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New guidelines, released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) outline steps to eliminate bloodstream infections in patients with intravenous catheters, which are among the most deadly and costly healthcare-associated infections (HAIs).

LA JOLLA, CA—When cells find themselves in a tight spot, the cell cycle regulator p21 halts the cell cycle, buying cells time to repair the damage, or if all else fails, to initiate programmed cell death. In contrast to other stress-induced genes, which dispense with the regular transcriptional entourage, p21Cip1 still requires SKIP, a transcription elongation factor that also helps with the editing of transcripts, to be expressed, found researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

Some may think that the mosquito and the house fly are worlds apart when it comes to common ancestry but new research published this week by an international team of scientists puts them much closer together in evolutionary history.According to a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, the mosquito branched off the same evolutionary tree as the house fly around 220 million years ago.

Berlin, Germany, Friday 1st April 2011: Highly anticipated data from a number of clinical trials presented for the first time at the International Liver CongressTM confirmed that a range of new proteases inhibitors will help treat patients who have previously failed therapy for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C.1,2,3,4,5

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is often diagnosed too late in children and adolescents. In the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2011; 108: 173-79), Susanne Walitza and her colleagues point out that appropriate early recognition and treatment can positively affect the course of the disease.

The dormouse in Alice in Wonderland was well advised to stay asleep – especially as doing so did not prevent it from taking a full part in the tea-time conversation. Dormice in Europe spend about eight months of the year asleep and are extremely safe during this extended period, with almost all of them surviving the winter. This result comes from a study of dormouse survival rates in Austria, the Czech Republic, England, Germany and Italy.

A potential new experimental diagnostic test able to quickly distinguish individuals with active tuberculosis (TB) from those with latent TB infection has been developed. If the preliminary results of the study will be confirmed in a larger population sample, the new diagnostic system could allow more effective strategies to control the spread of the re-emerging pathology.

New research from the University of Cincinnati provides food for thought.

The research examined how short-term and long-term hunger affected mate selection and aggression in female wolf spiders (Schizocosa ocreata) commonly found in the eastern United States and Canada. These female spiders are potentially aggressive and cannibalistic when approached by a courting male.

Athens, Ga. – A University of Georgia researcher studying invasive ladybugs has developed new models that help explain how these insects have spread so quickly and their potential impacts on native species.

A technique developed by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists for tracking pathogens has helped confirm that Escherichia coli is not likely to contaminate the internal vascular structure of field-grown leafy greens and thus increase the incidence of foodborne illness.

New York – April 1, 2011 - There's more good news about pure maple syrup from the University of Rhode Island (URI). Researchers there have now identified 54 compounds in maple syrup from Canada, double the amount previously reported, and many with antioxidant activity and potential health benefits. In laboratory studies, they acted as anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory agents. Initial studies also suggest that maple compounds may inhibit enzymes relevant in Type 2 diabetes management.

This study establishes a unique system to perform in vivo RNAi screens for genetically dissecting the cellular signalling networks that regulate hepatocyte proliferation during chronic liver damage.1

Functional in vivo validation studies show that stable knockdown of the candidate gene by different shRNAs can significantly increase the repopulation efficiency of mouse hepatocytes and also increase the regenerative capacity of chronically damaged mouse livers.

Study shows, for the first time, the successful reprogramming of diseased human hepatocytes into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC).1

Results also found differentiation into mature hepatocytes was more efficient than that with fibroblast-derived iPSCs.

The generation of diseased hepatocyte-derived human iPSC lines provides a good basis for the study of liver disease pathogenesis.

Berlin, Germany, 01 April 2011: Findings from two new studies presented today at the International Liver CongressTM confirm that there are options for clinicians to expand the pool of liver grafts for use in patients with liver disease.

DARIEN, Ill. – A study in the April 1 issue of the journal SLEEP demonstrates that an Internet-based intervention was effective at reducing infant and toddler sleep disturbances, as well as providing positive, indirect benefits for maternal sleep, mood and confidence. The study suggests that the Internet can give parents widespread access to individualized, behaviorally based advice for sleep problems in young children.