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Week 43
2 studies present new data on
effects of alcohol during pregnancy
Scientific data continue to indicate that higher intake of alcohol during pregnancy
adversely affects the fetus, and could lead to very severe developmental or other problems
in the child. However, most recent publications show little or no effects of occasional or
light drinking by the mother during pregnancy. The studies also demonstrate how
socio-economic, education, and other lifestyle factors of the mother may have large
effects on the health of the fetus and child; these must be considered when evaluating the
potential effects of alcohol during pregnancy. A very large population-based observational
study from the UK found that at the age of 5 years, the children of women who reported
light (no more than 1-2 units of alcohol per week or per occasion) drinking did not show
any evidence of impairment on testing for behavioral and emotional problems or cognitive
ability. There was a tendency for the male children of women reporting
"heavy/binge" drinking during pregnancy (7 or more units per week or 6 or more
units per occasion) to have poorer behavioural scores, but the effects were less clear
among female offspring.
3 Countries in South America
Defending Local Rights Against Destructive Water Projects
Communities in Ecuador, Brazil and Peru all threatened by massive water-related projects.
52 Percent of Americans Flunk
Climate 101
A new study by researchers at Yale University suggests that Americans' knowledge of
climate science is limited and scattershot, with some understanding of basic issues like
the contribution of fossil fuels to global warming and some singular misconceptions as
well.
A crucial link in immune
development and regulation unearthed
An Australian team of scientists has uncovered a quality control mechanism that must take
place for our immune system to subsequently effectively destroy harmful viruses and
bacteria. The team solved a 15-year puzzle by working out the structure and function of a
protein called pre T alpha that is essential in guiding the correct expression of various
receptors expressed by T lymphocytes, white blood cells of the immune system. These
receptors, known as T cell receptors, recognise unique components of microbial pathogens.
A New Method Is Found For Accurate
Diagnosis Of Gall Bladder Cancer, One Of The Most Deadly Forms Of Cancer
Researchers a the University of Granada and the Department of Nuclear Medicine, Hospital
Virgen de las Nieves at Granada found that the metabolic imaging diagnosis technique
–based on the analysis of a structural analog of glucose labeled with a
positron-emitting compound (18F)– allows early diagnosis of gall bladder cancer, a
relatively rare disease with high mortality rates among most patients suffering from it.
For the purpose of this study, 62 patients were subjected to this scanning method, which
represents the largest sample of patients with gall bladder cancer ever studied by
applying this type of technology –called FDG positron emission tomography. The study
reported excellent results, significantly better than other structural imaging methods,
and enabled more accurate and appropriate diagnosis and treatment of patients, which
allows to avoid unnecessary procedures.
A toxic legacy - Eastern Europe
dotted with disasters in waiting
The toxic sludge spill in Hungary is just one of the ecological horrors left over from the
Soviet era.
Absorption of silicon from artesian
aquifer water and its impact on bone health in postmenopausal women
These findings indicate that bottled water from artesian aquifers is a safe and effective
way of providing easily absorbed dietary silicon to the body. Although the silicon did not
affect bone turnover markers in the short-term, the mineral's potential as an alternative
prevention or treatment to drug therapy for osteoporosis warrants further longer-term
investigation in the future.
Adding topotecan to standard
treatment for ovarian cancer does not improve progression-free survival
Adding topotecan to carboplatin plus paclitaxel, the standard treatment for ovarian
cancer, does not improve progression-free survival in patients and leads to greater
toxicity, according to a study published online October 11 in the Journal of the National
Cancer Institute. Cisplatin plus paclitaxel, and carboplatin plus paclitaxel, are the most
widely accepted first-line regimens for advanced epithelial ovarian cancer. Still, most
women relapse and die from their disease. One possible solution is to add a third agent,
such as topotecan, which has activity in the treatment of recurrent disease. However,
combining topotecan with carboplatin plus paclitaxel as a triplet therapy is problematic
because of bone marrow toxicity. So, to integrate topotecan into the standard regimen
researchers tested cisplatin plus topotecan followed by carboplatin plus paclitaxel.
Anti-Monsanto protest in India
We want to put out a message to the governments that their pro-corporate, anti-farmer
policies and legislations will be opposed by people and it is their responsibility to put
the interests of Indian citizens, most importantly farmers, in the forefront. We want to
put out a message to corporations like Monsanto - they need to quit Indian farming since
it is obvious that their profiteering agendas are against farmers. We oppose their holding
patents on seeds which are basic resources of farmers and we believe that their products
are ultimately harmful for our fields and health. The anti-farmer nature of these
companies is obvious from the cases they have filed against AP and Gujarat governments to
stop them from regulating the price and royalties on seeds.
Anti-Osteoporosis Bisphosphonates
Linked to Leg Fracture
anti-osteoporosis drugs or bisphosphonates, may boost the risk of atypical thigh bone
(femoral) fracture in patients on the medications.
Anti-vomiting drug could prevent
thousands of hospitalizations, save millions of dollars
Two years ago, a study by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers found
that an anti-vomiting drug called ondansetron helps reduce vomiting, the need for
intravenous fluids and hospital admissions in children with acute gastroenteritis. Now a
new economic analysis led by Canadian researchers, in collaboration with Michael J.
Steiner, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics at UNC, concludes that routinely giving
ondansetron to children with gastroenteritis-induced vomiting would prevent thousands of
hospitalizations and save millions of dollars each year. "In the past, people always
thought that ondansetron was so expensive that its use 'wasn’t worth it.' Our
findings challenge that belief and may change clinician decision-making as well as
practice guidelines,” Steiner said.
Antidepressant 'ineffective and
potentially harmful'
An antidepressant prescribed to about 5,000 people in England at a cost to the NHS of
almost £900,000 a year is "ineffective and potentially harmful", academics have
concluded.
Are Soldiers Suicides Caused by
Prescription Drugs?
In 2009 there were 160 active duty suicides, 239 suicides within the total Army including
the Reserves, 146 active duty deaths from drug overdoses and high risk behavior and 1,713
suicide attempts, says the Army's suicide report, released in July.
Army finds simple blood test to
identify mild brain trauma
The Army says it has discovered a simple blood test that can diagnose mild traumatic brain
damage or concussion, a hard-to-detect injury that can affect young athletes, infants with
"shaken baby syndrome" and combat troops.
Australia joins other countries in
banning endosulfan
A federal government agency has banned pesticides that use the toxic chemical endosulfan,
reversing earlier rulings that said it was safe if used correctly.
Big Oil money can influence
research, study claims
Research universities that accept millions of dollars from oil companies have failed to
shield themselves from corporate influence, according to a new study that faults UC
Berkeley, UC Davis, Stanford and seven others.
Biological changes in auditory
function following training in children with autism spectrum disorders
Children with pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), such as children with autism
spectrum disorders (ASD), often show auditory processing deficits related to their
overarching language impairment. Auditory training programs such as Fast ForWord Language
may potentially alleviate these deficits through training-induced improvements in auditory
processing. Methods: To assess the impact of auditory training on auditory function in
children with ASD, brainstem and cortical responses to speech sounds presented in quiet
and noise were collected from five children with ASD who completed Fast ForWord training.
Results: Relative to six control children with ASD who did not complete Fast ForWord,
training-related changes were found in brainstem response timing (three children) and
pitch-tracking (one child), and cortical response timing (all five children) after Fast
ForWord use. Conclusions: These results provide an objective indication of the benefit of
training on auditory function for some children with ASD.
Biologists identify influence of
environment on sexual vs. asexual reproduction
Evolutionary biologists at the University of Toronto (U of T) have found that environment
plays a key role in determining whether a species opts for sexual over asexual
reproduction. The study, led by post-doctoral student Lutz Becks and Professor Aneil
Agrawal of the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, found that species that
inhabit spatially heterogenous environments – habitats characterized by uneven
concentrations of its own species among a rich variety of other animals and plants –
had higher rates of sexual reproduction than those in more homogenous environments.
Blocking an oncogene in liver
cancer could be potential therapy option
Scientists have found that a synthetic molecule they designed can block activation of a
gene in liver cancer cells, halting a process that allows some of those cancer cells to
survive chemotherapy. Without the interference of this gene’s function, certain liver
cancer cells appear to be protected from the toxic effects of chemotherapy drugs.
Booty vs. belly, Fat cells grow
differently
Differences in the way body fat grows may explain why increased belly fat appears to boost
the risk for certain diseases while extra pounds on the thighs and other parts of the
lower body decrease the risk, a new study suggests.
BPA declared toxic by Canada
Bisphenol A, or BPA, a chemical used to make some hard plastic containers and toys, has
formally been declared a toxic substance by Canadian authorities.
Brain imaging identifies
differences in childhood bipolar disorder, ADHD
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago are the first to use brain imaging to
examine the effects of emotion on working memory function in children with pediatric
bipolar disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. PBD and ADHD are very severe
developmental disorders that share behavioral characteristics such as impulsivity,
irritability and attention problems. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging,
researchers at UIC examined the brain activity of children as they performed a working
memory task while viewing faces with different emotions, such as angry, happy or neutral
expressions. The children, ages 10 to 18, were asked to remember the faces and to press a
button in the MR-scanner if they saw the same face that was presented two trials earlier.
The study involved 23 non-medicated children with bipolar disorder, 14 non-medicated
children with ADHD and 19 healthy controls.
Cancer caused by modern man as it
was virtually non-existent in ancient world
Cancer is a modern man-made disease caused by the excesses of modern life, a new study
suggests.
Cancer screening made simple
Current cervical cancer screening is time consuming and expensive, but now new
breakthrough technology developed by European researchers should allow large-range
screening by non-medical personnel with almost immediate results and at a much lower cost.
Current molecular assays are cumbersome, expensive and time-consuming and require highly
trained technicians. New breakthrough technology tackles all these drawbacks and promises
to deliver molecular diagnostics to the GP’s office and beyond.
