Scientists use genetically modified laboratory mice to investigate the underlying mechanisms of diseases. These "knockout" mice carry genes or gene regions that are thought to trigger diseases. For laboratories, the knockout technique requires a lot of time and effort. "Scientists start by engineering a genetic defect into embryonic stem cells," explains Prof. Wolfgang Wurst, who carries out research at Technische Universität München (TUM) and Helmholtz Zentrum München. "Then they implant the manipulated stem cells into a mouse embryo." Genetic defects made to order After ...

Two Canadian scientists have undertaken the challenging task to bring up to date the catalogues written by one of the most passionate collectors of beetles, Coleoptera, in the 19th century, Pierre Dejean. Dr. Yves Bousquet and Dr. Patrice Bouchard, who work with the Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes, have now produced a pioneering detailed review of the important nomenclatural and taxonomic data in these rich publications. Two articles analyzing the Coleoptera genera in the second (1833) and third (1836) catalogues of Dejean's collection were ...

Biologists from the Ruhr-Universität Bochum have explored how to protect neurons that control movements from dying off. In the journal "Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience" they report that the molecule 7,8-Dihydroxyflavone, also known as vitamin P, ensures the survival of motor neurons in culture. It sends the survival signal on another path than the molecule Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), which was previously considered a candidate for the treatment of motoneuron diseases or after spinal cord damage. "The Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor only had a limited ...

MIAMI – April 2, 2013 – Ocean acidification, which occurs as CO2 is absorbed by the world's oceans, is a source of concern for marine scientists worldwide. Studies on coral, mollusks, and other ocean denizens are helping to paint a picture of what the future might entail for specific species, should carbon emissions continue to increase. In a new study published in Global Change Biology, University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science researchers Sean Bignami, Su Sponaugle, and Robert Cowen are the first to study the effects of acidification ...

Porous polymer scaffolds fabricated to support the growth of biological tissue for implantation may hold the potential to greatly accelerate the development of cancer therapeutics. Researchers at Rice University and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York reported this week that three-dimensional scaffolds used to culture Ewing's sarcoma cells were effective at mimicking the environment in which such tumors develop. Their research appears online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of ...

People with mental illnesses are more than seven times more likely to use cannabis weekly compared to people without a mental illness, according to researchers from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) who studied U.S. data. Cannabis is the most widely used illicit substance globally, with an estimated 203 million people reporting use. Although research has found links between cannabis use and mental illness, exact numbers and prevalence of problem cannabis use had not been investigated. "We know that people with mental illness consume more cannabis, ...

Olympic swimmers aren't the only ones who change their strokes to escape competitors. To escape from the jaws and claws of predators in cold, viscous water, marine copepods switch from a wave-like swimming stroke to big power strokes, a behavior that has now been revealed thanks to 3-D high-speed digital holography. Copepods are tiny crustaceans found in nearly every aquatic environment on Earth. By some estimates, they are the most abundant animals on the planet. Their change in stroke in cold water helps them escape a slew of predators, from larval fish to crabs, ...

Spiral galaxies are some of the most beautiful and photogenic residents of the universe. Our own Milky Way is a spiral. Our solar system and Earth reside somewhere near one of its filamentous arms. And nearly 70 percent of the galaxies closest to the Milky Way are spirals. But despite their common shape, how galaxies like ours get and maintain their characteristic arms has proved to be an enduring puzzle in astrophysics. How do the arms of spiral galaxies arise? Do they change or come and go over time? The answers to these and other questions are now coming into focus ...

The American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation recently recommended against routine use of medications to treat infants for gastroesophageal reflux (GERD), commonly known as reflux disease. From 1999-2004 the use of prescription medications to treat this disease in infants increased 700 percent. However, these acid-reducing medications have been found to be ineffective at alleviating symptoms commonly diagnosed as GERD, such as excessive crying and spitting up. This suggests that GERD is often over-diagnosed in infants. In a new study, MU Psychology Professor Laura ...

(Washington)- Newly identified pregnancy-related events, such as stillbirth or pre-term birth, may dramatically increase a woman's risk of developing a potentially deadly blood clot immediately after pregnancy, according to the results of a large, population-based study published online today in Blood, the Journal of the American Society of Hematology (ASH). Venous thromboembolism, or VTE, is a clotting disorder that includes both deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). DVT is a blood clot that typically forms in the deep veins of the leg. It can develop ...

Troy, N.Y.—Engineering researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a new method to kill deadly pathogenic bacteria, including listeria, in food handling and packaging. This innovation represents an alternative to the use of antibiotics or chemical decontamination in food supply systems. Using nature as their inspiration, the researchers successfully attached cell lytic enzymes to food-safe silica nanoparticles, and created a coating with the demonstrated ability to selectively kill listeria—a dangerous foodborne bacteria that causes an estimated 500 ...

FAIRFAX, Va., April 2, 2013—In a recent survey of Republicans and Republican-leaning Independents conducted by the Center for Climate Change Communication (4C) at George Mason University, a majority of respondents (62 percent) said they feel America should take steps to address climate change. More than three out of four survey respondents (77 percent) said the United States should use more renewable energy sources, and of those, most believe that this change should begin immediately. The national survey, conducted in January 2013, asked more than 700 people who self-identified ...

