Body

SALT LAKE CITY, April 25, 2010 – Knocking genes out of action allows researchers to learn what genes do by seeing what goes wrong without them. University of Utah biologists pioneered the field. Mario Capecchi won a Nobel Prize for developing knockout mice. Kent Golic found a way to cripple fruit fly genes. Now, biologist Erik Jorgensen and colleagues have devised a procedure for knocking out genes in nematode worms.

Scientists may be one step closer to being able to generate any type of cells and tissues from a patient's own cells. In a study that will appear in the journal Nature and is receiving early online release, investigators from the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Regenerative Medicine (MGH-CRM) and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI), describe finding that an important cluster of genes is inactivated in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) that do not have the full development potential of embryonic stem cells.

ANAHEIM, CA – Discovered in 1976, cryptosporidium lurks worldwide in water, contaminating swimming pools, water parks, and drinking water supplies. Although it has even been featured on the comedy show The Colbert Report, it is no laughing matter—this microscopic pathogen is a leading cause of diarrhea and malnutrition and the most common source of infection in immune-weakened people such as AIDS patients. It is also a potential bioterrorism agent.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Scientists have combined chemistry and biology research techniques to explain how certain bacteria grow structures on their surfaces that allow them to simultaneously cause illness and protect themselves from the body's defenses.

The researchers are the first to reproduce a specific component of this natural process in a test tube – an essential step to fully understanding how these structures grow.

LOS ANGELES (April 21 2010) –Physician scientists at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute are presenting new findings on heart transplantation rejection factors such as race and gender, the effects of pre-transplant smoking and whether homeless organ donors put recipients at higher risk for complications. The presentations will take place April 21 – 24 in Chicago during the 30th Annual Scientific Meeting of the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation.

Los Angeles, CA (April 23, 2010) Obesity rates for American adults have stabilized while the rate of childhood and minority obesity is rising, according to a study in the journal Medical Decision Making, published by SAGE.

Scientists at The University of Nottingham have discovered the gene that enables an extraordinary worm to regenerate its own body parts after amputation — including a whole head and brain.

Their research into the Planarian worm is another piece in the scientific jigsaw that could one day make the regeneration of old or damaged human organs and tissues a real possibility.

New evidence shows immunization against "swine flu" in 1976 might provide individuals with some protection against the 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza virus, according to new research from St. Jude investigators.

Researchers found that individuals who reported receiving the 1976 vaccine mounted an enhanced immune response against both the 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus and a different H1N1 flu strain that circulated during the 2008-09 flu season. The work appears in the April 23 online issue of the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

BOSTON – It is an accepted fact that genetics play a key role in a person's susceptibility to cancer, and that throughout life, mutations can cause damage to tumor suppressor genes (TSGs) further increasing the chances of developing cancerous tumors.

A Johns Hopkins team has identified a protein in sensory cells on the "tongues" of fruit flies that allows them to detect a noxious chemical and, ultimately, influences their decision about what to eat and what to avoid.

A report on the work, appearing April 19 in the online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), raises the possibility that the protein — TRPA1 — is a new molecular target for controlling insect pests.

INDIANAPOLIS – Structural and functional congenital cardiovascular abnormalities present at birth are the leading source of all congenital defects encountered in live births. Nearly half a million children in the United States have structural heart problems ranging in severity from relatively simple issues, such as small holes between chambers of the heart, to very severe malformations, including complete absence of one or more chambers or valves.

A 3-year, retrospective study by cardiologists from the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation and the University of Minnesota determined that 28.8% of patients with significant coronary artery disease (CAD) who did not undergo complete revascularization had a higher mortality rate than patients completely revascularized. Results of this study appear in the May issue of Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions.

Research suggests pathogenic strains of Group B Streptococcus (GBS) are an under-recognised cause of urinary tract infections.

The bacteria are better known as a cause of infection in pregnant women with subsequent risks of preterm delivery and transmission to newborn infants often with devastating consequences.

Microbiologist Dr Glen Ulett, from the Griffith Institute for Health and Medical Research, said pathogenic strains of GBS have been shown to bind to the surface of human bladder cells as the initial step in the development of urinary tract infections.

LA JOLLA, CA – April 22, 2010 – Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF) have shed new light on the molecular mechanism that enables us to sense temperature, such as the heat from a sizzling stove. In addition to contributing to our knowledge of basic biology, the findings could one day lead to new therapies for conditions such as acute or chronic inflammatory pain.

If plants did not defend themselves in some way, they would certainly be gobbled up by a whole suite of voracious predators ranging from little insects to large mammalian herbivores. Indeed, not only do plants defend themselves, they typically have more than one kind of defense. When a plant has several options, how does it choose? Does it allocate multiple defenses to the same tissues or defend different tissues in different ways?