Carbon dioxide controls Earth's
temperature
Water vapor and clouds are the major contributors to Earth's greenhouse effect, but a new
atmosphere-ocean climate modeling study shows that the planet's temperature ultimately
depends on the atmospheric level of carbon dioxide. The study, conducted by Andrew Lacis
and colleagues at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York, examined
the nature of Earth's greenhouse effect and clarified the role that greenhouse gases and
clouds play in absorbing outgoing infrared radiation. Notably, the team identified
non-condensing greenhouse gases -- such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone,
and chlorofluorocarbons -- as providing the core support for the terrestrial greenhouse
effect.
Carotid stents associated with
greater risk of stroke or death than carotid endarterectomy surgery
For patients with blockages in the carotid artery that supplies blood to the brain,
carotid artery stenting (a non-surgical treatment) appears to be associated with an
increased risk of both short- and long-term adverse outcomes when compared with surgical
treatment (carotid endarterectomy), according to a meta-analysis of previously published
studies that was posted online today and will appear in the February 2011 print issue of
Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Chemicals survive waste treatment
to be released into environment
Chemicals in household drugs and cleaning products routinely survive waste treatment and
are released into the environment, where little is known about their effects on land,
water and human health, according to a government-funded study.
Chinese drywall maker, others to
fix 300 homes in pilot program, lawyer says
A Chinese drywall manufacturer facing thousands of homeowners' court claims and several
other companies have agreed to pay to repair 300 homes in four states in a pilot program,
an attorney involved in the deal said Wednesday.
Climate Change May Alter Natural
Climate Cycles of Pacific
While it’s still hotly debated among scientists whether climate change causes a shift
from the traditional form of El Nino to one known as El Nino Modoki, online in the journal
Nature Geoscience, scientists now say that El Nino Modoki affects long-term changes in
currents in the North Pacific Ocean. El Nino is a periodic warming in the eastern tropical
Pacific that occurs along the coast of South America. Recently, scientists have noticed
that El Nino warming is stronger in the Central Pacific rather than the Eastern Pacific, a
phenomenon known as El Nino Modoki (Modoki is a Japanese term for "similar, but
different").
Clue to unusual drug-resistant
breast cancers found
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have found how
gene expression that may contribute to drug resistance is ramped up in unusual types of
breast tumors. Their findings may offer new therapy targets. Approximately 70 percent of
breast cancers express the estrogen receptor. These "ER-positive" tumors usually
respond to hormone-related therapies, such as tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors. But not
always. "We were interested in a subset of ER-positive tumors that are unusually
aggressive and also drug-resistant," said Jonna Frasor, assistant professor of
physiology and biophysics at the UIC College of Medicine and principal investigator of the
study. Following up on earlier observations that these aggressive ER-positive tumors
express genes that respond both to estrogen and inflammatory factors called cytokines,
Frasor and her colleagues focused on the gene for a drug-transporter protein which is
believed to pump chemotherapy drugs out of tumor cells, making them resistant.
Colorectal cancer linked to smoking
Former and current smokers face a higher risk of colorectal cancer than non-smokers,
suggests research at Memorial University of Newfoundland.
Compound in celery, peppers reduces
age-related memory deficits
Animal sciences professor and Division of Nutritional Sciences director Rodney Johnson and
his colleagues found that the plant compound luteolin can reduce brain inflammation and
reverse age-related memory deficits in mice.
Consuming vegetables linked to
decreased breast cancer risk in African-American women
Investigators from the Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston University School of Medicine
(BUSM) have reported that African American women who consume more vegetables are less
likely to develop estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer than women with low vegetable
intake. The study results, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, were based
on data from the Black Women's Health Study (BWHS), a large follow-up study of 59,000
African American women from across the U.S. conducted by investigators at the Slone
Epidemiology Center since 1995.
Coral Records Show Ocean
Thermocline Rise With Global Warming
Researchers looking at corals in the western tropical Pacific Ocean have found records
linking a profound shift in the depth of the division between warm surface water and
colder, deeper water traceable to recent global warming.
Cosmetics carry cancer agent
RESEARCHERS in Beijing have found a cancer-causing hormone that could impair fertility and
damage liver and kidney functions in many personal care products in China's domestic
markets.
Could Coenzyme Q10 boost breast
cancer risk?
A new study published online July 28 in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention
showed that women with highest concentrations of plasma coenzyme Q10 were more than twice
as likely as those who had lowest amounts to be diagnosed with breast cancer.
Czechs may face environmental
disaster similar to Hungary
There are a few sites with toxic wastes in the Czech Republic that experts call
"ticking bombs" threatening to cause an environmental disaster similar to
Hungary's, Jana Machalkova writes in daily Hospodarske noviny Monday.
Dead animals are Exhibit A in Gulf
investigation
Scientists examining dead animals that were discovered along the Gulf Coast in the wake of
the BP oil spill are observing strict laboratory protocols, knowing everything they touch
could become evidence in what may prove to be the biggest environmental case in U.S.
history.
Despite Pollution Worries, Texas
Builds Coal Plants
So what if coal, the dirtiest of the fossil fuels, faces tightening air-pollution
standards from federal regulators? Texas — probably more than any other state —
is aggressively building new coal plants.
Diabetes gene linked to
degeneration of enzyme involved in Alzheimer's disease onset and progression
Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers have found that a gene associated with the
onset of Type 2 diabetes also is found at lower-than-normal levels in people with
Alzheimer's disease. The research, led by Giulio Maria Pasinetti, MD, PhD, The Saunder
Family Professor in Neurology, and Professor of Psychiatry and Geriatrics and Adult
Development at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, was published this month in Aging Cell. The
new study provides insight into a potential mechanism that might explain the relationship
between Type 2 diabetes and the onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease. Recent
evidence indicates that healthy elderly subjects affected by Type 2 diabetes are twice as
likely to develop Alzheimer's disease, but researchers have been unable to explain how.
Doctors May 'Fire' Parents Who
Don't Vaccinate Children
Some Parents Fear Vaccines Cause Autism, but Doctors Fear Disease Outbreaks, Too
Dogs may be pessimistic too
A study has gained new insight into the minds of dogs, discovering that those that are
anxious when left alone also tend to show 'pessimistic' like behaviour. The research by
academics at the University of Bristol, and funded by the RSPCA is published in Current
Biology tomorrow (12 October). The study provides an important insight into dogs'
emotions, and enhances our understanding of why behavioural responses to separation occur.
Professor Mike Mendl, Head of the Animal Welfare and Behaviour research group at Bristol
University's School of Clinical Veterinary Science, who led the research, said: "We
all have a tendency to think that our pets and other animals experience emotions similar
to our own, but we have no way of knowing directly because emotions are essentially
private. However, we can use findings from human psychology research to develop new ways
of measuring animal emotion. "We know that people's emotional states affect their
judgements and that happy people are more likely to judge an ambiguous situation
positively. What our study has shown is that this applies similarly to dogs – that a
'glass-half-full' dog is less likely to be anxious when left alone than one with a more
'pessimistic' nature."
Early role of mitochondria in AD
may help explain limitations to current beta amyloid hypothesis
Before Alzheimer's patients experience memory loss, the brain's neurons have already
suffered harm for years. A new study in mouse models by researchers at Columbia University
Medical Center has found that the brain's mitochondria -- the powerhouses of the cell --
are one of the earliest casualties of the disease. The study, which appeared in the online
Early Edition of PNAS, also found that impaired mitochondria then injure the neurons'
synapses, which are necessary for normal brain function. "The damage to synapses is
one of the earliest events in Alzheimer's disease, but we haven't been able to work out
the events that lead to the damage," says the study's principle investigator, ShiDu
Yan, M.D., professor of clinical pathology and cell biology in the Taub Institute for
Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain at Columbia University Medical Center.
"Our new findings, along with previous research, suggest that mitochondrial changes
harm the synapses, and that we may be able to slow down Alzheimer's at a very early stage
by improving mitochondrial function."
Effect of oat bran on time to
exhaustion, glycogen content and serum cytokine profile following exhaustive exercise
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of oat bran supplementation on time to
exhaustion, glycogen stores and cytokines in rats submitted to training. The animals were
divided into 3 groups: sedentary control group (C), an exercise group that received a
control chow (EX) and an exercise group that received a chow supplemented with oat bran
(EX-O). Groups were submitted to an exhaustion test, and blood, muscle and hepatic tissue
were collected. Plasma cytokines and corticosterone were evaluated. Glycogen
concentrations was measured in the soleus and gastrocnemius muscles, and liver. Glycogen
synthetase-alpha enzyme was evaluated in the soleus muscle. Statistical analysis was
performed using a factorial ANOVA. Time to exhaustion of the EX-O group was higher when
compared with EX group (p = 0.034). For hepatic glycogen, the EX-O group had a higher
concentrations when compared with EX (p = 0.022). In the soleus muscle, EX-O group
presented a higher glycogen concentrations when compared with EX group (p = 0.021).
TNF-alpha was decreased, IL-6, IL-10 and corticosterone increased after exercise, and EX-O
presented lower levels of IL-6, IL-10 and corticosterone levels in comparison with EX
group. It was concluded that the chow rich in oat bran increase muscle and hepatic
glycogen concentrations. The higher glycogen storage may improve endurance performance
during training and competitions, and a lower post-exercise inflammatory response can
accelerate recovery.
Effects of Curcuma longa (turmeric)
on postprandial plasma glucose and insulin in healthy subjects
The ingestion of 6 g C. longa increased postprandial insulin levels, but did not seem to
affect glucose levels or GI, in healthy subjects. The results indicate that C. longa may
have an effect on insulin secretion.
Estrogen therapy may be associated
with kidney stones in postmenopausal women
Use of estrogen therapy is associated with an increased risk of developing kidney stones
in postmenopausal women, according to a report in the October 11 issue of Archives of
Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "Nephrolithiasis [kidney
stones] is a common condition that affects 5 percent to 7 percent of postmenopausal women
in the United States," according to background information in the article.
"Because the process of kidney stone formation is influenced by a variety of
lifestyle and other health-related factors, the true impact of estrogen therapy on the
risk of kidney stone formation is difficult to infer from observational studies."
