Body

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Since the 1990s, a green fluorescent protein known simply as GFP has revolutionized cell biology. Originally found in a Pacific Northwest jellyfish, GFP allows scientists to visualize proteins inside of cells and track them as they go about their business. Two years ago, biologists who discovered and developed the protein as a laboratory tool won a Nobel Prize for their work.

WHAT:In a clinical trial involving HIV-negative volunteers with early-stage syphilis, researchers have found that antibiotic pills (azithromycin) are as effective as penicillin injections in curing early-stage syphilis. The study was supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.

The University of Navarra, together with the University of Oxford and three other European centres, are taking part in a project to discover the origin of myelodysplasia, an ailment with a predisposition to develop into leukaemia. In the work, patients from 19 hospitals in the north of Spain – including the University Hospital of Navarra - were analysed, as well as from England, Italy, Sweden and Germany.

Ohio scientists hope to counter the re-emerging threat of tuberculosis (TB) with help from proteins from our bodies. In a research report published in the June 2010 print issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology (http://www.jleukbio.org), scientists show how the protein CCL5 plays a protective role in helping the body ward off this contagious, airborne disease in the early stages of infection. CCL5 is a member of a large family of proteins responsible for immune cell migration toward infection sites.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – While some Latino immigrants to the United States may be accepted as "white" by the wider society, a new study finds that many of them face discrimination based on skin color.

In fact, the research showed that relatively darker-skinned Latinos earned less than their lighter-skinned counterparts.

The results suggest that the rapid influx of Latino immigrants will shift the boundaries of race in the United States, but will not end skin-color-based discrimination.

Science has long believed that a warmer climate will increase river runoff to the Baltic Sea, thus making the inland sea less salty. However, a new extensive study from the University of Gothenburg reveals that the effect will probably be the opposite: climate change will reduce river runoff and increase salinity in the Baltic Sea.

"There could be major consequences for the Baltic's sensitive ecosystem," says researcher Daniel Hansson.

The University of Nottingham spin-out company, Oncimmune Ltd, has developed a ground breaking blood test which will aid the detection of cancer as much as five years earlier than current testing methods such as mammography and CT scans. Physicians will know the result of their patient's test within one week of sending in a blood sample to Oncimmune.

For the first time, human embryonic stem cells have been cultured under chemically controlled conditions without the use of animal substances, which is essential for future clinical uses. The method has been developed by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and is presented in the journal Nature Biotechnology.

Washington, DC, 31 May 2010 — The Child Soldiers Global Report 20081 estimates that more than 300,000 children are engaged as soldiers around the globe, and more children are recruited every year in ongoing and new conflicts. Although a number of multinational coalitions are aligned to stop the recruitment of child soldiers, some countries persist in not only the recruitment of children but also in exposing children to both the psychological and physical dangers associated with combat.

Eating the meat of animals hunted using lead ammunition can be more dangerous for health than was previously thought, especially for children and people who consume large quantities. This is reflected in a study carried out by British and Spanish researchers that has been published by the journal PLos ONE.

Many tumor cells would not be viable due to aberrant chromosome distribution if they had not developed a special trick. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center have investigated which genes are responsible for this survival strategy of cancer cells. The revealed that cancer cells rely on the tension of specific protein fibers to be able to multiply. Thus, proteins which maintain this tension are promising targets for new, target-specific anticancer drugs: If they are switched off, cancer cells die.