Highlights Six months of steroid treatment in children with nephrotic syndrome did not reduce relapse rates or side effects compared with three months of treatment. Because many children with nephrotic syndrome face frequent relapses, future research should focus on preventing relapses through new treatment strategies. Nephrotic syndrome has an estimated incidence of two to seven cases per 100,000 children and a prevalence of nearly 16 cases per 100,000. Washington, DC (December 20, 2012) — Extending steroid treatment for the most common form of kidney disease ...

Highlights Retention of certain compounds that are normally excreted by the kidneys may cause insulin resistance, or prediabetes, in kidney disease patients. When mice with kidney disease were treated with a prebiotic that reduces blood levels of these compounds, insulin resistance and lipid abnormalities were prevented. Washington, DC (December 20, 2012) —Insulin resistance, or prediabetes, in individuals with kidney disease may be caused by the progressive retention of certain compounds that are normally excreted by the kidneys in healthy individuals, ...

The observation of an elusive sub-atomic particle, known as the Higgs boson, has been heralded by the journal Science as the most important scientific discovery of 2012. This particle, which was first hypothesized more than 40 years ago, holds the key to explaining how other elementary particles (those that aren't made up of smaller particles), such as electrons and quarks, get their mass. In addition to recognizing the detection of this particle as the 2012 Breakthrough of the Year, Science and its international nonprofit publisher, AAAS, have identified nine other ...

Until today, Alfred Russell Wallace's century old map from 1876 has been the backbone for our understanding of global biodiversity. Thanks to advances in modern technology and data on more than 20,000 species, scientists from University of Copenhagen have now produced a next generation map depicting the organisation of life on Earth. Published online in Science Express today, the new map provides fundamental information regarding the diversity of life on our planet and is of major significance for future biodiversity research. An essential question in understanding life ...

PASADENA, Calif.—Protein engineers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have tapped into a hidden talent of one of nature's most versatile catalysts. The enzyme cytochrome P450 is nature's premier oxidation catalyst—a protein that typically promotes reactions that add oxygen atoms to other chemicals. Now the Caltech researchers have engineered new versions of the enzyme, unlocking its ability to drive a completely different and synthetically useful reaction that does not take place in nature. The new biocatalysts can be used to make natural products—such ...

AMHERST, Mass. – Malaria brings misery and death to millions in the developing world each year, and fighting it keeps medical researchers up at night because the mosquito-borne parasite Plasmodium falciparum, which causes the deadliest form of the disease, has developed resistance to every drug thrown at it. Resistance has cut short the useful life of nearly every therapy tried so far, experts say. But now molecular parasitologist Stephen Rich at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has led a research team who report a promising new low-cost combined therapy with a ...

Johns Hopkins researchers have developed a new way of looking at standard MRI scans that more accurately measures damage to the blood-brain barrier in stroke victims, a process they hope will lead to safer, more individualized treatment of blood clots in the brain and better outcomes. The blood-brain barrier is a unique shielding of blood vessels that limits the passage of molecules from the blood stream into the brain. Without it, the brain is open to infection, inflammation and hemorrhage. Ischemic stroke patients are at risk of bleeding into the brain when there is ...

One third of the world is infected with the bacterium that causes tuberculosis (TB), a disease that is increasingly difficult to treat because of wide spread resistance to available drugs. Researchers from the Institute of Pharmacology and Structural Biology (CNRS, Université de Toulouse) in Toulouse (France) have identified a fresh target to develop new drugs for TB. The study, published in the Open Access journal PLOS Pathogens, shows why the target will be important in developing new TB treatments. The deadliest form of human tuberculosis is caused by Mycobacterium ...

The pain relief offered by cannabis varies greatly between individuals, a brain imaging study carried out at the University of Oxford suggests. The researchers found that an oral tablet of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, tended to make the experience of pain more bearable, rather than actually reduce the intensity of the pain. MRI brain imaging showed reduced activity in key areas of the brain that substantiated the pain relief the study participants experienced. 'We have revealed new information about the neural basis of cannabis-induced pain relief,' ...

Over recent years, hospital-acquired Clostridium difficile infections have been a significant problem in UK hospitals and globally. There have been concerns that infections may be due to transmission between symptomatic patients, either directly, or indirectly via hospital staff; these concerns were strengthened when enhanced infection control was introduced in England in 2007, and the incidence of C. difficile infection declined. A recent study published in the open access journal Genome Biology, published by BioMed Central, took a genomics approach to assess the incidence ...

A study into newborn screening for fragile X syndrome (FXS) demonstrates that testing for mutations in the gene FMR1 can be done on a large scale. The research, published in BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Medicine, shows that the number of carrier babies who carry the form of the gene known as the "premutation" is higher than previously estimated. Three large hospitals in the USA participated in this study, testing more than 14,000 newborns, including children of different ethnic backgrounds. While only one child was identified with the full mutation, the ...

Relatives of family members diagnosed with cancer are still at risk of the disease even if the diagnosis came at an older age, suggests a paper published on bmj.com today. It is known that early onset cancer cases carry more hereditary risk than late onset cases, but little is known about whether any familial component exists in cancer at a very old age. Researchers from the German Cancer Research Centre and Lund University in Sweden therefore took data from the Swedish Family-Cancer Database (the largest one of its kind) on just under eight million offspring and their ...

The study, published in PLOS Genetics on 20 December, adds to growing evidence that particular genes are involved in chronic pain and highlights this pathway as a potential target for more effective pain relief treatments for patients. The collaborative study between King's, Pfizer Ltd and the Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI), used a new method to study and compare DNA, called 'exome sequencing', to identify genetic variations relating to pain sensitivity. Lead author Dr Frances Williams, from the Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology at King's College ...

