PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Tick by tick

2013-08-20
(Press-News.org) When University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston researchers set out to study Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus, they faced a daunting challenge.

The deadly virus requires biosafety level 4 containment, and it's carried by ticks. That meant that if scientists wanted to study the transmission of the virus, they had to do something that had never been done before: find a way to work safely with the tiny, tough bugs in a maximum containment "spacesuit lab."

"It was completely new territory for us," said UTMB assistant professor Dennis Bente, senior author of a paper describing the BSL4 tick work in Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology. "Ticks are very small, and in the BSL4 you have two pairs of gloves on, you have this bulky suit, you have the plastic visor—all these things are a huge handicap. So how do you make sure you contain them?"

The answer: step by painstaking step. Bente and his collaborators first attached small "feeding capsules" onto mice, and then placed ticks of a species that carries Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus into the capsules. Unlike mosquitoes that feed quickly and fly off, most ticks attach and feed slowly over the course of several days. Once the ticks were attached and began feeding, they and the mice were moved into a room in the Galveston National Laboratory BSL4 set aside for tick research.

There, in a sealed glove box lined with sticky tape to capture any ticks attempting to escape, the mice were inoculated with Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus. The feeding-capsule enclosed ticks, each of which, tick by tick, was individually accounted for at every stage of the experiment, then acquired the virus when they fed on the infected mice.

"We did hours upon hours of testing to get this system working," Bente said. "We tested different types of sticky tape to determine the one that best inhibited the ticks' mobility, we tried different gloves, we tested the work flow, we checked to see how long a tick could last if you submerge it in disinfectant." (The answer: more than 24 hours)

The result, Bente said, is a tool that will give researchers a crucial window into a virtually unknown aspect of one of the world's most widely distributed hemorrhagic fever viruses— a pathogen responsible for outbreaks from Greece to India to South Africa. "Ticks play such a vital role in the epidemiology of the disease — they're not only the vector but they are also the reservoir for the virus, yet nobody really knows what's happening to the virus in the ticks, because there's been no way to study it in the laboratory," Bente said. "Now we can look at the complete transmission cycle in a controlled setting, examining how the virus is passed from infected animal to the uninfected tick, and from the infected tick to the uninfected animal. That's something that people studying this in the field haven't been able to do before now."

Among other things, the new system will enable the researchers to study the virus' transmission by a variety of tick species. On the list are North American ticks, to investigate the possibility that Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus, like West Nile virus, could be introduced into the United States.

### Other authors of the Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology paper include visiting scientist Aysen Gargili and assistant professor Saravanan Thangamani. This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense, National Biocontainment Training Center grant.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Brain network decay detected in early Alzheimer's

2013-08-20
In patients with early Alzheimer's disease, disruptions in brain networks emerge about the same time as chemical markers of the disease appear in the spinal fluid, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown. While two chemical markers in the spinal fluid are regarded as reliable indicators of early disease, the new study, published in JAMA Neurology, is among the first to show that scans of brain networks may be an equally effective and less invasive way to detect early disease. "Tracking damage to these brain networks may also help ...

UNH research: Post-run ice baths not beneficial for strength, soreness

2013-08-20
DURHAM, N.H. – Dunking in a tub of ice water after exercise – a surprisingly popular post-workout regimen used by athletes to reduce inflammation and speed recovery – is time consuming and bone-achingly painful. New research from the University of New Hampshire finds that it may not be effective, either. In a study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology, researchers report that research subjects who engaged in post-exercise cryotheraphy, or ice baths, showed no mitigation of post-exercise strength loss or decreased soreness compared to a control group. "It ...

Tel Aviv University archaeologists find massive fortifications from the Iron Age

2013-08-20
Researchers from Tel Aviv University have unearthed the remains of massive ancient fortifications built around an Iron-Age Assyrian harbor in present-day Israel. At the heart of the well-preserved fortifications is a mud-brick wall up to more than 12 feet wide and 15 feet high. The wall is covered in layers of mud and sand that stretch for hundreds of feet on either side. When they were built in the eighth century B.C.E., the fortifications formed a daunting crescent-shaped defense for an inland area covering more than 17 acres. The finding comes at the end of the first ...

Molten magma can survive in upper crust for hundreds of millennia

2013-08-20
Reservoirs of silica-rich magma – the kind that causes the most explosive volcanic eruptions – can persist in Earth's upper crust for hundreds of thousands of years without triggering an eruption, according to new University of Washington modeling research. That means an area known to have experienced a massive volcanic eruption in the past, such as Yellowstone National Park, could have a large pool of magma festering beneath it and still not be close to going off as it did 600,000 years ago. "You might expect to see a stewing magma chamber for a long period of time ...

Wildfires persist in California

2013-08-20
Several fires are currently raging in central and northern California. These fires can be seen in this natural-color Terra satellite image taken by the MODIS instrument on August 18, 2013. The American wildfire began August 10, 2013 and the cause of the fire is still under investigation. To date over 13,000 acres have been affected. The growth potential for this fire is high due to terrain and weather patterns. Thunderstorms predicted over the next few days may bring additional complexity and increase the potential for new starts. The National Weather Service has ...

