Body

September 8, 2016--(BRONX, NY) --In research published online today in Science, a team of scientists describe a new therapeutic strategy to target a hidden Achilles' heel shared by all known types of Ebola virus. Two antibodies developed with this strategy blocked the invasion of human cells by all five ebolaviruses, and one of them protected mice exposed to lethal doses of Ebola Zaire and Sudan, the two most dangerous. The team included scientists from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, U.S.

Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are a leading cause of birth defect-related deaths. Understanding how genetic alterations cause such defects is complicated by the fact that many of the critical genes are unknown, and those that are known often contribute only small increases in CHD risk.

DNA, our genetic material, normally has the structure of a twisted rope ladder. Experts call this structure a double helix. Among other things, it is stabilized by stacking forces between base pairs. Scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have succeeded at measuring these forces for the very first time on the level of single base pairs. This new knowledge could help to construct precise molecular machines out of DNA.

Ants visually track the motion of objects as they move through their environment in order to determine the distance they have traveled, a new study reports. Such tracking, called optic flow, has been observed in a number of insects but was thought to be used only minimally by ants. Now, results by Sarah Elisabeth Pfeffer and Matthias Wittlinger suggest that certain ants can rely solely on optic flow to find their way back to their nest when lost.

Scientists have shown that a two-pronged antibody can counteract the unique immune-evasion mechanism that filoviruses like Ebola have evolved. This is a critical step on the road to developing treatments that protect broadly against ebolaviruses, for which there remains an urgent need. Filoviruses including Ebola have an unusual route into the host cell; they access the inside of cells through tiny transport vesicles, or endosomes, where they interact with a specific host-cell receptor called NPC1, and then become unmasked.

Researchers have developed a large culturing device to track the evolution of bacteria as they mutate in the presence of antibiotics, revealing that, surprisingly, the fittest mutants were not those most likely to infiltrate higher antibiotic concentrations. Instead, bacteria "behind" the very fittest on the growth plate became capable of surviving at highest antibiotic concentrations. The results provide important insights into the evolutionary patterns and mechanisms that drive bacteria's success in overcoming antibiotics, a phenomenon that threatens human health worldwide.

The normal flow of air high up in the atmosphere over the equator, known as the quasi-biennial oscillation, was seen to break down earlier this year. These stratospheric winds are found high above the tropics, their direction and strength changes in a regular two- to three-year cycle which provides forecasters with an indication of the weather to expect in Northern Europe. Westerly winds are known to increase the chance of warm and wet conditions, while easterlies bring drier and colder weather.

Cambridge, UK, September 2016: A new approach to developing a human vaccine against HIV has been developed by researchers at Kymab, a UK therapeutic antibody platform Company, The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) of San Diego, California, and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI). HIV is one of the most intransigent targets for vaccine development, and no effective vaccine has been developed in thirty years of global research.

TORONTO, Sept. 8, 2016--Newborn screening is considered to be a "baby's first test." Within the first two days of birth, a baby's heel is pricked to obtain a small amount of blood that is screened for up to dozens of genetic diseases, especially those where early detection and treatment can prevent irreversible damage.

However, technological advances have allowed newborn screening to test for hundreds of diseases, including those for which there may be no established treatment, and identify infants that are carriers of genes for certain diseases.

Irvine, Calif. -- Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are a leading cause of birth defect-related deaths. Understanding how genetic alterations cause such defects is complicated by the fact that many of the critical genes are unknown, and those that are known often contribute only small increases in CHD risk.

A Johns Hopkins University researcher noticed the bats he works with cocked their heads to the side, just like his pet Pug.

"It's an adorable behavior, and I was curious about the purpose," said Melville J. Wohlgemuth, a postdoctoral fellow in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences' Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences. "I wanted to know when bats were doing this and why. It seemed to occur as bats were targeting prey, and that turns out to be the case."

LA JOLLA, CA - September 8, 2016 - A series of new studies led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) describe a potential vaccination strategy to jump-start the selection and evolution of broadly effective antibodies to prevent HIV infection. The researchers plan to test this strategy in an upcoming human clinical trial.

(Edmonton, AB) Groundbreaking research from the University of Alberta has identified the structure of the infectious prion protein, the cause of "mad cow disease" or BSE, chronic wasting disease in deer and elk and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans, which has long remained a mystery.

New approaches that could spur the human body to produce HIV-blocking antibodies have been successful in mice mimicking the human immune system, according to five studies published today in the research journals Cell, Immunity and Science.

In a Comment in Nature, CDDEP Director Ramanan Laxminarayan and other experts in antimicrobial resistance suggest that the United Nations should reframe global efforts against antimicrobial resistance by adopting a defensive stance. The suggested focus should be in building the resilience of society and maintaining diversity in the "global microbiome" -- only a fraction of which causes human or animal disease.