Gabriela Cezar's stem cell research targets birth defects and cancer
...department has had such visibility in the past, he notes - through the efforts of reproductive physiologist Neal First, a pioneer in cloning research, and others. "Gabby is carrying our name back into these circles with a very modern, high-impact research topic," Schaefer says. Cezar also cites the tal...Stress imaging tests predict prognosis of heart disease in obese persons
..., the leading cause of death in the United States, notes a report in the August issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine. "Stress myocardial perfusion imaging (or stress testing)--with better imaging quality made possible by using technetium-labeled agents--has apparently resulted in improved detection o...UMass Lowell research shows benefits of apple juice on neurotransmitter affecting memory
...lems associated with memory loss." Shea also notes that a human clinical study evaluating consumption of apple products will begin in the near future....Study shows hope for ridding lakes of clawed invader
...g Sparkling Lake of its rusty crayfish is the key, notes Jake Vander Zanden, a UW-Madison professor of limnology who is helping oversee the experiment. "One important message is that trapping alone will not do it. There's a synergistic effect with the fish playing an important role." Smallmouth bass and ...New genetic findings add to understanding of OCD
...mary candidate gene for OCD," they write. Hanna notes that the finding of genetic vulnerabilities for OCD are important, but so is the understanding of how environmental factors -- including hormones and infections -- may play a role in the onset of the disorder. He directs the U-M Child & Adolescent...Scientists map the flight of the bumblebee
...t-tongued). Bumblebees leave chemical 'post-it' notes on flowers they have just visited to tell others they have taken all the nectar ...Viral genetic differences are possible key to HIV dementia
...responsible for the neurological damage." Pillai notes that the issue of HIV dementia is particularly important in regions outside North America and Europe where state-of-the-art antiretroviral medications are not widely available and HIV infection frequently leads to dementia. SFVAMC staff physician...UCLA researchers transform stem cells found in human fat into smooth muscle cells
...e excited about future applications." Rodriguez notes the many advantages of using a patient's own fat stem cells for organ re-growth and tissue regeneration, including no need for anti-rejection medications. In patients with a diseased or absent organ, who cannot use their own organ tissue for regener...Rise in sea level, loss of wet lands may account for unstable ground in Mississippi Delta
...ot necessarily apply to the entire delta. He also notes that well-documented high-subsidence rates in and near the lower "bird foot" of the delta--so named because the waterways form the shape of a bird's foot--indicate that different conditions prevail there. "It remains to be demonstrated how rapidly ...ACS Weekly PressPac -- July 12, 2006
...werful new insights into health and disease, Amato notes in the article. ARTICLE #4 "Pulling Genes' Strings: Genes would be hardly more than molecular dead weight if not for the 'epigenetic' context that turns them on and off" CONTACT: Michael Bernstein ACS News Service Phone: 202-872-6042 Fax: 202-...Researchers unveil strategy for creating actively-programmed anti-cancer molecules
...promising the targeting property of the adapters," notes Sinha. The results showed those mice treated with the new compound developed significantly fewer metastases than those treated with other similar compounds or the antibody alone. These results, the study noted, were a "significant enhancement in th...Prion disease agent causes heart damage in mouse study
...ducibly and reliably at high titers in the blood," notes Oldstone. In the future, this finding could help scientists answer basic questions such as how prions travel in the bloodstream, as well as develop such important applications as a blood-based diagnostic test to identify brain-wasting diseases and......Alan Rabinowitz, who directs WCS big cat programs, notes that this kind of accountability with specific numbers over a specific time period, is a new concept for conservationists. "We're putting our reputations on the line and holding ourselves accountable that we can grow tiger numbers," said Rabinowitz....Mutation in tumor suppressor gene causes pancreatic islet cells to reproduce
...sulin-secreting beta cells and treating diabetes," notes Hua. "We did not expect the connection between a study about a tumor suppressor and a potential new avenue for treating diabetes," he adds. "By taking advantage of studying a genetically well-characterized tumor syndrome, MEN1, we set out to unders...New genes implicated in rheumatoid arthritis
...verin is abundantly expressed in synovial tissue," notes the study's leading author, Joseph Holoshitz, M.D. "11-HSD2 and Cyr61 have not previously been directly implicated in RA," he adds. Uncovering 3 new genes with a clear abundance in RA, this study supports the promise of microarray analysis to not o...ACS Weekly PressPac -- June 26, 2006
...ium, are closed for environmental reasons. C&EN notes that indium has become so precious that recyclers may begin scraping the material off discarded LCDs. Manufacturers also are seeking ways to use less costly alternatives, such as zinc oxide. ARTICLE #5 "Riding on Flat Panels: Materials supplier...Epilepsy drug eases symptoms of inherited disorder that weakens muscles
...l appear in the August 8 issue of Neurology. Weihl notes that a larger, prospective trial is needed to firmly establish valproate as a treatment of choice for sufferers of this type of SMA. Such trials are already underway elsewhere in pediatric patients who suffer from a different type of SMA that begins ...Gene-regulating enzyme is also a target for anti-depressive drugs
...edically relevant areas. For example, Shiekhattar notes that the enzyme studied exists in a complex with another type of gene-regulating enzyme that has been implicated in the development of cancer. Inhibitors of that second enzyme are currently in clinical trails as cancer therapies. "Might particular mo...Study points to genes responsible for malaria parasite's survival in attempts to eradicate it
...ty far above and beyond basic housekeeping genes," notes Winzeler. "Most genes in the malaria parasite are highly conserved, but these appear to be evolving rapidly." Why? According to the study, "guilt by association" would indicate that the genes that are rapidly evolving are the very genes responding to...Basic work on E. coli identifies two new keys to regulation of bacterial gene expression
...dical, environmental and agricultural importance," notes Rick Gourse, a professor of bacteriology who published the Cell paper along with a team from his lab. "This knowledge can ultimately be put to use in systems that aren't so amenable to investigation, such as bacteria that cause cholera, produce anthr...