Body | Page 2365 | Science Codex

Dietary fructose causes liver damage in animal model, study finds

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – June 19, 2013 – The role of dietary fructose in the development of obesity and fatty liver diseases remains controversial, with previous studies indicating that the problems resulted from fructose and a diet too high in calories.

However, a new study conducted in an animal model at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center showed that fructose rapidly caused liver damage even without weight gain. The researchers found that over the six-week study period liver damage more than doubled in the animals fed a high-fructose diet as compared to those in the control group.

A shot in the arm for old antibiotics

Slipping bacteria some silver could give old antibiotics new life, scientists at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University reported June 19 in Science Translational Medicine.

Fate of the heart: Researchers track cellular events leading to cardiac regeneration

In a study published in the June 19 online edition of the journal Nature, a scientific team led by researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine visually monitored the dynamic cellular events that take place when cardiac regeneration occurs in zebrafish after cardiac ventricular injury. Their findings provide evidence that various cell lines in the heart are more plastic, or capable of transformation into new cell types, than previously thought.

Nearly 7 in 10 Americans are on prescription drugs, Mayo Clinic study finds

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Nearly 70 percent of Americans are on at least one prescription drug, and more than half take two, Mayo Clinic researchers say. Antibiotics, antidepressants and painkilling opioids are most commonly prescribed, their study found. Twenty percent of patients are on five or more prescription medications, according to the findings, published online in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Expressly unfit for the laboratory

A new study challenges the orthodoxy of microbiology that in response to environmental changes, bacterial genes will boost production of needed proteins and decrease production of those that aren't. Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) found that for bacteria in the laboratory there was little evidence of adaptive genetic response. In fact, most bacterial genes appear to be regulated by signals unrelated to their function.

Scientists date prehistoric bacterial invasion still present in today's cells

Long before plants and animals inhabited the earth, when life consisted of single-celled organisms afloat in a planet-wide sea, bacteria invaded these organisms and took up permanent residence. One bacterium eventually became the mitochondria that today power all plant and animal cells; another became the chloroplast that turns sunlight into energy in green plants.

Genetics of cervical cancer raise concern about antiviral therapy in some cases

CORVALLIS, Ore. – A new understanding of the genetic process that can lead to cervical cancer may help improve diagnosis of potentially dangerous lesions for some women, and also raises a warning flag about the use of anti-viral therapies in certain cases – suggesting they could actually trigger the cancer they are trying to cure.

UMass Amherst researchers develop powerful new technique to study protein function

AMHERST, Mass. – In the cover story for the journal Genetics this month, neurobiologist Dan Chase and colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Amherst describe a new experimental technique they developed that will allow scientists to study the function of individual proteins in individual cell types in a living organism.

Study shows probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri NCIMB 30242 significantly increased vitamin D levels

Montreal, June 19, 2013 – A study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism is the first report of an oral probiotic supplement significantly increasing circulating vitamin D levels in the blood.

The lead author on the study, Mitchell Jones, MD, PhD, received the Early Career Investigator Poster Presentation Prize from the New York Academy of Sciences and the Sackler Institute for Nutrition Science at last week's Probiotics, Prebiotics, and the Host Microbiome: The Science of Translation conference in New York City(1).

Scientists find new source of versatility so 'floppy' proteins can get things done

LA JOLLA, CA – June 19, 2013 – Many proteins work like Swiss Army knives, fitting multiple functions into their elaborately folded structures. A bit mysteriously, some proteins manage to multitask even with structures that are unfolded and floppy—"intrinsically disordered." In this week's issue of Nature, scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) report their discovery of an important trick that a well-known intrinsically disordered protein (IDP) uses to expand and control its functionality.

Biologists identify the chemical behind cancer resistance in naked mole rats

Gorbunova and Seluanov identified the substance as HMW-HA, which caused them to test its possible role in naked mole rat's cancer resistance.

Genetic 'off switch' linked to increased risk factors for heart disease

Risk of heart and blood vessel disease may increase when a particular gene is switched off, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association's Emerging Science Series Webinar.

Two known biomarkers are high blood levels of certain fats – low-density lipoproteins ("bad" cholesterol) and high triglycerides. Another recognized biomarker is a protein called adiponectin, which is made in fat tissue and helps regulate the process of turning food into energy. At low levels it is associated with increased disease risk.

Higher strength statins do not increase risk of kidney injury

A higher strength of cholesterol-lowering drugs, or statins, did not increase the risk of kidney injury among heart attack survivors, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association's Emerging Science Series Webinar.

World Food Prize goes to a Belgian for the first time: The scientist Marc Van Montagu

WASHINGTON, Wednesday June 19, 2013 - The Flemish plant scientist Marc Van Montagu (born 1933) is being awarded the "World Food Prize 2013", jointly with the American scientists Mary-Dell Chilton and Robert T. Fraley. This was announced in Washington DC on Wednesday by the US Secretary of State, John Kerry. The World Food Prize - the "Nobel Prize for food and agriculture" - gives the award annually to one or more people whose work has been of exceptional social importance for the quality, quantity or availability of food.

Hartford consensus aims to improve survival after mass shootings

Philadelphia, PA (June 19, 2013) – In early April, senior leaders from medical, law enforcement, military, and fire/rescue agencies met in Hartford, Connecticut, to discuss one question: how can first responders improve survival after a mass casualty event?