MiR-122 micromanages liver function
2012-07-24
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenously encoded RNAs that regulate the stability or translation of mRNA molecules, and emerging research suggests that they have diverse roles in normal physiology and disease. In this issue, two groups investigated the role of the predominant liver miRNA, miR-122. Ann-Ping Tsou and colleagues from National Yang-Ming University in Taiwan, and a team led by Kalpana Ghoshal, from Ohio State University generated mouse models of MiR-122 loss of function, and determined that the molecule was critically involved in modulating fat and cholesterol metabolism, ...
Polar bear evolution tracked climate change, new DNA study suggests
2012-07-24
An analysis of newly sequenced polar bear genomes is providing important clues about the species' evolution, suggesting that climate change and genetic exchange with brown bears helped create the polar bear as we know it today. The international study, led by the Penn State University and the University at Buffalo, found evidence that the size of the polar bear population fluctuated with key climatic events over the past million years, growing during periods of cooling and shrinking in warmer times.
The research also suggests that while polar bears evolved into a distinct ...
Why do anti-hunger and anti-obesity initiatives always fall short?
2012-07-24
With widespread hunger continuing to haunt developing nations, and obesity fast becoming a global epidemic, any number of efforts on the parts of governments, scientists, non-profit organizations and the business world have taken aim at these twin nutrition-related crises. But all of these efforts have failed to make a large dent in the problems, and now an unusual international collaboration of researchers is explaining why.
Publishing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers argue that while hunger and obesity are caused by a perfect storm ...
First study of heart 'maps' for kids could help correct rapid rhythms
2012-07-24
The first study of a procedure to make three-dimensional "maps" of electrical signals in children's hearts could help cardiologists correct rapid heart rhythms in young patients, according to new research presented at the American Heart Association's Basic Cardiovascular Sciences 2012 Scientific Sessions.
Children with the condition atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia, or AVNRT, suffer from disruptions in the heart's electrical system that cause sudden rapid heart rates. Patients have been successfully treated with cardiac ablation , in which the abnormal tissue ...
Aging heart cells rejuvenated by modified stem cells
2012-07-24
Damaged and aged heart tissue of older heart failure patients was rejuvenated by stem cells modified by scientists, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Basic Cardiovascular Sciences 2012 Scientific Sessions.
The study is simultaneously published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
The research could one day lead to new treatments for heart failure patients, researchers said.
"Since patients with heart failure are normally elderly, their cardiac stem cells aren't very healthy," said Sadia Mohsin, Ph.D., one of the ...
Infants can use language to learn about people's intentions, NYU, McGill researchers find
2012-07-24
Infants are able to detect how speech communicates unobservable intentions, researchers at New York University and McGill University have found in a study that sheds new light on how early in life we can rely on language to acquire knowledge about matters that go beyond first-hand experiences.
Their findings appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
"Much of what we know about the world does not come from our own experiences, so we have to obtain this information indirectly—from books, the news media, and conversation," explained Athena Vouloumanos, ...
Scientists confirm existence of vitamin 'deserts' in the ocean
2012-07-24
Using a newly developed analytical technique, a team led by scientists at USC was the first to identify long-hypothesized vitamin B deficient zones in the ocean.
"This is another twist to what limits life in the ocean," said Sergio Sañudo-Wilhelmy, professor of biological and earth sciences at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and lead author on a paper about the vitamin-depleted zones that will appear in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on July 23.
B vitamins are organic compounds dissolved in the ocean and are important for living ...
HPTN study finds greatly elevated HIV infection rates among young black MSM in the US
2012-07-24
Study results released today by the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) show disturbing rates of new HIV infections occurring among black gay and bisexual men in the U.S. (also known as men who have sex with men, or MSM), particularly young black MSM. The HPTN 061 study showed that the overall rate of new HIV infection among black MSM in this study was 2.8% per year, a rate that is nearly 50% higher than in white MSM in the U.S. Even more alarming, HPTN 061 found that young black MSM—those 30 years of age and younger—acquired HIV infection at a rate of 5.9% per year, ...
Climate change and deforestation: When the past influences the present
2012-07-24
The impact of deforestation on loss of biodiversity is undeniable. Madagascar, a biodiversity hotspot for its richness of endemic species, has been especially hard hit by deforestation and subsequent destruction of natural habitats, caused mainly, it is thought, by human pauperisation, economic activities and population growth. A recent study, by an international research group led by Lounès Chickhi, group leader at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (Portugal) and CNRS researcher (in Toulouse, France), questions the prevailing account that degradation of tropical ecosystems ...
