Enzymes are proteins that speed up chemical reactions, such as laundry detergent digesting protein stains, which are otherwise very difficult to remove. A research team led by Professor Kam-bo Wong of the Centre for Protein Science and Crystallography, School of Life Sciences at The Chinese University of Hong Kong demonstrated a fundamental principle in changing the activity of enzymes by means of protein engineering. The findings provide potential insights into the future design of biotechnologically important enzymes, and will be published in next week's issue of the ...

The wispy arms of the Tarantula Nebula were originally thought to resemble spindly spider legs, giving the nebula its unusual name. The part of the nebula visible in this image from Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys is criss-crossed with tendrils of dust and gas churned up by recent supernovae. These supernova remnants include NGC 2060, visible above and to the left of the centre of this image, which contains the brightest known pulsar. The tarantula's bite goes beyond NGC 2060. Near the edge of the nebula, outside the frame, below and to the right, lie the remains ...

It is important for you to know the possible risks associated with breast augmentation before undergoing the procedure. With the placement of a foreign object into your body, breast augmentation carries an additional set of possible complications not found in other surgical procedures. Surgical Risks Just like any other surgical procedure, breast augmentation carries risk factors that pose an unlikely but serious threat to your health. Some serious surgical complications include: - Allergic reaction to anesthesia - general anesthesia carries rare but potentially ...

Wealthy, well educated people who choose to drink bottled water rather than water from public supplies may be no less exposed to potentially cancer-causing water contaminants, according to new research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Environmental Health. As part of the EPICURO national bladder cancer study, researchers from all over Spain quizzed 1,270 individuals about their water use and consumption in an effort to discover whether social class has any bearing on exposure to common water disinfection byproducts. High levels of trihalomethanes (THM), ...

Cell phone use is on the rise. The incidence of driving and talking or texting is too. Distracted driving and youthful drivers are two factors that have always impacted accident statistics. The combination of these two factors with the advent of the cell phone has added to an increasingly dangerous trend. Many states have already enacted legislation that place additional restrictions on youthful drivers and cell phone use. There are no such laws in the state of Georgia so even with the number of teen drivers in the greater Atlanta area no restrictions exist. The statistics ...

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) such as Prozac are regularly used to treat severe anxiety and depression. They work by immediately increasing the amount of serotonin in the brain and by causing long term changes in brain function. However it can take weeks of treatment before a patient feels any effect and both beneficial effects and side effects can persist after treatment is stopped. New research published by BioMed Central's open access journal Molecular Brain investigates physiological changes within the brain that may be caused by SSRI treatment. The ...

A new laser device created at the University of Central Florida could make high-speed computing faster and more reliable, opening the door to a new age of the Internet. Professor Dennis Deppe's miniature laser diode emits more intense light than those currently used. The light emits at a single wavelength, making it ideal for use in compact disc players, laser pointers and optical mice for computers, in addition to high-speed data transmission. Until now, the biggest challenge has been the failure rate of these tiny devices. They don't work very well when they face ...

U.S. Department of Transportation has issued a new rule aimed at preventing occupant ejections in passenger vehicles. The rule, issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), is designed to help reduce the number of people partially or completely ejected through side windows during rollover crashes, and will be phased in from 2013 to 2018. New side curtain airbags will be used to contain passengers inside the vehicle, though the standards require the airbag to prevent ejection even if the widow is open. The agency has also upgraded the roof ...

A new theory suggests an equation for identifying the cause and level of our responses to any humorous stimuli: h = m x s The theory argues that human beings are more reliant for their behavioural instruction on culturally inherited information than any other species, and that the accuracy of that information is therefore of unparalleled importance. Yet the individual is exposed to the continual threats of error and deception, which can seriously affect their chances of survival and success. To compensate, humour rewards us for seeing through misinformation that has ...

Research from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows, that a specific inflammatory factor may be important in the development of the heart valve disease aortic stenosis. The results suggest that anti-inflammatory medication could be a possible new treatment. Aortic stenosis is the most common heart valve disease, which is caused by calcium deposits and a narrowing of the aortic valve. This is typically seen in the elderly, but can also be caused by a congenital defect. Aortic stenosis is currently treated by surgical replacement of the diseased valve, but research is on-going ...

The Philadelphia law firm of Silvers, Langsam & Weitzman, P.C., known throughout the area as MyPhillyLawyer, is launching a brand new informational birth injury website. The website, www.birthinjuryinfo.org, will be a resource for families and parents of babies and children who suffered a birth injury as a result of negligent care during pregnancy or childbirth. The birth injury lawyers at MyPhillyLawyer are committed to providing relevant and up-to-date information about birth injuries, such as Erb's Palsy, Cerebral Palsy, brain injuries and other serious and life-threatening ...

Pilocytic astrocytoma, the most common brain tumor in children, is usually slow-growing and benign. However, surgeons often cannot completely remove the diffusely growing tumor. This means that patients need further treatment in order to destroy remaining tumor tissue. Chemotherapy or radiation therapy can lead to severe side-effects and have only little effect on these slowly growing tumors. Affected children therefore urgently need new, targeted therapies. A typical genetic defect in these brain tumors is already known: "From our own research we know that there is ...

Insufficient cleaning could allow build-up of microbes on orthodontic retainers, researchers at the UCL Eastman Dental Institute have found. Dr Jonathan Pratten and colleagues looked at the types of microbes which live on retainers. This study, which found potentially pathogenic microbes growing on at least 50% of the retainers, is published today in the Society for Applied Microbiology's journal Letters in Applied Microbiology and could indicate a need for the development of improved cleaning products for orthodontic retainers. Dr Pratten and his team took samples from ...

