First-ever autism research conference to explore new frontiers
...nent organizations in the field. Spearheaded by parent activists, the plight of children with autism has been brought to national and international awareness. The scientific community has responded; an increasing number of scientists are carrying out research into all facets of the disorder. As a resul...Polyunsaturated fats implicated in rise in asthma in pre-school children
... recent asthma as children with a negative test. A parent with asthma doubled the risk and a serious respiratory infection before the age of 2 increased the risk by 93 per cent. But a diet high in polyunsaturated fat, equating to margarine usually spread on bread and foods regularly fried in polyunsaturated...Benefits from Alzheimer's plaque-producing reaction? Science study proposes role in gene expression
...ave long wondered about the normal function of the parent protein to the plaque molecules--the "amyloid precursor protein," or "APP," which is embedded in the cell membranes of neurons in the brain. The protein is split into pieces by a series of enzymes. The last of these reactions, called "gamma cleava...Science researchers report 'extremely unstable' gene expression in cloned mice
...xpression of imprinted genes is dependent on which parent transmitted the genes in question. In certain cases, a gene passed on by your mother would not be expressed, for instance, while the identical gene from your father would. The Science researchers decided to test this link between abnormal impri...Alzheimer's genetic susceptibility could bring fear and misunderstanding, religious scholars say
...iduals who have a first-degree relative (usually a parent or sibling) with the disease are at somewhat higher than the ordinary 13% lifetime risk; just on the basis of family history, then, we already know that lifetime risk more or less doubles. It is not the case that APOE genotyping would enhance what i...Discovery: Scientists find new reason red blood cells cut blood flow in sickle cell disease victims
...ene from a parent, he or she is a carrier like the parent but usually is symptom free. When two carriers have a child, there is a 25 percent chance the child will have sickle cell disease, 50 percent chance the child will be a carrier and a 25 percent chance he or she will have neither. Until about 1960, m...Scientists push enzyme evolution into high gear
...dified a larger fat. To figure out how to turn the parent enzyme into one that could modify smaller fats without losing efficiency, the first step was to find out which amino acids in the parental enzyme could change the enzymes specificity. The scientists used a technique to introduce mutations, one or two...Genomic leaders receive 2001 Biotechnology Heritage Award
...enomics, senior vice president of Applera (Celeras parent company, formerly named PE Corporation), and a trustee of The Institute of Genomic Research, a non-profit organization he founded in 1992. After establishing Celera in 1998, Venter led the effort to sequence the human genome using the whole-genome sh...You are what you eat and your kids are too
...ng health-eating healthy foods helps you be a good parent by being a role model for your children. The study was published in the May issue of the Journal of The American Dietetic Association. "Parents who value being a good role model are more likely to eat better, so that their children will follow suit,...Brain gene implicated in autism
...ch mutated variants of WNT2 were found in just one parent and in affected, but not in well, siblings. Both mutations were in coding regions of the gene. No mutated variants of WNT2 were found in 160 controls. Although they each affect only one of the gene's 1082 nucleotides, the mutations alter the amino a......ch of YASMIN continues in the tradition of Berlexs parent company, Schering AG, which introduced oral contraceptives in the European market 40 years ago. Over 500,000 women in Europe are currently using YASMIN, where the product has been available in several countries, including Germany, since November of ...In gene therapy first, scientists restore vision to dogs born blind
...copy of a mutated gene must be inherited from each parent to cause symptoms. Such mutations also occur in Briards and other dogs that have been inbred to preserve characteristics of their breed. "The retina initially looks normal," Hauswirth said. "Over time, however, the retina starts losing part of its ...In possible boon to sickle cell victims, basic scientists find reason cells stick
...ene from a parent, he or she is a carrier like the parent but usually is symptom free. When two carriers have a child, there's a 25 percent chance the child will have sickle cell disease, 50 percent chance the child will be a carrier and a 25 percent chance he or she will have neither. Until about 1960, mo......field that pulls the hydrogen ion farther from the parent molecule than usual - as much as five neighbors away. Most of the time, the electric field quickly dies away and the proton snaps back. "The electric field vanishes rapidly - it only lives for tens of femtoseconds - and then the proton just comes swe...Computer model predicts outcome of DNA shuffling
...so we can now predict where the DNA from different parent genes will recombine." DNA shuffling uses re...ture, sequence identity and the number of shuffled parent sequences affect the number, type and distribution of crossovers along the length of reassembled seq...Study: specialization affects recommendation of kidney failure treatment
...e treated by adult nephrologists. "If you're the parent of a teenager with kidney disease, you should be aware that the recommendation you get for dialysis may depend on whether you go to a pediatric or adult-trained nephrologist," says the study's lead author, pediatric nephrologist Susan Furth, M.D....Enzyme is key to hallmark of Alzheimer's-- moves to block it underway
...ks by trimming pieces off a larger molecule that's parent to the plaque protein, beta amyloid. Forming amyloid is a natural cell process, says Wong. It's part of a poorly understood event in cells in which amyloid appears and then is cleared. "But in Alzheimer's," he explains, "something goes wrong and ...NHLBI study shows reduced fat intake to lower cholesterol is safe and beneficial for children
... a family history of early heart disease or with a parent who has high blood cholesterol. Children and adolescents from such high-risk families who are found to have elevated blood cholesterol levels are advised to follow a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol. In addition, the panel suggested populati...Insects caught in a nutrient-poor food web
No self-respecting parent would raise a new baby on a diet of sugar alone. Instead, good parents are careful to give mothers milk or to mix formula containing all the energy and nutrients baby needs to grow. Unfortunately, Mother Nature is not such a doting parent. In a study......t. Beyond that, they are remarkably similar to the parent cells. But the group tried to regenerate the same cell line in experiments and were unable to do so. Allen-Hoffman says these types of mutations are one in a million in science. There are only four other documented examples of "immortal" cells devel...