High dietary antioxidant intake might cut pancreatic cancer risk
2012-07-24
Increasing dietary intake of the antioxidant vitamins C, E, and selenium could help cut the risk of developing pancreatic cancer by up to two thirds, suggests research published online in the journal Gut.
If the association turns out to be causal, one in 12 of these cancers might be prevented, suggest the researchers, who are leading the Norfolk arm of the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer (EPIC) study.
Cancer of the pancreas kills more than a quarter of a million people every year around the world. And 7500 people are diagnosed with the disease every year ...
2 out of 3 very obese kids already have heart disease risk factors
2012-07-24
Two out of three severely obese kids already have at least one risk factor for heart disease, suggests research published online in Archives of Disease in Childhood.
The prevalence and severity of childhood obesity has been rising worldwide, but little research has been carried out on the underlying health problems that children with severe weight problems have, say the authors.
They base their findings on data supplied by paediatricians to the Dutch Paediatric Surveillance Unit between 2005 and 2007.
During this period, doctors treating all new cases of severe obesity ...
Social deprivation has a measurable effect on brain growth
2012-07-24
(Boston, Mass.)—Severe psychological and physical neglect produces measurable changes in children's brains, finds a study led by Boston Children's Hospital. But the study also suggests that positive interventions can partially reverse these changes.
Researchers led by Margaret Sheridan, PhD, and Charles Nelson, PhD, of the Labs of Cognitive Neuroscience at Boston Children's Hospital, analyzed brain MRI scans from Romanian children in the ongoing Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP), which has transferred some children reared in orphanages into quality foster care ...
Cognitive changes may be only sign of fetal alcohol exposure
2012-07-24
Most children exposed to high levels of alcohol in the womb do not develop the distinct facial features seen in fetal alcohol syndrome, but instead show signs of abnormal intellectual or behavioral development, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and researchers in Chile.
These abnormalities of the nervous system involved language delays, hyperactivity, attention deficits or intellectual delays. The researchers used the term s functional neurologic impairment to describe these abnormalities.. The study authors documented an abnormality ...
Increased heart attack risk associated with total hip, knee replacement surgeries
2012-07-24
CHICAGO – Total hip replacement (THR) and total knee replacement (TKR) surgeries were associated with increased risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI, heart attack) in the first two weeks after the surgical procedures, according to report published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.
THR and TKR are effective for treating patients with moderate to severe osteoarthritis. These surgical procedures are commonly performed, with an estimated 1.8 million procedures performed annually worldwide, according to the study background.
"This ...
Study examines use of diagnostic tests in adolescents with hypertension
2012-07-24
CHICAGO – A study of adolescents with hypertension enrolled in the Michigan Medicaid program suggests that guideline-recommended diagnostic tests – echocardiograms and renal ultrasonography – were poorly used, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.
Hypertension is a growing problem for adolescents because of the association between obesity and hypertension. Current pediatric guidelines recommend laboratory tests and renal ultrasonography for all pediatric patients with hypertension to rule ...
Joslin researchers gain new understanding of diabetes and kidney disease
2012-07-24
BOSTON – July 23, 2012 – Scientists at Joslin Diabetes Center have identified biological mechanisms by which glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), a gut hormone, protects against kidney disease, and also mechanisms that inhibit its actions in diabetes. The findings, which are reported today online by Diabetes, may lead to the development of new therapeutic agents that harness the actions of GLP-1 to prevent the harmful effects of hyperglycemia on renal endothelial cells.
Renal complications, also known as diabetic nephropathy, are one of the most life-threatening complications ...
ICAP study finds concerningly high HIV infection rates for young black gay and bisexual men in US
2012-07-24
Researchers at ICAP's Harlem Prevention Center (HPC) joined the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) today to announce study results that showed disturbing rates of new HIV infections occurring among black gay and bisexual men in the U.S. (also known as men who have sex with men, or MSM), particularly young black MSM.
The HPTN 061 study showed that the overall rate of new HIV infection among black MSM in this study was 2.8% per year, a rate that is nearly 50% higher than in white MSM in the U.S. Even more alarming, HPTN 061 found that young black MSM—those 30 years of ...
