LA JOLLA, CA-A close collaboration between researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the Institute for Advanced Study found that the tumor suppressor p53, long thought of as the "Guardian of the Genome," may do more than thwart cancer-causing mutations. It may also prevent established cancer cells from sliding toward a more aggressive, stem-like state by serving as a "Guardian against Genome Reprogramming." The new work, reported by Geoffrey M. Wahl, Ph.D., and Benjamin Spike, Ph.D., at Salk Institute and Arnold J. Levine, Ph.D., and Hideaki Mizuno, ...

NARRAGANSETT, R.I. – December 13, 2010 -- When a field of tubeworms was unexpectedly discovered on the side of a large underwater mountain 50 miles off the coast of Cyprus this summer, the finding was notable both for the discovery itself and for the process of the discovery. Found by a team of researchers led by marine explorer Robert Ballard, the tubeworms, in the genus Siboglinidae, have a symbiotic relationship with chemosynthetic bacteria; they both work together to metabolize warm, mineral-rich water that is seeping out of the seafloor. Numerous colonies of the ...

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists have identified the primary site where the virus that causes foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) begins infection in cattle. This discovery could lead to development of new vaccines to control and potentially eradicate FMD, a highly contagious and sometimes fatal viral disease of cloven-hoofed animals that is considered the most economically devastating livestock disease in the world. The discovery was made by scientists with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Foreign Animal Disease Research Unit at the Plum Island Animal ...

Over expressing a transcription factor that promotes the increase in number of mitochondria greatly improves the neurological function of transgenic mice models for Huntington's disease (HD), researchers today told the American Society of Cell Biology's 50th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia. Albert La Spada, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues at the UC San Diego (UCSD) explained that over expression of the transcription factor results in a substantial clearing of the mutant protein aggregates in the brains of the mice models for HD. The misfolded huntingtin (htt) proteins ...

Contact: Yael Chatav Schonbrun, Ph.D. Yael_Chatav@Brown.edu 401-455-6547 Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research The effects of Alcoholics Anonymous on women returning from prison This new research is the first of its kind to analyze the effects of Alcohlics Anonymous attendance in incarcerated women and its effects The effects of alcohol abuse, as well as recovery from it, have been intensely studied. However, incarcerated women have remained an extremely understudied population despite steadily increasing ...

Contact: John F. Kelly, Ph.D. jkelly11@partners.org 617-643-1980 Center for Addiction Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital Keith Humphreys, Ph.D. knh@stanford.edu 650-617-2746 Stanford University Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research The effects of spirituality in Alcoholics Anonymous on alcohol dependence New research shows that attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings may increase spirituality and help decrease frequency and intensity of alcohol use Alcoholics Anonymous is a widely known 12-step program that can ...

Contact: Craig R. Rush, Ph.D. crush2@uky.edu 859-257-5388 Department of Behavioral Science, University of Kentucky Medical Center Mark T. Fillmore, Ph.D. fillmore@uky.edu 859-257-4728 Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research Alcohol consumption may increase amphetamine abuse New research indicates that ingesting moderate amounts of alcohol may increase an individual's risk of amphetamine abuse Amphetamines are part of a large group of drugs known as stimulants, which are commonly misused in the United ...

Contact: Joseph L. Jacobson, Ph.D. joseph.jacobson@wayne.edu 248-701-2159 Wayne State University School of Medicine Julie A. Kable, Ph.D. Julie.Kable@choa.org 404-712-9833 Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research Deficits in number processing in children with ADHD and alcohol exposure: Similar but different New research shows that ADHD and alcohol exposure in children while similar have different causes On the surface, children with fetal alcohol exposure and attention deficit hyperactivity ...

CHICAGO --- People will gain significantly less weight by middle age – especially women – if they engage in moderate to vigorous activity nearly every day of the week starting as young adults, according to new Northwestern Medicine research. Women particularly benefitted from high activity over 20 years, gaining an average of 13 pounds less than those with low activity; while men with high activity gained about 6 pounds less than their low-activity peers. High activity included recreational exercise such as basketball, running, brisk walking or an exercise class or ...

Young adults, particularly women, who maintained high levels of moderate and vigorous activity over a period of 20 years experienced smaller gains in weight and waist circumference during the transition from young adulthood to middle age, compared to individuals with lower activity levels, according a study in the December 15 issue of JAMA. The prevalence of obesity has increased markedly since 1976, now exceeding 30 percent among U.S. adults, and has well-known associations with illness and disability. Although many studies have examined treatments for obesity, data ...

Use of certain measures for lung preservation after brain death in potential organ donors resulted in a nearly doubling of lungs eligible for donation, compared to a conventional strategy that is used, according to preliminary research published in the December 15 issue of JAMA. Of patients with relatively normal pulmonary function at the time of brain death, only 15 percent to 20 percent of these patients' lungs are subsequently suitable for transplantation, which may be the result in part from the ventilatory strategy used after brain death. There is controversy as ...

Analysis has identified variations of a gene that are associated with a type of tumor that forms within the adrenal gland, according a study in the December 15 issue of JAMA. The age group in which these variations were found are frequently excluded from genetic screening models for this type of tumor. Pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas are types of tumors. Pheochromocytomas form in the adrenal gland (gland located above the kidney) causing it to make too much adrenaline. Pheochromocytomas can cause high blood pressure, pounding headaches, heart palpitations, flushing ...

The imaging of tumour growth in zebrafish has revealed for the first time how newly formed cancer cells have the capacity to co-opt the immune system into spreading the disease, leading the way for investigations into potential therapies for eliminating early-stage cancer in humans. Using different coloured fluorescent tags, scientists at the University of Bristol labelled immune cells and tumour-forming cells in the translucent zebrafish in order to track their behaviour and interactions by live cell imaging. These dramatic findings, which are the result of a collaboration ...

