FINDINGS: Where all of us inherit one copy of each chromosome from each of our two parents, cell lines exist with only a single set, and thus with a single copy of each individual gene, instead of the usual two. Using an unusual human cell line of this type, Whitehead Institute researchers and their collaborators performed a genetic screen and identified a protein used by Ebola virus to gain entry into cells and begin replicating. The discovery may offer a new approach for the development of antiviral therapeutics. RELEVANCE: Ebola virus, the cause of Ebola hemorrhagic ...

A new atlas of gene expression in the mouse brain provides insight into how genes work in the outer part of the brain called the cerebral cortex. In humans, the cerebral cortex is the largest part of the brain, and the region responsible for memory, sensory perception and language. Mice and people share 90 percent of their genes so the atlas, which is based on the study of normal mice, lays a foundation for future studies of mouse models for human diseases and, eventually, the development of treatments. Researchers from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), ...

Rodriguez MD, a leading Lawrenceville clinic and bilingual Lawrenceville family practice in Gwinnett County, GA, is currently offering Back to School Health Checks and sports physicals for preschool through college age students. Available beginning in August 2011, the medical practice will accept patients by appointment and walk-in for Health Checks. Patients will be able to learn about their physical condition and treatment if a problem is identified. Available services at Rodriguez MD's Gwinnett family clinic include: - Physicals - Lab Tests - Blood Pressure - ...

DALLAS – Aug. 24, 2011 – Exercise can be as effective as a second medication for as many as half of depressed patients whose condition have not been cured by a single antidepressant medication. UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists involved in the investigation, recently published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, found that both moderate and intense levels of daily exercise can work as well as administering a second antidepressant drug, which is often used when initial medications don't move patients to remission. The type of exercise needed, however, depends ...

Cluster headache has a substantial detrimental effect on quality of life. New invasive procedures, such as hypothalamic deep brain stimulation and bilateral occipital nerve stimulation, may help patients with chronic refractory headache. This is one of the conclusions reached by Charly Gaul and co-authors from the Department of Neurology at the University Medical Center Essen in the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2011; 108(33): 543-9). Cluster headache is the commonest trigemino-autonomic headache, affecting some 120,000 people in ...

When investigating cancer cells, researchers discovered numerous peculiarities: Particular RNA molecules are present in large numbers, particular genes are overactive. Do these characteristics have a relation to cancer? Do they promote cell growth? Do they inactivate growth brakes or are they just a whim of nature? To find clues for answering these questions scientists perform what are called loss-of-function analyses. They knock out (silence) the gene of interest in living cells or whole organisms and subsequently look for any changes in the cells' metabolism, physiology ...

The same University of Washington researcher who used chemical sleuthing to deduce what's in fragranced consumer products now has turned her attention to the scented air wafting from household laundry vents. Findings, published online this week in the journal Air Quality, Atmosphere and Health, show that air vented from machines using the top-selling scented liquid laundry detergent and scented dryer sheet contains hazardous chemicals, including two that are classified as carcinogens. "This is an interesting source of pollution because emissions from dryer vents are ...

Standard Life has revealed that more than half of parents potentially underestimate the maximum amount of debt their child could leave university with. When asked to take into account the increase in tuition fees to a maximum of GBP9,000 per year from 2012, and any other debts accumulated from living expenses, student loans, bank loans etc. 58 per cent of parents think the maximum debt their children could leave with is GBP40,000 or under, including many who think this would be a lot less. This total is well under the maximum figure of GBP54,000 calculated by the long-term ...

Researchers at the University of Southampton have developed a new way to generate music and control computers. "Grab a block and add a base beat, turn a block to speed up the high hat and we have a new way to generate music through controlling the computer," said Dr Enrico Costanza at the University's ECS - Electronics and Computer Science, who is launching Audio d-touch (Thursday 25 August). Audio d-touch, which is based on Dr Costanza's research into tangible user interfaces, or TUIs, gives physical control in the immaterial world of computers. It uses a standard ...

The new discovery by Aalto University can have major impact on future nanoscale device design, such as ultraviolet photo detectors and drug delivery. In bulk size, many materials like silicon are as brittle as glass. In nanoparticle size, the same material can be compressed into half their size without breaking them. The new discovery was made by an international research group led by Professor Roman Nowak. Atom by atom, the researchers followed the rearrangements resulting from squeezing tiny spheres of silicon. They found that the response of the material varied depending ...

Foster Care Associates (FCA), the UK's largest Independent Fostering Agency, has added a new geographically targeted section to its website to provide locally based fostering information and placement needs to its visitors. Under the heading 'Your local FCA', the website now offers readers information about FCA and fostering in their local area, divided between the agency's 14 operating regions. Visitors can now access regional FCA news, information about forthcoming fostering events in their community and learn more about their local fostering team through FCA staff ...

Geneva, 23rd August 2011 – The fight against non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease and liver disease, is at grave risk, because of recent efforts by some countries to stall and weaken critical United Nations negotiations, the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) warned today. In a letter addressed to Mr Ban Ki-Moon, Dr Margaret Chan and Mr Jose Manuel Barroso, EASL called on them to personally push for progress at the first ever UN High-Level Meeting on the Prevention and Control ...

BEER-SHEVA, ISRAEL, August 24, 2011 – Stocks of companies that are committed to corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies perform statistically similarly to those corporations that do not have these programs, according to a new study by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev researchers. These findings were presented at the Ninth Annual International Conference on Business Accounting, Finance, Management & Marketing in Athens last month by Zvi Amrousy, an MBA student at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Some of the factors that define CSR include a company's environmental ...