UCSB researchers achieve world's first violet nonpolar vertical-cavity laser technology
2012-07-24
In a leap forward for laser technology, a team at University of California, Santa Barbara, has developed the first violet nonpolar vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) based on m-plane gallium nitride semiconductors.
This recent discovery by LED pioneer Shuji Nakamura and his research team at UCSB is an achievement in VCSEL technology that opens doors for higher optical efficiency lasers at greatly reduced manufacturing costs for a variety of applications.
"We have demonstrated working, electrically-injected nonpolar m-plane nitride VCSELs lasing at room ...
Making allowances for job seekers on Facebook
2012-07-24
Your inappropriate Facebook profile, posts and photos could lose you your next job, according to an in-depth study of employers from six different industries. The conclusion of a paper to be published in the International Journal of Work Innovation this month reveals that many employers are using the Facebook profiles of job candidates to filter out weaker applicants based on perception of lifestyle, attitudes and personal appearance.
Vanessa A. de la Llama, Isabel Trueba, Carola Voges, Claudia Barreto and David J. Park of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, ...
Fools' gold found to regulate oxygen
2012-07-24
As sulfur cycles through Earth's atmosphere, oceans and land, it undergoes chemical changes that are often coupled to changes in other such elements as carbon and oxygen. Although this affects the concentration of free oxygen, sulfur has traditionally been portrayed as a secondary factor in regulating atmospheric oxygen, with most of the heavy lifting done by carbon. However, new findings that appeared this week in Science suggest that sulfur's role may have been underestimated.
Drs. Itay Halevy of the Weizmann Institute's Environmental Science and Energy Research Department ...
Judging DNA by its cover
2012-07-24
Stem cells hold great promise for the medicine of the future, but they can also be a cause of disease. When these self-renewing, unspecialized cells fail to differentiate into diverse cell types, they can start dividing uncontrollably, leading to cancer. Already several decades ago, Weizmann Institute scientists were among the first to demonstrate the link between cancer and the faulty differentiation of stem cells. Now a new Weizmann Institute-led study, published in Molecular Cell, reveals a potential molecular mechanism behind this link.
The scientists managed to ...
32-country study shows that type 2 diabetes drug is clinically effective for long-term use
2012-07-24
An extended trial of a drug for people with type 2 diabetes has confirmed that the oral DPP-4 inhibitor linagliptin is a safe and effective means of lowering glucose levels for up to 102 weeks, either on its own or in combination with other selected oral anti-diabetic medication.
The 32-country study, published in the August issue of IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice, followed 2,121 individuals who had taken part in four previous 24-week randomised, double-blind, placebo controlled trials, in order to monitor them for a further 78 weeks.
Those ...
Caught in the act: Bats use the sound of copulating flies as a cue for foraging
2012-07-24
Mating at night does not necessarily lead to offspring, at least in flies: males produce a buzzing sound with their wings that can be perceived by bats. Stefan Greif from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, and colleagues, observed this in a long-term study on wild Natterer's bats that eat the copulating flies in a double-sized meal. Flies that were just sitting or walking on the ceiling did not elicit a predatory response by the bats. This is the first experimental evidence how mating itself can be risky.
Mating activities are a dangerous business because the attention ...
Snacking and BMI linked to double effect of brain activity and self-control
2012-07-24
Snack consumption and BMI are linked to both brain activity and self-control, new research has found.
The research, carried out by academics from the Universities of Exeter, Cardiff, Bristol, and Bangor, discovered that an individual's brain 'reward centre' response to pictures of food predicted how much they subsequently ate. This had a greater effect on the amount they ate than their conscious feelings of hunger or how much they wanted the food,
A strong brain response was also associated with increased weight (BMI), but only in individuals reporting low levels of ...
Public sightings suggest increase in basking sharks in British waters
2012-07-24
The number of basking sharks recorded in Britain's seas could be increasing, decades after being protected from commercial hunting in the late 20th century. The most comprehensive analysis ever undertaken of basking shark sightings in UK waters, by the University of Exeter, the Marine Conservation Society (MCS), Cornwall Wildlife Trust (CWT) and Wave Action, is published in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series.
The northeast Atlantic hosted an extensive commercial fishery for basking sharks, mainly in Norway, Ireland and Scotland, where more than 81,000 were killed ...
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