Body

CHAPEL HILL – The virus that causes AIDS may undergo changes in the genital tract that make HIV-1 in semen different than what it is in the blood, according to a study led by researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

A drug to treat inflammation plays a surprising role reducing the level of infection caused by an opportunistic bug that is deadly for AIDS and cancer patients and others with weakened immune systems.

The drug, sulfasalazine, spurs the body to get rid of the fungal evaders by enhancing the body's ability to chew them up instead of leaving the debris to litter the lungs, where it would continue to provoke an onslaught of harmful inflammation.

If you have high blood pressure, binge drinking may dramatically raise your risk of stroke or heart-related death, according to a South Korean study reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Compared to non-drinkers with normal blood pressure, researchers found that the risk of cardiovascular death in men with blood pressure of at least 168 /100 millimeters of mercury was:

The brothers of men with prostate cancer are at an increased risk of prostate cancer diagnosis because of increased diagnostic activity and not necessarily because they carry a genetic mutation that increases risk of the disease, according to a study published online August 19 in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Want a slimmer, healthier community? Try building more sidewalks, crosswalks and bike paths.

A study authored by Professor David Bassett Jr. from the Department of Kinesiology, Recreation and Sport Studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and three other researchers was published today in the American Journal of Public Health, concluding that communities with more walkers and cyclists are healthier than those where people must rely on cars to get around.

WASHINGTON (19 August 2010) -- Five engineering breakthroughs, from restoring a degree of eyesight to developinng a new treatment for sudden cardiac arrest, were cited today by IEEE-USA, the U.S. career and public policy unit of the IEEE, the world's largest professional association for the advancement of technology.

The five breakthroughs, as included in television news reports recently distributed to 83 subscribing U.S. television stations, are:

CHAPEL HILL – Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have uncovered the genetic architecture controlling the growth of the collateral circulation – the "back-up" blood vessels that can provide oxygen to starved tissues in the event of a heart attack or stroke.

Like a stealth fighter plane, the barbastelle bat uses a sneaky hunting strategy to catch its prey. A team of researchers from the University of Bristol combined three cutting-edge techniques to uncover the secret of this rare bat's success.

Every night a battle between bats and their insect prey rages above our heads as bats call and listen for the echoes of their dinner. Many moths have developed a special anti-bat defense; unlike us, they can hear the ultrasonic calls of bats and avoid an attack with evasive flight.

Scientists have determined that Helicobacter pylori, the bacterium that causes peptic ulcers and some forms of stomach cancer, requires the vitamin B6 to establish and maintain chronic infection, according to research published this week in the online journal mBio™. This finding, along with the identification of the enzyme the microbe requires to utilize the vitamin, could lead to the development of an entirely new class of antibiotics.

Irvine, Calif., Aug. 19, 2010 — A UC Irvine study is the first to demonstrate that human neural stem cells can restore mobility in cases of chronic spinal cord injury, suggesting the prospect of treating a much broader population of patients.

Previous breakthrough stem cell studies have focused on the acute, or early, phase of spinal cord injury, a period of up to a few weeks after the initial trauma when drug treatments can lead to some functional recovery.

Despite growing awareness of the problem of plastic pollution in the world's oceans, little solid scientific information existed to illustrate the nature and scope of the issue. This week, a team of researchers from Sea Education Association (SEA), Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), and the University of Hawaii (UH) published a study of plastic marine debris based on data collected over 22 years by undergraduate students in the latest issue of the journal Science.

SEATTLE – An international team of researchers that includes investigators from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has made a critical advance in determining the cause of a common form of muscular dystrophy known as facioscapulohumeral dystrophy, or FSHD.

DALLAS – Aug. 19, 2010 – Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have uncovered a key weapon in the molecular arsenal the infectious bacterium Vibrio parahaemolyticus (V. para) uses to kill cells and cause food poisoning in its human host.

Scientists are closer to understanding what triggers muscle damage in one of the most common forms of muscular dystrophy, called facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD).

FSHD affects about 1 in 20,000 people, and is named for progressive weakness and wasting of muscles in the face, shoulders and upper arms. Although not life-threatening, the disease is disabling. The facial weakness in FSHD, for example, often leads to problems with chewing and speaking.