Baby fish in polluted San Francisco estuary waters are stunted and deformed

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Striped bass in the San Francisco Estuary are contaminated before birth with a toxic mix of pesticides, industrial chemicals and flame retardants that their mothers acquire from estuary waters and food sources and pass on to their eggs, say UC Davis researchers.

Using new analytical techniques, the researchers found that offspring of estuary fish had underdeveloped brains, inadequate energy supplies and dysfunctional livers. They grew slower and were smaller than offspring of hatchery fish raised in clean water.

From mother to daughters: A central mystery in cell division solved

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Researchers from the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a key step required for cell division in a study that could help improve therapies to treat cancer. Their work describing the mechanism of the contractile ring – a structure that pinches the mother cell into two daughter cells – has been published in the December 5 issue of the journal Science.

Children's cancer group recommends global evaluation system for neuroblastoma to improve treatment

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An international coalition of pediatric cancer physicians and researchers has developed new systems to standardize studies of neuroblastomas across the world. In the December issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the International Neuroblastoma Risk Group (INRG) presents three sets of papers outlining a: standard classification system; pre-treatment staging system; and an analysis of a rare group of patients.

The INRG studies provide for a unified system of clinical trials that will enable quicker identification of optimal treatments for neuroblastoma.

Leeds research points to new therapy for hepatitis C treatment

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Combination therapies similar to those used for HIV patients may be the best way of treating hepatitis C virus (HCV), say researchers from the University of Leeds.

A study of a protein called p7, has revealed that differences in the genetic coding of the protein between virus strains - known as genotypes - alter the sensitivity of the virus to drugs that block its function.

China's paradoxical policies on HIV and drug use threaten health

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Injection drug users sentenced to compulsory detention under China's paradoxical policies on HIV/AIDS and narcotics suffer human rights abuses that may imperil their health, says a new study published in the open access journal PLoS Medicine.

Low-income settings require local guideline development for childhood illness

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The next generation of case management guidelines for childhood illness need to be more locally informed, rather than relying on those centrally generated by organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO), argues a new essay published in the open access journal PLoS Medicine.

Discovery of microbe in roundworm provides animal model for 'emerging pathogen'

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Statins do not interfere with rituximab treatment for lymphomas, Mayo Clinic study finds

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ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Statins, drugs widely prescribed to lower cholesterol, do not interfere with a commonly used medication to treat lymphomas, according to a Mayo Clinic study presented today at the 50th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (http://www.hematology.org/meetings/2008/) in San Francisco. In fact, statins may slow the progression of certain types of lymphoma.

Why do some bird species lay only 1 egg? UC San Diego study offers some answers

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Why do some species of birds lay only one egg in their nest, while others lay 10 or more?

A global study of the wide variation among birds in this trait, known as the "clutch size," now provides biologists with some answers. The study, published in the current issue of the journal PLoS Biology, combined data on the clutch sizes of 5,290 species of birds with information on the biology and environment of each of these species.

Discovery of microbe in roundworm provides animal model for 'emerging pathogen'

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An international team of biologists has discovered a new species of microsporidia, a single-celled parasite of animals, in a roundworm used in genetic laboratories around the world.

The discovery, detailed in the current issue of the journal PLoS Biology, is a breakthrough for public health researchers who until now had been looking for a suitable laboratory model in which to study microsporidia—a class of emerging pathogens that can cause significant illness in humans.