JCI Table of Contents, 15 July 2004
.... While this molecular explanation seemed to hold true for many of the disease characteristics, there were several that could not be explained by this mechanism. Now, Harry Dietz and colleagues from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, provide a series of experiments, utilizing mouse genetic mod...Acamprosate: potential medication for treating alcoholism
... done during drug development. This is especially true of medications that work on the brain and liver, where alcohol has its major effects. It is important to know whether a medication can alter the metabolism of alcohol, for example, increasing blood alcohol levels that would make the person more into...New pulmonary hypertension guideline challenges use of common medication
...ication of therapies now available." Although the true incidence of PAH is unknown, it is estimated that over 100,000 people in the United States suffer from PAH and several thousand new cases are diagnosed each year. Pulmonary hypertension can develop in patients of all ages and ethnic groups, and both...When sun's too strong, plankton make clouds
People say size doesn't matter, and that may be true for tiny plankton, those free-floating ocean plants that make up the bottom of the marine food-chain. Little plankton may be able to change the weather, and longer term climate, in ways that serve them better. It's almost hard to believe, but new NA...Confidentiality of genetic databases questioned by Stanford researchers
... anonymous," Lin said. "We found that's really not true because the DNA code itself is an identifier." To demonstrate this, the researchers looked at specific sites in DNA that commonly vary from person to person, accounting for many genetic differences. Each person has about 5 million such sites in their...'Trap' crop saves Texas cross timbers melon production
...t it in the first place, but this was particularly true with yellow vine. "Usually, once it started, it was unstoppable." Mitchell said. One strategy was to plant a trap crop, something the squash bugs would find more attractive than a melon. And what do squash bugs like best? You guessed it: squash. T...Gene alteration points to longevity, thinness
...lifespan in addition to the other benefits. Unlike true genetic knockouts, with scientists completely removing both copies of a gene so 100 percent of function is gone or taking out one copy so the gene functions at half capacity, the MCG scientists cannot determine the exact gene activity level in their ...Carnegie Mellon U. imaging study reveals sex-based differences that persist as mice enter adulthood
...bly distort the tissue, which in turn corrupts the true brain structure, according to Ahrens. "With MRM, we are able to use intact brains, revealing a much better image of structures in the whole brain compared to widely accepted histological techniques," Ahrens said. MRM is based on the same pri...A fly's taste experience is much like our own
...ny fine taste distinctions, she said. This also is true of mammals, whose taste receptors send the brain only the basic taste notes of food. Odor receptors provide the fine discrimination of smells that allows us to distinguish foods and enjoy eating. "The simplicity of the gustatory map of the fruitfly i...ESA and EADS-CASA sign contract to build instrument for the SMOS mission
...roved more data are urgently required. The same is true for data on ocean salinity - only a small fraction of the ocean is sampled on any regular basis. However, salinity is an important factor driving the currents in the ocean and in turn ocean circulation plays a crucial role moderating the climate. The...A gene that keeps species apart
... Biology, Daniel Barbash and colleagues identify a true speciation gene in the fruitfly Drosophila. One o...rid compatibility gene and confirm its status as a true speciation gene....Study probes ecosystem of tree holes
...h one another at different spatial scales. This is true for this community, but also many other communities work in this way." Kneitel said the scale of the tree hole system allows him to ask "big picture" questions of ecosystems that can't be asked on a large scale. "You can't really ask ......to other mammals, the findings in mice likely hold true in humans, he adds. Benjamin Arenkiel, a human ...rves to make the appropriate circuits. This may be true not only for nerves in the face, but for other Hox genes that help form nerves that control the body...Volcanic soils yield new clues about the emergence of powerful chiefdoms in Hawaii
... in the 18th century. "The Hawaiian Islands had a true class system led by chiefs who enjoyed elite privileges," Kirch noted. "To maintain the social order at the level they were accustomed to, the chiefs had to go into a mode of aggressive action. It's interesting that the really aggressive chiefdoms ca...Nation's plant database falling behind, survey shows
...the trend toward doing less collecting which holds true from the vast holdings of the Field Museum in Chicago to smaller plant museums that house only a few thousand specimens. Their article, "The Decline of Plant Collecting in the United States: A Threat to the Infrastructure of Biodiversity Studi...Obesity and hypertension: Two epidemics or one?
...ent for obesity hypertension remains the tried and true method that leads to weight loss and other lifestyle modification....When combining new oral anti-cancer agents with standard chemotherapy, timing may be crucial
...rmine whether Gumerlock's laboratory findings hold true in patients. Based on his preclinical work, a phase I trial of docetaxel followed by erlotinib in patients with non-small cell lung cancer is already under way at UC Davis Cancer Center. Angela Davies, assistant professor of hematology/oncology at UC...Lung cancer patients in Japan, United States react differently to the same chemotherapy regimen
... in one part of the world may not necessarily hold true for populations in other regions," said lead investigator David Gandara, director of clinical research at UC Davis Cancer Center and professor of medicine at the UC Davis School of Medicine. "We need to be cautious when we extrapolate from one popula...Junk DNA yields new kind of gene
...s by making a product-a protein or enzyme. This is true of those that provide the body's raw materials, the structural genes, and those that control other genes' activities, the regulatory genes. The new one, found in yeast, does not produce a protein. It performs its function, in this case to regulate a ......s likely to be damaged, but also by reflecting the true active nature of the arterial system that compensates for and minimizes any disturbance. The authors further tested their in vitro predictions in an animal model, and, in seeing in the animals what was predicted to occur from their bench top model, ...