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CLEMSON, S.C. — As peach trees go, it doesn't look much different than its kin at the Clemson University Musser Fruit Research Farm, but appearances can be deceiving. This one, a Lovell variety, has a unique genetic characteristic that made it a standout in the orchard. Its DNA — its genetic set of instructions for living — has been sequenced by scientists, enabling further research to identify beneficial traits to grow better trees and fruit.

Although new developments in the management of spinal cord injuries (SCI) are on the horizon, any eventual cure for the condition is more likely to involve a multidisciplinary approach, drawing from expertise in several fields, according to a review article published in the April 2010 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS).

CLEMSON, S.C. — As peach trees go, it doesn't look much different than its kin at the Clemson University Musser Fruit Research Farm, but appearances can be deceiving. This one, a Lovell variety, has a unique genetic characteristic that made it a standout in the orchard. Its DNA — its genetic set of instructions for living — has been sequenced by scientists, enabling further research to identify beneficial traits to grow better trees and fruit.

The hunter-gatherers who inhabited the southern coast of Scandinavia 4,000 years ago were lactose intolerant. This has been shown by a new study carried out by researchers at Uppsala University and Stockholm University. The study, which has been published in the journal BMC Evolutionary Biology, supports the researchers' earlier conclusion that today's Scandinavians are not descended from the Stone Age people in question but from a group that arrived later.

CORAL GABLES FL (April 1, 2010)-- University of Miami assistant professor in the College of Engineering, Na Li and her collaborators have developed a fast, economical and easy method to detect melamine in milk. Melamine is the compound found in contaminated pet food and in tainted dairy products from China in 2007 and 2008 respectively. The laced dairy products were responsible for sickening thousands of people, especially children. The situation caused recalls of Chinese dairy products all over the world.

Reston, Va.—For a patient with heart failure, checking whether the heart could benefit from bypass surgery or a stent is critical to ensuring survival. One imaging technique, positron emission tomography (PET) with the imaging agent fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), may provide doctors with the information they need to make more informed treatment decisions, according to research published in the April issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine (JNM).

More than half of donor kidneys in the United State infected with hepatitis C are thrown away, despite the need among hepatitis C patients who may die waiting for an infection-free organ, Johns Hopkins research suggests.

In a study of national data published online in the American Journal of Transplantation, the researchers say that while outcomes are slightly worse when hepatitis C-positive patients receive hepatitis C-positive organs, the advantages of more timely transplants may outweigh the risk of waiting — perhaps more than year — for a hepatitis C-negative kidney.

Congenital stationary night blindness, an inherited condition that affects one's ability to see in the dark, is caused by a mutation in a calcium channel protein that shuttles calcium into and out of cells. Now, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have teased apart the molecular mechanism behind this mutation, uncovering a more general principle of how cells control calcium levels. The discovery, published in the Feb.

Plants respond to attacks by herbivores or pathogens by activating defense programs that drive off or even kill the attackers. These defense responses require a great deal of the plant's energy and reserves, which would otherwise be invested in growth and reproduction. So, it's very important to strictly control the activity of defense genes. Hormones, such as the jasmonates, are crucial in this process – and the plant produces these hormones when subjected to stress conditions.

Two major transplant centers in Hong Kong and South Korea released results from their paired donor exchange programs for living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). A single paired exchange, performed by the Hong Kong team under emergency circumstances, was a success. The Korean team reported 16 donor exchanges conducted over a 6-year period were successful.

The ATG16L1 gene is located on chromosome 2 and encodes a protein involved in the formation of autophagosomes during autophagy. Autophagy is a cytoplasmic process that keeps a cell stable. Hampe et al first identified ATG16L1 as a Crohn's disease (CD) susceptibility gene in 2007, and many other studies have arisen since then. However, the definite relationship of variants of ATG16L1 with IBD remains unclear.

Solid pseudopapillary tumor (SPT) of the pancreas is a rare neoplasm with a low malignant potential, usually affecting young women in the second or third decade of life. With widespread availability of high-quality imaging systems and a better understanding of its pathology, the number of cases reported in the literature has been steadily increased in recent years.

Islet transplantation is a promising treatment for type 1 diabetes mellitus. The promotion of angiogenesis is an important endeavor to prevent islet graft failure. Endothelial precursor cells (EPCs), a heterogeneous group originating in the hematopoietic compartment of bone marrow, have an important role in the angiogenesis of adult tissues. Transplanted EPCs induce hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) under hypoxic conditions which leads to upregulation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and promotes vascularization.

Gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are two very common disorders affecting the gastrointestinal tract. About 10% of the population experience daily discomfort from reflux of gastric contents into the esophagus. More than 10% of the population experience abdominal pain and disturbed bowel movement because of irritable bowel syndrome. Until recently, the dominant view in clinical practice was that GERD and IBS are two different diseases with no link.

Research published in the April edition of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology sought to compare the outcomes of a sleeve lobectomy and a pneumonectomy procedure, in order to determine which is a more acceptable standard treatment for patients with non-small cell lung cancer. A pneumonectomy treatment involves removing one entire lung, whereas a sleeve lobectomy removes only a section of the lung that contains the tumor. The sleeve lobectomy was first introduced for patients with lung cancer who were unable to tolerate a pneumonectomy due to compromised lung function.