Eyetracker warns against momentary
driver drowsiness
Those who do a lot of driving know how tiring long car trips and night driving can be. And
a simple fraction of a second can decide the difference between life and death. According
to the German Road Safety Council e.V. (DVR), one in four highway traffic fatalities is
the result of momentary driver drowsiness. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for
Digital Media Technology IDMT in Ilmenau, Germany, have developed an assistant system that
tracks a driver's eye movements and issues a warning before the driver has an opportunity
to nod off to sleep.
Fast Food Chains Are Falling Flat
with Their 'Healthy' Image Makeover
Fast-food chains are being blamed for the 30 percent national obesity rate, and they know
it. But is their new food any healthier?
Few negative associations with
moms' return to work after having children
Children whose mothers return to work before their offspring turn 3 are no more likely to
have academic or behavioral problems than kids whose mothers stay at home, according to a
review of 50 years of research. "Overall, I think this shows women who go back to
work soon after they have their children should not be too concerned about the effects
their employment has on their children's long-term well-being," said psychologist
Rachel Lucas-Thompson, PhD, lead author of the study conducted with Drs. JoAnn Prause and
Wendy Goldberg at the University of California, Irvine".. For some families, having a
mom on the job is better for children, according to the meta-analysis of 69 studies
conducted between 1960 and 2010. For example, children from single-parent or low-income
families whose mothers worked had better academic and intelligence scores and fewer
behavioral problems than children whose mothers did not work, the authors found. This was
probably due in part to increased resources that the income afforded, they said. The
findings appear online in Psychological Bulletin, published by the American Psychological
Association.
Fitness fanatics 'have high sex
drives'
Fitness fanatics really do have higher sex drives, according to scientists who say they
have identified a link between exercise and personality.
Florida State study finds
watermelon lowers blood pressure
No matter how you slice it, watermelon has a lot going for it –– sweet, low
calorie, high fiber, nutrient rich –– and now, there's more. Evidence from a
pilot study led by food scientists at The Florida State University suggests that
watermelon can be an effective natural weapon against prehypertension, a precursor to
cardiovascular disease. It is the first investigation of its kind in humans. FSU Assistant
Professor Arturo Figueroa and Professor Bahram H. Arjmandi found that when six grams of
the amino acid L-citrulline/L-arginine from watermelon extract was administered daily for
six weeks, there was improved arterial function and consequently lowered aortic blood
pressure in all nine of their prehypertensive subjects (four men and five postmenopausal
women, ages 51-57).
Follow-up Study Supports the
Long-Term Benefits and Safety of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Depression
In a study to determine the durability and long-term effects of transcranial magnetic
stimulation (TMS), psychiatric researchers at Rush University Medical Center have found
the non-invasive, non-drug therapy to be an effective, long-term treatment for major
depression. Results of the study were published in the October 2010 issue of Brain
Stimulation, a journal published by Elsevier.
Forbes admits it was "wrong on
Monsanto. Really wrong"
Forbes made Monsanto the company of the year last year in The Planet Versus Monsanto. I
know because I wrote the article. Since then everything that could have gone wrong for the
genetically engineered seed company... has gone wrong.
Fox Chase researchers uncover
Achilles' heel in aggressive breast tumors
In an unexpected twist, Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers find that the loss of a single
protein, Nedd9, initially slows cancer formation but then makes the tumors that do arise
more aggressive. The good news, though, is that the lack of Nedd9 also makes the
aggressive tumors more sensitive to a class of drugs that are already used in the clinic.
"If a tumor is able to overcome the loss of this protein, this clearly makes it
undergo complicated changes that ultimately select for a more aggressive tumor," says
Erica A. Golemis, Ph.D., professor and co-leader of developmental therapeutics at Fox
Chase, and senior author on the new study, published online October 12 in Cancer Research.
"It is reminiscent of the situation you get when you treat cancer patients with a
drug and get an initial response. However, eventually their tumor overrides the drug, and
then you have a really tough tumor."
Gene identified that prevents stem
cells from turning cancerous
Stem cells, the prodigious precursors of all the tissues in our body, can make almost
anything, given the right circumstances. Including, unfortunately, cancer. Now research
from Rockefeller University shows that having too many stem cells, or stem cells that live
for too long, can increase the odds of developing cancer. By identifying a mechanism that
regulates programmed cell death in precursor cells for blood, or hematopoietic stem cells,
the work is the first to connect the death of such cells to a later susceptibility to
tumors in mice. It also provides evidence of the potentially carcinogenic downside to stem
cell treatments, and suggests that nature has sought to balance stem cells' regenerative
power against their potentially lethal potency. Research associate Maria Garcia-Fernandez,
Hermann Steller, head of the Strang Laboratory of Apoptosis and Cancer Biology, and their
colleagues explored the activity of a gene called Sept4, which encodes a protein, ARTS,
that increases programmed cell death, or apoptosis, by antagonizing other proteins that
prevent cell death. ARTS was originally discovered by Sarit Larisch, a visiting professor
at Rockefeller, and is found to be lacking in human leukemia and other cancers, suggesting
it suppresses tumors. To study the role of ARTS, the experimenters bred a line of mice
genetically engineered to lack the Sept4 gene.
Genetic data related to
sodium-regulating hormone may help explain hypertension risk
New research points to the existence of a gene on chromosome 5 that influences how much
aldosterone is produced — which may be excessive in African-descended populations.
"Aldosterone was very important to their early ancestors living in the arid climate
of Africa," said J. Howard Pratt, study co-author. "Dietary intake of sodium in
today's world is much higher, and there may not be the need for the amount of aldosterone
produced, leading to a level of sodium balance that places individuals at risk for
hypertension." Among people of African descent, plasma concentrations of the
sodium-regulating hormone, aldosterone, are under genetic influences and are associated
with higher diastolic blood pressure readings, new research shows.
Genetic defect found to cause
severe epilepsy and mental retardation
A research team at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Soroka University Medical Center
in Beer-Sheva, Israel has detected a genetic mutation resulting in a progressive disease
of severe mental retardation and epilepsy beginning at infancy. The research was just
published in the American Journal of Human Genetics. The team, led by BGU Prof. Ohad Birk
of the National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev determined that the defect is
associated with the production of the 21st amino acid, selenocysteine (SEC), which leads
to progressive brain atrophy. According to Prof. Birk, "One out of every 40 Jews of
both Moroccan and Iraqi ancestry may be carriers of this mutation. As the disease is both
severe and common, testing for these mutations is expected to become a routine prenatal
genetic screening test in these two populations, enabling prevention of future
cases."
Gladstone scientists link hepatitis
C virus infection to fat enzyme in liver cells
Scientists at the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology (GIVI) have found that an
enzyme associated with the storage of fat in the liver is required for the infectious
activity of the hepatitis C virus (HCV). This discovery may offer a new strategy for
treating the infection. More than 160 million people are infected throughout the world,
and no vaccine is available to prevent further spread of the disease. Current treatments
are not effective against the most common strains in the US and Europe. The study,
published in the journal Nature Medicine, shows that the enzyme DGAT1 is a key factor in
HCV infection. With several potential DGAT1 inhibitors already in the drug-development
pipeline, a treatment for HCV may be possible in the near future. "Our results reveal
a potential 'Achilles heel' for HCV infection," said Melanie Ott, MD, PhD, senior
author on the study. "Several DGAT1 inhibitors are already in early clinical trials
to treat obesity-associated diseases. They might also work against HCV."
Gladstone scientists uncover
mechanism for the major genetic risk factor of Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an extremely complicated disease. Several proteins seem to be
involved in its cause and progression. For example, the lipid-transport protein
apolipoprotein E4 (apoE4) is the major genetic risk factor for AD, and apoE4 carriers
account for 65??% of all Alzheimer's cases, but exactly how apoE4 contributes to the
disease is unclear. Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes of Neurological Disease (GIND)
have provided new insights into how apoE4 might be involved. In a study published today
online in the Journal of Neuroscience, researchers led by led by Yadong Huang, MD, PhD,
reported that apoE4-dependent learning and memory deficits are caused by loss of a
specific type of neuron in the learning and memory center of the brain. "We found
that mice that had been genetically engineered to produce human apoE4 lost a specific kind
of cells and that loss of these cells correlated with the extent of learning and memory
deficits," said Yaisa Andrews-Zwilling, PhD, postdoctoral fellow and lead author of
the study.
GM corn is destroying US rivers
New research reveals that genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) are destroying both human
health and the environment. According to Emma Rosi-Marshall from the Cary Institute of
Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, N.Y., GM corn crops are leeching a toxic bacterial gene
into the environment, polluting waterways and rivers across the U.S.
GM flax contamination now detected
in 35 countries
Since the Flax Council of Canada (FCC) first announced that genetically modified (GM)
flaxseed not approved for human consumption had been detected in Europe, reports of such
contamination have surfaced in a total of 35 countries.
GM protest at Monsanto's Australian
HQ
PROTESTERS dumped what they labelled "GM-canola weeds and GM-contaminated soy infant
formula S-26" at Monsanto's Melbourne office today.
Group Seeks Food Label That
Highlights Harmful Nutrients
packages should focus on the nutrients most responsible for obesity and chronic diseases:
calories, saturated fat, trans fat and sodium.
Group warns shoppers to avoid
'pinkwashed' products
Breast cancer awareness "pink" campaigns are nothing new, with billboards,
bracelets, bumper stickers, clothing, and even consumer products plastered in the bright
color as a reminder about the deadly disease.
Happy Meal stays forever young
What does a Happy Meal look like after it sits out for six months? No mold, no decay.
Healthy brain gene linked to
depression
A gene involved with maintaining a healthy brain has been identified as a "primary
cause" of depression by scientists.
Here is why having a baby reduces
breast cancer risk
Breasts prior to a full term pregnancy are not mature and have tissue full of type 1 and
type 2 lobules, which are where breast cancer develops. Breasts mature only after they
experience a full term pregnancy during which the majority if not all of type 1 and type 2
lobules will be transformed into type 3 and 4 lobules, which are cancer-resistant.
High BPA levels found in at least
90% of moms-to-be
More than 90% of pregnant women had elevated levels of bisphenol A from a variety sources,
notably tobacco smoke, cash register receipts and canned vegetables, a new study says.
