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Week 39 - part2
Gene mutation causes severe
epilepsy, febrile seizures in thousands of infants worldwide
University of Utah medical researchers have identified a gene with mutations that cause
febrile seizures and contribute to a severe form of epilepsy known as Dravet syndrome in
some of the most vulnerable patients – infants 6 months and younger. The discovery,
published online in PLoS Genetics, means some infants with Dravet syndrome, a type of
epilepsy that often begins with fever-induced (febrile) seizures, would benefit from
genetic testing to identify whether they have a mutation in the SCN9A gene, which the
researchers found causes seizures by affecting sodium channels in the brain. Infants who
hve the mutation might well be better off not receiving sodium channel blockers, some of
the most common anticonvulsant drugs, because they could make a sodium channel-induced
seizure worse, the researchers report. The study was a collaboration of researchers from
several departments in the U of U School of Medicine and College of Pharmacy, as well as
national and international colleagues. First author Nanda A. Singh, Ph.D., a researcher in
the University's Eccles Institute of Human Genetics, said the SCN9A mutation is the fifth
gene discovered to cause febrile seizures and, before now, was not suspected in seizures
or epilepsy. "This new gene gives us a much needed novel target for developing more
effective drugs to treat those children with debilitating seizures," Singh said.
Bitemark Evidence and Analysis
Should Be Approached with Caution, According to UB Study
Against the backdrop of last week's Congressional hearing into the future of forensic
science, researchers from the University at Buffalo's Laboratory for Forensic Odontology
Research in the School of Dental Medicine, have published a landmark paper on the
controversial topic of bitemark analysis. The Congressional hearing focused on the
findings of a National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report on the scientific basis of
forensic disciplines. Among the pattern evidence fields (fingerprints, tool marks, etc.)
that were reviewed in the NAS report, bitemark analysis received critical commentary.
During the hearing, Innocence Project co-founder Peter Neufeld introduced Roy Brown,
wrongfully convicted on bitemark evidence and later exonerated through DNA analysis. In
anticipation of the NAS report, the new UB study published in the Journal of Forensic
Sciences challenges the commonly held belief that every bitemark can be perpetrator
identified. "Bitemark identification is not as reliable as DNA identification,"
explains the study's lead author Raymond G. Miller, D.D.S., UB clinical associate
professor of oral diagnostic sciences.
Chloride Found at Levels that Can
Harm Aquatic Life in Urban Streams of the Northern U.S.--Winter Deicing a Major Source
Levels of chloride, a component of salt, are elevated in many urban streams and
groundwater across the northern U.S., according to a new government study. Chloride levels
above the recommended federal criteria set to protect aquatic life were found in more than
40 percent of urban streams tested. The study was released today by the U.S. Geological
Survey (USGS). Elevated chloride can inhibit plant growth, impair reproduction, and reduce
the diversity of organisms in streams. The effect of chloride on drinking-water wells was
lower. Scientists found chloride levels greater than federal standards set for human
consumption in fewer than 2 percent of drinking-water wells sampled in the USGS study. Use
of salt for deicing roads and parking lots in the winter is a major source of chloride.
Other sources include wastewater treatment, septic systems, and farming operations.
“Safe transportation is a top priority of state and local officials when they use
road salt. And clearly salt is an effective deicer that prevents accidents, saves lives,
and reduces property losses,” said Matthew C. Larsen, USGS Associate Director for
Water. “These findings are not surpriing, but rather remind us of the unintended
consequences that salt use for deicing may have on our waters. Transportation officials
continue to implement innovative alternatives that reduce salt use without compromising
safety.” This comprehensive study examines chloride concentrations in the northern
U.S. covering parts of 19 States, including 1,329 wells and 100 streams.
How HIV cripples immune cells
In order to be able to ward off disease pathogens, immune cells must be mobile and be able
to establish contact with each other. The working group around Professor Dr. Oliver
Fackler in the Virology Department of the Hygiene Institute of the Heidelberg University
Hospital has discovered a mechanism in an animal model revealing how HIV, the AIDS
pathogen, cripples immune cells: Cell mobility is inhibited by the HIV Nef protein. The
study was published in the highly respected journal “Cell Host & Microbe”.
This discovery may have pointed the way towards a new treatment approach.Over 30 million
persons worldwide are infected with HIV. Typically, after the initial infection
accompanied by acute symptoms, there is a latency period of several years before the
acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) manifests. The human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV) has developed numerous strategies for eluding the body's defenses and the
medications administered. The prerequisite for efficient reproduction of the virus in the
patient’s body is the virus’s own Nef protein. Without Nef, the development of
AIDS is significantly slowed or even stopped completely. The underlying mechanism of this
observation was a complete mystery up to now, however.
Reactive Oxygen’s Role in
Metastasis
Researchers at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) have discovered that
reactive oxygen species, such as superoxide and hydrogen peroxide, play a key role in
forming invadopodia, cellular protrusions implicated in cancer cell migration and tumor
metastasis. Sara Courtneidge, Ph.D., professor and director of the Tumor Microenvironment
Program at Burnham’s NCI-designated Cancer Center, and colleagues have found that
inhibiting reactive oxygen reduces invadopodia formation and limits cancer cell invasion.
The study was published on September 15 in the journal Science Signaling. In a companion
paper, published in the same issue of Science Signaling, Gary Bokoch, Ph.D., of The
Scripps Research Institute, in collaboration with Dr. Courtneidge, found that the proteins
Tks4 and Tks5, commonly expressed in cancer cells, are functionally related to p47phox, a
protein found in phagocytes that is part of a complex that is instrumental in producing
reactive oxygen to mount an immune response. “Reactive oxygen has a complex cellular
role,” said Dr. Courtneidge. “Normal cells use reactive oxygen to signal, grow
and move. Immune cells, such as neutrophils, produce reactive oxygen to destroy bacteria.
Now we find that reactive oxygen is necessary for invadopodia formation, which allows
cancer cells to become metastatic.” Invadopodia facilitate cancer cell migration by
breaking down the extracellular matrix that normally keeps cells in place. In previous
research, Dr. Courtneidge discovered that Tks5 is crucial for invadopodia formation. The
structural similarities between Tks5 and p47phox, which is part of the NADPH oxidase (Nox)
system, led Dr. Courtneidge to consider the role reactive oxygen plays in invadopodia
formation.
Direct Evidence of the Role of
Sleep in Memory Formation is Uncovered
A Rutgers University, Newark and Collége de France, Paris research team has pinpointed
for the first time the mechanism that takes place during sleep that causes learning and
memory formation to occur. It’s been known for more than a century that sleep somehow
is important for learning and memory. Sigmund Freud further suspected that what we learned
during the day was “rehearsed” by the brain during dreaming, allowing memories
to form. And while much recent research has focused on the correlative links between the
hippocampus and memory consolidation, what had not been identified was the specific
processes that cause long-term memories to form. Brain ImageAs posted online September 11,
2009 by Nature Neuroscience, György Buzsaki, professor at the Center for Molecular and
Behavioral Neuroscience at Rutgers University, Newark, and his co-researchers, Gabrielle
Girardeau, Karim Benchenane, Sidney I. Wiener and Michaël B. Zugaro of the Collége de
France, have determined that short transient brain events, called “sharp wave
ripples,” are responsible for consolidating memory and transferring the learned
information from the hippocampus to the neocortex, where long-term memories are stored.
www.nature.com/neuro/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/nn.2384.html Sharp wave ripples are
intense, compressed oscillations that occur in the hippocampus when the hippocampus is
working “off-line,” most often during stage four sleep, which, along with stage
three, is the deepest level of sleep. During stage four sleep, Buzsaki explains,
“it’s as if many instruments and members of the orchestra come together to
generate a loud sound, a sound so loud that it is heard by wide areas of the neocortex.
These sharp, ‘loud’ transient events occur hundreds to thousands of times during
sleep and ‘teach’ the neocortex to form a long-term form of the memory, a
process referred to as memory consolidation.” The intensity and multiple occurrence
of those ripples also explain why certain events may only take place once in the waking
state and yet can be remembered for a lifetime, adds Buzsaki.
UT scientists discover link between
protein and lung disease
In a development that could lead to a novel approach to the treatment of a devastating
lung disease, biochemists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
report they are the first to link the osteopontin (OPN) protein to chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (COPD). Findings appear online and will be in the January 2010 print
issue of The FASEB Journal, the journal of The Federation of American Societies for
Experimental Biology.More than 12 million Americans are currently diagnosed with this
incurable illness, which is the fourth leading cause of death, the National Heart Lung and
Blood Institute reports. In the United States, the term COPD includes two main conditions
- emphysema and chronic obstructive bronchitis. The researchers were able to prevent COPD
features in a mouse model by genetically removing osteopontin. To gauge the applicability
of their findings to humans, the investigators analyzed the airways of people with COPD
and found elevated levels of the protein. "This is an important crossover
study," said Michael Blackburn, Ph.D., the study's senior author and professor in the
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at The University of Texas Medical School
at Houston. "Because we can show osteopontin is elevated in people with COPD, this
suggests that osteopontin could serve as both an indicator of disease progression and a
therapeutic target." In the study, researchers induced COPD features in mice and then
compared symptoms experienced by mice with osteopontin and those without. The mice without
the protein had less inflammation and lung disease. "The lack of osteopontin in the
mice prevented the COPD features," said Daniel Schneider, the study's lead author and
an M.D./Ph.D. candidate at the UT Health Science Center at Houston.
