Body

PHILADELPHIA –- University of Pennsylvania bioengineers have demonstrated that the cells that line blood vessels respond to mechanical forces — the microscopic tugging and pulling on cellular structures — by reinforcing and growing their connections, thus creating stronger adhesive interactions between neighboring cells.

People who realize that stroke symptoms are occurring in a family member or friend still may not call 9-1-1 — delaying vital treatment, according to research published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

"This study emphasizes the critical roles that symptom recognition and the calling of 9-1-1 have in reducing delays in hospital arrival to receive urgent stroke treatment," said Chris Fussman, M.S., lead author of the study and an epidemiologist with the Michigan Department of Community Health in Lansing, Mich.

New Rochelle, NY, May 13, 2010—HIV disease tends to progress at a faster rate in infected individuals who consume two or more alcoholic drinks a day, according to an important new paper in AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. The article is available free online.

Hunting and fishing quotas limit the number of game animals or fish an individual may take based on harvests from the previous year. But according to a new study co-authored by University of Minnesota ecologist Craig Packer, this strategy may jeopardize wildlife populations.

The authors recommend that wildlife managers rethink policies for sustainable utilization. Setting limits on the number of days allowed for hunting and fishing rather than the number of trophies would be a more effective way to ensure continued supply and to prevent extinction.

SANTA CRUZ, CA--A major survey of lizard populations worldwide has found an alarming pattern of population extinctions attributable to rising temperatures. If current trends continue, 20 percent of all lizard species could go extinct by 2080, according to Barry Sinervo, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

An international team of biologists has found an alarming pattern of population extinctions attributable to rising temperatures. If current trends continue, up to 20 percent of all lizard species are predicted to go extinct by 2080. The study was published in the May 14th issue of Science.

PITTSBURGH—In a paper published this week in the journal Science, experts caution that important ethical issues in the testing of new therapies like stem cells may not be receiving the attention they deserve. Carnegie Mellon University's Alex John London joined McGill University's Jonathan Kimmelman and Marina Emborg of the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to examine the way scientists, physicians, and regulators evaluate risk and benefit when testing new drugs in human beings for the first time.

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers have identified tiny segments of RNA that may play an important role in the body's regulation of cholesterol and lipids. Their study found that the miR-33 family of microRNAs suppress a protein known to be important for generation of HDL – the "good cholesterol" that transports lipids to the liver for disposal – and for the removal of cholesterol from peripheral tissues, including cells that form atherosclerotic plaques.

New York, New York (May 13, 2010): Researchers at two laboratories at NYU Langone Medical Center have collaborated to identify a tiny micro-RNA, miR-33, that regulates key genes involved in cellular cholesterol transport. The study, published online May 13, 2010 in Science, found that inhibitors of miR-33 may be beneficial because they could enhance cholesterol removal from tissues and raise levels of HDL -- shown in clinical trials to promote regression of human atherosclerotic plaques.

Rush University Medical Center is testing whether celecoxib, known by its brand name Celebrex, can help prevent the growth of precancerous polyps that form in the colon, rectum and small intestine of children with an inheritable genetic disease called familial adenomatous polyposis.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – An aggressive, invasive aquatic organism that is on the state's most dangerous species list has been discovered in both Winchester Bay and Coos Bay, and scientists say this "colonial tunicate" – Didemnum vexillum – has serious economic and environmental implications.

Its propensity to foul surfaces of boats, fishing nets, water intakes, docks and buoys could make it costly to control, and its ability to smother shellfish beds and sensitive marine environments threatens other marine life.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – A new commentary on the nature of pathogens is raising startling new questions about the role that fundamental science research on evolution plays in the understanding of emerging disease.

Ecological speciation, and specifically speciation that occurs when a subset of a population shifts onto a novel host, is one of the main routes for the emergence of new fungal diseases in plants, argue the authors of a new paper published online in Trends in Ecology & Evolution (TREE).