Worcester, Mass. – In the worldwide battle to curtail malaria, one of the most prevalent and deadly infectious diseases of the developing world, drug after drug has fallen by the wayside as the malaria parasite has become resistant to it. Only artemisinin, derived from the sweet wormwood plant, Artemisia annua, remains as an effective treatment, but it is expensive to produce (particularly when combined with other antimalarial medications to make it less prone to resistance) and is frequently in short supply. A new study by scientists at Worcester Polytechnic Institute ...

A single genetic defect on the X chromosome that can result in a wide array of conditions — from learning and emotional difficulties to primary ovarian insufficiency in women and tremors in middle-aged men — occurs at a much greater frequency than previously thought, research led by the UC Davis MIND Institute has found. The research is based on the first large-scale, multi-center newborn screening effort for the defect in the United States, conducted in a group of more than 14,200 male and female infants at three research university medical centers piloting a new infant ...

December 20, 2012, Shenzhen, China – An international team, comprised King's College London, Pfizer, BGI and other organizations, has explored the genetic variation related with pain sensitivity in the normal population, revealing some existing discovery that treatments for high blood pressure may also be used to treat chronic pain in the future. The latest study was published online in the international journal PLoS Genetics. When the pain lasts a long time for six months or longer, it generally called chronic pain, one of the most costly health problems. Chronic pain ...

December 20, 2012, Shenzhen, China – BGI today announces the online publication in Science of the latest findings through genomic analysis of two distantly related bat species, the Black flying fox (Pteropus alecto) and David's Myotis (Myotis davidii). The work here provides new insight into the genetic mechanisms underlying the evolution of flight and immunity of bats, and also opens the way for addressing major gaps into understanding of bat biology and provides new directions for future research. Bats are often characterized as creepy, disease-carrying, and even blood-sucking ...

Boston – More than 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain. But treating and studying chronic pain is complex and presents many challenges. Scientists have long searched for a method to objectively measure pain and a new study from Brigham and Women's Hospital advances that effort. The study appears in the January 2013 print edition of the journal Pain. "While we need to be cautious in the interpretation of our results, this has the potential to be an exciting discovery for anyone who suffers from chronic pain," said Marco Loggia, PhD, the lead author of the ...

On April 22, 2012 a very fast-moving fireball was observed over large parts of California and Nevada. Equivalent to four kilotons of TNT, the fireball was photographed, and recorded by video and by weather Doppler-radars. The photographs and videos helped to trace back its orbit to the far reaches of the outer part of the asteroid belt. The radar data helped meteorite hunters to recover a total of 77 specimens, with the first ones found only two days after the fall. The meteorite was named Sutter's Mill, after the location where it fell. (Interestingly, Sutter's Mill ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — From the moment a stroke occurs, patients must race against the clock to get treatment that can prevent lasting damage. Now, a new study shows the promise – and the challenges – of getting them state-of-the-art treatment safely at their local hospital, saving precious minutes. The results come from an effort that tested methods to improve delivery of a time-sensitive, clot-busting drug in stroke patients at 24 community hospitals across Michigan. To date, clot-busting treatment has been mostly used at larger hospitals. The research effort was coordinated ...

Durham, NC — Deep in the scrublands of Keoladeo National Park in northwest India, one thing was hard for biologist Jessica Yorzinski to ignore: It wasn't the heat. It wasn't the jackals. It was the squawks of peacocks in the throes of passion. From behind the trees in the distance, she could hear a loud two-part whoop, the distinctive call that male peacocks make right before mating. During the peacock courtship dance, a male announces that he's ready to make his move by dashing towards the object of his affection and emitting a singular squawk before mounting his ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Not all video game players are destined for lives filled with failing relationships and dwindling friendships, according to Penn State researchers, who say that a lot depends on the role of the game-playing activity in the gamer's life. "There's a common stereotype that if you play video games, then you are a loner," said Benjamin Hickerson, assistant professor of recreation, parks and tourism management. "But it may have more to do with how a person is involved in gaming that determines how their social support is affected." In a study of people ...

Growing new blood vessels in the lab is a tough challenge, but a Johns Hopkins engineering team has solved a major stumbling block: how to prod stem cells to become two different types of tissue that are needed to build tiny networks of veins and arteries. The team's solution is detailed in an article appearing in the January 2013 print edition of the journal Cardiovascular Research. The article also was published recently in the journal's online edition. The work is important because networks of new blood vessels, assembled in the lab for transplanting into patients, ...

New York, NY (December 20, 2012) — Two recent experimental treatments — one involving skin-derived induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell grafts, the other gene therapy — have been shown to produce long-term improvement in visual function in mouse models of retinitis pigmentosa (RP), according to the Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) scientists who led the studies. At present, there is no cure for RP, the most common form of inherited blindness. "While these therapies still need to be refined, the results are highly encouraging," said Stephen H. Tsang, MD, PhD, associate ...

Cyclone Evan is no more than a remnant low pressure area in the South Pacific Ocean now. NOAA's GOES-15 satellite captured an image of the remnants from its fixed orbit in space on Dec. 20 that showed strong wind shear had basically blown the storm apart. The last official bulletin by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center was issued on Dec. 19 at 2100 UTC (4 p.m. EST/U.S. or 12:56 a.m. Fiji local time on Dec. 20). At that time, Evan's maximum sustained winds were still near 35 knots (40 mph/64.8 kph) and it had transitioned into an extra-tropical storm. It was located 400 ...