Two treatment innovations improve
heart function after heart attack
Supersaturated oxygen (SSO2) administered during catheter-based treatments for heart
attack can significantly reduce heart muscle damage, according to a new study reported in
Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions, a journal of the American Heart Association. In
another study from the same issue, a different group of researchers found that manually
removing a blood clot provided greater recovery of heart function after a heart attack.
“The greatest benefits were seen in the patients most at risk,” said Gregg W.
Stone, M.D., lead author of the SSO2 study, and professor of medicine at Columbia
University Medical Center in New York, N.Y. “The larger the heart attack, the more
heart muscle salvaged.”
University of Toronto study shows
climate change will lead to less ultraviolet radiation over northern high latitudes
Physicists at the University of Toronto have discovered that changes in the Earth’s
ozone layer due to climate change will reduce the amount of ultraviolet (UV) radiation in
northern high latitude regions such as Siberia, Scandinavia and northern Canada. Other
regions of the Earth, such as the tropics and Antarctica, will instead face increasing
levels of UV radiation. “Climate change is an established fact, but scientists are
only just beginning to understand its regional manifestations,” says Michaela
Hegglin, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Physics, and the lead author of the
study published in Nature Geoscience on September 6. Using a sophisticated computer model,
Hegglin and U of T physicist Theodore Shepherd determined that 21st-century climate change
will alter atmospheric circulation, increasing the flux of ozone from the upper to the
lower atmosphere and shifting the distribution of ozone within the upper atmosphere. The
result will be a change in the amount of UV radiation reaching the Earth’s surface
which varies dramatically between regions: e.g. up to a 20 per cent increase in UV
radiation over southern high latitudes during spring and summer, and a nine per cent
decrease in UV radiation over northern high latitudes, by the end of the century. While
the effects of increased UV have been widely studied because of the problem of ozone
depletion, decreased UV could have adverse effects too, e.g. on vitamin D production for
people in regions with limited sunlight such as the northern high latitudes.
Trailer - Fall of the Republic: The
Presidency of Barack Obama
Here is a first glimpse of Alex Jones
most powerful film yet, to be titled Fall of the Republic: The Presidency of Barack Obama.
The globalists want the Republic to fall, and they are trying to use their newest, and
slickest ever puppet to destroy the last vestiges of Americas freedom, Constitution and
economy, all while helping the bankers loot the country clean. But this film shows how we
can turn it around, and restore all that was good and right in our nation.
Nigel Farage warns of euro meltdown
Gordon Brown comes under fire from
Nigel Farage
In what can only be described as a
relentless assault upon Prime Minister Gordon Brown's record of achievement, Nigel Farage
is in flight with all guns blazing.
Bakker Fledderus oogst eerste
oertarwe in Hooghalen
Bakker Harm Fleddérus uit Hooghalen heeft
zijn eerste oertarwe geoogst. Eén hectare langs het spoor bij Hooghalen werd ingezaaid
met deze oude graansoort, genaamd lavette. De bakker wil deze oertarwe die vroeger veel
gebruikt werd weer uit de vergetelheid halen. Het is een oude tarwesoort waar een
desembrood met unieke smaak van wordt gemaakt. Medio september zullen de eerste 'Haler
Es'-volkorenbroden verkocht worden.
Grass Through Concrete
This 72 min documentary explores the
struggle to protect the Red Hill Valley (one of Canada's largest urban parks) from a
four-lane expressway. The film follows the unique cooperation of First Nations and various
Hamilton citizens in their endeavor to save a sacred green space. Through interviews with
those involved and on site footage "Grass through Concrete" raises questions
about local democracy, urban sprawl and the value of green space in modern cities.
it is an amazing story. I collected the
amazing footage you see in this clip and presented it on prime time PBS as part of a
documentary on smoking. TBS asked me to be "balanced."So I got both sides of the
story. To see my other work, please go to www.thehoffmancollection.com
Acne really is a nightmare for some
teens
Zits, pimples, bumps and blemishes are a young person's worst nightmare. Collectively they
are known as acne, a very common skin condition that affects millions of adolescents. Now
a Norwegian study published in the open access journal BMC Public Health has investigated
the links between acne, diet and mental health issues in both males and females.
University of Oslo researcher Jon Anders Halvorsen together with co-authors from Lhasa
(Tibet) and Boston (US) studied 3775 adolescents to explore the possible causes of acne.
The 18- and 19-year olds were given questionnaires to monitor their diets, lifestyle
variables, and mental conditions. Participants reported on their own acne. Lastly,
researchers acquired the socio-demographic status of the young people from Statistics
Norway. The study identified crude associations between acne and high intake of chocolate
and chips and low intake of vegetables. In girls, there was a significant link between
acne and diet low in raw and fresh vegetables. This may indicate that a low-glycemic index
could have a protective role in the development of acne. Dr. Halvorsen said "Our
study shows a possible link between diet and acne. However, when we introduced symptoms of
depression and anxiety in our statistical model, the role of diet became less clear. On
the other hand the association between acne and mental health problems was still strong
when diet was introduced. This underscores mental health problems as an important aspect
of young people's acne".
Labor status linked to mental
health
Exclusion from the labor market may be contributing to the trend of deteriorating mental
health symptoms among young people, highlighting a need to incoporate this factor into
policies related to the labor market and the delivery of higher education
Folic acid fortification risk
The frequent presence of unmetabolized folic acid in blood samples from adults and
newborns calls for caution before implementing mandatory fortification, as folic acid
exposure may accelerate growth of tumors and mask pernicious anemia.
New evidence that green tea may
help improve bone health
Researchers in Hong Kong are reporting new evidence that green tea — one of the most
popular beverages consumed worldwide and now available as a dietary supplement — may
help improve bone health. They found that the tea contains a group of chemicals that can
stimulate bone formation and help slow its breakdown. Their findings are in ACS' Journal
of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a bi-weekly publication. The beverage has the
potential to help in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis and other bone diseases
that affect million worldwide, the researchers suggest. In the new study, Ping Chung Leung
and colleagues note that many scientific studies have linked tea to beneficial effects in
preventing cancer, heart disease, and other conditions. Recent studies in humans and cell
cultures suggest that tea may also benefit bone health. But few scientific studies have
explored the exact chemicals in tea that might be responsible for this effect. The
scientists exposed a group of cultured bone-forming cells (osteoblasts) to three major
green tea components — epigallocatechin (EGC), gallocatechin (GC), and gallocatechin
gallate (GCG) — for several days. They found that one in particular, EGC, boosted the
activity of a key enzyme that promotes bone growth by up to 79 percent. EGC also
significantly boosted levels of bone mineralization in the cells, which strengthens bones.
The scientists also showed that high concentrations of ECG blocked the activity of a type
of cell (osteoclast) that breaks down or weakens bones. The green tea components did not
cause any toxic effects to the bone cells, they note.
New method can predict 80 percent
of cases of postnatal depression
Worldwide, 13% of women who give birth suffer from postnatal depression, which causes a
significant deterioration in a mother's quality of life and her ability to care for her
baby. Now, Spanish researchers have developed a model to diagnose this illness with a
predictive power of 80% - the best result to date for this kind of depression. "Early
diagnosis of postnatal depression would make it possible to intervene to prevent it from
developing among women at risk", Salvador Tortajada, lead author of the study and a
researcher at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), tells SINC. The experts
studied data on 1,397 Spanish women who gave birth between December 2003 and October 2004
in seven hospitals in Spain, and devised various models that can predict – with an
80% success rate – which mothers run the risk of developing depression during the
first weeks after giving birth. This study, which is the first of its kind in Spain and
has been published recently in the journal Methods of Information in Medicine, gives the
best results to date in terms of predicting this illness. "Now it needs clinical
evaluation, and for psychiatrists to start to test it directly on patients in order to
study the true potential of these tools", says Tortajada. The researchers used
artificial neuronal networks and extracted a series of risk factors highlighted in
previous studies – the extent of social support for the mother, prior psychiatric
problems in the family, emotional changes during the birth, neuroticism and polymorphisms
in the serotonin transport gene (genes with high levels of expression lead to an increased
risk of developing the illness).
Yes-associated protein - Early
diagnosis of gastric carcinoma
Yes-associated protein (YAP) is a type of cellular adaptor protein and transcriptional
co-activator. In recent years, some investigators have found YAP to be overexpressed and
highly activated in hepatic cancers and mammary cancers, suggesting its tumorigenicity.
Survivin is a new member of the inhibitor of apoptotic protein (IAP) family, which was
initially cloned by the cDNA of the effector cell protease receptor-1 in the human genomic
library in 1997. A research team led by Professor Yan Xin, from The Fourth Laboratory of
Cancer Institute in China measured the expression of YAP and survivin in normal gastric
mucosa, precancerous lesions and gastric carcinoma using an immunohistochemical method to
analyze the significance and correlations of the 2 factors with gastric carcinogenesis.
Their study will be published on August 28, 2009 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology.
The investigation found that the expression of YAP and survivin in gastric carcinoma were
positively correlated, and according to the data, they speculated that YAP might induce a
high expression of cell proliferation-related factors and apoptotic inhibitors, such as
Ki67, cIAP1 and survivin. Survivin might participate in gastric carcinogenesis,
progression and metastasis by inhibiting apoptosis of gastric carcinoma cells and
regulating cellular mitosis. Whether YAP and survivin collaborate to contribute to gastric
carcinogenesis and progression requires further study.
