Body

New Haven, Conn.—Yale University engineers have for the first time created 3D models of whole intact mouse organs, a feat they accomplished using fluorescence microscopy. The team reports its findings in the May/June issue of the Journal of Biomedical Optics, in a study published online this week.

A team of Vanderbilt chemists has developed a novel method for chemically synthesizing peptides that promises to lower the cost and increase the availability of drugs based on natural compounds.

Researchers from the University of Grenoble Medical School in France determined that cardio-respiratory aerobic exercise is safe for patients with stable rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The team found that RA patients who exercised regularly had improved function, less joint pain, and greater quality of life. Full findings of the study are now available online and will publish in the July print issue of Arthritis Care & Research, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology.

(PHILADELPHIA) Previous studies have shown that antiviral treatment reduces the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). But now, researchers from the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Thomas Jefferson University are reporting that the antiviral therapy also prevents recurrence of HCC and extends patients' lives.

A laboratory milling device for improving stored grain management has been developed by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and an industry cooperator.

The system, called the "insect-o-graph," can detect internal insects in wheat that are not visible to the eye or that cannot be detected by usual grading methods. The device, built by National Manufacturing, Inc. (NMI), of Lincoln, Neb., was based on ARS-developed technology.

COLLEGE STATION, June 24, 2010 — Some viruses insert themselves into the host's DNA during infection in a process called retroviral integration, causing several diseases, including AIDS and cancer, notes a Texas A&M researcher who specializes in fetal diseases. However, stem cells that give rise to the early embryo and yolk sac fight back, inhibiting further infection by aggressively silencing the invading viral DNA, says Michael Golding of the Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology.

The work of the researcher was recently published in Cell Stem Cell.

Even in the dark abyss of the deep ocean animal communities can undergo rapid, widespread and radical changes. Scientists at the National Oceanography Centre are at the forefront of monitoring these changes and understanding the mechanisms responsible. Their latest research is published in a special issue of the journal Deep Sea Research II.

GALVESTON, Texas – For someone with a severe, incurable lung disorder such as cystic fibrosis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a lung transplant may be the only chance for survival. Unfortunately, it's often not a very good chance. Matching donor lungs are rare, and many would-be recipients die waiting for the transplants that could save their lives.

AUGUSTA, Ga. - The most common – and under-diagnosed – genetic disease in humans just may be a cause of the worst form of macular degeneration, Medical College of Georgia researchers report.

(PHILADELPHIA) Reporting in the journal Urology, researchers at Thomas Jefferson University have found that a pre-emptive multimodal pain regimen that included pregabalin (Lyrica) decreased the use of opioid analgesics in patients undergoing robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is characterized by frequent diarrheal attacks and anal bleeding. Histologic characteristics of UC are the invasion of the crypt epithelium and lamina propria by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), disruption of the epithelial lining, and consequently mucosal ulceration and crypt abscess formation in the bowel wall. Regulation of the migration of inflammatory leukocytes into the intestinal tissues is considered to be a therapeutic option for patients with UC.

C-reactive protein (CRP) is used to assess disease activity in diverse inflammatory disorders including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, in IBD, a significant number of patients present with low CRP levels despite clinically active disease. In paediatric patients with IBD the performance of CRP is an understudied area. High-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) measures CRP levels that were previously thought to be under the detection limit. In paediatric IBD, this kind of highly sensitive marker is needed for the detection of the presence of inflammation.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease is a serious complication after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT), which is widely accepted as a curative therapy for advanced hematological malignancies including leukemia and malignant lymphoma. CMV disease can involve many organs and stomach is a common target. Few reports have been published regarding endoscopic examination in diagnosing CMV gastritis after allo-SCT.