The malaria parasite is particularly pernicious since it is built to develop resistance to treatments. The lack of new therapeutic approaches also contributes to the persistence of this global scourge. A study led by Didier Picard, professor at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, describes a new class of molecules targeting the two problems at the same time. Using ultra sophisticated computerised modelling tools, the researchers were successful in identifying a type of candidate molecules toxic for the pathogen, but not for the infected ...

Rosemont, Ill – Annually, more than 10 million people experience back pain in the United States. More than 200,000 of these patients undergo surgery to alleviate pain due to a herniated disc. Surgery to remove the disc has been found to be an effective way to improve these patients' quality of life in cases where conservative treatment is ineffective, but until now, little was known about the societal benefits of surgery and workplace productivity in particular. A new study uncovered that the estimated average annual earnings of working patients who undergo surgery are ...

NEW ORLEANS─The number of total knee replacement (TKR) procedures continues to climb, as does the number of revision total knee replacement (RTKR) surgeries. In the study, "The Epidemiology of Revision Total Knee Arthroplasty in the United States," presented today at the 2014 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), researchers used the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) to evaluate the cause of knee failure for 301,718 revision RTKR surgeries performed between 2005 and 2010. Revision surgeries were more common in women (58 percent) ...

Blacksmiths and metallurgists in the West have been puzzled for centuries as to how the unique patterns on the famous Damascus steel blades were formed. Different mechanisms for the formation of the patterns and many methods for making the swords have been suggested and attempted, but none has produced blades with patterns matching those of the Damascus swords in the museums. The debate over the mechanism of formation of the Damascus patterns is still ongoing today. Using modern metallurgical computational software (Thermo-Calc, Stockholm, Sweden), Professor Haiwen Luo ...

A patient with a rare metabolic disease that causes liver failure and autistic behavior experienced significant improvements in both her physical and mental health after receiving a liver transplant, according to a new case report published in the American Journal of Transplantation. The report's findings suggest an unexpected link between metabolic conditions and some forms of autism, and they point to the importance of a healthy liver for normal brain function. Lathosterolosis, a rare disease caused by a defect in cholesterol synthesis, is characterized by multiple congenital ...

Poisoning of dingoes - the top predators in the Australian bush - has a deleterious effect on small native mammals such as marsupial mice, bandicoots and native rodents, a UNSW-led study shows. The research, in forested National Parks in NSW, found that loss of dingoes after baiting is associated with greater activity by foxes, which prey on small marsupials and native rodents. As well, the number of kangaroos and wallabies increases when dingoes, also known as wild dogs, disappear. Grazing by these herbivores reduces the density of the understorey vegetation in which ...

A study by researchers in Nottingham has developed a new clinical test for breast cancer which aims to improve patient treatment. The Nottingham Prognostic Index Plus (NPI+) could be available to patients within two years. The findings, published in the British Journal of Cancer today, could significantly improve the way in which breast cancer patients are treated by giving clinicians more detailed information about a patient's breast cancer type and its likely behaviour, which will help them create a more personalised treatment plan. The research, funded by the Medical ...

Imagine going to the doctor with an infection and being sent home with a course of drugs. Unknown to your doctor you actually have two infections. If you take the drugs will the other infection go away by itself? What if you take the drugs and the other infection gets worse? This quandary faces those treating patients with multiple infections. A new study led by former University of Sheffield PhD student Dr Emily Griffiths, in collaboration with the universities of Edinburgh, Liverpool and Zürich, has taken a novel approach to understanding this problem, shedding light ...

Writing on bmj.com, Katherine Brown, Director at the Institute of Alcohol Studies, says the UK chancellor should resist industry lobbying to scrap the annual rise in alcohol duty because "society simply can't afford for such cheap drink to get cheaper." The duty escalator has been in place since 2008 to ensure that the price of alcohol rises at 2% above inflation. But a campaign by the wine and spirits industry is calling on the Chancellor to "Be Fair George!" and scrap the duty escalator for all alcohol in this year's budget. Last year, following a similar campaign ...

Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes and may have long lasting effects in offspring. In England, 26% of women smoke in the year before their pregnancy and 12% smoke through to delivery. The rate is similar or even higher in other high income countries. Guidelines suggest adding nicotine replacement therapies (NRT) to behavioural smoking cessation support in pregnant smokers because of their excellent safety profile and proved effectiveness in other groups of smokers. However, there is a lack of good quality evidence on ...

Implementation of community-based interventions alone is unlikely to be effective for reducing most alcohol-related harms and risky alcohol consumption, according to a study by Australian researchers published in this week's PLOS Medicine. Anthony Shakeshaft and colleagues from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at UNSW (University of New South Wales), report that alcohol-related crime, road-traffic crashes, and hospital inpatient admissions did not differ between communities that did and did not implement community-based interventions. The researchers reached ...

A unique method to collect rain water samples during Hurricane Sandy has revealed the storm's chemical "signature" with a new level of detail. The technique may also lead to weather model advances that will ultimately improve storm prediction, say researchers at the University of Utah whose study was published online today in PLOS ONE. Hurricane Sandy, also known as Superstorm Sandy, was the deadliest and most destructive hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, according to government sources. Damage estimates exceed $65 billion and nearly 300 people perished ...

Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed the equivalent of GPS directions for future plant scientists to understand how plants adapt to the environment and to improve plants' productivity and biofuel potential. Two articles published March 11 in The Plant Cell offer a step-by-step approach for studying plant traits, drawing on comprehensive, quantitative research on lignin formation in black cottonwood. Lignin, an important and complex polymer responsible for plant growth and development, provides mechanical strength and water transport that enables ...