Scientists cure color blindness in
monkeys
Researchers from the University of Washington and the University of Florida used gene
therapy to cure two squirrel monkeys of color blindness — the most common genetic
disorder in people. Writing online Wednesday in the journal Nature, scientists cast a rosy
light on the potential for gene therapy to treat adult vision disorders involving cone
cells — the most important cells for vision in people. "We've added red
sensitivity to cone cells in animals that are born with a condition that is exactly like
human color blindness," said William W. Hauswirth, Ph.D., a professor of ophthalmic
molecular genetics at the UF College of Medicine and a member of the UF Genetics Institute
and the Powell Gene Therapy Center. "Although color blindness is only moderately
life-altering, we've shown we can cure a cone disease in a primate, and that it can be
done very safely. That's extremely encouraging for the development of therapies for human
cone diseases that really are blinding." The finding is also likely to intrigue
millions of people around the world who are colorblind, including about 3.5 million people
in the United States, more than 13 million in India and more than 16 million in China. The
problem mostly affects men, leaving about 8 percent of Caucasian men in the United States
incapable of discerning red and green hues that are important for everyday things like
recognizing traffic lights. "People who are colorblind feel that they are missing
out," said Jay Neitz, Ph.D., a professor of ophthalmology at the University of
Washington. "If we could find a way to do this with complete safety in human eyes, as
we did with monkeys, I think there would be a lot of people who would want it. Beyond
that, we hope this technology will be useful in correcting lots of different vision
disorders." The discovery comes about 10 years after Neitz and his wife Maureen
Neitz, Ph.D., a professor of ophthalmology at the University of Washington and senior
author of the study, began training two squirrel monkeys named Dalton and Sam.
Yale team finds mechanism that
constructs key brain structure
Yale University researchers have found a molecular mechanism that allows the proper mixing
of neurons during the formation of columns essential for the operation of the cerebral
cortex, they report in the Sept. 16 online issue of the journal Nature. Scientists have
known for years that information processing in the cerebral cortex depends upon groupings
of neurons that assemble in the shape of vertical columns. If the number and mix of
neurons in the column are wrong, severe cognitive problems can result. For instance,
malformations of these columns have been implicated in some forms of autism and mental
retardation. Scientists, however, have not been able to find the molecular mechanism
responsible for this intermixing. In the Nature paper, a team led by Pasko Rakic,
professor and chairman of the Department of Neurobiology and head of the Kavli Institute
for Neuroscience, describes one of the molecular mechanisms essential to the organizations
of these key structures. Using the most advanced molecular technology, the Yale team
showed that during neuronal migration, the intermixing of neurons within column depends on
the expression levels of two genes - A-type Eph receptor and ephrin-As, a ligand, or
molecule that binds to the receptor. Neuronal cells failed to move laterally into proper
columns in mice lacking the ligands or receptors, the team reported.
Oxygen-saturated blood reduces
levels of damaged heart tissue following a heart attack
Results of a clinical trial published today in Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions
demonstrate that an infusion of blood that is "supersaturated" with oxygen
(SS02) can reduce the amount of damaged heart muscle immediately following a
life-threatening heart attack. "The benefit of this therapy increased with the scope
of the heart attack," said Gregg W. Stone, M.D., lead author and professor of
medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and director of
cardiovascular research and education in the Center for Interventional Vascular Therapy at
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. Dr. Stone is also the
immediate past chairman of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation in New York. "The
data show that heart muscle can be saved even after severe heart attack." The
AMIHOT-II study focused on patients having the most serious types of heart attacks –
those with anterior ST-segment elevation myocardial infarctions (STEMIs) – and on
patients treated within 6 hours. Of the 733,000 Americans who suffer acute coronary
syndromes (i.e. heart attack or chest pain) each year, 361,000 (almost half) have a STEMI,
according to the American Heart Association. When a large area of the heart is damaged,
heart failure is more likely, and catheter-based percutaneous coronary intervention is a
procedure that can effectively open blocked arteries in STEMI patients, Dr. Stone said. In
the trial, the "supersaturated" oxygen was delivered via catheter directly to
the area of the heart muscle affected by the heart attack. The size of the "infarct
zone," or the amount of damaged tissue, was significantly reduced in the patients
that received the "supersaturated" oxygen.
Brain's response to seeing food may
be linked to weight loss maintenance
A difference in brain activity patterns may explain why some people are able to maintain a
significant weight loss while others regain the weight, according to a new study by
researchers with The Miriam Hospital. The investigators report that when individuals who
have kept the weight off for several years were shown pictures of food, they were more
likely to engage the areas of the brain associated with behavioral control and visual
attention, compared to obese and normal weight participants. Findings from this brain
imaging study, published by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, suggest that
successful weight loss maintainers may learn to respond differently to food cues.
"Our findings shed some light on the biological factors that may contribute to weight
loss maintenance. They also provide an intriguing complement to previous behavioral
studies that suggest people who have maintained a long-term weight loss monitor their food
intake closely and exhibit restraint in their food choices," said lead author Jeanne
McCaffery, PhD, of The Miriam Hospital's Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center.
Long-term weight loss maintenance continues to be a major problem in obesity treatment.
Participants in behavioral weight loss programs lose an average of 8 to 10 percent of
their weight during the first six months of treatment and will maintain approximately
two-thirds of their weight loss after one year. However, despite intensive efforts, weight
regain appears to continue for the next several years, with most patients returning to
their baseline weight after five years. Researchers used functional magnetic resource
imaging (fMRI), a non-invasive technique that localizes regions of the brain activated
during cognition and experience, to study the brain activity of three groups: 18
individuals of normal weight, 16 obese individuals (defined as a body mass index of at
least 30), and 17 participants who have lost at least 30 lbs and have successfully
maintained that weight loss for a minimum of three years.
Stem Cells – Immunology’s
Hope for the Future
Stem cells are multipotent cells of the immune system. Scientists hope to use them for
curing autoimmune diseases, cancer and innate genetic defects in the future. What is
possible today, which barriers still need to be overcome and how research in this area is
progressing – these were topics of the lecture held by Professor Fritz Melchers, a
doyen of immunology and Honorary President of the 2nd European Congress of Immunology in
Berlin at a Press Conference. For decades now, experimental and clinical immunology has
been using cell transplants for multiplying and restoring the hematopoietic
(blood-forming) system of our body, i.e., of red blood cells and cells of the innate and
the adaptive immune system. A clinically successful cell therapy which is performed more
than 30,000 times a year is bone marrow transplantation. It is particularly widely applied
in cancer patients for life-long restoration of the deathly damaged hematopoietic system
after chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
Vaccination against Cancer
Preventive vaccination against infectious diseases has been a major milestone for the
health of modern society. The development of therapeutic vaccination against established
diseases is much more difficult. For more than 100 years researchers have already tried to
develop cancer vaccines and now first promising clinical results raise hopes. A summary of
the most attractive new approaches gave Professor Carmen Scheibenbogen, Institut für
Medizinische Immunologie, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, at a press conference in Berlin.
A new approach based on recent knowledge of peptide-based vaccination will be presented by
Cees Melief, Leiden at thee ECI: A vaccine based on synthetic long peptides derived from
oncogenic proteins of the human papillomavirus (HPV) was tested in patients with a form of
genital cancer, so called intraepithelial neoplasia of the vulva in a clinical phase II
study. A complete tumor regression could be observed in a substantial number of patients.
(C Melief et al, 2008).
The Many Causes of Immune
Deficiency
Defects of the immune system lead to increased susceptibility to infection, autoimmune
diseases (e.g. inflammatory rheumatism), allergies and sometimes even cancer. An intact
immune system, on the other hand, ensures physical health and well-being. The many
different causes leading to defects of the immune system describes Professor Bodo
Grimbacher, Immunology/Molecular Pathology, Royal Free Hospital & University College
Medical School, London, at the 2nd European Congress of Immunology in Berlin. The most
common causes worldwide include malnutrition, poor sanitary conditions and human immune
deficiency virus (HIV) infection. Other causes of temporary or permanent damage to the
immune system include old age, medications (e.g. cortisone, cytostatic drugs),
radiotherapy, stress after surgery and malignant tumors of the bone marrow and the lymph
nodes. Innate deficiencies of the immune system are comparatively rare. However, as
experiments of nature, they allow insights into the structure and functioning of the human
immune system. Innate immune deficiencies are estimated to occur in one out of 500
individuals.
Solving the Mystery of IgE
Immunoglobulin E (IgE) is the main actor in the drama of allergy. The biological role of
IgE in the immune response of an organism and the lack of control leading to allergy is
the research topic of Gernot Achatz, Molekular Biology, University of Salzburg. At the 2nd
European Congress of Immunology ECI 2009 held in Berlin the scientist presents new data
revealing the evolution of IgE. Allergic diseases have risen dramatically during the last
decades. They represent a major health problem, which affects up to one third of the whole
population. A prerequisite for the development of effective therapeutic strategies is the
detailed analysis of the biological role of IgE and its control mechanisms. IgE is an
evolutionary conserved member of the immunoglobulin (Ig) family. Immunoglobulins are
antibodies, which play a key function in immune response. Compared to all other
immunoglobulin classes, which are present in concentrations of micrograms to milligrams
per ml serum, the titre of IgE is very low (nano- to micrograms per ml range) in plasma of
normal healthy individuals and of normal laboratory mouse strains. IgE is most prominent
in epitheliae and mucosae where it is bound to specific receptors on highly potent
effector cells like eosinophilic granulocytes and mast cells. Bound to these cells IgE has
a long half-life (weeks to months), while free in plasma the half-life is very short (~ 6
hours). “This suggests that IgE plays a role in local immune defence
mechanisms”, says Achatz.