New research reveals long-term benefits of emergency safe spaces for children

2013-08-20
Spaces built to keep children safe after an emergency or conflict can also help them recover from trauma, new Columbia University and World Vision research launched today shows. The research, conducted with the support of UNICEF, measured the impact of Child Friendly Spaces (CFS) on Congolese children who have fled fighting and sought refuge in western Uganda. The publication reveals the spaces were widely used; 73 percent of children in the Rwamwanja camp attended them at some stage. "We use Child Friendly Spaces (CFS) to support and protect children, give them somewhere ...

Fighting obesity with apps and websites

2013-08-20
DURHAM, N.C. -- A pending component of health care reform would require restaurants and vending machines to list calorie information on menus to help fight obesity. But there's little evidence to date that it's an effective way to prevent overeating. A new Duke University study suggests a better approach might be for restaurants to expand and improve calorie listings on their websites and mobile apps, so customers can come better prepared to order a healthier menu item. "If consumers wait until they enter restaurants to make purchasing decisions, it might be too ...

High BPA levels in children associated with higher risk of obesity and abnormal waist circumference

2013-08-20
Ann Arbor, Mich. — Children who have higher levels of Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical previously used in many products for kids, like baby bottle and plastic toys, had a higher odds of obesity and adverse levels of body fat, according to a new study from University of Michigan researchers. The U-M team studied the levels of BPA found in children's urine and then measured body fat, waist circumference, and cardiovascular and diabetes risk factors, in a study published today in Pediatrics. BPA was previously widely used in the manufacturing of polycarbonate and epoxy ...

Sea levels, Kea vs. Loa volcanoes, Sierra Nevada faulting, and carbonado diamond features

2013-08-20
Boulder, Colo., USA – Six new Gesophere articles, posted online on 14 Aug. 2013, offer insight into a variety of geologic problems, from the minute to the massive. Authors investigate inclusion and porosity patterns in a 23-carat carbonado diamond; sea-level change offshore of New Jersey (USA); a new age for Sierra Nevada faulting; a reconstruction of the dimensions and shape of the Great Basin over the past 500 million years; and deep-water perspectives on Hawaiian volcano growth. Abstracts for these and other Geosphere papers are available at http://geosphere.gsapubs.org/. ...

Novel Chinese herbal medicine JSK improves spinal cord injury outcomes in rats

2013-08-20
Amsterdam, NL, August 19, 2013 – A new study published in Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience demonstrates that Chinese herbal medicine Ji-Sui-Kang (JSK), given systemically for three weeks after injury in rats, improved locomotor function, reduced tissue damage, and preserved the structure of neural cells compared to control rats. The report also includes data showing that JSK may first act to reduce inflammation and cell apoptosis and death, and boost local oxygen supply while, later on, it appears to restore function and promote tissue regeneration. Although Chinese ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Pink skies

Monkeys are world’s best yodellers - new research

Key differences between visual- and memory-led Alzheimer’s discovered

% weight loss targets in obesity management – is this the wrong objective?

An app can change how you see yourself at work

NYC speed cameras take six months to change driver behavior, effects vary by neighborhood, new study reveals

New research shows that propaganda is on the rise in China

Even the richest Americans face shorter lifespans than their European counterparts, study finds

Novel genes linked to rare childhood diarrhea

New computer model reveals how Bronze Age Scandinavians could have crossed the sea

Novel point-of-care technology delivers accurate HIV results in minutes

Researchers reveal key brain differences to explain why Ritalin helps improve focus in some more than others

Study finds nearly five-fold increase in hospitalizations for common cause of stroke

Study reveals how alcohol abuse damages cognition

Medicinal cannabis is linked to long-term benefits in health-related quality of life

Microplastics detected in cat placentas and fetuses during early pregnancy

Ancient amphibians as big as alligators died in mass mortality event in Triassic Wyoming

Scientists uncover the first clear evidence of air sacs in the fossilized bones of alvarezsaurian dinosaurs: the "hollow bones" which help modern day birds to fly

Alcohol makes male flies sexy

TB patients globally often incur "catastrophic costs" of up to $11,329 USD, despite many countries offering free treatment, with predominant drivers of cost being hospitalization and loss of income

Study links teen girls’ screen time to sleep disruptions and depression

Scientists unveil starfish-inspired wearable tech for heart monitoring

Footprints reveal prehistoric Scottish lagoons were stomping grounds for giant Jurassic dinosaurs

AI effectively predicts dementia risk in American Indian/Alaska Native elders

First guideline on newborn screening for cystic fibrosis calls for changes in practice to improve outcomes

Existing international law can help secure peace and security in outer space, study shows

Pinning down the process of West Nile virus transmission

UTA-backed research tackles health challenges across ages

In pancreatic cancer, a race against time

Targeting FGFR2 may prevent or delay some KRAS-mutated pancreatic cancers

[Press-News.org] Tick by tick