Improving land management and farming practices in Australia could have an effect on global climate change, according to a study published in the International Journal of Water. Natural Sequence Farming is a descriptor used when sustainable agriculture mimics the once highly efficient functions of the Australian landscape. NSF pioneer Peter Andrews of Denman in New South Wales and coordinator of the NSF movement, Duane Norris of Hardy's Bay, New South Wales explain how NSF techniques could re-couple environmental carbon and water cycles not only to improve farming yields ...

Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS) results from hepatic venous outflow obstruction at any level from hepatic venules to the right atrium. Few patients respond to medical treatment (anticoagulation ± thrombolytic therapy, diuretics). However, most patients need intervention to restore the hepatic blood flow. Restoring outflow in one of the major hepatic veins by balloon dilatation ± stenting is the management of choice. When not possible or failed, transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) is used. Follow up of patients after radiological intervention is crucial in ...

The incidence and mortality associated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have been increasing worldwide, and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection plays an important role in the pathogenesis of HCC. Previous studies have suggested that host factors, such as sex, alcohol consumption, smoking, diabetes mellitus, and obesity, are important risk factors for HCC. Meanwhile, it has been reported that HCV infection causes insulin resistance and leads to oxidative stress, potentiating fibrosis and hepatic carcinogenesis. However, the factors that influence the development of HCC ...

Vitamin D deficiency is a well reported complication in chronic cholestatic liver disease such as primary biliary cirrhosis. While the prevalence and treatment of this deficiency has been addressed in many articles over the last decades, little is known of the vitamin D status in alcoholic liver cirrhosis. A research article published on February 21, 2011 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. The authors described the serum vitamin D status in a retrospective case series of patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis compared to those with primary ...

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is dramatically increasing throughout the world. Insulin resistance is a hallmark of type 2 diabetes, and it most often precedes the onset of hyperglycemia and predicts development of type 2 diabetes. At present, thiazolidinediones (TZD), the agonists of the peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor γ, are the main agents to improve insulin sensitivity in the liver, adipose tissue, and skeletal muscle, thus improving glycaemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes. Despite the efficacy, some deleterious side effects of TZDs, including ...

City-data.com is a website that lists statistics about American cities and towns. Recently, I spent some time looking at the numbers for Prescott and Prescott Valley. I can't really tell you why I decided to check up on Yavapai County, but I did and what I found out led me to some interesting thoughts regarding bankruptcy in Prescott. Whenever I look at bankruptcy in an area I start off by diving into the data relating to housing and income. Prescott has a fairly low median income for Arizona at $41,010 where as Arizona as a whole has a median income of $48,745. This in ...

Impairment of oral intake occurs in the majority of patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) receiving chemoradiotherapy. Placement of prophylactic percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube in asymptomatic newly diagnosed HNC before chemoradiation is a common practice in some centers. In some studies, PEG has been associated with a decrease in treatment related weight loss in patients with HNC, but no studies have examined the utilization rate. A research article published on February 28, 2011 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. The ...

Its head looks like a turkey's, its body resembles a chicken's – now scientists can explain why one of the poultry world's most curious specimens has developed such a distinctive look. The Transylvanian naked neck chicken – once dubbed a Churkey or a Turken because of its hybrid appearance – has developed its defining feature because of a complex genetic mutation. Researchers at The Roslin Institute at The University of Edinburgh found that a vitamin A-derived substance produced around the bird's neck enhanced the effects of the genetic mutation. This causes a protein ...

Traditionally, both air and tap water have been used as oral contrast agents to achieve adequate gastric distension for preoperative computed tomography (CT) imaging in patients with early gastric cancer (EGC). Despite introduction of multi-detector row CT techniques and the use of multiplanar reconstruction (MPR) images, the detection rate of EGC on hydrostomach CT has still been unsatisfactory. A research article published on February 28, 2011 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. The authors conducted a comparison study for the detection ...

Colonoscopy is considered a safe procedure, although complications can occur. The most dreaded of these is iatrogenic perforation. The literature reports perforation rates of 0.03%-0.8% for diagnostic procedures, and a rate of 0.15%-3% for therapeutic procedures. Mechanisms of perforation are the result of either mechanical disruption of the colonic wall (e.g. thermal injury, forced push into a diverticulum, or stretching of the bowel with loops or the slide-by technique) or excessive air insufflation. After perforation, prompt abdominal surgery is usually recommended, ...

In a unique collaboration between scientists from the UK, Ecuador and Réunion, a new species of yeast has been discovered growing on the fruit of an unidentified and innocuous bramble collected from the biodiversity-rich Maquipucuna cloud forest nature reserve, near Quito, in Ecuador. "We are actively looking for new yeasts with the ability to ferment plant material to produce bio-energy," said Dr Steve James from the National Collection of Yeast Cultures at the Institute of Food Research in Norwich. The collection of yeasts at the institute is already used for bread ...

University of Manchester scientists have led an international team to discover new treatments for a rare and potentially lethal childhood disease that is the clinical opposite of diabetes mellitus. Congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) is a condition where the body's pancreas produces too much insulin – rather than too little as in diabetes – so understanding the disease has led to breakthroughs in diabetes treatment. This latest study, published in the journal Diabetes today (Wednesday), was carried out with clinical colleagues at hospitals throughout Europe and at the ...