Linking Epstein-Barr virus to
Multiple Sclerosis
Over the last 40 years, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has been repeatedly associated with
multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases. During the 2nd European Congress of
Immunology ECI 2009 held in Berlin, Francesca Aloisi, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome,
will present new data* that further support the link. In the brain lesions of patients
with multiple sclerosis her team found abnormal accumulation of EBV infected B
lymphocytes. Similar findings were made in the pathological tissues of patients with other
autoimmune diseases. Multiple sclerosis is the most common inflammatory disease of the
central nervous system affecting young adults. Similarly to other chronic inflammatory
diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis
is thought to result from an inappropriate attack of the immune system toward selected
body components, a process named autoimmunity. In the case of multiple sclerosis, the
immune system is thought to attack myelin, the lipid-rich sheath coating our nerves.
Alzheimer's disease - crosses
boundaries of education and gender
A postgraduate researcher at the University of Hertfordshire has found that
Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) results in greater language impairments in more
highly-educated than less learned patients. The research also revealed that women with the
disease fare worse on language tasks, which have been traditionally associated with better
performance in healthy women. Amy Duncan, who will graduate on Thursday (17 September) at
the University of Hertfordshire’s Postgraduate Awards Ceremonies, completed an MSc in
Research Methods in Cognitive Neuropsychology during which she reviewed studies of verbal
retrieval in over 6000 patients with AD. Her paper entitled ‘Normal’
semantic-phonemic fluency discrepancy in Alzheimer’s disease? A meta-analytic study,
which was recently published in the international journal Cortex, describes her analysis
of 135 studies examining verbal fluency and name retrieval in 6,000 AD patients and over
6,000 healthy controls. Her work was supervised by Professor Keith Laws from the
University’s School of Psychology. The researchers looked at the degree of verbal
impairment in AD patients and whether the severity of impairment relates to patient sex
and education.
9/11 has led to a rhetoric -
'Infected with fear'
Eight years on from the 9/11 terrorist attacks, new research from the University of
Leicester's Centre for American Studies has examined the impact of the atrocity on
language, sense of realism, and how it has led to America's 'current state of fear'. The
research, undertaken by Dr Catherine Morley, a lecturer in the School of English at the
University of Leicester, reveals that 9/11 not only influenced society's sense of realism
and its ability to express this realism, but also let to the manipulation of language, and
a rhetoric - 'infected with fear'. She examined different literary responses to the
culture of fear and the so-called 'war on terror' looking at how they explore government
surveillance, infringement of civil liberties and the role of the media in the new global
environment of distrust. As Dr Morley puts it - "In light of this attack on American
soil, the first foreign attack since the Second World War, it is not surprising that
American writers became more subjective and less dispassionate in their immediate
responses, presenting raw personal grief and their perceived sense of the futility of
their literary endeavours. There was a general feeling among writers that words would
inevitably fail in the face of the extremely visual nature of the attacks.
Tired doctors make more mistakes
A study of clinical errors made by resident physicians in a teaching hospital reveals that
the more tired they are the more mistakes they make. The study published in the
International Journal of Behavioural and Healthcare Research puts figures to this
seemingly obvious conclusion and shows that fewer errors are made if clinical practices
are standardised. The research could help promote the case for improved working conditions
for junior doctors in order to improve patient outcomes. Zvi Stern of the Hadassah Hebrew
University Medical Center in Jerusalem, Israel, and colleagues report that resident
physicians, colloquially known as "residents" are the frontline providers of the
majority of in-patient medical care in teaching hospitals. The work is stressful, has
often overwhelming responsibilities, and involves working long hours with little
opportunity for adequate sleep and recuperation. Previous research has shown that sleep
deprivation due to long working hours is a major factor in clinical errors made by
residents. The Harvard Work Hours, Health and Safety Study presented the most rigorous
proof that fatigue causes medical errors and led to the US Accreditation Council for
graduate medical education limiting residents' working hours. However, this has been
criticised more recently in light of the fact that even with reduced hours errors made by
residents remain a major problem in many teaching hospitals. Now, Stern and colleagues
have analysed the results from error reports by senior nurses, who had been working
closely with 126 resident physicians at two teaching hospitals. The team suggested that
standardisation of the residents' work processes through the use of strict procedures and
guidelines could reduce the number of errors they make, particularly when tired.
Nanoparticle treatment for burns
curbs infection, reduces inflammation
Treating second-degree burns with a nanoemulsion lotion sharply curbs bacterial growth and
reduces inflammation that otherwise can jeopardize recovery, University of Michigan
scientists have shown in initial laboratory studies. U-M burn surgeon Mark R. Hemmila,
M.D., reports today at the Interscience Conference for Antimicrobial Agents and
Chemotherapy on results achieved with a nanoemulsion developed at U-M and licensed by U-M
to Ann Arbor-based NanoBio Corporation. The nanoemulsion shows promise in overcoming the
limitations of current creams used in burn treatment, which aren't able to penetrate skin
to kill sub-surface bacteria and don't have a strong effect on inflammation, says Hemmila,
associate professor of surgery at the U-M Medical School. In a collaborative effort
between the U-M Department of Surgery and NanoBio Corporation, Hemmila led experiments at
the U-M Medical School in which a nanoemulsion lotion was able to reduce bacterial growth
one-thousand-fold compared to control animals receiving no treatment or a placebo. The
nanoemulsion showed a similar reduction when compared to a topical antimicrobial agent
commonly used in people with burns. The nanoemulsion is made of soybean oil, alcohol,
water and detergents emulsified into droplets less than 400 nanometers in diameter. It has
proved effective at killing a variety of bacteria, fungi and viruses in previous research.
The scientists used the nanoemulsion to treat partial thickness burns, better known as
second degree burns, over 20 percent of the body, to test its effectiveness in the type of
injuries doctors commonly see in people brought to tertiary hospital trauma and burn
centers. Such burn victims typically require aggressive treatment in intensive care both
to rein in infection and to try to prevent vital fluids from leaking from blood vessels
into the damaged skin, a dangerous situation caused in part by excessive inflammation
within the body. The nanoemulsion appears to reduce the action of two inflammatory agents
or cytokines that play a role in cell signaling during this critical post-burn period.
Slowing this action may prevent initial burn damage from becoming worse, and thus reduce
the severity of the burn and extent of skin grafting needed, says Hemmila.
See I.O.U.S.A. the movie
Excerpts of this important 60 Minutes show
are seen in IOUSA, an excellent documentary on American debt, taxes, saving and spending.
It projects the time until U.S. economic collapse, and explains what we need to do now, to
avoid it. David Walker, Comptroller General of the USA, compares US to Rome. The movie is
currently in limited release around the country. Request it and watch it. Visit the
YouTube site for excerpts and the iousathemovie.org website.
Tamoxifen Use and Second Breast
Cancers
Presentation by Christopher Li, Ph.D. from
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Reserach Center on his study of long-term Tamoxifen use and the
occurance of second breast cancers.
Do Not Take Swine Flu Shot
The Cove - official US theatrical
trailer in HD
In this pulse-pounding eco-thriller, a
crack team of divers, activists and special effects experts infiltrate a secret cove in
Japan to expose one of history's most shocking and unimaginable crimes against nature.
Winner of the Audience Award at this year's Sundance Film Festival, 'The Cove' is sure to
be one of the most talked about films of the summer.
Electric race cars
End of the Line (2009) Trailer HD
720p
Narrated by Ted Danson and based on the
book by Charles Clover, THE END OF THE LINE explores the devastating effect that
overfishing is having on fish stocks and the health of our oceans. Scientists predict that
if we continue fishing at the current rate, the planet will completely run out of fish by
2048
Endgame: Blueprint for Global
Enslavement
In Endgame, documentary filmmaker Alex
Jones chronicles the history of the global elite s bloody rise to power and reveals how
they have funded dictators and financed the bloodiest wars using order out of chaos to
pave the way for the first true world empire. Watch as Jones and his team track the
elusive, secretive Bilderberg Group to Ottawa and Istanbul to uncover their secret
summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world s agenda and
instigating World War III. Learn about the formation of the North American transportation
control grid, which will end U.S. sovereignty forever.
911 The Road To Tyranny - Alex
Jones Full Video
Conflict between plant and animal
hormones in the insect gut?
Cis-OPDA (12-oxophytodienoic acid) is a highly reactive plant hormone which simultaneously
serves as a precursor molecule of the metabolic "master switch" jasmonic acid.
Both signal herbivory in leaves and shoots of plants and activate the plants' defense
reaction against caterpillars. Cis-OPDA, when reaching the hemolymph of the caterpillar,
has a negative effect on the animal, leading to premature pupation and, apparently, an
impaired immune system. Paulina Dabrowska, one of the very first PhD students of the Jena
International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) who meanwhile earned her PhD, studied the
whereabouts of plant hormones after they had been consumed by the caterpillars and had
passed the insect gut. Are the hormones, which are known to severely influence development
and metabolism of organisms even in the slightest dose, fully metabolized in the insect
gut, just converted, or not influenced at all? Studying the plant hormone cis-OPDA it
became quickly evident that a conversion of the molecule must have taken place in the
insect gut. The young chemist, originally from Poland, discovered that an enzyme must play
a role in the chemical reaction observed: "First, we found that cis-OPDA was not
present in the insect feces anymore. Instead of cis-OPDA, our mass spectrometers suggested
iso-OPDA. However, iso-OPDA is only constituted by means of enzyme catalysis."
Control experiments, solely performed in strong alkaline solutions as present in the
insect gut (pH approx. 10), did not cause a cis-iso conversion. The test animals were
Spodoptera littoralis (cotton leaf worm) and Helicoverpa armigera (cotton bollworm)
larvae; both species are major cotton pests worldwide.
