SEATTLE – Poxviruses, a group of DNA-containing viruses that includes smallpox, are responsible for a wide range of diseases in humans and animals. They are highly virulent and able to cross species barriers, yet how they do so has been largely a mystery because of their low mutation rates. While smallpox was considered officially eradicated by the World Health Organization in 1980, concerns about its use as a bioterrorism agent – and the finding that other poxviruses, such as monkeypox, can be transmitted from animals to humans – have spurred renewed interest in understanding ...

Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw once described England and America as two countries separated by a common language. Now research from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center suggests that common language may also be the divide standing between mothers of critically ill newborns and the clinicians who care for them. The study, published August 16 in the Journal of Perinatology, found that miscommunication was common, and that the most serious breakdown in communication occurred when mothers and clinicians discussed the severity of the baby's condition. Misunderstanding ...

SALT LAKE CITY – Scientists have discovered that poxviruses, which are responsible for smallpox and other diseases, can adapt to defeat different host antiviral defenses by quickly and temporarily producing multiple copies of a gene that helps the viruses to counter host immunity. This discovery provides new insight into the ability of large double-stranded DNA viruses to undergo rapid evolution despite their low mutation rates, according to a study published by University of Utah researchers in the Aug. 17, 2012, issue of Cell. Poxviruses are a group of DNA-containing ...

VIDEO: Dr. James Bradner talks about how he and other researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Baylor College of Medicine used a small molecule compound to generate reversible birth control in... Click here for more information. BOSTON—The development of a male contraceptive pill has long proven to be elusive, but findings from a new study may point scientists in the right direction to making oral birth control for men a reality. Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer ...

In multiple sclerosis, the immune system attacks nerves in the brain and spinal cord, causing movement problems, muscle weakness and loss of vision. Immune cells called dendritic cells, which were previously thought to contribute to the onset and development of multiple sclerosis, actually protect against the disease in a mouse model, according to a study published by Cell Press in the August issue of the journal Immunity. These new insights change our fundamental understanding of the origins of multiple sclerosis and could lead to the development of more effective treatments ...

LA JOLLA, CA – August 16, 2012 – Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have made a breakthrough in understanding a class of cells that help wounds in skin and other epithelial tissues heal, uncovering a molecular mechanism that pushes the body into wound-repair mode. The findings, which appear in an advance, online version of the Immunity on August 16, 2012, focus on cells known as γδ (gamma delta) T cells. The new study demonstrates a skin-cell receptor hooks up with a receptor on γδ T-cells to stimulate wound healing. "This is a major activation ...

Coral Reefs, the Journal of the International Society for Reef Studies, has published online a study co-written by Dr. Gordon Hendler of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM) about an invasive species of brittle star, Ophiothela mirabilis. The species was previously restricted to Pacific waters, but surprisingly, growing populations have established themselves at distant points in the Atlantic. Its presence near Brazilian and Caribbean ports indicates that O. mirabilis could have been spread by shipping. The marine animal is colorful and six-rayed. It ...

In the face of a changing climate many species must adapt or perish. Ecologists studying evolutionary responses to climate change forecast that cold-blooded tropical species are not as vulnerable to extinction as previously thought. The study, published in the British Ecological Society's Functional Ecology, considers how fast species can evolve and adapt to compensate for a rise in temperature. The research, carried out at the University of Zurich, was led by Dr Richard Walters, now at Reading University, alongside David Berger now at Uppsala University and Wolf Blanckenhorn, ...

Specialised group yoga classes could provide a cost-effective way of treating patients with chronic or recurrent low back pain, according to the UK's largest ever study of the benefits of yoga. Led by the University of York, and funded by Arthritis Research UK, the study provides an evaluation of a specially-developed 12-week group yoga intervention programme compared to conventional general practitioner (GP) care alone. The results published in Spine, show that the yoga intervention programme – 'Yoga for Healthy Lower Backs' - is likely to be cost effective for both ...

The growth of high topography on the Tibetan Plateau in Sichuan, China, began much earlier than previously thought, according to an international team of geologists who looked at mountain ranges along the eastern edge of the plateau. The Indian tectonic plate began its collision with Asia between 55 and 50 million years ago, but "significant topographic relief existed adjacent to the Sichuan Basin prior to the Indo-Asian collision," the researchers report online in Nature Geoscience. "Most researchers have thought that high topography in eastern Tibet developed during ...

Eribulin (trade name: Halaven®) was approved in March 2011 for women with locally advanced or metastasizing breast cancer in whom the disease has progressed despite prior drug therapy. In an early benefit assessment pursuant to the "Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products" (AMNOG), the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) examined whether eribulin offers an added benefit compared with the present standard therapy. According to the results of the assessment, the currently available evidence provides "hints" that eribulin ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Almost 41 percent of Ohioans have visited a lake, pond, river or creek in the state in the past year, and of those, nearly one-half usually spend their water-related recreational time at Lake Erie, according to preliminary findings in a new report. These figures and other findings in the report suggest that Ohio residents value their lakes and rivers, and particularly Lake Erie, as natural resources, but also help to clarify the risk that Ohioans face from contaminants in those same bodies of water, researchers say. Among the risks: Some blue-green ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A Rhode Island Hospital researcher has found that the use of electronic prescription drug monitoring programs (PMPs) may have a significant impact on the demand for drug treatment programs and how prescribers detect and respond to abuse of painkillers. The study by Traci C. Green, Ph.D., MSc, research scientist in Rhode Island Hospital's department of general internal medicine, is published online in advance of print in the journal Pain Medicine. The study surveyed 1,385 providers in Rhode Island and Connecticut on their use of state PMPs, and found ...