HIV carriers at risk of vitamin D
deficiency
A new study found men diagnosed with HIV infection were at high risk of vitamin D
deficiency, which is associated with a myriad of chronic diseases incluing heart disease
and cancer.
How immune response in pregnancy
may lead to brain dysfunction in offspring
A pregnant woman's immune response to viral infections may induce subtle neurological
changes in the unborn child that can lead to an increased risk for neurodevelopmental
disorders including schizophrenia and autism. Research published in the online journal
mBio® provides new insights into how this may happen and suggests potential strategies
for reducing this risk. "Infection during pregnancy is associated with increased risk
of damage to the developing nervous system. Given that many agents have been implicated,
we decided to focus on mechanisms by which the maternal immune response, rather than
direct infection of the fetus, might contribute to behavioral disturbances in the
offspring of mothers who suffer infection during pregnancy," says W. Ian Lipkin of
Columbia University, senior author on the study.
Images shed new light on
inflammation
Researchers at the University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine are using an innovative new
imaging technique to study how white blood cells (called neutrophils) respond to
inflammation, and have revealed new targets to inhibit the response. When the body is
invaded by infection, the immune system counters by generating inflammation with
deployment of white blood cells to the site of danger to kill invading bacteria. However,
inappropriate inflammation occurs in the absence of infection when tissues are damaged,
and this inappropriate response contributes to diseases such as heart attacks and stroke.
Researchers used both experimental animal models and human white blood cells to discover
that damaged tissue can release signals that attract white blood cells, and blocking these
signal can prevent inappropriate inflammation.
In China, No Meeting of the Minds
on GM Crops
If anyone is under the impression that the Chinese public is ready to embrace genetically
modified (GM) crops, they are mistaken. At a hastily arranged session at a symposium here
earlier this week, members of the general public berated and quizzed scientists on
concerns ranging from the legitimate to the bizarre.
In Parkinson's disease, brain cells
abandon mitochondria
In a study that sheds new light on the causes of Parkinson's disease, researchers report
that brain cells in Parkinson's patients abandon their energy-producing machinery, the
mitochondria. A shutdown in fuel can have devastating effects on brain cells, which
consume roughly 20 percent of the body's energy despite making up only 2 percent of body
weight.
Insecticides from Genetically
Modified Corn Found in Adjacent Streams
In a paper published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
Cary Institute aquatic ecologist Dr. Emma Rosi-Marshall and colleagues report that streams
throughout the Midwestern Corn Belt are receiving insecticidal proteins that originate
from adjacent genetically modified crops.
Insulin resistance may be
associated with stroke risk
Insulin resistance, a condition in which insulin produced by the body becomes less
effective in reducing blood glucose levels, appears to be associated with an increased
risk of stroke in individuals without diabetes, according to a report in the October issue
of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Insulin resistance originates
from several factors, including genetics, a sedentary lifestyle and obesity, according to
background information in the article. The condition contributes significantly to the risk
of cardiovascular disease, but whether it predicts ischemic stroke (interruption in blood
flow to the brain due to a blood clot or another artery blockage) is still a matter of
debate. One widely used tool to estimate insulin sensitivity is the homeostasis model
assessment (HOMA), calculated using fasting blood glucose and fasting insulin levels.
Tatjana Rundek, M.D., Ph.D., of Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, and
colleagues assessed insulin resistance using HOMA for 1,509 non-diabetic participants in
the Northern Manhattan Study, a study assessing stroke risk, incidence and prognosis in a
multi-ethnic urban community. Participants were followed for an average of 8.5 years.
Intriguing viral link to intestinal
cancer in mice
More than 50% of adults in the United States test positive for human cytomegalovirus
(HCMV) infection. For most people, infection produces no symptoms and results in the virus
persisting in the body for a long time. HCMV infects many cell types in the body including
the cells that line the intestines (IECs). New research, led by Sergio Lira, at Mount
Sinai School of Medicine, New York, shows that mice engineered to express the HCMV protein
US28 in IECs develop intestinal tumors as they age. These mice also develop more tumors
than normal mice in a model of inflammation-induced intestinal tumors. The authors
therefore suggest that it is possible that HCMV infection could help promote intestinal
cancer in humans, although they caution that much more work is needed if such an
association is to be confirmed.
Just One More Swindle in a Pretty
Package?
Of course, the manufacturers of bottled water have an easy job turning something that
should be a right into commodity. It’s no secret the United States has had to invest
billions into the public water system and will continue to invest even more. Tap water
does contain pollutants, not question about that. However, buying your water in a bottle
isn’t the answer. As a matter of fact, it could be more hazardous to your health.
Key to blood-brain barrier opens
way for treating Alzheimer's and stroke
While the blood-brain barrier (BBB) protects the brain from harmful chemicals occurring
naturally in the blood, it also obstructs the transport of drugs to the brain. In an
article in Nature scientists at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet now
present a potential solution to the problem. The key to the BBB is a cell-type in the
blood vessel walls called pericytes, and the researchers hope that their findings will one
day contribute to new therapies for diseases like Alzheimer's and stroke. "Our new
results show that the blood-brain barrier is regulated by pericytes, and can be opened in
a way that allows the passage of molecules of different sizes while keeping the brain's
basic functions operating properly," says Christer Betsholtz, professor of vascular
biology at the Department of Medical Biochemistry, who has led the study.
Lack of sleep linked to risky colon
polyps
People who slept less than six hours a night were more likely to have dangerous polyps in
their colon or rectum compared to better-rested patients, in one recent study.
Land 'evapotranspiration' taking
unexpected turn - huge parts of world are drying up
The soils in large areas of the Southern Hemisphere, including major portions of
Australia, Africa and South America, have been drying up in the past decade, a group of
researchers conclude in the first major study to ever examine
"evapotranspiration" on a global basis. Most climate models have suggested that
evapotranspiration, which is the movement of water from the land to the atmosphere, would
increase with global warming. The new research, published online this week in the journal
Nature, found that's exactly what was happening from 1982 to the late 1990s. But in 1998,
this significant increase in evapotranspiration – which had been seven millimeters
per year – slowed dramatically or stopped. In large portions of the world, soils are
now becoming drier than they used to be, releasing less water and offsetting some moisture
increases elsewhere. Due to the limited number of decades for which data are available,
scientists say they can't be sure whether this is a natural variability or part of a
longer-lasting global change. But one possibility is that on a global level, a limit to
the acceleration of the hydrological cycle on land has already been reached.
Love takes up where pain leaves
off, Stanford brain study shows
Intense, passionate feelings of love can provide amazingly effective pain relief, similar
to painkillers or such illicit drugs as cocaine, according to a new Stanford University
School of Medicine study. "When people are in this passionate, all-consuming phase of
love, there are significant alterations in their mood that are impacting their experience
of pain," said Sean Mackey, MD, PhD, chief of the Division of Pain Management,
associate professor of anesthesia and senior author of the study, which will be published
online Oct. 13 in PLoS ONE. "We're beginning to tease apart some of these reward
systems in the brain and how they influence pain. These are very deep, old systems in our
brain that involve dopamine — a primary neurotransmitter that influences mood, reward
and motivation." Scientists aren't quite yet ready to tell patients with chronic pain
to throw out the painkillers and replace them with a passionate love affair; rather, the
hope is that a better understanding of these neural-rewards pathways that get triggered by
love could lead to new methods for producing pain relief.
Low Beta Blocker Dose Can Put
Patients at Risk for Subsequent Heart Attacks
For nearly 40 years a class of drugs known as beta blockers have been proven to increase
patients’ survival prospects following a heart attack by decreasing the cardiac
workload and oxygen demand on the heart. In a breakthrough study released in the American
Heart Journal, Northwestern Medicine cardiologist Jeffrey J. Goldberger found the majority
of patients are frequently not receiving a large enough dose of these drugs, which can put
their recovery from heart attacks and overall health into peril.
Low-dose exposure to chemical
warfare agent may result in long-term heart damage
New research found that the pattern of heart dysfunction with sarin exposure in mice
resembles that seen in humans. Sarin is a chemical warfare agent belonging to class of
compounds called organophosphates — the basis for insecticides, herbicides and nerve
agents. As an inhibitor of the nervous system enzyme acetylcholinesterase, sarin can cause
convulsions, stoppage of breathing and death. Aiming to determine the delayed cardiac
effects of sarin, researchers studied mice injected with sarin — at doses too low to
produce visible symptoms — 10 weeks after the exposure.
Magnets Used To Treat Patients With
Severe Depression
Known as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), the treatment delivers a series of
electrical pulses to the part of the brain associated with depression and other mood
disorders. The pulses generate an electric current in the brain that stimulates neurons to
increase the release of more mood-enhancing chemicals like serotonin, dopamine and
norepinephrine.
Many dying cancer patients still
get screenings
Cancer patients with only a few years to live often continue to get routine mammograms or
blood tests for prostate cancer even though they are not likely to live long enough to
benefit from them.
May the Best Calorie Lose
Nutrition Experts Debate Idea That Not All Calories Are Created Equal.
Mayo Clinic Finds Early Success
with Laser That Destroys Tumors with Heat
Physicians at Mayo Clinic's Florida campus are among the first in the nation to use a
technique known as MRI-guided laser ablation to heat up and destroy kidney and liver
tumors. So far, five patients have been successfully treated — meaning no visible
tumors remained after the procedure.
Meta-analysis shows no heart
benefits for folic acid supplements
Use of folic acid supplements appears to lower blood levels of the amino acid
homocysteine—theorized to be a risk factor for heart and blood vessel
disease—but does not appear to be associated with reduced rates of cardiovascular
events, cancer or death over a five-year period, according to a meta-analysis of
previously published studies in the October 11 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one
of the JAMA/Archives journals. "Elevated plasma total homocysteine [an amino acid
created by the body, usually as a byproduct of eating meat] has been suggested as a
potentially modifiable risk factor for coronary heart disease, stroke and other occlusive
vascular conditions," the authors write as background information in the article.
High rates of cardiovascular disease in children with homocystinuria—a rare genetic
condition causing extreme elevations in homocysteine levels—led researchers to
hypothesize that moderate increases in blood homocysteine levels may increase
cardiovascular disease risk in the general population.