New marker for Alzheimer's
discovered
Gothenburg researchers have discovered a previously unknown substance in spinal fluid that
can be used to diagnose Alzheimer's disease. The findings, described in a thesis from the
Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, will also be useful in
research on new medications. The substance is a beta-amyloid protein called Abeta16. The
thesis shows in two independent studies that Alzheimer's patients have higher levels of
the protein in their spinal fluid than do healthy individuals. 'The discovery of the new
protein could be used to diagnose patients with Alzheimer's and also help determine which
medications are most effective for the disease', says biochemist Erik Portelius, the
author of the thesis. Alzheimer's disease includes the formation of plaque on the brain.
Neurons and other cell types form around 20 different beta-amyloid proteins, and these are
excreted into the spinal fluid around the brain. 'These types of beta-amyloid proteins can
be analysed with great precision, and our research team has also shown that the analyses
can be used to distinguish between Alzheimer's patients and healthy individuals with a
high degree of accuracy', says Portelius.
Popular stomach acid reducer
triples risk of developing pneumonia
A popular stomach-acid reducer used to prevent stress ulcers in critically ill patients
needing breathing machine support increases the risk of those patients contracting
pneumonia threefold, according to researchers at Wake Forest University School of
Medicine. Hospital-acquired pneumonia is the leading cause of infection-related deaths in
critically ill patients. It increases hospital stays by an average of seven to nine days,
cost of care, and the risk of other complications. "As best we can tell, patients who
develop hospital-acquired pneumonia or ventilator-acquired pneumonia have about a 20 to 30
percent chance of dying from that pneumonia," said senior study author David L.
Bowton, M.D., professor and head of the Section on Critical Care in the Department of
Anesthesiology. "It's a significant event." The study, published in a recent
issue of CHEST, compared treatment with two drugs that decrease stomach acid: ranitidine,
marketed under the name ZantacTM, and pantoprazole, marketed under the name ProtonixTM or
PrilosecTM. Both drugs decrease stomach acid, but the newer pantoprazole is considered
more powerful and has become the drug of choice in many hospitals. However, in the
analysis of 834 patient charts, the researchers found that hospitalized cardiothoracic
surgery patients treated with pantoprazole were three times more likely to develop
pneumonia. "We conducted this study, in part, because we thought we were seeing more
pneumonias than we were used to having," said study co-author Marc G. Reichert,
Pharm.D., pharmacy coordinator for surgery at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical
Center. Both acid-reducing drugs can make the stomach a more hospitable place for bacteria
to colonize. Patients on breathing machines sometimes develop pneumonia when stomach
secretions reflux into the lungs. Current treatment guidelines to prevent pneumonia
recommend raising the head of the bed for patients on breathing machines, which reduces
the risk of stomach secretions getting into the lungs.
Green tea component may help
preserve stored platelets, tissues
In two separate studies, a major component in green tea, epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate
(EGCG), has been found to help prolong the preservation of both stored blood platelets and
cryopreserved skin tissues. Published in the current double issue of Cell Transplantation
(18:5/6), now freely available on-line at http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/ct,
devoted to organ preservation and transplantation studies from Japan, the two
complimentary studies have shown that EGCG, known to have strong anti-oxidative activity,
can prolong platelet cell "shelf life" via anti-apoptosis (programmed cell
death) properties and preserve skin tissues by controlling cell division.Dr. Suong-Hyn
Hyon, lead author on both studies and associate professor in the Institute for Frontier
Medical Sciences in Kyoto, Japan, says that EGCG, a green tea polyphenol, is a known
anti-oxidation and anti-proliferation agent, yet the exact mechanism by which EGCG works
is not yet known. However, some of the activity of EGCG is likely to be related to its
surface binding ability. Using standard blood banking procedures, the storage duration for
platelet cells (PCs) is limited to five days internationally or three days in Japan.
During storage, PCs undergo biochemical, structural and functional changes, and PCs may
lose membrane integrity and haemostatic functions, such as aggregability and affinity for
surface receptors. Thus, PC shortages often occur. When EGCG was added to blood platelet
concentrates, aggregation and coagulation functions were better-maintained after six days,
perhaps due to EGCG's anti-oxidative ability. Researchers suggested that EGCG inhibited
the activation of platelet functions and protected the surface proteins and lipids from
oxidation. "Functions were restored by the maintained surface molecules with the
detachment of ECGC by washing," noted Dr. Hyon. "EGCG may lead to an inhibition
of platelet apoptosis and lower rates of cell death, offering a potentially novel and
useful method to prolong platelet storage period."
'Alert status' area in brain
discoved by Hebrew University scientists
A new understanding of how anesthesia and anesthesia-like states are controlled in the
brain opens the door to possible new future treatments of various states of loss of
consciousness, such as reversible coma, according to Hebrew University of Jerusalem
scientists. In an article published in the Journal of Neuroscience, the scientists,
Marshall Devor, the Cecile and Seymour Alpert Professor of Pain Research, graduate student
Ruth Abulafia and research associate Dr. Vladimir Zalkind describe their discovery of an
area of the brain that participates in the control of "alert status." Loss of
response to painful stimuli and loss of consciousness are the most striking
characteristics of surgical anesthesia and anesthesia-like states, such as concussion,
reversible coma, and syncope (fainting). These states also exhibit behavioral suppression,
loss of muscle tone, a shift to the sleep-like "delta-wave" EEG pattern, and
depressed brain metabolism. It has been widely presumed that this constellation of
dramatic functional changes reflects widely distributed suppression of neuronal activity
in the brain due to dispersed drug action, or to global oxygen or nutrient starvation.
However, new results revealed by the Hebrew University scientists suggest a radically
different architecture -- that a small group of neurons near the base of the brain, in the
mesopontine tegmentum, has executive control over the alert status of the entire cerebrum
and spinal cord, and can generate loss of pain sensation, postural collapse and loss of
consciousness through specific neural circuitry. This conclusion derives from the
observation that microinjection of tiny quantities of certain anesthetic drugs into this
newly discovered "center of consciousness" in laboratory rats induced a profound
suppressive effect on the activity of the cerebral cortex.
On-the-job pesticide exposure
associated with Parkinson's disease
Individuals whose occupation involves contact with pesticides appear to have an increased
risk of having Parkinson's disease, according to a report in the September issue of
Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The development of Parkinson's
disease related to chemical exposure was identified in the late 20th century, according to
background information in the article. Since then, occupations such as farming, teaching
and welding have all been proposed to increase the risk of Parkinson's disease. However,
associations have been inconsistent and few previous studies have evaluated the direct
relationship between occupational chemical exposure and disease risk. Caroline M. Tanner,
M.D., Ph.D., of the Parkinson's Institute, Sunnyvale, Calif., and colleagues studied 519
individuals with Parkinson's disease and 511 controls who were the same age and sex and
lived in the same location. Participants were surveyed about their occupational history
and exposure to toxins, including solvents and pesticides. Working in agriculture,
education, health care or welding was not associated with Parkinson's disease, nor was any
other specific occupation studied after adjustment for other factors. Among the patients
with Parkinson's disease, 44 (8.5 percent) reported pesticide exposure compared with 27
(5.3 percent) of controls, such that occupational pesticide exposure was associated with
an increased risk of the disease. "Growing evidence suggests a causal association
between pesticide use and parkinsonism. However, the term 'pesticide' is broad and
includes chemicals with varied mechanisms," the authors write. "Because few
investigations have identified specific pesticides, we studied eight pesticides with high
neurotoxic plausibility based on laboratory findings. Use of these pesticides was
associated with higher risk of parkinsonism, more than double that in those not
exposed." Three individual compounds—an organochloride
(2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid), an herbicide (paraquat) and an insecticide
(permethrin)—were associated with a more than three-fold increased risk of
Parkinson's disease. All three have been shown to have effects on dopaminergic
neurons—affected by Parkinson's disease—in the laboratory.
Daily bathroom showers may deliver
face full of pathogens, says CU-Boulder study
While daily bathroom showers provide invigorating relief and a good cleansing for millions
of Americans, they also can deliver a face full of potentially pathogenic bacteria,
according to a surprising new University of Colorado at Boulder study. The researchers
used high-tech instruments and lab methods to analyze roughly 50 showerheads from nine
cities in seven states that included New York City, Chicago and Denver. They concluded
about 30 percent of the devices harbored significant levels of Mycobacterium avium, a
pathogen linked to pulmonary disease that most often infects people with compromised
immune systems but which can occasionally infect healthy people, said CU-Boulder
Distinguished Professor Norman Pace, lead study author.It's not surprising to find
pathogens in municipal waters, said Pace. But the CU-Boulder researchers found that some
M. avium and related pathogens were clumped together in slimy "biofilms" that
clung to the inside of showerheads at more than 100 times the "background"
levels of municipal water. "If you are getting a face full of water when you first
turn your shower on, that means you are probably getting a particularly high load of
Mycobacterium avium, which may not be too healthy," he said. The study appeared in
the Sept. 14 online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Co-authors of the study included CU-Boulder researchers Leah Feazel, Laura Baumgartner,
Kristen Peterson and Daniel Frank and University Colorado Denver pediatrics department
Associate Professor Kirk Harris. The study is part of a larger effort by Pace and his
colleagues to assess the microbiology of indoor environments and was supported by the
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Research at National Jewish Hospital in Denver indicates that
increases in pulmonary infections in the United States in recent decades from so-called
"non-tuberculosis" mycobacteria species like M. avium may be linked to people
taking more showers and fewer baths, said Pace. Water spurting from showerheads can
distribute pathogen-filled droplets that suspend themselves in the air and can easily be
inhaled into the deepest parts of the lungs, he said. Symptoms of pulmonary disease caused
by M. avium can include tiredness, a persistent, dry cough, shortness of breath, weakness
and "generally feeling bad," said Pace. Immune-compromised people like pregnant
women, the elderly and those who are fighting off other diseases are more prone to
experience such symptoms, said Pace, a professor in the molecular, cellular and
developmental biology department. The CU-Boulder researchers sampled showerheads in homes,
apartment buildings and public places in New York, Illinois, Colorado, Tennessee and North
Dakota.