Using automated screening techniques developed by pharmaceutical companies to find new drugs, researchers from UC San Diego and three other research institutions have discovered a molecule with the most potent effects ever seen on the biological clock. Dubbed "longdaysin," for its ability to dramatically slow down the biological clock, the new compound could pave the way for a host of new drugs to treat severe sleep disorders or quickly reset the biological clocks of jet-lagged travelers who regularly travel across multiple time zones. The researchers demonstrated the dramatic ...

Neonatal intensive care provides substantial population health benefits in Mexico relative to its costs, even for very premature babies, and as such offers exceptional value for money within the country's Popular Health Insurance (Seguro Popular) program, which offers free access to a specific set of health care interventions. Furthermore, neonatal intensive care could also be cost effective in other middle-income countries. These are the findings of a study by Jochen Profit from Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, USA, Joshua Salomon from the Harvard School of Public ...

Jeremy Keenan and colleagues report that during a cluster-randomized clinical trial in Ethiopia, nasopharyngeal pneumococcal resistance to macrolides was significantly higher in communities randomized to receive azithromycin compared with untreated control communities. Funding: The National Institutes of Health (NEI U10 EY016214) was the main supporter of this trial. This project was also supported by the Bernard Osher Foundation, That Man May See, the Harper Inglis Trust, the Bodri Foundation, the South Asia Research Fund, Research to Prevent Blindness, NIH/NCRR/OD UCSF-CTSI ...

Washington, DC — Monkeys moved thought-controlled computer cursors more quickly and accurately when provided with additional sensory feedback, according to a new study in the Dec. 15 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. While most brain-machine technologies rely only on visual feedback, this study demonstrated that these systems can be improved when users have additional input, such as a sense of the arm's position and motion, a sensation known as proprioception. With the aid of brain-controlled devices, paralyzed people have been able to send e-mail, ...

Inside a small cabinet the size of a dorm refrigerator in one of Himadri B. Pakrasi's labs, a blue-green soup percolates in thick glass bottles under the cool light of red, blue and green LEDS. This isn't just any soup, however. It is a soup of champions. The soup is colored by a strain of blue-green bacteria that bubble off roughly 10 times the hydrogen gas produced by their nearest competitors—in part because of their unique genetic endowment but also in part because of tricks the scientists have played on their metabolism. Hydrogen gas can be produced by microbes ...

DALLAS – Dec. 14, 2010 – Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered sets of genes active in cancer cells and normal tissue that predict survival time and potential new treatments for patients with non-small cell lung cancer. "Patient responses to cancer treatment vary widely and often depend on subtle biological differences among tumors," said Dr. David Mangelsdorf, chairman of pharmacology at UT Southwestern and co-lead author of the study, published Dec. 14 by PLoS Medicine. "These findings are important because the ability to determine which genes ...

If you want to look attractive and healthy, the best thing you can do is get a good night's sleep, finds research in the Christmas issue published on bmj.com today. For the first time, say the authors, there is scientific backing for the concept of beauty sleep. The study, led by John Axelsson from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, investigated the relationship between sleep and perceptions of attractiveness and health. The authors believe this research is important in today's 24 hour society with the number of people suffering from sleep disorders and disturbed ...

People can be reassured that while alcohol may slow down digestion after a rich calorific meal, enjoyed by many during the Christmas season, it will not cause indigestion symptoms such as heartburn, belching and bloating, finds research in the Christmas issue published on bmj.com today. In order to determine the effects of alcohol on the digestive system when rich meals are consumed, investigators at the University Hospital of Zurich, led by Dr Mark Fox now at the Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham, studied 20 individuals who either drank wine or black tea with cheese ...

Research in the Christmas issue published on bmj.com today explodes the Danish myth that it is possible to get drunk by submerging your feet in alcohol. The authors, led by Dr Peter Lommer Kristensen from the Hillerød Hospital in Denmark, say it was important that the myth underwent scientific scrutiny to prevent students wasting their time experimenting with this activity. Three adult volunteers took part in the study. None of them suffered from any chronic skin or liver disease and they were not addicted to alcohol or psychoactive drugs. The participants were not ...

The skeletons of kings and queens lying in mass graves in the Royal Basilica of Saint-Denis in Paris could finally have the solemn funeral ceremonies they deserve, say experts in the Christmas issue published on bmj.com today. Many of the graves in the Royal Basilica were destroyed by revolutionaries in 1793 and very few remains of the mummified bodies have been preserved and identified. Dr Philippe Charlier led the scientific breakthrough that has identified the head of the French King, Henri IV. A team of scientists from different fields of expertise including ...

Washington, D.C. (December 14, 2010) -- One of the rarest metals on Earth may be an excellent option for enabling future flash memory chips to continue to increase in speed and density, according to a group of researchers in Taiwan. "Incorporating nanocrystals of iridium into the critical floating gate portion of flash memory designs shows both excellent memory properties as well as stability in the high temperatures used in processing such semiconductor devices," says the research team leader, Wen-Shou Tseng of Taiwan's Center for Measurement Standards, Industrial Technology ...

Washington, D.C. (December 14, 2010) -- The manufacturing of semiconductor wafers used in all types of electronics involves etching small features onto a wafer with lasers, a process that is ultimately limited by the wavelength of the light itself. The semiconductor industry is rapidly approaching this fundamental limit for increasing the speed of the microchip. The development of a new intense 13.5-nm (extreme ultraviolet or EUV) light source will resolve this issue by reducing the feature size by an order of magnitude or so, according to Purdue researchers in the Journal ...