Biology News
News from the December 2008 Journal of the American Dietetic Association
| 12/1/2008 | CHICAGO The December issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association features research studies focusing on the everyday eating habits of consumers. Researchers look at why fast foods continue to be a popular meal choice and methods for adding healthier foods to a person's diet. Studies published in the December 2008 Journal of the American Dietetic Association include : W... [Comments] |
First comprehensive 'inventory' of life in Antarctica
| 12/1/2008 | The first comprehensive "inventory" of sea and land animals around a group of Antarctic islands reveals a region that is rich in biodiversity and has more species than the Galapagos. The study provides an important benchmark to monitor how they will respond to future environmental change. Reporting this week in the Journal of Biogeography , the team from British Antarctic Survey and Unive... [Comments] |
Immune cells reveal fancy footwork
| 12/1/2008 | Our immune system plays an essential role in protecting us from diseases, but how does it do this exactly? Dutch biologist Suzanne van Helden discovered that before dendritic cells move to the lymph nodes they lose their sticky feet. This helps them to move much faster. Immature dendritic cells patrol the tissues in search of antigens. After exposure to such antigens they undergo a rigorous ma... [Comments] |
First trial in patients with a potential treatment of the incurable ALS muscle disease
| 12/1/2008 | Leuven (Belgium), Stockholm (Sweden) Permission has been granted to start the first safety and tolerability trial on patients for a remedy for ALS. ALS is an incurable, paralyzing neurodegenerative disorder that strikes 5 persons in every 100,000. The disease commonly affects healthy people in the most active period of their lives − without warning. Researchers from VIB at the K.U.Leuve... [Comments] |
Reprogrammable cell type depends on a single gene to keep its identity
| 12/1/2008 | Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have discovered that a certain differentiated cell type is so ready to change its identity that it requires the constant expression of a gene called Prox1 to dissuade it. The researchers showed that Prox1 acts as a two-way switch whose inactivity is sufficient to reprogram a specialized type of cell, called a lymphatic endothelial cell (... [Comments] |
Rivers are carbon processors, not inert pipelines
| 12/1/2008 | Microorganisms in rivers and streams play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle that has not previously been considered. Freshwater ecologist Dr. Tom Battin, of the University of Vienna, told a COST ESF Frontiers of Science conference in October that our understanding of how rivers and streams deal with organic carbon has changed radically. Microorganisms such as bacteria and single ce... [Comments] |
Eating eggs when pregnant affects breast cancer in offspring
| 12/1/2008 | A stunning discovery based on epigenetics (the inheritance of propensities acquired in the womb) reveals that consuming cholinea nutrient found in eggs and other foodsduring pregnancy may significantly affect breast cancer outcomes for a mother's offspring. This finding by a team of biologists at Boston University is the first to link choline consumption during pregnancy to breast cancer. It a... [Comments] |
Dictyostelium cells shown to lay 'breadcrumb trail' as first step in multicellular formation
| 12/1/2008 | When starved of their food source and then presented with a chemoattractant signal like cAMP, individual Dictyostelium cells acquire a polarized morphology and aggregate to form a migrating stream. This is the first step in a developmental program that culminates in the formation of a multicellular organism. Kriebel et al. show how this streaming response is coordinated at a single-cell level... [Comments] |
Claudin 11 stops the leaks in neuronal myelin sheaths
| 12/1/2008 | Devaux and Gow demonstrate how a tight junction protein called claudin 11 makes the neuronal myelin sheath a snug fit. The study will be published in the December 1, 2008 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology ( www.jcb.org ). Like the rubber coating on a copper wire, the myelin sheatha membrane extension of glial cells that spirals around the axons of neuronscreates an insulation laye... [Comments] |
Prostate cancer spurs new nerves
| 12/1/2008 | Prostate cancer and perhaps other cancers promotes the growth of new nerves and the branching axons that carry their messages, a finding associated with more aggressive tumors, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in the first report of the phenomenon that appears today in the journal Clinical Cancer Research . Previous research showed that prostate cancer follows the growth... [Comments] |
Marked improvement in body image, physical stamina, post-surgical pectus patients report