Metabolic status before pregnancy
predicts subsequent gestational diabetes
Cardio-metabolic risk factors such as high blood sugar and insulin, and low high density
lipoprotein cholesterol that are present before pregnancy, predict whether a woman will
develop diabetes during a future pregnancy, according to a Kaiser Permanente study in the
current issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology. The study suggests that metabolic
screening of all women before pregnancy, particularly overweight women, could help
identify those more likely to develop gestational diabetes mellitus, known as GDM, in a
subsequent pregnancy and help them take preventive steps prior to conception. Women who
develop GDM during pregnancy are more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes after pregnancy,
previous research has shown. GDM is defined as glucose intolerance that typically occurs
during the second or third trimester and causes complications in as much as 7 percent of
pregnancies in the United States. It can lead to early delivery and Cesarean sections and
increases the baby's risk of developing diabetes, obesity and metabolic disease later in
life.
Microorganisms offer lessons for
gamblers and the rest of us, TAU research says
When it comes to gambling, many people rely on game theory, a branch of applied
mathematics that attempts to measure the choices of others to inform their own decisions.
It's used in economics, politics, medicine — and, of course, Las Vegas. But recent
findings from a Tel Aviv University researcher suggest that we may put ourselves on the
winning side if we look to bacteria instead.
Molecular switch controls melanin
production, may allow true sunless tanning
Discovery of a molecular switch that turns off the natural process of skin pigmentation
may lead to a novel way of protecting the skin – activating the tanning process
without exposure to cancer-causing UV radiation. In their report in the journal Genes
& Development, researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cutaneous
Biology Research Center (CBRC) describe how blocking the action of this switch – an
enzyme called PDE-4D3 – in the skin of mice led to a significant increase in melanin
production. "The primary goal of inducing melanin production in human skin would be
prevention of skin cancer, since all the common forms are known to be associated with UV
exposure, " explains David Fisher, MD, PhD, director of the hospital's Department of
Dermatology and an investigator at the MGH CBRC, who led the study. "Not only would
increased melanin directly block UV radiation, but an alternative way to activate the
tanning response could help dissuade people from sun tanning or indoor tanning, both of
which are known to raise skin cancer risk."
Monsanto and Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation
According to a late-September post at the Guardian's Poverty Matters blog, the Foundation
-- which sponsors the Guardian's Global development site - "is being heavily
criticized in Africa and the US for getting into bed not just with notorious GM company
Monsanto, but also with agribusiness commodity giant Cargill."
Monsanto's Fall from Grace Reveals
the Weakness of the GMO Seed Industry
According to The Times' Pollack, Monsanto's troubles are two-fold: 1) the patent on
Roundup, Monsanto's market-dominating herbicide, has run out, exposing the company to
competition from cheap Chinese imports; and 2) its target audience -- large-scale
commodity farmers in the south and Midwest -- are turning against its core offerings in
genetically modified corn, soy, and cotton seed traits.
Multivitamin use cuts risk of heart
attack
Taking multivitamins may help reduce risk of heart attack or myocardial infarction in
women, a new prospective, population-based cohort study suggests.
Need a study break to refresh?
Maybe not, say Stanford researchers
It could happen to students cramming for exams, people working long hours or just about
anyone burning the candle at both ends: Something tells you to take a break. Watch some
TV. Have a candy bar. Goof off, tune out for a bit and come back to the task at hand when
you're feeling better. After all, you're physically exhausted. But a new study from
Stanford psychologists suggests the urge to refresh (or just procrastinate) is – well
– all in your head.
New Book Exposes the Dirty Truth
Behind Coca-Cola
Coke has been accused of violence against union members in South America, water pollution
overseas, and contributing to child health problems. Is it true?
New discovery on the causes of
contact allergy
The fragrances used in many household and skincare products can cause contact allergy when
exposed to oxygen in the air, reveals research from the University of Gothenburg’s
Faculty of Science in conjunction with the University of Gothenburg to be presented at the
dermatologist conference in Gothenburg.The researchers studied how these substances can be
activated through contact with oxygen in the air, and how this, in turn, can affect the
skin. One particular study looked at whether the activated fragrances caused contact
allergy when tested on eczema patients at Sahlgrenska University Hospital’s
Dermatology Clinic and the Occupational and Environmental Dermatology Clinic in Malmö. It
was found that a high percentage of the 3,400 eczema patients tested had an allergic
reaction to the substances.
New enzyme may lead to cheaper
biofuel
Logging residue, branch clippings and even prawn shells may serve as raw materials for
cheaper biofuels – thanks to a new enzyme that breaks down biomass more quickly.
What’s more, this could help to curtail the current practice of using valuable food
plants for fuel production
New evidence that fat cells are not
just dormant storage depots for calories
Scientists are reporting new evidence that the fat tissue in those spare tires and lower
belly pooches — far from being a dormant storage depot for surplus calories — is
an active organ that sends chemical signals to other parts of the body, perhaps increasing
the risk of heart attacks, cancer, and other diseases. They are reporting discovery of 20
new hormones and other substances not previously known to be secreted into the blood by
human fat cells and verification that fat secretes dozens of hormones and other chemical
messengers. Their study appears in ACS' monthly Journal of Proteome Research.
New findings on autoimmune diseases
A deficiency in one of the immune system’s enzymes affects the severity of autoimmune
diseases such as MS, and explains why the course of these diseases can vary so much. New
findings give an insight into how this enzyme deficiency can be diagnosed, and could lead
to new medicines, reveals a thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy. Multiple sclerosis (MS)
and Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) – the two autoimmune diseases covered by the
thesis – can follow vastly different courses, with symptoms ranging from
insignificant to life-threatening, the reason for which has been largely unknown. In the
thesis the researchers have now found a factor in the immune defence that can explain this
mechanism.
New malware could steal users
social media behavior and info
A new study by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers predicts that a new
generation of malware (software written for malicious purposes like identity theft) could
steal data on human behavior patterns, which is more dangerous than traditional,
detectable attacks. In the newly published paper, "Stealing Reality," Dr. Yaniv
Altschuler and Dr. Yuval Elovici from BGU discuss malware threats that extract personal
information about relationships in a real-world social network, as well as characteristic
information about individuals in the network. Using mathematical models, based on actual
mobile network data, the researchers demonstrated that malware attacks could be adapted to
follow human behavior on social networks. According to the researchers, "Many social
networks collect important user data such as age, occupation and role, personality and
more to create a 'rich identity.' With access to such sensitive information, the
possibility for significantly more targeted and dangerous attacks is now open. There is a
level of trust generated among users connected via social networks and these new threats,
unbeknownst to the user, seek to violate it."
New method to identify people by
their ears
Scientists working on biometrics at the University of Southampton have found a way to
identify ears with a success rate of almost 100 percent. In a paper entitled A Novel Ray
Analogy for Enrolment of Ear Biometrics just presented at the IEEE Fourth International
Conference on Biometrics: Theory, Applications and Systems, scientists from the
University’s School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) described how a
technique called the image ray transform can highlight tubular structures such as ears,
making it possible to identify them.
New Research Links Visual Cues to
Male Sexual Memory
A new study published in Applied Cognitive Psychology finds that college-aged men are very
likely to remember a woman’s initial sexual interest (attraction or rejection),
especially when the woman in question is thought to be attractive, is dressed more
provocatively, and expresses positive sexual interest. In the study the men were shown
full-body photographs of college-aged women who expressed cues of sexual interest or
rejection. The participating males represented mixed sexual histories, and a capacity for
varying degrees of sexually aggressive behavior.
New Studies Examine Links Between
XMRV and Human Disease
Evidence Supports Possible Links with Cancer but not Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Xenotropic
murine leukemia virus–related virus (XMRV) has been the subject of many studies since
its discovery in 2006, but conflicting reports have created an unclear picture of
XMRV’s role in human disease. In three recent studies published in the November 15
issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, now available online, the evidence supports a
possible link between XMRV and prostate cancer but not other links involving chronic
fatigue syndrome, HIV infection, or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. (Please see below
for links to these articles online.)
OHSU research suggests yoga can
counteract fibromyalgia
According to new research conducted at Oregon Health & Science University, yoga
exercises may have the power to combat fibromyalgia — a medical disorder
characterized by chronic widespread pain. The research is being published in the November
10 online edition of the journal Pain and will appear online Thursday, Oct. 14.
"Previous research suggests that the most successful treatment for fibromyalgia
involves a combination of medications, physical exercise and development of coping
skills," said James Carson, Ph.D., a clinical health psychologist and an assistant
professor of anesthesiology and perioperative medicine in the OHSU School of Medicine.
"Here, we specifically focused on yoga to determine whether it should be considered
as a prescribed treatment and the extent to which it can be successful."
Penn study shows how variations of
same protein affect immune response
How a T cell decides to make protein X, Y, or Z can have profound effects for fighting
foreign invaders or staving off dire autoimmune reactions. Researchers at the University
of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have identified the steps that control how different
forms of an immune cell protein called CD45, which is critical for activating the immune
system when faced with pathogens, are controlled in the arc of a body's immune response.
Pesticide used in Monterey County
subject of requested EPA ban
Children born to mothers with high pesticide levels do poorer in neurobehavioral and
cognitive tests at 1-, 2- and 5-years-old," said Trujillo. "In utero exposures
have the strongest health effects.
Physical symptoms prevalent no
matter what stage of cancer including remission
Twenty-two physical symptoms associated with cancer – symptoms often unrecognized and
undertreated – are prevalent in all types of cancers regardless of whether the
patient is newly diagnosed, undergoing treatment or is a cancer survivor, according to
researchers from the Regenstrief Institute and the Indiana University schools of medicine
and nursing. Common symptoms include fatigue, pain, weakness, appetite loss, dry mouth,
constipation, insomnia and nausea. These physical symptoms are associated with substantial
functional impairment, disability and diminished quality of life. The study of 405
patients was reported in the Oct. 11, 2010, issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Numerous physical symptoms, rather than just a few, were prevalent in patients with cancer
and this prevalence did not diminish after completion of therapy. "We found that
regardless of where they are in the course of their diseases, many individuals with cancer
have a high symptom burden," said Kurt Kroenke, M.D., the study's principal
investigator and first author. Dr. Kroenke is a Regenstrief Institute investigator and a
Chancellor's Professor of Medicine in the IU School of Medicine.
