Major differences found between genomes of oral pathogen and related spiral-shaped bacteria that cause syphilis and lyme disease

Three centuries after a pioneering Dutch microbiologist first observed the spiral-shaped oral pathogen Treponema denticola, scientists have deciphered the bacterium’s entire DNA sequence and used comparative genomics to cast new light on other spirochete microbes.

The study by scientists at The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) and collabo

West Nile virus and dengue fever, two of the most feared diseases spread by mosquitoes and other biting insects, could be controlled in future by using techniques learned from studying the influenza virus, fruit flies and plants, according to scientists from the University of California speaking today, Monday 29 March 2004, at the Society for General Microbiology’s meeting in Bath.

“We can study the way insects fight off viruses by looking at fruit flies”, says Professor Shou-Wei Ding of th

Using tiny amounts of gold and a genetic ’hairpin probe’, US scientists have developed a sensor which will aid hospitals in the fight against serious infections such as Staphylococcus aureus, researchers from the University of Rochester, New York, will announce tomorrow, Tuesday 30 March 2004, at the Society for General Microbiology’s meeting in Bath.

The feat of micro-engineering is the latest response by medical researchers against the constant and continuing threat from hos

Every now and then a new, nasty version of the influenza virus sweeps across the world. Health experts have known for a long time that these worldwide outbreaks of fatal disease start in birds. Now scientists are uncovering for the first time the secrets of the viruses which can make the jump from birds to humans, according to research to be presented tomorrow, Tuesday 30 March 2004, at the Society for General Microbiology’s meeting in Bath.

“Most bird flu viruses cannot normally infect

Researchers have developed a method to reconstitute bone marrow and blood cells from embryonic stem (ES) cells. As reported in The Journal of Experimental Medicine, this method was effective even in genetically mismatched mice. If the same is true in humans, this would remove the need to find genetically matched human bone-marrow donors for patients with leukemia, immune deficiencies and autoimmune diseases.

ES cells are cells derived from embryos that have the potential to grow into many d

Halting the development of certain pancreatic, ovarian, colon and lung cancers may be possible with therapy based on recent Purdue University research.

By investigating a single molecule that influences cell growth, a research group in the Purdue Cancer Center, including Brian S. Henriksen, has gained new insight into the chain of events that make some cancer cells divide uncontrollably – insight that may eventually lead to a way to break that chain, stopping cancer in its tracks. The molec

A protein critical in tadpole metamorphosis has role in human cancer

There’s something magical about tadpoles. The mere mention of this little creature sparks happy memories of children screaming with delight as they splash in a shallow stream trying to capture some of the tiny swimmers in a cup. The real magic happens as the children witness the metamorphosis from tadpole to frog.

Within the mystery of this transformation is a biological series of changes that among ot

University of Toronto researchers have shown that “designer molecules” can interact with the body’s insulin receptor, a step toward the development of an oral medication for diabetes.

U of T professors Lakshmi Kotra, Cecil Yip, Peter Ottensmeyer and Robert Batey have created the first small molecules using the three-dimensional structure of the insulin receptor. A receptor is the site on the surface of a cell to which molecules with specific tasks, such as hormones, attach themselves.

New Kingston University research could reduce the recovery time for lower limb amputees by helping health professionals chart patients’ progress more easily. Tom Geake, from Kingston’s Mobile Information and Network Technologies Research Centre, has designed a new method of interpreting results from the locomotor capabilities index, used by clinicians to assess amputees’ improvement in the four-week period after they have been fitted with a socket and artificial limb.

Using the index, ampute

Researchers at EMBL publish breakthrough studies that could lead to a new means of combating the deadly disease

EMBL scientists have identified four mosquito proteins that affect the ability of the malaria parasite (Plasmodium) to survive and develop in the malaria-carrier mosquito (Anopheles). This breakthrough, featured in recent issues of Cell (March 5, 2004) and Science (March 26, 2004), could be used to block the transmission of malaria from mosquitoes to humans.

“Many r

Yiping Han verifies presence of bacterium in as many as 30 percent of women

A team of researchers, led by microbiologist Yiping Han from Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine, have discovered that a bacterium (Fusobacterium nucleatum) found in periodontal disease enters the blood, specifically targets placentas and amniotic fluid of pregnant mice and triggers preterm or term stillbirths as well as early death for live-born mice.

The researchers reported t

Discovery of GPR56 sheds light on evolution of frontal lobes

With the identification of the gene responsible for a newly recognized type of mental retardation, researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have also discovered what appears to be the key target in the evolution of the frontal lobes of the brain’s cerebral cortex. The findings, reported in the March 26, 2004, issue of the journal Science, offer a key insight into the complex puzzle of human brain deve

Global health threat Cryptosporidium parvum affects humans and animals

University of Minnesota researchers have completed sequencing the genome of an intestinal parasite that affects healthy humans and animals and that can be fatal to those with compromised immune systems, such as AIDS patients. The results will be published in the journal Science on March 25.

The parasite, Cryptosporidium parvum, is considered a major public health threat for which there is currently no know

Research from India published in this week’s issue of THE LANCET suggests that circumcised men could be over six times less likely than uncircumcised men to acquire HIV infection. The study also shows how the explanation for this decreased risk in circumcised men is likely to be biological rather than behavioural, with thin tissue in the foreskin being the likely target for viral activity.

Previous research has shown that circumcised men have a lower risk of HIV-1 infection than uncircumcis

Cancer researchers at the University of Dundee have just turned a common cancer belief on its head saying that a group of proteins previously believed to cause cancer can also be used in the fight against cancer.

Dr Neil Perkins and his team in the School of Life Sciences have identified that NF-kappaB a group of proteins present in every cell in the human body can actually assist some cancer therapies such as chemo and radio therapy. They believe that this discovery will allow clinicians to

Children with sickle cell disease – an inherited red blood-cell disorder – are living longer, dying less often from their disease and contracting fewer fatal infections than ever before, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas report.

Their study, which will appear in the June edition of the scientific journal Blood, is the first to evaluate survival rates of children receiving the most modern treatments for sickle cell disease. It’s also one of the largest published si