A forthcoming article in The Quarterly Review of Biology provides the basis for an argument against using the Gibbs free energy equation to accurately determine the thermodynamics of microbial growth.
Body
Many maple trees share a suite of important arthropod pests that have the potential to reduce the trees' economic and aesthetic value. Now a new open-access article in the Journal of Integrated Pest Management offers maple tree owners information about the biology, damage, and management for the most important pests of maples with an emphasis on integrated pest management (IPM) tactics for each pest.
MRI scans of children who have had chemotherapy can detect early changes in their hearts finds research in biomed Central's open access journal Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance.
The BMJ and Channel 4 Dispatches investigated and found that evidence suggesting potential harm from the drugs in industry studies has not been published.
Some independent studies challenge the conclusions of the drugs manufacturers' own research. Now some medical experts and patient groups are calling on the pharmaceutical companies to be more transparent in reporting of study data and to enter into dialogue about safety concerns.
As a result, millions of patients around the world have not been fully informed about some of the possible risks.
Paris, France: The group of genetic conditions known as spinocerebellar ataxias currently have no treatment or cure and are always fatal, in the case of affected children at an early age. Symptoms include a progressive lack of co-ordination of gait, and poor co-ordination of hands, speech and eye movements, due to a failure of co-ordination of muscle movements.
Shenzhen, China - The duck genome consortium, consisted of scientists from China Agricultural University, BGI, University of Edinburgh and other institutes has completed the genome sequencing and analysis of the duck (Anas platyrhynchos), one principal natural host of influenza A viruses, which caused a new epidemic in China since this February. This work reveals some noteworthy conclusions and provides an invaluable resource for unraveling the interactive mechanisms between the host and influenza viruses.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (June 9, 2013) – Researchers at Whitehead Institute have identified a protein that is the target of glucocorticoids, the drugs that are used to increase red blood cell production in patients with certain types of anemia, including those resulting from trauma, sepsis, malaria, kidney dialysis, and chemotherapy. The discovery could spur development of drugs capable of increasing this protein's production without causing the severe side effects associated with glucocorticoids.
Paris, France: French scientists have discovered that supposedly rare mutations in the mitochondria, the 'power plants' of human cells responsible for creating energy, account for more than 7% of patients with a mitochondrial disease manifesting itself as a respiratory deficiency. Their data emphasise the need for comprehensive analysis of all the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in patients suspected as having a mitochondrial disease, and this should include children, a researcher will tell the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics today (Sunday).
Danish researchers have just published findings that explain a previously unknown mechanism used by cells to communicate with one another. The research significantly contributes to understanding why some children are born with malformations and why children and adults may develop life-threatening diseases.
Paris, France: A new study of the use of genetic testing for cancer-causing mutations in affected families in France has found that its take-up is very low.
Paris, France: A drug used to control Type II diabetes can help repair the spinal cords of mice suffering from the inherited disease adrenoleukodystrophy which, untreated, leads eventually to a paralysis, a vegetative state and death. This is an important step along the road to the development of a therapy for the human disease for which current treatment options are scarce and only partially effective, the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics will hear tomorrow (Sunday). The research is published simultaneously on line in the journal Brain.
The first-known definitive case of a benign bone tumor has been discovered in the rib of a young Neandertal who lived about 120,000 years ago in what is now present-day Croatia. The bone fragment, which comes from the famous archaeological cave site of Krapina, contains by far the earliest bone tumor ever identified in the archaeological record.
Amsterdam, NL, 7 June 2013 – The presence of Lewy bodies in nerve cells, formed by intracellular deposits of the protein α-synuclein, is a characteristic pathologic feature of Parkinson's Disease (PD). In the quest for an animal model of PD that mimics motor and non-motor symptoms of human PD, scientists have developed strains of mice that overexpress α-synuclein. By studying a strain of mice bred to overexpress α-synuclein via the Thy-1 promoter, scientists have found these mice develop many of the age-related progressive motor symptoms of PD and demonstrate changes in sleep and anxiety.
How do immune cells manage to sort through vast numbers of similar-looking proteins within the body to detect foreign invaders and fight infections?
"For immune cells, singling out foreign proteins is like looking for a needle in a haystack – where the needle may look very much like a straw, and where some straws may also look very much like a needle," notes McGill University physics professor Paul François.
MANHATTAN, Kan. -- A Kansas State University researcher is discovering that the North American drought has caused dramatic changes in native fish communities.
"A couple of key species that we have been studying have virtually disappeared where they historically were abundant," said Keith Gido, professor of biology who researches fish ecology and conservation of aquatic systems.