Body

Institute of Food Research scientists have discovered an unexpected synergy that helps break down fat. The discovery provides a focus to find ways to slow down fat digestion, and ultimately to create food structures that induce satiety.

"Much of the fat in processed foods is eaten in the form of emulsions such as soups, yoghurt, ice cream and mayonnaise,"" said Dr Peter Wilde from the Institute of Food Research, an institute of BBSRC. "We are unpicking the mechanisms of digestion used to break them down so we can design fats in a rational way that are digested more slowly."

Berkeley — Children who were exposed to organophosphate pesticides while still in their mother's womb were more likely to develop attention disorders years later, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.

Patients who receive a liver transplant due to alcoholic liver disease need to demonstrate periods of abstinence and often attend addiction treatment before transplantation. However, alcohol use disorders can recur, as can other diseases requiring transplantation, and thus alcohol use after liver transplantation is not uncommon. A new study published today in the American Journal of Transplantation reveals that those at highest risk to drink alcohol post transplant, especially in patterns that will damage their health, can be identified potentially preventing relapse.

Viruses that can invade host cells, initiate cancer and then flee from their own trail of destruction could be stopped in their tracks, say researchers writing in the September issue of the Journal of General Virology.

Current HIV treatments do not eradicate HIV from host cells but rather inhibit virus replication and delay the onset of AIDS. However, a new research published in BioMed Central's open access journal, AIDS Research & Therapy describes an innovative approach to eliminate HIV in host by targeted killing of only HIV infected cells. This approach if successful could lead into an anti-HIV therapy that will eradicate the virus.

A massive reduction in grasslands and the spread of forests may have been the primary cause of the decline of mammals such as the woolly mammoth, woolly rhino and cave lion, according to Durham University scientists.

The findings of the new study challenge the theory that human beings were the primary cause of the extinction of mammals through hunting, competition for land and increased pressure on habitats.

Six year olds with a squint are significantly less likely to be invited to birthday parties than their peers with normally aligned eyes, suggests research published online in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

The findings prompt the authors to suggest that corrective surgery should be performed not later than the age of 6, which is when the discrimination seems to emerge.

The world's first ever analysis of data from a full scale clinical trial in adults shows that training Health Visitors to assess and psychologically support mothers after childbirth can prevent the development of depression over the following year.

But the substantial reduction in the number of NHS health visitors was identified by researchers as a key issue for the health and well-being of mums.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A team of University of Michigan scientists has found that suppressing a newly discovered gene lengthens the lifespan of roundworms. Scientists who study aging have long known that significantly restricting food intake makes animals live longer. But the goal is to find less drastic ways to achieve the same effect in humans someday. The U-M results offer promising early evidence that scientists may succeed at finding targets for drugs that someday could allow people to live longer, healthier lives.

A gender-specific total knee prosthesis was developed to more closely match the anatomy of the female knee, aiming to be a better fit resulting in better outcomes for women. However, a recent study in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS) found that 85 women who received a gender-specific implant in one knee and a standard prosthesis in the other knee found no clinical benefits of the gender-specific knee.

SALT LAKE CITY—Following up a pioneering 2007 proof-of-concept study, a University of Utah biochemist and colleagues have developed a promising new anti-HIV drug candidate, PIE12-trimer, that prevents HIV from attacking human cells.

FINDINGS: The genes that are responsible for maintaining each cell type form DNA loops that link control elements for these genes. This surprising genome structure is generated and reinforced by two essential protein complexes that bridge the loops and contribute to proper gene regulation.

Scientists have reprogrammed stem cells from a key organ in the immune system in a development that could have implications for tissue regeneration.

Their research shows that it is possible to convert one stem type to another without the need for genetic modification.

Researchers, who used rat models, grew stem cells from the thymus - an organ important for our immune systems – in the laboratory using conditions for growing hair follicle skin stem cells.