Body

Cambridge, Mass., June 2, 2010 – Scientists have developed a new massively-parallel approach for manipulating single DNA and protein molecules and studying their interactions under force. The finding appears in the June 2 issue of Biophysical Journal.

The West African forest gecko, a secretive but widely distributed species in forest patches from Ghana to Congo, is actually four distinct species that appear to have evolved over the past 100,000 years due to the fragmentation of a belt of tropical rain forest , according to a report in this week's issue of the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- When kidney cancer spreads to other body parts, patients usually receive a poor prognosis. A new Mayo Clinic study examined the benefits of surgical treatment of kidney cancer, specifically renal cell carcinoma, and how patients saw improved prognosis of their cancer. These findings were presented today at the American Urological Association meeting in San Francisco.

PHILADELPHIA - Using high-throughput sequencing to map the locations of a common type of jumping gene within a person's entire genome, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine found extensive variation in these locations among the individuals they studied, further underscoring the role of these errant genes in maintaining genetic diversity.

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. ---- A Nova Southeastern University study recently presented at a national conference found that 80 percent of poker players around the world reported using drugs and other substances to enhance their performance in poker.

Poker players are using drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, Valium, and other prescription medications, as well as substances including caffeine, energy drinks and guarana to get an edge over their opponents.

Since the beginning, plants and animals have deployed various mechanisms to fight pathogens. Proteins have always played an important part in this armoury, and a broad variety of defensin proteins have become part of the immune system of plants, insects and other animals except mammals. Now scientists from Regensburg discovered that those proteins also play a role in the "sex life" during the fertilization process of plants. These findings will be published next week in the online, open access journal PLoS Biology.

The era of one-size-fits-all medicine will eventually be history; after all it is no news that drugs and treatments do not work the same for everyone. For patients with nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC), a lung cancer that kills approximately 1 million people annually, the treatment currently available is basically the same for all patients, despite the fact that some patients may respond to treatment while others may not. New biological markers and prognostic tools are urgently needed to help doctors decide on the best course of action for each NSCLC patient.

Over 100 million people in rural southern Asia are exposed every day to unsafe levels of arsenic from the well-water they drink. It more than doubles their risks for cancer, causes cardiovascular disease, and inhibits the mental development of children, among other serious effects.

Every spring, migratory birds like the Black-throated Blue Warbler journey from tropical Caribbean or South American refuges to North American forests. But which forest patch will they call home this year? And, how can researchers predict where they choose to nest?

LA JOLLA, CA – June 1, 2010 –In findings that contribute to efforts to design an AIDS vaccine, a team led by Scripps Research Institute scientists has determined the structure of an immune system antibody molecule that effectively acts against most strains of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS.

The study, which is being published in an advance, online issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) during the week of June 1, 2010, illuminates an unusual human antibody called PG16.

An analysis of Medicare data from 1993 through 2006 for older patients hospitalized for heart failure indicates that along with a decrease in hospital length of stay, the rate of in-hospital and 30-day mortality has decreased, while the rate of hospital readmission and discharge to skilled nursing facilities has increased, according to a study in the June 2 issue of JAMA.

An examination of the treatment received by patients with myocardial infarction (heart attack) at 80 hospitals in Quebec indicates that those who received either primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI; such as angioplasty) or fibrinolysis (administration of medication to dissolve blood clots) beyond the times recommended in international guidelines had a significantly increased risk of death within 30 days, along with an increased risk of the combined outcome of death or readmission for heart attack or heart failure at one year, according to a study in the June 2 issue of JAMA

Inconspicuous "little brown balls" in the ocean have helped settle a long-standing debate about the origin of malaria and the algae responsible for toxic red tides, according to a new study by University of British Columbia researchers.

In an article published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition, UBC Botany Prof. Patrick Keeling describes the genome of Chromera and its role in definitively linking the evolutionary histories of malaria and dinoflalgellate algae.

Negative health effects linked to taking too much supplemental calcium are on the rise, according to a commentary appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). The incidence of the so-called milk-alkali or calcium-alkali syndrome is growing in large part because of widespread use of over-the-counter calcium and vitamin D supplements.