plays a multifaceted role in molecular biology by silencing genes through chromatin remodeling, interfering with protein synthesis, and–in its best-studied mode of action–quashing gene expressio

Scientists have produced a prion protein that can trigger the development of a neurological disorder in mice that is similar to “mad cow” disease, according to a new study supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), a part of the National Institutes of Health. The findings demonstrate that prions, an unusual class of infectious proteins, can make copies of themselves without the presence of viral DNA or RNA, damage brain tissue, and cause neurological diseases.

The work by Nobel Lau

A simple blood test can now predict the probability of success for a procedure that can save the lower leg of diabetic patients facing amputation according to a study presented at the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society’s (AOFAS) annual meeting today.

The study, conducted by Alastair Younger, M.D. and Colin Meakin, M.D. at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia, examined 21 patients with diabetes who received successful partial foot amputations and 21 diabetic pa

Patients with diabetic foot ulcers experience a high level of depression and a lower quality of life according to a study presented at the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society’s (AOFAS) annual summer meeting here today.

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) are sores on the feet that often occur in people with diabetes. The abnormally high levels of blood sugar in these people damage blood vessels, causing them to thicken and leak. Over time, this makes the vessels less able to supply the body,

For the estimated 15 million Americans with eczema – a chronic skin disease in which the skin becomes itchy with red patches of inflamed skin – finding effective, long-lasting treatments was a difficult and frustrating process. Now, two new non-steroidal medications recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are improving the quality of life for eczema patients of all ages and offering hope as potential treatment options for patients with other hard-to-treat skin conditions.

For the estimated six to seven million Americans with psoriasis, the warm-weather months of summer might be the most challenging. Instead of being able to cover up their condition with sweaters or pants, psoriasis patients – forced to keep cool by wearing short-sleeved shirts and shorts – find themselves revealing the raised, thickened patches of red skin and silvery-white scales that they try so desperately to hide. Now, new treatment advances offer patients more hope in finding a life-long solutio

Every year, Americans spend millions of dollars on anti-aging products in their unwavering quest to look younger. But treating stubborn wrinkles and fine lines often require more help than is available at the cosmetics counter. In the last few months, several new skin fillers have received approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating facial wrinkles and are safe and effective options for combating aging skin.

Speaking at ACADEMY ’04, the American Academy of Dermatol

For the approximately 30 percent of the U.S. population affected by venous disease, covering up their varicose and spider veins with clothing or cosmetics can be a real pain. But the physical pain caused by this common medical condition is what drives most patients to seek treatment.

Speaking at ACADEMY ’04, the American Academy of Dermatology’s summer scientific session in New York, dermatologist Mitchel P. Goldman, M.D., an associate clinical professor of dermatology at the University o

A drug once considered for cancer chemotherapy is advancing in clinical trials to test its effectiveness in fighting a virus from the herpes family that threatens transplant patients.

University of Michigan professors Leroy Townsend and John Drach developed the compound maribavir. It is licensed by ViroPharma, which announced today that maribavir is headed for phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of cytomegalovirus infection in stem cell transplant patients. New drugs go thro

The genetic machinery for proper cell division

Researchers at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have solved one of genetics’ mysteries – how a segment of protein on each of the body’s DNA-carrying chromosomes is able to form a rigid structure called a centromere, leading to proper cell division and the faithful inheritance of genes.

Published in the July 29, 2004 issue of the journal Natur

When a male fruit fly encounters a prospective mate, he initiates courtship by following her around and gently tapping her with his leg. If she seems interested, he serenades her with a love song. Singing is followed by more intimate acts that sometimes lead to successful mating.

Now Stanford University scientists have discovered that this elaborate courtship behavior is actually choreographed by a cluster of nerve cells embedded in the central nervous system of the male fly. When t

ATP, the vital energy source that keeps our body’s cells alive, runs amok at the site of a spinal cord injury, pouring into the area around the wound and killing the cells that normally allow us to move, scientists report in the cover story of the August issue of Nature Medicine.

The finding that ATP is a culprit in causing the devastating damage of spinal cord injury is unexpected. Doctors have known that initial trauma to the spinal cord is exacerbated by a cascade of molecular e

Fewer absorbent ion channels / new morbidity mechanism

To date epilepsy research has mainly concentrated on the transmission of the nerve cell signals to what are known as the synapses. However, recent observations by medical researchers from the US, France and the University of Bonn support the idea that in ’falling sickness’ the signal processing in the nerve cells (neurons) is altered: normally specific ion channels absorb the neuronal activity. In rats suffering fr