Body

Spore-like reproductive cysts of enigmatic organisms called acantharians rapidly sink from surface waters to the deep ocean in certain regions, according to new research. Scientists suspect that this is part of an extraordinary reproductive strategy, which allows juveniles to exploit a seasonal food bonanza.

The research shows that deep sedimentation of cysts during the spring delivers significant amounts of organic matter to the ocean depths, providing a potential source of nutrients for creatures of the deep.

Prostate-specific dietary supplements should not be taken during radiation therapy treatments because they have been shown to increase the radiosensitivity of normal prostate cell lines, leading to normal tissue complications, according to a study in the March issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

A field of golden-flowered stems swaying in an autumn breeze may evoke a peaceful scene. But this tranquility belies serious battles between natural enemies that took place in the spring. In particular, young goldenrod stems are subjected to attack by several species of insects that lay eggs in their apical-leaf buds, inducing growths called galls that can reduce or even completely prevent goldenrod from flowering and producing seeds.

The King Cobra continues to weave its charm with researchers identifying a protein in its venom with the potential for new drug discovery and to advance understanding of disease mechanisms.

The novel protein named haditoxin has been described in the prestigious Journal of Biological Chemistry (March 12, 2010).

The editorial board of the journal has selected this work as the "Paper of the Week" recognising it as being in the top one per cent of their published articles in terms of significance and overall importance.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – A recent discovery in understanding how to chemically break down the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into a useful form opens the doors for scientists to wonder what organism is out there – or could be created – to accomplish the task.

University of Michigan biological chemist Steve Ragsdale, along with research assistant Elizabeth Pierce and scientists led by Fraser Armstrong from the University of Oxford in the U.K., have figured out a way to efficiently turn carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide using visible light, like sunlight.

A new study has found that one in three early-stage breast cancer patients who received genomic testing when deciding about treatment options felt they did not fully understand their discussions with physicians about their test results and their risk of recurrence. About one in four experienced distress when receiving their test results.

Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the findings suggest there is room for improvement in communicating cancer recurrence risks and treatment decisions with patients.

Women's community groups have had a dramatic effect on reducing neonatal mortality rates in some of the poorest areas on India, according to a study published today in the journal the Lancet. The groups provide a cost-effective intervention with added benefits such as reducing significantly maternal depression and improving decision-making amongst the women.

Vitamin D Crucial To Activating Immune Defenses

Scientists at the University of Copenhagen have discovered that Vitamin D is crucial to activating our immune defenses and that without sufficient intake of the vitamin, the killer cells of the immune system – T cells - will not be able to react to and fight off serious infections in the body.

Pediatrics researchers have identified the first major gene location responsible for a severe, often painful type of food allergy called eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE). In this disease, which may cause weight loss, vomiting, heartburn and swallowing difficulties, a patient may be unable to eat a wide variety of foods.

WHAT:Scientists have identified a region of a human chromosome that is associated with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), a recently recognized allergic disease. People with EoE frequently have difficulty eating or may be allergic to one or more foods. This study further suggests that a suspected so-called master allergy gene may play a role in the development of this rare but debilitating disorder.

More Americans now drink sugar-sweetened sodas, sport drinks and fruit drinks daily, and this increase in consumption has led to more diabetes and heart disease over the past decade, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's 50th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.

Cells may not have a mouth, but they still need to ingest substances from the external environment. If this process - known as endocytosis - is affected, it can lead to infectious diseases or cardio-vascular diseases, cancer, Huntington’s and diabetes. In cooperation with the Center for Information Services and High Performance Computing (ZIH) at the Dresden University of Technology, scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics therefore applied a new strategy to identify and characterize genes involved in endocytosis.

The increased risk of colorectal cancer associated with obesity may be largely restricted to tumors that have no or low microsatellite instability (MSI), a common condition in most colorectal cancers, according to a new study published online March 8 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

This study was undertaken because little is know about the associations between body mass index and adult weight gain and the risk of colorectal cancer overall and by tumor MSI status.

Non-traditional therapies relieve pain among a wide range of hospitalized patients as much as 50 percent, according to a first-of-a-kind study in the Journal of Patient Safety.

The study shows that an inpatient integrative medicine program can have a significant impact on pain in an environment where pain management continues to be a major challenge, and traditional medications can have negative consequences.

Adults who have both diabetes and major depression are more than twice as likely to develop dementia, compared to adults with diabetes only, according to a study published in the recent Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Dementia is the progressive decline of thinking and reasoning abilities. These can include memory loss, difficulty with basic math, wandering, living in the past, personality changes, and not recognizing familiar people.