Kids with small head size at risk
of neurologic problems, screening needed
A new guideline from the American Academy of Neurology, developed in full collaboration
with the Child Neurology Society, finds that children with microcephaly ¾that is,
children whose head size is smaller than that of 97 percent of children¾are at risk of
neurologic and cognitive problems and should be screened for these problems. The guideline
is published in the September 15, 2009, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the
American Academy of Neurology. Microcephaly is common, affecting more than 25,000 infants
in the United States each year. If it is not present at birth, it usually has developed by
the time a child is two years old. While microcephaly is not a disease, it is an important
sign that may point to other conditions. "The evidence suggests that children with
microcephaly are more likely to have certain neurologic conditions, such as epilepsy and
cerebral palsy, as well as mental retardation and eye and ear disorders," said lead
guideline author Stephen Ashwal, MD, a child neurologist at Loma Linda University School
of Medicine in Loma Linda, California, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology.
"In fact, the evidence shows that children with microcephaly are at risk for
developmental delay and learning disorders. For these reasons, it is necessary for doctors
to recognize microcephaly and check the child for these associated problems, which often
require special treatments. This is an important recommendation, as it allows doctors to
provide more accurate advice and counseling to families who have a child with
microcephaly." Doctors may also consider screening for coexisting conditions, such as
epilepsy and cerebral palsy. "Forty percent of children with microcephaly also have
epilepsy, 20 percent also have cerebral palsy, 50 percent also have mental retardation,
and 20 to 50 percent also have eye and ear problems," said Ashwal.
Prolonged stress sparks ER to
release calcium stores and induce cell death in aging-related diseases
Li et al. explain how prolonged stress sparks the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to release
its calcium stores, inducing cells to undergo apoptosis in several aging-related
diseases.The study will appear in the September 21, 2009 issue of the Journal of Cell
Biology (online September 14). Stressful conditions cause misfolded proteins to accumulate
in the ER. Cells try to recover by slowing down translation and increasing production of
their protein folding machinery. But if the stress continues, prolonged expression of a
transcription factor called CHOP promotes cell death instead. The apoptotic machinery is
triggered by calcium released from the ER, but how CHOP induces this step wasn't known. Li
et al. zoomed in on two ER proteins—an oxidase called ERO1-alpha and the calcium
channel IP3R—to connect the dots between CHOP induction and calcium release.
ERO1-alpha is a transcriptional target of CHOP, and its reexpression in cells lacking CHOP
restored the cell death pathway. On the other hand, knocking down ERO1-alpha or IP3R
prevented calcium release and apoptosis in response to ER stress. Insulin-resistant obese
mice—known to suffer increased ER stress—showed elevated IP3R-dependent calcium
release, indicating that the pathway operates in vivo. The researchers think that
ERO1-alpha oxidizes the ER lumen, promoting the formation of a key disulphide bond in IP3R
that makes the channel more active. Senior author Ira Tabas points out the importance of
understanding this mechanism further: mice lacking CHOP are protected against cell death
arising from a variety of pathologies, including advanced atherosclerosis, diabetes, and
neurodegeneration.
Children with emotional
difficulties at higher risk for adult obesity
Previous research has shown that low self-esteem and emotional problems are found in
people who are overweight or obese– but not which influences which. Research
published today in the open access journal BMC Medicine, sheds light on this issue showing
that children with emotional difficulties are at higher risk for obesity in adult life.
Andrew Ternouth, David Collier and Barbara Maughan from the MRC Social, Genetic and
Developmental Psychiatry Centre at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London,
studied data from around 6,500 members of the 1970 British Birth Cohort Study who, as 10
year-olds, had been assessed for emotional problems, self-perceptions and BMI, and who
reported on their BMI again at age 30. The researchers found that children with a lower
self-esteem, those who felt less in control of their lives and those who worried often
were more likely to gain weight over the next 20 years. They also found that girls were
slightly more affected by these factors than boys. Ternouth said "While we cannot say
that childhood emotional problems cause obesity in later life, we can certainly say they
play a role, along with factors such as parental BMI, diet and exercise"The authors
suggest that early intervention for children suffering low self-esteem, anxiety or other
emotional challenges could help improve their chances of long-term physical health.
Ternouth continues: "Strategies to promote social and emotional aspects of learning,
including the promotion of self-esteem, are central to a number of recent policy
initiatives. Our findings suggest that approaches of this kind may carry positive benefits
for physical health as well as for other aspects of children's development."
Food habits are more important than
the most important obesity risk gene
The risk of becoming obese is 2.5 times higher for those who have double copies of the
best known risk gene for overweight and obesity. However, this is only true if the fat
consumption is high. A low fat diet neutralizes the harmful effects of the gene.
“This means that the critical factor is what you eat. At least in the case of the FTO
gene, the most important obesity gene identified so far” says Emily Sonestedt, member
of Marju Orho-Melanders research group at Lund University Diabetes Centre. She is the main
author of a study that is currently being published in the American Journal of Clinical
nutrition. Several studies have found that exercise diminishes the effect of the risk gene
but this is the first study where the effect of the gene has been studied in relation to
food habits. The risk variant of the FTO gene (fat mass and obesity associated) is common
in the general population. 17 percent have double copies, meaning they have inherited it
from both parents. Another 40 percent have a single copy. “It is difficult to
calculate how much people eat with any certainty, which is one of the reasons why no one
has done this before. But we have good data” says Emily Sonestedt.
Genes identified may help breast
cancer diagnosis
Researchers at Keele University have identified two genes which may help improve the
diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer patients. The research team, which also included
colleagues from Nottingham and Cambridge universities and King’s College London, are
identifying and studying genes which control whether a cell lives or dies. They found that
the survival rate for patients with a low expression of a gene known as Fau, a tumour
suppressor, is twice as bad as for people with normal levels, while a high expression of
cancer-causing gene MELK has a similar effect. Professor Gwyn Williams, who has been
working on the study for 20 years, said he was excited by the discovery, published in the
journal Breast Cancer Research, as it had clear real world relevance. “Our ongoing
research is about finding the genes which may go wrong in people with cancer,” he
said. “Genetic changes give hints to where to target therapy and can also help
diagnose cancer.”
Hormone promises to keep joint
injuries from causing long-term osteoarthritis
An existing osteoporosis drug is the first ever found to prevent cartilage loss from
osteoarthritis following injury to a joint, and may also regenerate some cartilage that
has been lost to osteoarthritis, according to an early study presented today at the annual
meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research in Denver. While the study
was in mice, the model closely mimics human osteoarthritis that develops following knee
injuries, according to the study authors. Cartilage can become damaged by many kinds of
injury and by mechanical stresses that come with age. Over time, damaged cartilage
deteriorates to cause osteoarthritis (OA), with its attendant joint inflammation and pain.
Currently available drugs like steroids or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents (e.g.
Advil, Aleve) reduce pain but do not address the loss of cartilage behind the
osteoarthritis, which is projected to afflict more than 50 million Americans by 2020.
Cartilage forms the sponge-like, shock-absorbing layers that keep the impact of running
and jumping and lifting from grinding bones against each other in joints. The cell type at
the heart of osteoarthritis is the chondrocyte, the cartilage-producing cell responsible
for maintaining the integrity of joint cartilage. Outside of joints, chondrocytes undergo
a normal maturation process that helps to form bone as part of fracture healing and bone
growth in children. Disease processes and injury, however, cause chondrocytes in joint
surface cartilage to become like those that help to heal bone elsewhere, but in a place
where bone is not supposed to form. This mistaken maturation contributes to the gradual
destruction of the joint seen in osteoarthritis. Parathyroid hormone (PTH), known as
teriparatide in drug form, has emerged as a major player in the maintenance and healing of
bone, and the race is on to design new applications for it. Past studies have established
that PTH prevents chondrocytes from undergoing maturation, and stimulates their
proliferation, preserving larger pools of cartilage cells in the joint. Signaling
molecules like PTH have their effect in the body by interacting with specifically shaped
proteins on the cell surfaces called receptors. PTH docks into its receptors, like a ship
coming into port, which changes the shape of the dock such that biochemical signals are
sent. The authors of the current study observed that chondrocytes within injured and
degenerating cartilage have more PTH type 1 receptors on their surfaces. This makes them
especially sensitive to the PTH signal that prevents harmful chondrocyte maturation into
bone in the joint cartilage. Thus, PTH therapy should increase the cartilage supply
exactly where cartilage loss is causing disease.