PiggyBac joins armory in fight
against cancer
Researchers have developed a genetic tool in mice to speed the discovery of novel genes
involved in cancer. The system – called PiggyBac – has already been used by the
team to identify novel candidate cancer-causing genes. This new development of the
PiggyBac system makes it a powerful addition to the armoury of genetic methods available
to researchers for picking apart the genetic causes of cancer. It will complement advances
in genomics and genetics of cancer, by providing biological validation to human mutations
identified by cancer genome sequencing. The PiggyBac process involves shipping cargos of
genetic material – called transposons – around the genome using an engine known
as a transposase. The team has incorporated the PiggyBac system into the mouse genome,
where the transposons can jump from gene to gene, from chromosome to chromosome,
disrupting or altering the activity of the genes where they land. "Far from being
destructive, this process is empowering our search for genes underlying cancer," says
Professor Allan Bradley, from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and senior author on the
paper. "Some genes, when disrupted, will push cells along the road to tumour
development. When we look at the tumours that develop in our mice, we can search for the
molecular fingerprint of the transposons in the genome; this allows us to identify the
disrupted genes that are the cause. But what is extraordinary about this new model is its
adaptability – with PiggyBac, we can lok at specific organs, we can switch genes on
and switch genes off, we can look for cancer genes across the whole genome.
Pilots Flying Over Disasters Make
Passengers Cry
Susan Lapis, a pilot with SouthWings since its beginnings in 1996, has found that
passengers can get emotional when they see how much damage human development has wrought.
Poverty forces Roma people to
scavenge toxic e-waste
Persecuted Roma communities in France are being forced to scavenge for dangerous e-waste,
potentially threatening health and questioning the country's recycling policies.
Public 'misled' by drug trial
claims
Doctors and patients are being misled about the effectiveness of some drugs because
negative trial results are not published, experts have warned.
Public opposition to GM farming
rising
Four statements about GM crops were put to people in the poll, two basically in favour,
two against. The answers showed that concern over GM crops has grown from 48% in 2008, to
50% in 2009, and is sharply up again this year to 56%.
Re-evaluating the Time of Your Life
In life, we're told, we must take the good with the bad, and how we view these life events
determines our well-being and ability to adjust. But according to Prof. Dov Shmotkin of
Tel Aviv University's Department of Psychology, you need more than the right attitude to
successfully negotiate the vicissitudes of life.
Research discovers how the deaf
have super vision
Deaf or blind people often report enhanced abilities in their remaining senses, but up
until now, no one has explained how and why that could be. Researchers at The University
of Western Ontario, led by Stephen Lomber of The Centre for Brain and Mind have discovered
there is a causal link between enhanced visual abilities and reorganization of the part of
the brain that usually handles auditory input in congenitally deaf cats. The findings,
published online in Nature Neuroscience, provide insight into the plasticity that may
occur in the brains of deaf people. Cats are the only animal besides humans that can be
born deaf. Using congenitally deaf cats and hearing cats, Lomber and his team showed that
only two specific visual abilities are enhanced in the deaf: visual localization in the
peripheral field and visual motion detection. They found the part of the auditory cortex
that would normally pick up peripheral sound enhanced peripheral vision, leading the
researchers to conclude the function stays the same but switches from auditory to visual.
Researcher discusses ill effects of
light pollution
Human sleep patterns are disrupted by excess artificial light, sometimes causing deficient
melatonin levels, which has been linked to cancer.
Researcher find fats galore in
human plasma
Human blood is famously fraught with fats; now researchers have a specific idea of just
how numerous and diverse these lipids actually are. A national research team, led by
scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, has created the
first "lipidome" of human plasma, identifying and quantifying almost 600
distinct fat species circulating in human blood. "Everybody knows about blood lipids
like cholesterol and triglycerides," said Edward A. Dennis, PhD, distinguished
professor of pharmacology, chemistry and biochemistry at UC San Diego and principal
investigator of LIPID MAPS, a national consortium studying the structure and function of
lipids. "For the first time, we've identified and measured hundreds more and
ultimately we might discover thousands. These numbers and their remarkable diversity
illustrate that lipids have key, specific functions, most of which we do not yet recognize
or understand. This lipidome is a first step towards being able to investigate
correlations between specific fat molecules and disease and developing new
treatments."
Researchers develop method for
detailed imaging of fragile bone structures
Scientists working in Germany and Switzerland have developed a novel nano-tomography
method, which uses X-rays to allow doctors to produce three-dimensional (3D) detailed
imaging of fragile bone structures. This method could lead to the development of better
therapeutic approaches to tackle the brittle bone disease osteoporosis, one of the most
common disorders among older people. The new method was recently presented in the journal
Nature.
Researchers develop oral delivery
system to treat inflammatory bowel diseases
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University have developed a
novel approach for delivering small bits of genetic material into the body to improve the
treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases. Delivering short strands of RNA into cells has
become a popular research area because of its potential therapeutic applications, but how
to deliver them into targeted cells in a living organism has been an obstacle. In the Oct.
10 advance online edition of the journal Nature Materials, researchers describe how they
encapsulated short pieces of RNA into engineered particles called thioketal nanoparticles
and orally delivered the genetic material directly to the inflamed intestines of animals.
The research was sponsored by the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of
Health. "The thioketal nanoparticles we designed are stable in both acids and bases
and only break open to release the pieces of RNA in the presence of reactive oxygen
species, which are found in and around inflamed tissue in the gastrointestinal tract of
individuals with inflammatory bowel diseases," said Niren Murthy, an associate
professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech
and Emory University.
Researchers find nonprofit weight
loss program beats obesity
In the battle against obesity, new research has found that it may not be necessary to
spend a lot on a weight loss program when cheaper, nonprofit alternatives may work just as
well. Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus found those who
spent three years in the nonprofit Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS) program lost five to
seven percent of their body weight and kept it off. "This is the first time a study
of this size and duration has ever been done on a weight loss program," said Nia
Mitchell, MD, MPH, and a primary care physician who worked on the study. "The natural
history of weight loss is weight regain and we were happy to see that people were able to
keep off the weight."
Researchers reach consensus on use
of deep brain stimulation to treat Parkinson's
Since the late 1990s, deep brain stimulation (DBS) has proven to be a lifeline for some
patients suffering from Parkinson's disease, a cruel neurological disorder that can cause
lack of control over movement, poor balance and coordination, and rigidity, among other
symptoms. The procedure is used only for patients whose symptoms cannot be adequately
controlled with medications. A neurosurgeon uses magnetic resonance imaging or computed
tomography to identify the exact target within the brain where abnormal electrical nerve
signals generate the disease's tremors and other symptoms, and a neurostimulator is then
surgically implanted to deliver electrical stimulation to that area to block the signals.
The goal, ultimately, is to improve the patient's quality of life.
Right food effectively protects
against risk for diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline
For the first time researchers have found out what effect multiple, rather than just
single, foods with anti-inflammatory effects have on healthy individuals. The results of a
diet study show that bad cholesterol was reduced by 33 per cent, blood lipids by 14 per
cent, blood pressure by 8 per cent and a risk marker for blood clots by 26 per cent. A
marker of inflammation in the body was also greatly reduced, while memory and cognitive
function were improved. “The results have exceeded our expectations! I would like to
claim that there has been no previous study with similar effects on healthy
subjects”, says Inger Björck, professor of food-related nutrition at Lund University
and head of the University’s Antidiabetic Food Centre.
Salmon 'losing distinct genetic
characteristics'
The distinct genetic characteristics of salmon populations in Spain are being lost as a
result of climate change and human interference, a study has warned.
Saturated fat raises heart risk?
Common sense tells us that saturated fatty acids found in animal fat and vegetable oils
may boost risk of heart disease and stroke and most people should do whatever it takes to
avoid them.
Say no to GMOs by contributing to
the Institute for Responsible Technology
Today I'm pledging $10,000 in matching donations to support the non-profit Institute for
Responsible Technology. This is the non-profit that's standing up to Monsanto and the GMO
industry by exposing the truth about the dangers of genetically engineered foods. Jeffrey
Smith, who was recently featured in my "Just Say No to GMO" song, is the
executive director of the IRT .
Scientists under attack - Film
review
Billed as "a political thriller on GMOs and freedom of speech", this film by the
German film-maker Bertram Verhaag tells the stories of two scientists, Dr Arpad Pusztai
and Dr Ignacio Chapela, whose research showed negative findings on GM foods and crops.
Both suffered the fate of those who challenge the powerful vested interests that dominate
agribusiness and scientific research. They were vilified and intimidated, attempts were
made to suppress and discredit their research, and their careers were derailed.
Screen time linked to psychological
problems in children
Children who spend longer than two hours in front of a computer or television screen are
more likely to suffer psychological difficulties, regardless of how physically active they
are. The PEACH project, a study of over a 1,000 children aged between ten and 11, measured
the time children spent in front of a screen as well as their psychological well being. In
addition, an activity monitor recorded both children’s sedentary time and moderate
physical activity. The results showed that more than two hours per day of both television
viewing and recreational computer use were related to higher psychological difficulty
scores, regardless of how much time the children spent on physical activity.
Seeking a basis for pharmaceutical
products from algae and other organisms in the sea
Researchers at the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Helsinki are co-ordinating an
extensive project which aims to find biological activity from among organisms in the sea
which would be suitable for use as a basis for pharmaceutical products. Interesting
compounds isolated from organisms in the sea are chemically modified to be more suitable
for medical purposes.
Selfless genes attract mates
There is genetic evidence that selfless or altruistic behaviour may have evolved because
it was one of the qualities our ancestors looked for in a mate. This is the finding of Dr
Tim Phillips and colleagues from the University of Nottingham and Institute of Psychiatry,
King's College, London whose results were published in the British Journal of Psychology
last week. The study investigated whether altruistic behaviour evolved as a result of
sexual selection. 70 identical and 87 non-identical female twin pairs completed
questionnaires relating to their own levels of altruism (e.g. 'I have given money to
charity') and how desirable they found this in potential mates (e.g. 'Once dived into a
river to save someone from drowning').
