London, December 22, 2011 – Elsevier's Journal of Clinical Virology in collaboration with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today announced the publication of a special supplement entitled 'Update on HIV Diagnostic Testing Algorithms'. This timely supplement contains articles which summarize studies since the 2010 US HIV Diagnostics Conference validating the proposed new US HIV diagnostic testing algorithm. In addition, review articles and original research related to the topic of HIV diagnosis and viral load monitoring are included. Dr. Bernard ...

The researchers evaluated the role of Mediterranean diet ingredients in the prevention and mitigation of cell damage. Oleic acid and hydroxytyrosol –present in a particularly high concentration in virgin olive oil– and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids –found in fish– affect the cellular mechanisms involved in the development of acute pancreatitis, a disease of oxidative-inflammatory etiology. Therefore, oleic acid and hydroxytyrosol can be considered potential functional ingredients, as they may prevent or mitigate this disease. Such was the conclusion drawn in a study ...

The entire Hawaiian population of the peat moss Sphagnum palustre appears to be a clone that has been in existence for some 50,000 years researchers have discovered. The study is published in New Phytologist. Among the most long-lived of organisms, every plant of the Hawaiian population appears to have been produced by vegetative rather than sexual propagation and can be traced back to a single parent. Surprisingly, the genetic diversity of the Hawaiian clone is comparable to that detected in populations of S. palustre that do propagate sexually and occur across vaster ...

Physicists at Harvard University have realized a new way to cool synthetic materials by employing a quantum algorithm to remove excess energy. The research, published this week in the journal Nature, is the first application of such an "algorithmic cooling" technique to ultra-cold atomic gases, opening new possibilities from materials science to quantum computation. "Ultracold atoms are the coldest objects in the known universe," explains senior author Markus Greiner, associate professor of Physics at Harvard. "Their temperature is only a billionth of a degree above absolute ...

A compound produced from fish oil that appears to target leukemia stem cells could lead to a cure for the disease, according to Penn State researchers. The compound -- delta-12-protaglandin J3, or D12-PGJ3 -- targeted and killed the stem cells of chronic myelogenous leukemia, or CML, in mice, said Sandeep Prabhu, associate professor of immunology and molecular toxicology in the Department of Veterinary and Medical Sciences. The compound is produced from EPA -- Eicosapentaenoic Acid -- an Omega-3 fatty acid found in fish and in fish oil, he said. "Research in the past ...

Board certified plastic surgeon Dr. David A. Bottger has made a commitment to reduce his practice's environmental impact. Dr. Bottger has always been committed to serving his community, in the OR and in the neighborhood, and now hopes to do even more for Philadelphia by practicing and promoting awareness of eco-friendly business practices for plastic surgeons through the B2B Green Alliance. The B2B Green Alliance is sponsored by longtime partner Page 1 Solutions. The B2B Green Alliance is an environmental commitment program and part of the company's Page 1 Green Solutions. ...

This press release is available in German.The Earth wobbles. Like a spinning top touched in mid-spin, its rotational axis fluctuates in relation to space. This is partly caused by gravitation from the sun and the moon. At the same time, the Earth's rotational axis constantly changes relative to the Earth's surface. On the one hand, this is caused by variation in atmospheric pressure, ocean loading and wind. These elements combine in an effect known as the Chandler wobble to create polar motion. Named after the scientist who discovered it, this phenomenon has a period of ...

ATLANTA -- A new study finds that while colorectal cancer mortality rates dropped in the most recent two decades for every stage in both African Americans and whites, the decreases were smaller for African Americans, particularly for distant stage disease. The authors say concerted efforts to prevent or detect colorectal cancer at earlier stages in blacks could improve worsening black-white disparities. Before 1980, colorectal cancer mortality rates for African Americans were lower than those for whites. Since then, however, the pattern of CRC mortality rates has reversed ...

Local law firm Long & Waite, PC has made a commitment to reduce the firm's environmental impact. Long & Waite has always been committed to the community, and now hopes to do the best for its neighbors in Mobile, both in the court room and in the environment by practicing and promoting awareness of eco-friendly business practices for personal injury lawyers through the B2B Green Alliance. The B2B Green Alliance is an environmental commitment program sponsored by longtime partner Page 1 Solutions. The B2B Green Alliance is a recent addition to the company's Page ...

Wildfires cause tragic losses to life, property, and the environment. But even after the fire rages, the damage is far from done. Without vegetation, bare, burnt soil lies vulnerable to erosion, which can impede efforts towards natural forest regeneration. Now Assaf Inbar, a graduate student at Tel Aviv University's Porter School of Environmental Studies, together with his supervisors Prof. Marcelo Sternberg of the Department of Molecular Biology and Ecology of Plants, Dr.Meni Ben-Hur of the Volcani Center and Dr. Marcos Lado of the University of La Coruña, Spain, have ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- The editors of the journal Science have selected a Mayo Clinic discovery as one of their top 10 "groundbreaking scientific achievements of 2011." The Mayo study --the first to eliminate the effects of aging in mice -- received worldwide attention when it was published in Nature in November. Science's international list of achievements featuring scientific breakthroughs ranging from biology to aerospace research was released Thursday afternoon. The study showed that the onset of age-related disorders and disabilities could be delayed or prevented by ...

In every state but New Hampshire, drivers are required by law to carry liability insurance or some other proof of financial responsibility. This coverage ensures that those injured in motor vehicle accidents have resources available to compensate them for medical bills, wages lost due to an inability to work and other losses arising out of a crash. Adequate insurance coverage also protects those who carry it, even if they are not injured: drivers who cause an accident but lack coverage must pay out of pocket to compensate victims. Yet, according to an Insurance Research ...