University of Hawaii at Manoa CRCH
scientists report adulthood body size associated with cancer risk
A team of scientists led by researcher Brenda Hernandez, Ph.D., M.P.H.—an assistant
professor at the University of Hawai'i at M?noa's Cancer Research Center of
Hawai'i—has reported that body mass in younger and older adulthood, and weight gain
between these life periods, may influence a man's risk for prostate cancer. This risk
varies among different ethnic groups, according to findings reported in a study published
in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association
for Cancer Research. Dr. Hernandez and colleagues studied the relationship in a
multiethnic population consisting of blacks, Japanese, Hispanics, Native Hawaiians and
whites, and compared differences among age groups using the Multiethnic Cohort, a
longitudinal study of men 45-75 years of age established in Hawai'i and California from
1993-1996. Of the 83,879 men who participated in the study, 5,554 developed prostate
cancer. Overall, men who were overweight or obese by age 21 had a decreased risk of
localized and low-grade prostate cancer, according to Dr. Hernandez. Their results
suggested that being overweight in older adulthood was associated with increased prostate
cancer risk among white and Native Hawaiian men, but a decreased risk among Japanese men.
While excessive weight gain between younger and older adulthood was observed to increase
the risk of advanced and high-grade prostate cancers in white men and increase the risk of
localized and low-grade disease in black men, it appeared to decrease the risk of
localized prostate cancer in Japanese men. Dr. Hernandez said, "The relationship of
certain characteristics, such as body size, with cancer risk may vary across ethnic groups
due to the combined influence of both genes and lifestyle." Obesity is a known risk
factor in other common cancers, including colorectal cancer and breast cancer in
post-menopausal women. However, the relationship between body size and prostate cancer
risk is not entirely understood.
When Proteins Change Partners
Dieter Wolf, M.D., and colleagues at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) have
illuminated how competition between proteins enhances combinatorial diversity during
ubiquitination (the process that marks proteins for destruction). Using S. pombe fission
yeast as a model, the Wolf laboratory uncovered an intricate relationship, in which an
array of Fbox proteins alternately attach to and are kicked off of a cullin-RING ubiquitin
ligase (CRL1) containing CUL1 and Skp1. Without the Fbox, CRL1 cannot attach to the
protein substrate or recruit ubiquitin, potentially preserving aberrant proteins. The
research was published in the journal Molecular Cell on September 11. S. pombe expresses
16 different Fbox proteins, some of which are regulated by the COP9 signalosome (CSN). The
study shows that these proteins attach to CRL1 but are kicked off by the competing protein
CAND1. Fbox proteins and CAND1 continue to trade places until they come in contact with
the appropriate substrate of the protein being degraded. This phosphorylated substrate
recruits the protein N8, which attaches to the complex and stabilizes the Fbox protein.
Then the complex can attach to the substrate and recruit ubiquitin. Once this process is
completed, N8 is removed, Fbox is destabilized and the process begins again. “The
tension between CAND1 and Fbox gives more Fbox proteins the opportunity to attach to
CRL1,” says Dr. Wolf. “Without CAND1, more prevalent Fbox proteins would
dominate the process. We also found that, to bind to CRL1, the Fbox proteins must contain
a specific proline residue. Only when the substrate is present can the Fbox protein be
stabilized in the complex.” The laboratory tested eight of the 16 Fbox proteins. They
found that five of the eight were regulated by the CSN and that CSN-insensitive proteins
were missing a proline residue. They also found that the proline residue was required for
CRL1 complex formation. The laboratory also determined that CAND1 deficiency and CSN
deficiency produced different phenotypes, outlining the different roles they play in
stabilizing CRL1.
New method monitors early sign of
oxidative stress in cancer
The growth of cancerous tumors is fueled, at least in part, by the buildup of free
radicals—highly reactive oxygen-containing molecules. It stands to reason, then, that
cancer should respond to treatment with antioxidants, which inhibit the rogue radicals, or
with pro-oxidants, which go the opposite direction, increasing "oxidative
stress" on cancer cells to the point of vanquishing them. But experiments with such
treatments have had mixed results, possibly because patients differ in their "redox
profiles," or oxidative stress levels. Being able to monitor a marker of oxidative
stress that is associated with the activation of tumor cell growth pathways, particularly
at an early stage, and then tailor treatments accordingly would allow for more targeted
studies and might improve the odds of success with antioxidants and pro-oxidants, said
University of Michigan chemical biologist Kate Carroll. A new method developed by Carroll
and postdoctoral research fellow Young Ho Seo makes such monitoring possible and reveals
that different individuals and even different tumor types have different redox profiles.
The method and the research behind it are described in a paper scheduled for online
publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences during the week of
Sept. 7.
Mandatory alcohol testing for truck
and bus drivers reduces alcohol involvement in fatal crashes
Mandatory alcohol testing programs for truck and bus drivers have contributed to a
significant reduction in alcohol involvement in fatal crashes, according to a new study by
researchers at the Mailman School of Public Health and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School
of Public Health. Based on a study sample of nearly 70,000 motor carrier (heavy trucks and
buses) drivers and over 83,000 non–motor-carrier (car) drivers, the estimated net
effect attributed to the mandatory alcohol testing programs for drivers of heavy trucks
and buses was a 23% reduced risk of alcohol involvement in fatal crashes. This is the
first study to comprehensively evaluate the Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of
1991, which made alcohol testing mandatory for transportation employees with safety
sensitive functions. Findings from the study are published online in the American Journal
of Epidemiology. In the U.S., there are approximately 4,000 fatal crashes involving heavy
trucks and buses each year, and nearly 80% of these fatal crashes are collisions between a
motor carrier and a passenger car. About 3% of the motor carrier drivers and 27% of
non-motor-carrier drivers in these fatal crashes are under the influence of alcohol.
"The mandatory alcohol testing programs for transportation employees with
safety-sensitive functions are a major policy intervention," says Guohua Li, MD,
DrPH, professor of Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health and professor of
Anesthesiological Sciences at Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, and senior
author. "However, this policy remains a controversial one, because of legal and
ethical concerns and little empirical data about its safety benefit. Our study provides
compelling evidence that implementation of the mandatory alcohol testing programs has
significantly reduced alcohol involvement in fatal motor carrier crashes." The
authors also report that the estimated safety benefit of the mandatory alcohol testing
programs is consistent across age groups and between sexes. Moreover, implementation of
these programs has reduced alcohol involvement by motor carrier drivers in daytime and
nighttime fatal crashes to a similar degree.
Inner Workings of Molecular
Thermostat Point to Pathways to Fight Diabetes, Obesity, According to Penn Study
Best known as the oxygen-carrying component of hemoglobin, the protein that makes blood
red, heme also plays a role in chemical detoxification and energy metabolism within the
cell. Heme levels are tightly maintained, and with good reason: Too little heme prevents
cell growth and division; excessive amounts of heme are toxic.Researchers at the
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered a molecular circuit
involving heme that helps maintain proper metabolism in the body, providing new insights
into metabolic disorders such as obesity and diabetes. The work builds on 2007 findings
from the same team, led by Mitchell Lazar, MD, PhD, Director of Penn’s Institute for
Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism, showing that a protein called Rev-erb? coordinates the
daily cycles of heme. The new research, published online in Genes & Development, makes
it clear that Rev-erb?, by controlling the production of heme, also plays a key role in
maintaining the body’s correct metabolism. This happens through a molecular pathway
that allows the cell to monitor and adjust internal heme levels, creating more when heme
levels fall, and slowing it down when levels rise. The circuit is a negative feedback
loop, with Rev-erb? as its central component, explains Lazar. “Rev-erb? is a
thermostat for heme." When heme levels are high, Rev-erb? is activated, reducing
heme, which leads the cell back towards a normal state. On the other hand, when heme
levels are low, Rev-erb? activity is low, and this permits the cell to make more heme,
again leading back toward a normal state. Maintaining this stasis allows energy metabolism
to occur but avoids harm to the cell due to excessive levels of heme.
Science and media disconnect? Maybe
not, says a new study
The prevailing wisdom among many scientists and scientific organizations is that, as a
rule, scientists are press shy, and those who aren't are mavericks. However, a new study
by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers, published in the current issue (summer
2009) of Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, suggests otherwise. The study,
conducted by journalism professor Sharon Dunwoody, life sciences communication professor
Dominique Brossard and graduate student Anthony Dudo, provides evidence that many
mainstream scientists occasionally work with journalists and some do so routinely. And the
interplay between scientists and journalists, say Brossard and Dunwoody, has been
remarkably stable since the 1980s. "By and large, scientists speak to journalists,
they know it is important and they're willing to do it again," Dunwoody says.
"The frequency with which scientists and journalists interact has been pretty stable
over time." The findings, extracted from a survey of 1,200 researchers in the areas
of epidemiology and stem cell research, two fields that experience extensive news media
attention, contradict the widespread view in science that scientists are out of touch.
"We found relatively frequent interactions," says Brossard, explaining that
about one-third of the respondents claimed to have had up to five contacts with
journalists during a three-year period, while another third of the sample said they
experienced more than six contacts with reporters over three years. Only one-third of
respondents reported having no contacts with journalists. "The frequencies are
definitely encouraging," adds Brossard.
Lead in bone associated with
increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease in men
Growing evidence shows that exposure to lead in the environment is associated with
cardiovascular disease, including increased risk of hypertension. However, those studies
have looked at lead concentrations in blood, not bone lead, a better indicator of
cumulative lead exposure over time. In a new study, researchers at the Harvard School of
Public Health (HSPH) and the University of Michigan School of Public Health found that
bone lead was associated with a higher risk of death from all causes, particularly from
cardiovascular disease. It is the first study to analyze the association between bone lead
and mortality. The study appears online on September 8, 2009, on the website of the
journal Circulation and will appear in a later print edition. "The findings with bone
lead are dramatic. It is the first time we have had a biomarker of cumulative exposure to
lead and the strong findings suggest that, even in an era when current exposures are low,
past exposures to lead represent an important predictor of cardiovascular death, with
important public health implications worldwide," said Marc Weisskopf, assistant
professor of environmental and occupational epidemiology at HSPH and lead author of the
study. Air pollution was the main source of lead in the environment in recent years,
though it has been decreasing since leaded gasoline was banned in the U.S. in the
mid-1990s. Most of the lead circulating in the body is deposited in bone and remains there
for years, unlike blood lead, which has a half life of about 30 days. Since adverse
effects from lead on the cardiovascular system would be expected to show up over time, the
researchers expected that bone lead would be a better marker of chronic toxicity.