| 12/1/2008 | Patients who have had the common chest wall deformity known as pectus excavatum corrected report improved body image and ability to exercise, according to a study published December in the journal Pediatrics . The study, conducted at 11 North American hospitals, involved telephone interviews of more than 200 patients between the ages of 8 and 21 who had pectus excavatum surgery. Research... [Comments] |
Medicine News
Global Financial Crisis Fuels Need for Greater HIV and AIDS Assistance for Children
| 12/1/2008 | JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Dec. 1 The following is a statement from Martha Newsome, director of World Vision International's Global Health and HIV & AIDS Hope Initiatives: This World AIDS Day is being commemorated against the backdrop of a debilitating global financial crisis that threatens the livelihoods of vulnerable households and... [Comments] |
| 12/1/2008 | SOUTH EASTON, Mass., Dec. 1 Pressure BioSciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: PBIO ) ("PBI" or the "Company") today announced a comprehensive restructuring program designed to significantly reduce costs, centralize core operations, and refocus the Company's business strategy in specific areas where the Company's products have found significant market acceptance. The restructuring... [Comments] |
Young Gymnasts Facing Broad Range of New Injuries
| 12/1/2008 | MRI scans show knuckle, wrist and bone damage that could develop into early osteoarthritis MONDAY, Dec. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Young gymnasts now appear to be developing injuries well beyond one common to their sport, a new study says. Injuries to gymnasts' bones -- especially... [Comments] |  |
Health Needs of Autistic Children Often Unmet
| 12/1/2008 | Expenses greater than those for kids with other special needs, report shows MONDAY, Dec. 1 (Health Day News) -- Parents of autistic children are more likely to see their sons or daughter's special health needs go unmet, a new government report shows. Data from the National Surv... [Comments] |  |
IDO2 an active enzyme to target in pancreatic cancer
| 12/1/2008 | (PHILADELPHIA) An enzyme that is overexpressed in pancreatic cancer cells may hold the key to successfully treating the disease with targeted immunotherapy, researchers from Thomas Jefferson University reported at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the Southern Surgical Association. Previous data show that a protein, indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), is overexpressed in pancreatic ductal adeno... [Comments] |
Experts: Targeted agricultural investments will yield high results, slash poverty in Africa
| 12/1/2008 | MAPUTO, Mozambique (1 December 2008)Concerned that the global financial crisis will lead to cuts in funding for projects in developing countries, leaders of the world's largest agricultural research group today told a conference that relatively modest, well-targeted investments could greatly boost the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people living on less than $1 a day. Speaking... [Comments] |
Test-tube babies profitable business for the state
| 12/1/2008 | Increased financial support for IVF fertilization would be downright profitable for the state. Test-tube babies are an investment for the future, not an expense. This is shown by Anders Svensson, who studied this issue in a bachelor's thesis in economics at Lund University School of Economics and Management in Sweden. His article on the subject was recently published in Scandinavian Journa... [Comments] |
Towards improved immunotherapy
| 12/1/2008 | Amsterdam, December 1, 2008 A study (doi:10.1016/j.clim.2008.07.027) published by Elsevier this month in Clinical Immunology , the official journal of the Clinical Immunology Society (CIS), describes a new method that facilitates the induction of a specific type of immune suppressive cells, called 'regulatory T cells' for therapeutic use. These immune suppressive cells show great potential f... [Comments] |
| 12/1/2008 | CHICAGO, IL, Dec. 1 /PRNewswire/ - Cadens Imaging is pleased to announce the first CT colonography portable microserver. Cadens microserver integrates the efficient and ultra-fast CADENS Colon solution, featuring an innovative and entirely automated process of 12 minutes per patient. Cadens Imaging exhibits its unique product at the 94th annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North Americ... [Comments] |
NHS Human Services to Take Over Tri County Human Services Center
| 12/1/2008 | LAFAYETTE HILL, Pa., Dec. 1 Effective December 1, 2008, NHS Human Services (NHS), one of the largest non-profit providers of human services in the country, will expand operations to provide services in areas currently served by Tri County Human Services Center (TCHSC), headquartered in Carbondale, PA. TCHSC, along with its parent organization, Maxis Health System, has... [Comments] |
| 12/1/2008 | ORLANDO, Fla., Dec. 1 Many physicians are abandoningtraditional, insurance-based practices in favor of launching concierge orboutique medical practices because of the rising hassles of practicemanagement that can often overshadow patient care, and having to spend toomuch time addressing rising malpractice insurance costs and decliningreimbursement for health care.... [Comments] |