Hamilton, ON (Dec. 22, 2011) - Drugs used to overcome cancer may also combat antibiotic resistance, finds a new study led by Gerry Wright, scientific director of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research at McMaster University. "Our study found that certain proteins, called kinases, that confer antibiotic resistance are structurally related to proteins important in cancer," says Wright about the study published in Chemistry & Biology. "The pharmaceutical sector has made a big investment in targeting these proteins, so there are a lot of compounds ...

HOUSTON — An inflammation-promoting protein triggers deactivation of a tumor-suppressor that usually blocks cancer formation via the NOTCH signaling pathway, a team of researchers led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reports today in Molecular Cell. Working in liver cancer cell lines, the team discovered a mechanism by which tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) stimulates tumor formation, said senior author Mien-Chie Hung, Ph.D., professor and chair of MD Anderson's Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology. Hung also is MD Anderson's ...

The journal Science has chosen the HPTN 052 clinical trial (http://www.niaid.nih.gov/news/newsreleases/2011/Pages/HPTN052.aspx), an international HIV prevention trial sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, as the 2011 Breakthrough of the Year. The study found that if HIV-infected heterosexual individuals begin taking antiretroviral medicines when their immune systems are relatively healthy as opposed to delaying therapy until the disease has advanced, they are 96 percent less likely to transmit ...

Cancer cells tend to take up more glucose than healthy cells, and researchers are increasingly interested in exploiting this tendency with drugs that target cancer cells' altered metabolism. Cancer cells' sugar cravings arise partly because they turn off their mitochondria, power sources that burn glucose efficiently, in favor of a more inefficient mode of using glucose. They benefit because the byproducts can be used as building blocks for fast-growing cells. Scientists at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University have shown that many types of cancer cells flip ...

Michigan hospitals are becoming the first of their kind in implementing a project that aims to avoid unnecessary C-sections. A lower rate of C-section deliveries is associated with healthier babies and a lower risk of a birth injury. The Michigan Health and Hospital Association Keystone obstetrics project implements changes to hospitals in Michigan in their birthing procedures. The project discourages elective or C-section births unless it is for medically necessary reasons such as chronic disease, a mother carrying multiple babies or the baby is small and developing ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Creating semiconductor structures for high-end optoelectronic devices just got easier, thanks to University of Illinois researchers. The team developed a method to chemically etch patterned arrays in the semiconductor gallium arsenide, used in solar cells, lasers, light emitting diodes (LEDs), field effect transistors (FETs), capacitors and sensors. Led by electrical and computer engineering professor Xiuling Li, the researchers describe their technique in the journal Nano Letters. A semiconductor's physical properties can vary depending on its structure, ...

HACKENSACK, N.J. (December 22, 2011) — Researchers from the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center, one of the nation's top 50 best hospitals for cancer, presented results from 31 major studies of blood-related cancers – leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma -- during the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, December 10-13, 2011 in San Diego. Research highlights from the John Theurer Cancer Center included a global clinical trial of a new type of medication (HDAC inhibitor) against relapsed multiple myeloma led at the John ...

PITTSBURGH, Dec. 22 – Vaccines with broader reach might be made by stimulating specialized immune cells to recognize foreign cell membrane proteins that are shared across bacterial species, say researchers from Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in a report published online today in Immunity. The approach could be particularly beneficial in preventing infection by multi-drug resistant organisms. The genetic heritage of organisms such as oysters, frogs and fish indicate that a family of cell-signaling molecules ...

EAST LANSING, Mich. — The same principle that causes figure skaters to spin faster as they draw their arms into their bodies has now been used by Michigan State University researchers to understand how molecules move energy around following the absorption of light. Conservation of angular momentum is a fundamental property of nature, one that astronomers use to detect the presence of satellites circling distant planets. In 1927, it was proposed that this principle should apply to chemical reactions, but a clear demonstration has never been achieved. In the current issue ...

Washington, D.C. — Coral reefs are extremely diverse ecosystems that support enormous biodiversity. But they are at risk. Carbon dioxide emissions are acidifying the ocean, threatening reefs and other marine organisms. New research led by Carnegie's Kenneth Schneider analyzed the role of sea cucumbers in portions of the Great Barrier Reef and determined that their dietary process of dissolving calcium carbonate (CaCO3) from the surrounding reef accounts for about half of at the total nighttime dissolution for the reef. The work is published December 23 by the Journal of ...

Nearly five years after an initial lawsuit was filed, a jury in Michigan recently handed down a $144 million dollar verdict against Beaumont Hospital for injuries sustained during childbirth. Kimberly VanSlembrouck initiated the lawsuit against the hospital claiming they were negligent in their actions while she gave birth, causing her daughter irrevocable birth injuries. According to VanSlembrouck, the hospital was negligent when it failed to perform a Caesarian section, but instead delivered her daughter through the birth canal. As a result, her daughter suffered a ...

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Researchers have created a new type of optical device small enough to fit millions on a computer chip that could lead to faster, more powerful information processing and supercomputers. The "passive optical diode" is made from two tiny silicon rings measuring 10 microns in diameter, or about one-tenth the width of a human hair. Unlike other optical diodes, it does not require external assistance to transmit signals and can be readily integrated into computer chips. The diode is capable of "nonreciprocal transmission," meaning it transmits ...

Washington D.C. – Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) announced today a major breakthrough in engineering systems of RNA molecules through computer-assisted design, which could lead to important improvements across a range of industries, including the development of cheaper advanced biofuels. Scientists will use these new "RNA machines", to adjust genetic expression in the cells of microorganisms. This will enable scientists to develop new strains of Escherichia coli (E. coli) that are better able to digest switchgrass ...