Link Found Between Common Sexual
Infection and Risk of Aggressive Prostate Cancer
A new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and Brigham and Women's Hospital
researchers has found a strong association between the common sexually transmitted
infection, Trichomonas vaginalis, and risk of advanced and lethal prostate cancer in men.
The study appears online on September 9, 2009, on the Journal of the National Cancer
Institute website and will appear in a later print edition. "Prostate cancer is the
most common cancer among men in western countries, and the second leading cause of
cancer-specific mortality. Identifying modifiable risk factors for the lethal form of
prostate cancer offers the greatest opportunity to reduce suffering from this
disease," said Jennifer Stark, an HSPH researcher and lead author of the study. One
potential risk factor is inflammation, which appears to play an important role in the
development and progression of prostate cancer, but the source of inflammation of the
prostate is not clear. Trichomonas vaginalis, which infects an estimated 174 million
people globally each year and is the most common non-viral sexually transmitted infection,
can infect the prostate and could be a source of inflammation. With respect to prostate
cancer prevention, it is noteworthy that up to three-quarters of men infected with
Trichomonas vaginalis may not realize they are infected, since they may not have any
symptoms. A previous study had found an association between risk of prostate cancer and
Trichomonas vaginalis infection, but was not large enough to determine if there was a link
between the infection and advanced and lethal disease. In the present study, the
researchers analyzed blood samples from 673 men with prostate cancer who were participants
in the Physicians' Health Study and compared infection status based on antibody levels to
673 control subjects who were not diagnosed with prostate cancer. The blood samples were
collected in 1982, on average a decade before cancer diagnosis.
Mayo Clinic identifies 2 genes as
potential therapeutic targets for multiple sclerosis
A Mayo Clinic study has found that two genes in mice were associated with good central
nervous system repair in multiple sclerosis (MS). These findings give researchers new hope
for developing more effective therapies for patients with MS and for predicting MS
patients' outcomes. This study will be presented at the Congress of the European Committee
for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis in Dusseldorf, Germany, on Sept. 11,
2009. "Most MS genetic studies have looked at disease susceptibility -- or why some
people get MS and others do not," says Allan Bieber, Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic
neuroscientist and author of this study. "This study asked, among those who have MS,
why do some do well with the disease while others do poorly, and what might be the genetic
determinants of this difference in outcome." Mayo Clinic provides care for nearly
2,500 patients with MS each year. MS is a disease of the central nervous system that
includes the brain, spinal cord and nerves. MS is called a demyelinating disease because
it results from damage to myelin, the insulating covering of nerves. It occurs most
commonly in those between the ages of 20 and 40, and is the most frequent neurological
disorder in young adults in North America and Europe. Approximately 330,000 people in the
United States have MS. Symptoms include loss of muscle coordination, strength, vision,
balance and cognition. Dr. Bieber and a team of Mayo Clinic researchers used two different
strains of mice with a chronic, progressive MS-like disease. One strain progressed to
paralysis and death. The other underwent the initial damage induction phase of the disease
and then spontaneously repaired the damage to the central nervous system and retained most
neurologic function. Using the powerful genetic mapping techniques that are available for
mice, the team mapped two strong genetic determinants of good disease outcome. "It's
possible that the identification of these genes may provide the first important clue as to
why some patients with MS do well, while others do not," says Dr. Bieber. "The
genetic data indicates that good central nervous system repair results from stimulation of
one genetic pathway and inhibition of another genetic pathway. While we're still in the
early stages of this research, it could eventually lead to the development of useful
therapies that stimulate or inhibit these genetic pathways in patients with MS."
Instanyl sets new standard in
management of breakthrough cancer pain
New data presented today further demonstrate the efficacy of Instanyl in management of
breakthrough cancer pain. The data which were presented at the 6th congress of the
European Federation of Chapters of the International Association for the Study of Pain
(EFIC) are from a multinational, crossover trial comparing Instanyl with oral transmucosal
fentanyl citrate (OTFC) for the treatment of breakthrough pain in patients with cancer.
The study concludes that pain relief was significantly greater for Instanyl compared to
OTFC at all time points - 25% of episodes showed meaningful pain relief already at 5
minutes after treatment with Instanyl, as compared to 7% with OTFC. (p<0.001) (1) 51% of the Instanyl treated patients had a meaningful pain relief at 10 minutes, as compared to 24% with OTFC. (p<0.001) (1)"These data confirm the superiority of the intranasal drug administration over OTFC. Rapid pain relief is essential for the management of breakthrough cancer pain and with evidence of onset of pain relief as early as 5 minutes, Instanyl offers patients a much more effective pain control than OTFC," said Professor Sebastiano Mercadante, principal investigator of the comparative study and Director of the Anesthesia and Intensive Care and Pain Relief and Palliative Care Units at La Maddalena Cancer Center, Palermo, Italy.The study also showed that patients found Instanyl significantly easier to administer than OTFC, with 90% of patients finding Instanyl 'easy' or 'very easy' to use, compared to 40% of OTFC patients (2). Instanyl is the first intranasal treatment for breakthrough cancer pain to be licensed and the study showed that 77% of patients preferred Instanyl to OTFC (2). "With a preference for Instanyl more than three-fold higher compared to OTFC the study confirms that with Instanyl patients now have a treatment that they feel better matches their need," said Professor Mercadante and concluded: "Instanyl represents a major step forward in the management of breakthrough cancer pain."
First results from major European
patient survey show devastating impact of living with breakthrough cancer pain
The first results of the first European survey of cancer patients’ experience of
breakthrough pain were presented today at the 6th congress of the European Federation of
Chapters of the International Association for the Study of Pain (EFIC). Previous surveys
have looked at the overall management of pain in cancer patients but this is the first
international study to look in detail at Breakthrough Cancer Pain (BTCP) from a patient
perspective. These results for the first 200 patients from the UK, Sweden and Denmark
offer valuable insight into cancer patients’ experiences with breakthrough pain
management and the impact of the condition on their daily lives.
Carbon nanotubes could make
efficient solar cells
Using a carbon nanotube instead of traditional silicon, Cornell researchers have created
the basic elements of a solar cell that hopefully will lead to much more efficient ways of
converting light to electricity than now used in calculators and on rooftops. The
researchers fabricated, tested and measured a simple solar cell called a photodiode,
formed from an individual carbon nanotube. Reported online Sept. 11 in the journal
Science, the researchers -- led by Paul McEuen, the Goldwin Smith Professor of Physics,
and Jiwoong Park, assistant professor of chemistry and chemical biology -- describe how
their device converts light to electricity in an extremely efficient process that
multiplies the amount of electrical current that flows. This process could prove important
for next-generation high efficiency solar cells, the researchers say.
Sleep helps reduce errors in
memory, MSU research suggests
Sleep may reduce mistakes in memory, according to a first-of-its-kind study led by a
cognitive neuroscientist at Michigan State University. The findings, which appear in the
September issue of the journal Learning & Memory, have practical implications for
everyone from students flubbing multiple choice tests to senior citizens confusing their
medications, said Kimberly Fenn, principal investigator and MSU assistant professor of
psychology. “It’s easy to muddle things in your mind,” Fenn said.
“This research suggests that after sleep you’re better able to tease apart the
incorrect aspect of that memory.” Fenn and colleagues from the University of Chicago
and Washington University in St. Louis studied the presence of false memory in groups of
college students. While previous research has shown that sleep improves memory, this study
is the first to address errors in memory, she said. Study participants were exposed to
lists of words and then, 12 hours later, exposed to individual words and asked to identify
which words they had seen or heard in the earlier session. One group of students was
trained in the morning (10 a.m.) and tested after the course of a normal sleepless day (10
p.m.), while another group was trained at night and tested 12 hours later in the morning,
after at least six hours of sleep. Three experiments were conducted, using different
stimuli. In each, the students who had slept had fewer problems with false memory –
choosing fewer incorrect words.
Weizmann Institute Scientists
Discover A New Protein Partnership That Leads to Pediatric Tumor Regression
Why are some pediatric cancers able to spontaneously regress? Prof. Michael Fainzilber and
his team of the Weizmann Institute’s Biological Chemistry Department seem to have
unexpectedly found part of the answer. Further research towards a better understanding of
the mechanism of action might hopefully lead, in the future, to the development of drugs
that will be able to induce regression of certain tumors. TrkA is a particular cell
receptor well known for its “pro-life advocacies”: When nerve growth factor
proteins bind to TrkA receptors, it activates the receptors into promoting the growth and
survival of neurons. So when Fainzilber, together with Ph.D. student Liraz Harel,
postdoctoral student Dr. Barbara Costa, technician Zehava Levy, and former Ph.D. student
Dr. Marianna Tcherpakov, carried out screening tests to identify other molecules involved
in this signaling cascade, it took them by surprise to learn that TrkA may not be who it
seems. They found that if TrkA teams up with another molecule called CCM2 – the
newly-identified player in this signaling cascade – they become “partners in
crime,” with TrkA turning into a cell killer!