Sleep problems common in arthritis
patients
Arthritis can substantially worsen the quality of a person's sleep, particularly when pain
isn't well controlled or patients are depressed and anxious, a new study shows.
So that’s why we’re
allergic to sun creams
What happens to sunscreens when they are exposed to sunlight? And how is the skin affected
by the degradation products that form? This has been the subject of research at the
University of Gothenburg and Chalmers University of Technology that will be presented at
the upcoming dermatologist conference in Gothenburg. A growing hole in the ozone layer and
a change in sunbathing habits have brought an increase in the number of cases of skin
cancer worldwide. One way of dealing with this has been to advocate sunscreens, though
greater use of these products has triggered an increase in contact allergy and
photocontact allergy to sun protection products.
States rip apart EU bid to speed up
GM crop approvals
Let me be very clear, in France we refuse even to enter into this discussion," said
France's Chantal Jouanno during talks between European Union environment ministers in
Luxembourg.
Studies provide new insights into
the genetics of obesity and fat distribution
An international consortium has made significant inroads into uncovering the genetic basis
of obesity by identifying 18 new gene sites associated with overall obesity and 13 that
affect fat distribution. The studies include data from nearly a quarter of a million
participants, the largest genetic investigation of human traits to date. The papers, both
from the GIANT (Genetic Investigation of ANthropometric Traits) consortium – which
consists of more than 400 scientists from 280 research institutions worldwide – will
appear in Nature Genetics and are receiving early online publication. Joel Hirschhorn, MD,
PhD of Children's Hospital Boston and the Broad Institute, a senior author on the overall
obesity paper and involved in both, says, "Different people have different
susceptibilities to obesity. Some don't rigorously watch what they eat or how much they
exercise and still resist gaining weight, while others constantly struggle to keep their
weight from skyrocketing. Some of this variability is genetic, and our goal was to
increase understanding of why different people have different inherited susceptibility to
obesity." Because most of the genes newly implicated in these studies have never been
suspected of having a role in obesity, findings from both papers begin to shed light on
the underlying biology, which may lead to better categorization and treatment of obesity
in the future, Hirschhorn notes.
Study finds a high rate of restless
legs syndrome in adults with fibromyalgia
A study in the Oct. 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that adults
with fibromyalgia had a much higher prevalence and risk of restless legs syndrome than
healthy controls. The study suggests that treating RLS may improve sleep and quality of
life in people with fibromyalgia. Results show that the prevalence of restless legs
syndrome was about 10 times higher in the fibromyalgia group (33 percent) than among
controls (3.1 percent). After statistical adjustments for potential confounders such as
age, gender and ethnicity, participants with fibromyalgia were 11 times more likely than
controls to have RLS (odds ratio = 11.2). As expected, considerable sleep disruption was
reported by participants with fibromyalgia using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index,
Insomnia Severity Index and Epworth Sleepiness Scale. In the fibromyalgia group these
sleep problems were more severe among people who also had RLS.
Study finds monarch butterflies use
medicinal plants to treat offspring for disease
Monarch butterflies appear to use medicinal plants to treat their offspring for disease,
research by biologists at Emory University shows. Their findings were published online
Oct. 6 in the journal Ecology Letters. "We have shown that some species of milkweed,
the larva's food plants, can reduce parasite infection in the monarchs," says Jaap de
Roode, the evolutionary biologist who led the study. "And we have also found that
infected female butterflies prefer to lay their eggs on plants that will make their
offspring less sick, suggesting that monarchs have evolved the ability to medicate their
offspring." (See interview with de Roode here: http://tinyurl.com/3995m3u) Few
studies have been done on self-medication by animals, but some scientists have theorized
that the practice may be more widespread than we realize. "We believe that our
experiments provide the best evidence to date that animals use medication," de Roode
says. "The results are also exciting because the behavior is
trans-generational," says Thierry Lefevre, a post-doctoral fellow in de Roode's lab.
"While the mother is expressing the behavior, only her offspring benefit. That
finding is surprising for monarch butterflies."
Study reveals cancer-linked
epigenetic effects of smoking
For the first time, UK scientists have reported direct evidence that taking up smoking
results in epigenetic changes associated with the development of cancer.The results were
reported at the 35th Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in
Milan, Italy. The link between smoking and cancer has been established for decades,
explained Dr Yuk Ting Ma from the Cancer Research UK Institute of Cancer Studies,
Birmingham, who presented the results. Smoking is the single biggest cause of cancer in
the world, and years of research have confirmed that carcinogenic substances in tobacco
smoke can damage DNA. Scientists have also suspected that smoking causes so-called
epigenetic changes, such as methylation, which alter gene expression without causing
changes to the actual DNA sequence. "Until now, however, there has been no direct
evidence that smoking induces DNA methylation in humans," Dr Ma said.
"Cross-sectional surveys restricted to patients with cancer have revealed that
aberrant methylation of several tumor suppressor genes is associated with smoking. But
such surveys cannot distinguish those epigenetic changes that are a consequence of the
disease process from those which are directly attributable to smoking."
Study uncovers genetic variations
linked with common childhood obesity
A new study uncovers multiple genetic variations associated with common childhood obesity.
The research, published by Cell Press on October 14th in the American Journal of Human
Genetics, is likely to guide future studies aimed at characterizing the affected genes and
unraveling the complex biology that underlies childhood obesity. Obesity, which has
increased significantly in recent years in Western societies, is a major risk factor for
type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The majority of obese children become obese
adults and adolescent obesity is associated with increased overall mortality in adults.
"Despite environmental changes over the last 30 years, in particular the unlimited
supply of convenient, highly calorific foods together with a sedentary lifestyle, there is
also strong evidence for a genetic component to the risk for obesity," explains
senior study author, Dr. Struan F.A. Grant from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Supreme Court weighs whether
parents can sue vaccine makers
Congress set up a fund years ago to compensate parents whose children suffered bad side
effects; judges have said that law bars lawsuits against manufacturers.
Synthetic chemicals pose growing
threat to global water supply
Synthetic chemicals that damage the human reproductive system are creeping into the
world's water supply. Scientists say the chemicals, once waterborne, can quickly spread
throughout the globe.
TAT-Mediated Delivery of a DNA
Repair Enzyme to Skin Cells Rapidly Initiates Repair of UV-Induced DNA Damage
UV light causes DNA damage in skin cells, leading to more than one million cases of
non-melanoma skin cancer diagnosed annually in the United States. Although human cells
possess a mechanism (nucleotide excision repair) to repair UV-induced DNA damage,
mutagenesis still occurs when DNA is replicated before repair of these photoproducts.
Although human cells have all the enzymes necessary to complete an alternate repair
pathway, base excision repair (BER), they lack a DNA glycosylase that can initiate BER of
dipyrimidine photoproducts. Certain prokaryotes and viruses produce pyrimidine
dimer-specific DNA glycosylases (pdgs) that initiate BER of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers
(CPDs), the predominant UV-induced lesions. Such a pdg was identified in the Chlorella
virus PBCV-1 and termed Cv-pdg. The Cv-pdg protein was engineered to contain a nuclear
localization sequence (NLS) and a membrane permeabilization peptide (transcriptional
transactivator, TAT). Here, we demonstrate that the Cv-pdg-NLS-TAT protein was delivered
to repair-proficient keratinocytes and fibroblasts, and to a human skin model, where it
rapidly initiated removal of CPDs. These data suggest a potential strategy for prevention
of human skin cancer.
TEDX (The Endocrine Disruption
Exchange, Inc.)
TEDX (The Endocrine Disruption Exchange, Inc.) is the only organization that focuses
primarily on the human health and environmental problems caused by low-dose and/or ambient
exposure to chemicals that interfere with development and function, called endocrine
disruptors. Since antiquity, humans have known that some chemical substances in the
environment can cause adverse health effects. For example, the Romans knew that sentencing
prisoners to work in lead mines was a death sentence due to the toxicity of elemental
lead.
Temperature rhythms keep body
clocks in sync, UT Southwestern researchers find
Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that fluctuations in internal
body temperature regulate the body's circadian rhythm, the 24-hour cycle that controls
metabolism, sleep and other bodily functions. A light-sensitive portion of the brain
called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) remains the body's "master clock" that
coordinates the daily cycle, but it does so indirectly, according to a study published by
UT Southwestern researchers in the Oct. 15 issue of Science. The SCN responds to light
entering the eye, and so is sensitive to cycles of day and night. While light may be the
trigger, the UT Southwestern researchers determined that the SCN transforms that
information into neural signals that set the body's temperature. These cyclic fluctuations
in temperature then set the timing of cells, and ultimately tissues and organs, to be
active or inactive, the study showed.
The New Epidemic That’s
Wreaking Havoc on Your Health
Thirty years ago, this syndrome was a rarity. Now it’s reaching epidemic levels.
It’s called polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and is responsible for menstrual
abnormalities, ovulation cessation, facial hair, obesity, acne, and male pattern baldness
in women age 12-45. It’s also one of the leading causes of infertility in women.
The risks and benefits of using
poplars for biofuels
This is your brain on friends
Close friends trigger a stronger brain response than strangers, even if you have more in
common with some of the strangers, a new study finds.
Too much light at night at night
may lead to obesity, study finds
Persistent exposure to light at night may lead to weight gain, even without changing
physical activity or eating more food, according to new research in mice. Researchers
found that mice exposed to a relatively dim light at night over eight weeks had a body
mass gain that was about 50 percent more than other mice that lived in a standard
light-dark cycle. "Although there were no differences in activity levels or daily
consumption of food, the mice that lived with light at night were getting fatter than the
others," said Laura Fonken, lead author of the study and a doctoral student in
neuroscience at Ohio State University.
Traffic pollution tied to increased
emphysema risk
People who spend years living near high-traffic roadways may be more likely to develop
emphysema and related lung problems than those who live in less-traveled areas, a new
study suggests.
