Body

A research team led by Dr. Nada Jabado at the MUHC and Dr. Jacek Majewski at McGill University has proven for the first time that it is possible to identify any genetic disease in record time thanks to a powerful and reliable exome sequencing method. The exome, a small part of the genome (< 2%), is of crucial interest with regard to research on genetic diseases as it accounts for 85% of mutations. The results of the team's research have just been published in the journal Human Mutation.

Scientists have uncovered the flu's secret formula for effectively evolving within and between host species: balance. The key lies with the flu's unique replication process, which has evolved to produce enough mutations for the virus to spread and adapt to its host environment, but not so many that unwanted genomic mutations lead to the flu's demise (catastrophic mutagenesis). These findings overturn long-held assumptions about how the virus evolves.

Made popular for its ability to smooth wrinkles when injected into the face, Botox — a toxin known to weaken or paralyze certain nerves and muscles — may have another use that goes beyond the cosmetic.

Johns Hopkins researchers have found that patients with a painful and debilitating nerve compression disorder called thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS), which studies suggest may occur in up to 8 percent of the population, reported a significant reduction in short-term pain after receiving a single, low-dose injection of Botox in a muscle located in the neck.

A team of Spanish researchers has made a high-speed recording of elves and sprites in storms, fleeting and luminous electric phenomena produced in the upper layers of the atmosphere. Their analysis of these observations has been published in the Journal of Geophysical Research.

Jerusalem, June 10, 2010 – A scientist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment has succeeded in producing a replica of human collagen from tobacco plants – an achievement with tremendous commercial implications for use in a variety of human medical procedures.

Protein p53 is known as the guardian of the genome since it is basic for the genome's integrity by preventing the accumulation of mutations originating either by the cell's own mechanisms or by the action of external agents. The protein becomes activated in response to specific signals such as breaks in DNA. This activation implies a slowing of the cell's cycle which allows it to repair itself from the damage. If the damage is not repaired on time, the activation of p53 results in programmed cell death known as apoptosis.

Nursing home residents who used videoconferencing to keep in touch with family members felt it enriched their lives, according to a study in the June issue of the Journal of Clinical Nursing.

Thirty-four residents from ten nursing homes took part in the study. The 18 women and 16 men had an average age of 75.

All of them said the experience enriched their lives, just under two-thirds said it was the second-best option to family visiting and a third said it gave them a true picture of family life.

An online self-management tool for people with asthma has been shown to significantly improve their ability to reduce their symptoms. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Respiratory Research tested the system in 200 adults with asthma, finding significant effects in those whose asthma was either partly controlled or uncontrolled at the beginning of the trial.

An international research consortium has identified four common gene variants that are associated with blood levels of vitamin D and with an increased risk of vitamin D deficiency. The report from the SUNLIGHT consortium – involving investigators from six countries – will appear in The Lancet and is receiving early online release.

Oakland, Calif. (June 9, 2010) – Heart attacks declined by 24 percent within a large, ethnically diverse, community-based population since 2000, and the relative incidence of serious heart attacks that do permanent damage declined by 62 percent, according to a Kaiser Permanente Division of Research study in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Once damaged, nerves in the spinal cord normally cannot grow back and the only drug approved for treating these injuries does not enable nerve regrowth. Publishing online this week in the Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine show that treating injured rat spinal cords with an enzyme, sialidase, improves nerve regrowth, motor recovery and nervous system function.

OAK RIDGE, Tenn., June 9, 2010 -- Fish exposed to fly ash at the site of the Tennessee Valley Authority coal ash spill are faring better than some expected, researchers have learned.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory in collaboration with TVA has found that while small amounts of some contaminants from the December 2008 fly ash spill have been taken up by fish in the Clinch and Emory rivers, to-date, the fish collected downstream from the spill appear healthy relative to fish from unimpacted sites.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Researchers have discovered precisely why strands of some fluids containing long molecules called polymers form beads when stretched, findings that could be used to improve industrial processes and for administering drugs in "personalized medicine."