Philadelphia, Pa. (April 2, 2013) – Persistent breast enlargement (gynecomastia) negatively affects self-esteem and other areas of mental and emotional health in in adolescent males, reports the April issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). Even mild gynecomastia can have adverse psychological effects in boys, according to the study by ASPS Member Surgeon Dr. Brian I. Labow and colleagues of Boston Children's Hospital. They believe their findings have important implications for early ...

ANALYTICS – Device has ORNL pedigree . . . With the introduction of Prosolia's flowprobe, researchers have an instrument that could accelerate drug discovery, aid in cancer research and improve the way scientists perform hundreds of tests. The flowprobe system, which is based on a technique invented by Gary Van Berkel of ORNL's Chemical Sciences Division, allows for efficient, automated direct sampling of surfaces while mapping the location of each chemical. Indianapolis-based Prosolia expects flowprobe to be especially useful for researchers doing clinical research or ...

Tragedies involving children, such as the one at Sandy Hook Elementary School, fuel massive outrage and calls for immediate action to prevent similar atrocities. The National Rifle Association (NRA) has put forward a National Shield School Proposal which supports the placement of armed security in all schools. A new review by Gordon and Angela Crews from Marshall University in West Virginia and Catherine Burton from The Citadel in South Carolina attempts to find a balanced and unbiased view of the facts within this heated and emotional debate. Their paper, which appears ...

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Researchers have learned the precise structure of the mosquito-transmitted chikungunya virus pathogen while it is bound to antibodies, showing how the infection is likely neutralized. The findings could help researchers develop effective vaccines against the infection, which causes symptoms similar to dengue fever, followed by a prolonged disease that affects the joints and causes severe arthritis. In recent outbreaks, some cases progressed to fatal encephalitis. The researchers studied "virus-like particles," or non-infectious forms of the virus. ...

Philadelphia, Pa. (April 2, 2013) – Injuries caused by needles and other sharp instruments are a major occupational hazard for surgeons—with high costs related to the risk of contracting serious infectious diseases, according to a special article in the April issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). ASPS Member Surgeon Dr. Kevin C. Chung and colleagues at The University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, review the risks, health impact and costs of "sharps" injuries for surgeons and ...

Recent efforts by the Canadian government to curb the time allowed for environmental reviews over fears of adverse impact on economic development are misguided and unnecessary, according to research by scientists at the University of Toronto. Instead, the federal government's tinkering will only weaken environmental protection and not expedite economic growth. The researchers found that most environmental regulatory reviews were already being completed within the arbitrary timeframes laid out in the 2012 legislation restricting the reviews of new developments. "Even ...

Increases in ground-level ozone, especially in rural areas, may interfere not only with predator insects finding host plants, but also with pollinators finding flowers, according to researchers from Penn State and the University of Virginia. "Ozone pollution has great potential to perniciously alter key interactions between plants and animals," the researchers said in a recent issue of Environmental Research Letters. The animal tested in this case was the striped cucumber beetle, a predator of cucurbits -- cucumber, squash, pumpkin and melons. These insects dine on ...

Prostate cancer doesn't kill in the prostate – it's only once the disease travels to bone, lung, liver, etc. that it turns fatal. Previous studies have shown that loss of the protein E-Cadherin is essential for this metastasis. A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published this week in the Journal of Biological Chemistry describes for the first time a switch that regulates the production of E-Cadherin: the transcription factor SPDEF turns on and off production, leading to metastasis or stopping it cold in models of prostate cancer. "When E-Cadherin is lost, cells ...

WASHINGTON — A survey of current and former college athletes finds depression levels significantly higher in current athletes, a result that upended the researchers' hypothesis. The finding published in Sports Health suggests the need for more research to understand depression among college athletes. "We expected to see a significant increase in depression once athletes graduated, but by comparison it appears the stress of intercollegiate athletics may be more significant than we and others anticipated," says the study's senior investigator Daniel Merenstein, MD, an associate ...

1. For Greater Weight Loss, a Group Cash Incentive Trumps Individual Rewards A group-based financial incentive leads to greater weight loss than an individual incentive for obese employees. An estimated 67 percent of employers use financial incentives to help their employees adopt healthier behaviors, with the goal of decreasing chronic disease and curbing health care costs. Researchers sought to determine the effectiveness of two financial incentive designs – group-based and individual – for obese employees trying to lose weight. One-hundred-and-four employees with a ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Do cash rewards for healthier habits work? Maybe, says a new study, if you add on one more condition – peer pressure. A growing number of companies are offering employees an opportunity to boost earning power at work via cash incentives to stay healthy. Under the Affordable Care Act, employers will soon be able to offer even larger financial incentives to prod healthy lifestyle behaviors among their workforce, such as quitting smoking and losing weight. But people who are offered money for weight loss may be much more successful when awards are ...

Seeing a doctor within a month of an emergency room visit for chest pain significantly reduced the risk of heart attack or death among high risk patients, according to research published the American Heart Association journal Circulation. Chest pain is the most common reason people go to the emergency room in developed countries and accounts for more than 5 million ER visits each year in the United States. The study is the first to demonstrate the importance of follow-up care for chest pain patients after leaving the ER, researchers said. High risk patients in this study ...

Boston, MA-- Despite their well-documented benefits, statins, drugs used to lower cholesterol, are commonly discontinued in routine care. Statin discontinuation has been linked to increased risk for cardiovascular events and death in patients with coronary artery disease; nevertheless, the reasons for discontinuation are only starting to be explored. In a new study from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), researchers examined the role adverse reactions play in statin discontinuation and found that more than 90 percent of the patients who stopped taking a statin due to an ...