Turning the immune system on tumor
blood vessels benefits mice
The transfer of immune cells known as activated T cells that target tumor proteins has
proven beneficial in some individuals with metastatic melanoma, the term given to melanoma
skin cancer that has spread to other parts of the body. However, the approach has been
harder to tailor to individuals with other forms of cancer because it has been difficult
to identify suitable target tumor proteins. Steven Rosenberg and colleagues, at the
National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, have now found that mouse T cells engineered to
target blood vessels that support tumor growth inhibit the growth of established mouse
tumors of different origins (including melanoma, colon cancer, and kidney cancer cell
lines). Importantly, this resulted in improved survival. The authors were able to engineer
human T cells to target blood vessels in the same way and found that they responded as
expected in vitro. Thus, the authors hope that this approach might prove viable for
treating a variety of human cancers.
UCLA study links immune protein to
abnormal brain development
UCLA scientists have discovered that exposing fetal neurons to higher than normal levels
of a common immune protein leads to abnormal brain development in mice. Published Oct. 14
in the online Journal of Neuroimmunology, the finding may provide new insights into
factors contributing to human neurological disorders like schizophrenia and autism. The
researchers studied a protein called major histocompatibility complex, or MHC. The protein
plays a dual role in the body: It helps the immune system to identify infected cells, and
it enables neurons to make the right connections with each other in the brain. "When
neurons sense infection or damage to the brain, they produce more MHC," said Daniel
Kaufman, professor of molecular and medical pharmacology at the David Geffen School of
Medicine at UCLA. "We wanted to explore whether higher levels of MHC affect how the
brain develops."
UMD neuroscientists discover
nicotine could play role in Alzheimer's disease therapy
A team of neuroscientists has discovered important new information in the search for an
effective treatment for Alzheimer's disease, the debilitating neurological disorder that
afflicts more than 5.3 million Americans and is the sixth-leading cause of death in the
United States. Hey-Kyoung Lee, associate professor in the University of Maryland
Department of Biology, and her research team have shown that they may be able to eliminate
debilitating side effects caused by a promising Alzheimer's drug by stimulating the
brain's nicotine receptors. Scientists believe that an over-production of a peptide called
A-beta in the brain is the cause of Alzheimer's and are developing drug treatments that
prevent the action of the enzyme BACE1, which produces A-beta. But Lee and her team,
including University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University researchers, previously
demonstrated that eliminating – or "knocking out" – the BACE1 enzyme
in laboratory mice caused some of the test animals to become confused and aggressive.
"The mice exhibit signs of schizophrenia and memory loss when you block the
enzyme," says Lee. "BACE1 is a very promising drug target, but you have to
overcome these obviously debilitating side effects to effectively treat Alzheimer's
disease."
University of East Anglia makes
cancer breakthrough
A tumour cannot grow to a large size or spread until it has developed its own blood supply
and leading research has looked for a way of halting capillary formation to stop tumours
taking hold. But new findings published today in the Journal of Cell Science have shown
that scientists testing such treatments may not have been studying exactly what they
thought they were. The research proves that cells are able to switch their genetic profile
– turning off genes expressed by blood vessel cells and turning on genes specific to
lymphatic cells. This “switch” was previously thought to be impossible and means
that scientists may have been researching lymphatic cells, rather than blood vessel cells.
It is hoped the discovery will propel the race to find revolutionary new treatments.
Unlike us, honeybees naturally make
'quick switch' in their biological clocks, says Hebrew University researcher
Unlike humans, honey bees, when thrown into highly time-altered new societal roles, are
able to alter their biological rhythms with alacrity, enabling them to make a successful
"quick switch" in their daily routines, according to research carried out at the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem. With people, on the other hand, disturbances to their
biological clocks by drastic changes in their daily schedules are known to cause problems
-- for example for shift workers and for new parents of crying, fitful babies. Disturbance
of the biological clock – the circadian rhythm – can also contribute to mood
disorders. On a less severe scale, international air travelers all know of the "jet
lag" disturbance to their biological clocks caused by traveling across several time
zones.
UT Southwestern study to determine
whether leptin helps type 1 diabetes patients
A clinical trial at UT Southwestern Medical Center aims to determine whether adding the
hormone leptin to standard insulin therapy might help rein in the tumultuous blood-sugar
levels of people with type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes. This is the first type 1
diabetes treatment trial involving leptin, which is naturally produced by fat cells and
involved in body-weight regulation. For this study, UT Southwestern researchers will be
using metreleptin, a slightly modified form of the hormone that has been well-tolerated in
other clinical trials. "Leptin has been very effective in improving diabetes in
patients with lipodystrophies who have extreme lack of body fat, and recently leptin
therapy has helped improve blood sugar control in animal models of type 1 diabetes,"
said Dr. Abhimanyu Garg, professor of internal medicine and principal investigator of the
trial. "Although we have no assurances that this will work in humans, we hope that
the addition of leptin will be beneficial to patients with type 1 diabetes." The
phase 1 study also is designed to evaluate the safety and tolerability of adding leptin to
a diabetes treatment regimen.
Virtual research institute needed
to unlock RNA's promise
A Europe-wide network of labs focusing on RNA research is needed to make the most of RNA's
high potential for treating a wide range of diseases. The recommendation for this virtual
research institute comes from a panel of biologists at the European Science Foundation in
a report published today, 'RNA World: a new frontier in biomedical research'. Ten years on
from the human genome project, RNA (ribonucleic acid) has stolen some of DNA's limelight.
The basic ingredient of our genes, DNA long outshone the other form of genetic material in
our cells, RNA. RNA was seen as a simple stepping stone in the cell's gene-reading
activities. Research over the last decade has shown RNA to be a remarkable molecule and a
multi-talented actor in heredity. It is thought to be a major participant in the chemical
reactions that led to the origins of life on Earth - the 'RNA World' hypothesis. RNA also
controls genes in a way that was only recently discovered: a process called RNA
interference, or RNAi. Medical researchers are currently testing new types of RNAi-based
drugs for treating conditions such as macular degeneration, the leading cause of
blindness, and various infections, including those caused by HIV and the herpes virus.
Waist circumference, not BMI, is
best predictor of future cardiovascular risk in children
A new long-term study published by researchers at the University of Georgia, the Menzies
Research Institute in Hobart, Australia and the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute in
Melbourne, Australia suggests that waist circumference, rather than the commonly used body
mass index measure, is the best clinical measure to predict a child's risk for
cardiovascular disease and diabetes later in life. The researchers, whose results appear
in the early online edition of the International Journal of Obesity, found that children
with high waist circumference values (in the top 25 percent for their age and sex) were
five to six times more likely than children with low waist circumferences (in the bottom
25 percent) to develop metabolic syndrome by early adulthood. Metabolic syndrome is a
cluster of key cardiovascular risk factors and is associated with an increased risk of
subsequent coronary artery disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. "We wanted to
identify which clinical measure of childhood body composition best predicts long-term
cardio-metabolic health risks," said study lead author Michael Schmidt, an assistant
professor in the UGA department of kinesiology, part of the College of Education. "We
were able to compare a wide range of body composition measures and found that waist
circumference seems to be the best measure to predict subsequent risk."
Walk much? It may protect your
memory down the road
New research suggests that walking at least six miles per week may protect brain size and
in turn, preserve memory in old age, according to a study published in the October 13,
2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of
Neurology. "Brain size shrinks in late adulthood, which can cause memory problems.
Our results should encourage well-designed trials of physical exercise in older adults as
a promising approach for preventing dementia and Alzheimer's disease," said study
author Kirk I. Erickson, PhD, with the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh. For the
study, 299 dementia-free people recorded the number of blocks they walked in one week.
Then nine years later, scientists took brain scans of the participants to measure their
brain size. After four more years, the participants were tested to see if they had
developed cognitive impairment or dementia. The study found that people who walked at
least 72 blocks per week, or roughly six to nine miles, had greater gray matter volume
than people who didn't walk as much, when measured at the nine-year time point after their
recorded activity. Walking more than 72 blocks did not appear to increase gray matter
volume any further.
Warning of disaster at toxic waste
dump
IRELAND'S largest toxic waste dump was twice breached by tidal surges over the past two
weeks.
Warning of threat to children posed
by artificial grass
Artificial grass can become contaminated after a few years’ use with enough lead to
poison children, scientists have warned.
We are Facing the Greatest Threat
to Humanity
Half the tropical forests in the world – the lungs of our ecosystems – are gone;
by 2030, at the current rate of harvest, only 10% will be left standing. Ninety percent of
the big fish in the sea are gone, victim to wanton predatory fishing practices.
Whatever Doesn’t Kill Us Can
Make Us Stronger
We’ve all heard the adage that whatever doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, but
until now the preponderance of scientific evidence has offered little support for it.
However, a new national multi-year longitudinal study of the effects of adverse life
events on mental health has found that adverse experiences do, in fact, appear to foster
subsequent adaptability and resilience, with resulting advantages for mental health and
well being.
When Never EVER to Use Fish Oil
(video)
Dr. Rudi Moerck is a drug industry insider and an expert on omega-3 fats. In this
interview, Dr. Rudi Moerck explains why fish oil may not be your best source of otherwise
healthful omega-3 fats.
Why women like a cuddle after sex
but men prefer a cup of tea
The typical woman likes to share a kiss and a cuddle after sex but men are more interested
in making a cup of tea, new research suggests.
Will Google wind power project harm
wildlife? Depends on location.
Google and other partners have agreed to invest in a wind power project off the
mid-Atlantic coast. Environmental groups are urging research on the project's potential
impact on wildlife.
Yale scientist helps pinpoint
threats to life in world's rivers
The food chain - the number of organisms that feed on each other — in the world's
streams and rivers depends more upon the size of the stream and whether the waterways
flood or run dry than the amount of available food resources, Yale University and Arizona
State University (ASU) researchers report online in the Oct. 14 issue of the journal
Science Express. The findings suggest that large predators in river systems will be
threatened by increased variability in water flow induced by climate change. The research
also helps settle an old debate among ecologists about what determines the length of
nature's food chains, which sustain all life on earth.
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