High HIV RNA levels major risk factor for mother-to-child HIV transmission
...ernal HIV viral load, is the prime risk factor for transmitting the virusto her baby. Women who had high levels of HIV in their blood -- whether they received theanti-HIV drug AZT or not -- transmitted the virus to their infants more oftenthan women with low levels of HIV. The studies, which appear in the Augu...Clay M. Armstrong, MD, wins 1999 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award
..."Conveying nerve impulses through the body is like transmitting an electricalsignal faithfully over a very long distance," Armstrong explains. "Both requirethe equivalent of amplifiers along the way. When a signal enters a cell, itdoesn't simply pass through. The ion channels are needed to perfectly reproducethe ...Why muscle strength seeps away: a new cause for muscular dystrophy
...arry the specific gene variant. The probability of transmitting both critical copies (mutant alleles) to an offspring is 25%. A recessive disease can be suggested if at least two children are affected in the same family. If different recessive defects result in very similar disease manifestations like in disorde......to focus on studying tyrosine kinases, i.e. signal transmitting proteins. He aims at determining the three-dimensional structure of certain domains of these proteins and identifying the amino acids involved in their interaction with other proteins. This will help to study the structural basis of the interactions ...Scientists identify gene that causes fatal lung disease
...nstantly inactivate this receptor and stop it from transmitting information to the cell. All these mutations disrupt this receptor. It is possible that that disallows or in some way causes a dysfunctional complex to form. It still forms, but it doesn't transmit a signal because it has one bad copy. Or it could be...UCSF researchers identify regulator of critical brain messenger, hinting at therapy
...transmitter glutamate is a key player, ceaselessly transmitting critical instructions between nerve cells. Now, UCSF researchers have identified the protein that transports the chemical signal to its launch site in nerve cells, offering a possible new target for treating such diseases as Alzheimer's disease. The ...Soybean pest native to China detected in U.S. for first time
...n. Growers also are concerned about soybean aphids transmitting diseases to the crop. "Although the soybean aphid may transmit plant diseases, it's too late for growers to begin spraying insecticides to limit disease transmission by aphids. At this point, any damage has already been done," Grau says. Like the soy...AIDS vaccine study harnesses 'killer' immune cells to control virus, prevent disease in animals
... decrease the likelihood of an infected individual transmitting the virus. This could have important ramifications for the AIDS epidemic," says Letvin, also a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. "The findings shed new light on what can be reasonably expected from the candidate AIDS vaccines that ...Scientists launch the worlds first marine life census
...ed tags, timed data recorders and other electronic transmitting devices on different species of birds, marine mammals and fish. Among the criteria considered were the cost of each device (they can run thousands of dollars apiece) and the amount of effort required to physically tag each critter. Two animals wit...Brain gene implicated in autism
...g separation of the linkage signal. In 24 families transmitting the associated SNP variant, the linkage signal increased from the original 2.7 to 3.7, providing strong support for linkage, while in the 26 other families, the linkage signal decreased to nearly 0. This lopsided split in the linkage signal supports ...Chemist at University of California, San Diego, wins national award for drug research
...ns help direct processes in the body as diverse as transmitting signals in the brain to destroying an invading virus. The question we ask is how do these biomolecules work, and how can we improve on them that is, to make a drug more selective and more potent, said Goodman, a bioorganic chemist. For example, Ther......is means that the calcite lens array is capable of transmitting light without splitting it in different directions. But does the lenss geometrical shape place its optical focus precisely over the area where the brittlestars nerves are located under the skeleton? In other words, do the lenses guide and focus lig...Gene therapy reduces drinking in "alcoholic" rats
...reasing the level of a brain protein important for transmitting pleasure signals can turn rats that prefer alcohol into light drinkers, and those with no preference into near teetotalers. The findings, published in the first September 2001 issue of the Journal of Neurochemistry (Vol. 78, No. 5), may have implicat...UFS Mcknight Brain Institute researchers: Pioneering spinal cord procedure appears safe
...ing communication along the bodys main channel for transmitting nerve system signals. After noting promising results in rats and cats, the UF team designed a small study to test the procedures feasibility and safety in humans. Since their transplant surgeries, the first two patients have remained neurologically ......matosis patients in this study had no more risk of transmitting viral infections than did other donors. This finding should help guide future decisions on blood donations by these patients. If people with hemochromatosis qualify as donors then that could potentially have a significant impact on the national bloo...Baxter's HomeChoice Pediatric dialysis system receives market clearance from FDA
...the data with the physician either using a disk or transmitting through a modem. New software features help to improve patient compliance as they allow physicians to remotely collect and analyze the data, and make any necessary prescription adjustments. Peritoneal dialysis machines, such as HomeChoice Pediatric...Researchers find gene involved in pain relief
...rphin in the region of the spinal cord involved in transmitting and controlling pain messages. The mice, they discovered, had decreased sensitivity to acute, inflammatory and neuropathic pain. "The attenuated pain response was evident for all types of pain in all types of tissue tested," says Salter. "The fact t...Blood markers may reflect newborns' potential of contracting HIV
Preventing HIV-infected pregnant women from transmitting the virus to their newborns has long been a major ...l medications keep the virus in check, the risk of transmitting HIV to a newborn is only about 1 percent to 2 percent. A new study by researchers at Johns Hopkins a...Clamping down on a cancer-causing protein
...ng certain parts, and then examining the molecules transmitting capabilities in the test tube. When they removed a cap section that connects itself to two major substructures of the molecule, they discovered that Abl could no longer be shut down. BCR-Abl doesnt have this cap, so other parts of the the molecule pr......nd from the virus' head and tail fibers. While transmitting its messages, the baseplate also prepares the virus machinery to eject its DNA into the host cell. "A whole series of events are required to recognize, attach and confirm the attachment, and then contract so that the viral DNA can be ejected into...