CINCINNATI—Cincinnati Cancer Center (CCC) and University of Cincinnati (UC) Cancer Institute researchers have found in a phase-1 study that patients with advanced melanoma and kidney cancer who were treated with a certain antibody that targets a tumor-enhancing protein was safe, which could lead to more treatment options for patients. The study is published in the March 11 edition of PLOS ONE, a peer-reviewed, open access online publication. Principal Investigator John Morris, MD, clinical co-leader of the Molecular Therapeutics and Diagnosis Program for the CCC, co-leader ...

In an exploratory study involving 12 adults, the use of whole-genome sequencing (WGS) was associated with incomplete coverage of inherited-disease genes, low reproducibility of detection of genetic variation with the highest potential clinical effects, and uncertainty about clinically reportable findings, although in certain cases WGS will identify genetic variants warranting early medical intervention, according to a study in the March 12 issue of JAMA. As technical barriers to human DNA sequencing decrease and costs approach $1,000, whole-genome sequencing (WGS) is ...

During a one year period, among clinical trials published in high-impact journals that reported results on a public clinical trial registry (ClinicalTrials.gov), nearly all had at least 1 discrepancy in the study group, intervention, or results reported between the 2 sources, including discrepancies in the designated primary end points for the studies, according to a study in the March 12 issue of JAMA. The 2007 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Amendments Act expanded requirements for ClinicalTrials.gov, mandating results reporting within 12 months of trial completion ...

For women undergoing surgery for vaginal prolapse and stress urinary incontinence, neither of 2 common repair procedures was superior to the other for functional or adverse event outcomes, and behavioral therapy with pelvic muscle training did not improve urinary symptoms or prolapse outcomes after surgery, according to a study in the March 12 issue of JAMA. Pelvic organ prolapse (protrusion) occurs when the uterus descends into the lower vagina or vaginal walls protrude beyond the vaginal opening, and can occur as a result of childbirth. Approximately 300,000 surgeries ...

An analysis of research on peer review finds that studies aimed at improving methods of peer review and reporting of biomedical research are underrepresented and lack dedicated funding, according to a study in the March 12 issue of JAMA. Mario Malicki, M.D., M.A., of the University of Split School of Medicine, Split, Croatia, and colleagues analyzed research presented at the International Congress on Peer Review and Biomedical Publication (PRC) since 1989. The first PRC was organized to "subject the editorial review process to some of the rigorous scrutiny that editors ...

Approximately 25 percent of about 1,000 randomized clinical trials initiated between 2000 and 2003 were discontinued, with the most common reason cited being poor recruitment of volunteers; and less than half of these trials reported the discontinuation to a research ethics committee, or were ever published, according to a study in the March 12 issue of JAMA. Conducting high-quality randomized clinical trials (RCTs) is challenging and resource-demanding. Trials are often not conducted as planned or are prematurely discontinued, which poses ethical concerns, particularly ...

Two surgical treatments for a form of pelvic hernia affecting women have similar rates of success and safety, scientists in a National Institutes of Health research network have found. A guided exercise therapy to strengthen pelvic muscles did not add to the benefits of either surgery. The surgical procedures and exercise therapy are used to treat pelvic organ prolapse, an often uncomfortable and sometimes painful weakening of the pelvic organs that may affect women in the years after childbirth. Previous network research suggests that about 3 percent of U.S. women will ...

MAYWOOD – Two common procedures to treat pelvic organ prolapse without vaginal mesh are comparable in safety and efficacy, according to research published in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers also found that behavioral and pelvic floor muscle therapy (BPMT) did not improve urinary incontinence or prolapse symptoms in affected women. Pelvic organ prolapse occurs when the uterus and/or vaginal walls protrude outside of the body. Up to 73 percent of these women report other pelvic floor disorders such as incontinence. More ...

STANFORD, Calif. — Whole-genome sequencing has been touted as a game-changer in personalized medicine. Clinicians can identify increases in disease risk for specific patients, as well as their responsiveness to certain drugs, by determining the sequence of the billions of building blocks, called nucleotides, that make up their DNA. Now, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered that although life-changing discoveries can be made, significant challenges must be overcome before whole-genome sequencing can be routinely clinically useful. In ...

Two UT Arlington management professors argue that employers can prevent workplace violence by keeping dangerous employees positively engaged and closely supervising them to ensure they get the help they need. James Campbell Quick and M. Ann McFadyen of the College of Business management department analyzed FBI reports, case studies and human resource records to focus on the estimated 1 to 3 percent of employees prone to workplace acts of aggression, such as homicide, suicide or destruction of property. The team advances the case for "mindfully observing" employees and ...

A new NASA study shows Earth's climate likely will continue to warm during this century on track with previous estimates, despite the recent slowdown in the rate of global warming. This research hinges on a new and more detailed calculation of the sensitivity of Earth's climate to the factors that cause it to change, such as greenhouse gas emissions. Drew Shindell, a climatologist at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, found Earth is likely to experience roughly 20 percent more warming than estimates that were largely based on surface temperature observations ...

VIDEO: This video demonstrates the difference in how sound waves act with and without the acoustic cloak in their path. The red and blue lines represent the high and low points... Click here for more information. DURHAM, N.C. -- Using little more than a few perforated sheets of plastic and a staggering amount of number crunching, Duke engineers have demonstrated the world's first three-dimensional acoustic cloak. The new device reroutes sound waves to create the impression that ...