Two articles in the Society of Interventional Radiology's flagship publication, the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology, report on studies related to peripheral arterial disease or PAD—coinciding with the approach of September's National PAD Awareness Month. In one study, researchers determined that Framingham Risk Score metrics (historically the gold standard in predicting 10-year cardiovascular risk) alone may not be enough to definitively say whether an individual may face a future cardiovascular event. The second study examined the success of a treatment ...

The delivery system for an important class of proteins in the cell membrane can be fully replicated with a mere three components, according to a new study. Tail-anchored proteins, the molecular machines that make up approximately five percent of the membrane proteins in a cell, are known to have their own special pathway for trafficking to the membrane after construction. New research from the University of Chicago and the National Institutes of Health blending structural and functional experiments finds that these proteins can be delivered to the membrane via a simple ...

Prudential has reported that pensioners in the UK with additional savings held in cash ISAs, savings accounts and current accounts could see their spending power fall by an average of GBP278 each in the next 12 months, according to new analysis. The calculations show that the combined effects of increased inflation and low interest rates will erode pensioner buying power by a total of GBP2.9 billion in the coming year. Pensioners are seeing their cost of living rise 44 per cent faster than the current rate of inflation. This is because a greater proportion of their income ...

As if President Barack Obama doesn't already have enough to worry about, a statistical analysis of presidential ranking surveys suggests that he is likely to be viewed as an "average" president by expert evaluators if he serves only one term, according to a Baylor University researcher. Under these conditions, Obama is predicted to land at the 22nd overall spot on the ranking list — between William McKinley and George H.W. Bush. This would dash the President's self-professed hope of being viewed as "a really good one-term president" if he loses in November 2012, according ...

TORONTO, Ont., Aug 24, 2011 – More than eight out of 10 homeless people surveyed by researchers at St. Michael's Hospital and elsewhere have at least one chronic health condition and more than half have a mental health problem. People who are "vulnerably housed"—meaning they live in unsafe, unstable or unaffordable housing--had equally poor, and in some cases worse, health, the survey found. The underlying cause for these health issues is poverty, said Dr. Stephen Hwang, the principal investigator of the study and a physician-researcher at the hospital's Centre for ...

Hampton Inn & Suites Hotel Scottsboro offers nearby lodging to participants and fans attending 11th Annual Frantic Frog Triathlon. Taking place on September 10, 2011 at Goosepond Colony, the event will include a 400 meter swim, 24K bike race and 5k run. The triathlon is a fundraiser for the Jackson County Chapter of the American Red Cross. All monies raised during the event will remain in Jackson County, AL community. The race is scheduled to begin at 8:00am and participants must register in advance. The Frantic Frog Triathlon is open to both male and female athletes. ...

F O R I M M E D I A T E R E L E A S E CELL TRANSPLANTATION The Regenerative Medicine Journal Stem cells derived from human amniotic fluid hold promise hAECs used to successfully treat animal models of lung disease Tampa, Fla. (Aug. 24, 2011) – Two papers published in the current issue of Cell Transplantation (20:6), now freely available on-line at http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/ct/ , highlight the rich source of stem cells in human amniotic fluid that can be isolated and transplanted for therapeutic purposes. Amniotic fluid a rich source of ...

Blacksburg, Va. – Unfortunately, more than two million miles of the nation's infrastructure of water and wastewater pipelines are underground and nearing the end of their useful life. For state and local water utilities, making accurate predictions of exactly when the pipes might fail are extremely difficult since they are invisible to the human eye in their buried environmental conditions. In an effort to address this potentially serious problem, a national database on technologies to assess the conditions and rehabilitation of the underground pipes will be available ...

Advanced Metal Roofing is proud to announce that they have made the 2011 Top 100 Contractors list compiled by Roofing Contractor Magazine. The list is comprised of roofers of all types throughout the U.S., including commercial roofers and general roofing contractors. Advanced Metal Roofing placed number 60 on the list and is one of the few specialty residential metal roofing contractors to make the Top 100. The 2011 Top 100 Roofing Contractors list is part of a yearly survey of roofing companies nationwide where rankings are based on annual revenue from the previous ...

VIDEO: GOES-13 satellite imagery in 15 minute intervals from August 22 at 8:40 a.m. EDT (1240 UTC) until Aug. 24 at 8:40 a.m. EDT shows Irene moving over Puerto Rico, Hispaniola... Click here for more information. When a satellite can see a hurricane's eye clearly from space, that's an indication of a strong tropical cyclone and the GOES-13 satellite saw just that in Hurricane Irene this morning as she became a major hurricane. An animation of GOES-13 satellite imagery ...

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A brain imaging scan identifies biochemical changes in the brains of normal people who might be at risk for Alzheimer's disease, according to research published in the August 24, 2011, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study of 311 people in their 70s and 80s with no cognitive problems, from the population-based Mayo Clinic Study of Aging, used an advanced brain imaging technique called proton MR spectroscopy to see if they had abnormalities in several brain metabolites that may be biomarkers for ...

The HCG Diet is known for producing rapid weight loss results of up to 40 lbs in about a month. As anyone who has done the HCG Diet knows, it can be a challenge to find spices, seasonings, and condiments that meet the HCG Diet's stringent guidelines. As a result, many HCG Dieters have to settle for tasteless meals or suffer the consequences of using the wrong products, which may include a stall in weight loss, or even weight gain. Online HCG experts Do-It-Yourself HCG (DIY HCG) have several new HCG seasonings and HCG salad dressings made specifically for use on the HCG ...