Results of a phase III clinical trial of the drug Enzalutamide, published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine, show the drug extends life by an average five months in the most advanced stages of prostate cancer. "This is a major advance. Not only do we see more survival benefit than from traditional chemotherapy, but the side effects of Enzalutamide are much lower. It provides both more benefit and less harm – you get the quantification of more life, but also see quality of life improvements," says study co-author, Thomas Flaig, MD, medical director of the ...

Quantum computers promise to reach computation speeds far beyond that of today's computers. As they would use quantum effects, however, they would also be susceptible to external interferences. Information flow into and out of the system is a critical point. Researchers from KIT with partners from Grenoble and Strasbourg have now read out the quantum state of an atom directly by using electrodes. In the Nature journal, it is reported about the stable interface between classical and quantum world. (DOI: 10.1038/nature11341) "Normally, every contact with the outer world ...

Chapel Hill, NC – Leukemia and lymphoma patients who receive life-saving stem cell or bone marrow transplants often experience chronic side effects that significantly decrease quality of life, can last a lifetime, and ultimately affect their long-term survival. In chronic Graft vs. Host Disease (GVHD), the differences between the donor bone marrow cells and the recipient's body often cause these immune cells to recognize the recipient's body tissues as foreign and the newly transplanted cells attack the transplant recipient's body. Symptoms can range from dry eyes and ...

While your DNA is unique, it also tells the tale of your family line. It carries the genetic history of your ancestors down through the generations. Now, says a Tel Aviv University researcher, it's also possible to use it as a map to your family's past. Prof. Eran Halperin of TAU's Blavatnik School of Computer Science and Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, along with a group of researchers from University of California, Los Angeles, are giving new meaning to the term "genetic mapping." Using a probabilistic model of genetic traits for every coordinate ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Birds of a feather flock together and – according to a new analysis – so do their lice. A study of the genetic heritage of avian feather lice indicates that their louse ancestors first colonized a particular group of birds (ducks or songbirds, for example) and then "radiated" to different habitats on those birds – to the wings or heads, for instance, where they evolved into different species. This finding surprised the researchers because wing lice from many types of birds look more similar to one another than they do to head or body lice living on the ...

New Rochelle, NY, August 16, 2012—Every year tribal gaming generates billions of dollars in revenue, creates tens of thousands of jobs, and boosts the economies of many Native American communities. In the state of California alone, tribal gaming has brought in $7.5 billion annually. However, because of the aggressive movement to legalize Internet gambling, which effectively would give states the power to regulate and tax online gambling even on reservations, the financial success of these communities could change. In "Native American Off-Reservation Gaming," an expert roundtable ...

After a surgeon stitches up a patient's abdomen, costly complications -- some life-threatening -- can occur. To cut down on these postoperative problems, Johns Hopkins undergraduates have invented a disposable suturing tool to guide the placement of stitches and guard against the accidental puncture of internal organs. The student inventors have described their device, called FastStitch, as a cross between a pliers and a hole-puncher. Although the device is still in the prototype stage, the FastStitch team has already received recognition and raised more than $80,000 ...

Ancient pollen and charcoal preserved in deeply buried sediments in Egypt's Nile Delta document the region's ancient droughts and fires, including a huge drought 4,200 years ago associated with the demise of Egypt's Old Kingdom, the era known as the pyramid-building time. "Humans have a long history of having to deal with climate change," said Christopher Bernhardt, a researcher with the U.S. Geological Survey. "Along with other research, this study geologically reveals that the evolution of societies is sometimes tied to climate variability at all scales – whether decadal ...

Lounging on a sofa while watching a 3D movie is an exquisite pleasure for many film fans. Be that as it may, those nettlesome 3D glasses might diminish the fun somewhat. That's why television manufacturers are working on displays that can recreate the spellbinding magic of three-dimensional television images – without the glasses. Though prototypes of these TV screens already exist, consumers will not have to wait much longer for the market introduction of these autostereoscopic displays. Neverthe-less, the content might be a bit problematic: The 3D movies currently available ...

Fairfax, Va.--The popular spice turmeric packs more than just flavor — it shows promise in fighting devastating viruses, Mason researchers recently discovered. Curcumin, found in turmeric, stopped the potentially deadly Rift Valley Fever virus from multiplying in infected cells, says Aarthi Narayanan, lead investigator on the new study and a research assistant professor with Mason's National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases. Mosquito-borne Rift Valley Fever virus (RVF) is an acute, fever-causing virus that affects domestic animals such as cattle, sheep ...

Everyone knows the adage: "If something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is." Why, then, do some people fall for scams and why are older folks especially prone to being duped? An answer, it seems, is because a specific area of the brain has deteriorated or is damaged, according to researchers at the University of Iowa. By examining patients with various forms of brain damage, the researchers report they've pinpointed the precise location in the human brain, called the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, that controls belief and doubt, and which explains why some ...

Ramadan dinners in the Danish Parliament, staff parties without either pork or alcohol and prayer rooms at the airport are all examples of how religion is becoming more visible in public spaces. "Prior to the mass migration of the '60s, '70s and '80s, almost all Danes shared similar values and were members of the national Christian church, so religion was not an issue in everyday life. There was no need to discuss neither one's own nor another person's religious viewpoint, and secularisation was a matter of course. Today, it is difficult to be in a public place, read ...