Researchers from UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a cell-permeable peptide that inhibits a hepatitis C virus protein and blocks viral replication, which can lead to liver cancer and cirrhosis.
This finding by Dr. Samuel French, an assistant professor of pathology and senior author of the study, builds on previous work by the French laboratory that identified two cellular proteins that are important factors in hepatitis C virus infection.
CORVALLIS, Ore. –The average price for a 30-second advertising spot in the 2012 Super Bowl on Feb. 5 is a staggering $3.5 million and a new study suggests that, for advertisers, it may not really matter if the New England Patriots or the New York Giants win.
But for the sake of companies forking out big bucks on the ads, it had better be a close and exciting game.
Thirty-thousand-year-old bison bones discovered in permafrost at a Canadian goldmine are helping scientists unravel the mystery about how animals adapt to rapid environmental change.
The bones play a key role in a world-first study, led by University of Adelaide researchers, which analyses special genetic modifications that turn genes on and off, without altering the DNA sequence itself. These 'epigenetic' changes can occur rapidly between generations – without requiring the time for standard evolutionary processes.
A study of the cells that respond to crises in the blood system has yielded a few surprises, redrawing the 'map' of how blood cells are made in the body.
The finding, by researchers from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, could have wide-ranging implications for understanding blood diseases such as myeloproliferative disorders (that cause excess production of blood cells) as well as used to develop new ways of controlling how blood and clotting cells are produced.
Coroners are more likely to hold inquests for deaths involving younger people or people who died of fatal complications from medical care, according to a study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal.)
Coroners must usually be notified of a death if it was violent or unexpected, if the identity of the deceased is not known, or if the deceased was in the custody or care of the state when he or she died.
Augusta, Ga. – An international research team may have found a way to block a second wave of death that can result from pneumonia treatment.
Antibiotics are effective at killing pneumococcus – the cause of about 50 percent of pneumonias – but as it dies the bacterium releases potentially lethal toxins.
Adding an agonist that mimics the action of growth hormone-releasing hormone – which ultimately enables growth – may stop that second wave, according to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Mums-to-be who are both overweight and smoke during their pregnancy risk damaging their baby's developing heart, finds research published online in Heart.
Congenital heart abnormalities are some of the most common defects found at birth, with around eight in every 1000 babies affected. A likely cause is only found in 15% of cases.
The authors base their findings on an analysis of almost 800 babies and foetuses who were born with congenital heart abnormalities, but no other defects, between 1997 and 2008.
The use of probiotic bacteria, isolated from naturally-occurring bacterial communities, is gaining in popularity in the aquaculture industry as the preferred, environmentally-friendly management alternative to the use of antibiotics and other antimicrobials for disease prevention. Known to the public for their use in yogurt and other foods to improve human digestion and health, probiotic bacteria isolated from other sources can also be used to improve survival, nutrition and disease prevention in larvae grown in shellfish hatcheries.
Hispanic children are more likely than those from other racial and ethnic backgrounds to be diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and are more likely to die of their disease. Work led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists has pinpointed genetic factors behind the grim statistics.
AIKEN, S.C. (January 30, 2012) – Sometimes bigger isn't better.
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River National Laboratory have successfully shown that they can replace useful little particles of monosodium titanate (MST) with even tinier nano-sized particles, making them even more useful for a variety of applications.
Think of them as a group of guys, hanging out together, but not spending much time with the ladies, nor getting much "action." Except these "guys" are forked fungus beetles.
Forked what? Yes, forked fungus beetles. Like other insects and animals, they have their own societies. Most are highly social, but some hang out in small guy groups.
National parks often are established to help preserve species native to a particular region, but it appears that some species preservation is more successful if a significant portion of land adjacent to a park also is left as natural habitat.
The Cerrado region in Brazil has been identified as the most biologically diverse savanna on Earth, and Emas National Park is an important protected area for populations of wide-ranging large mammals such as giant anteaters, jaguars and puma.
TAMPA, Fla. -- Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center, who teamed with colleagues at five universities around the United States, analyzed past studies of cancer-related pain reduction and found that psychosocial interventions can have a beneficial effect on cancer patients' pain severity. They also found that certain psychosocial interventions provide better pain management and are effective in reducing the degree to which pain related to cancer and its treatment interferes with patients' lives.
New Rochelle, NY -- If you think palliative care and the ICU don't go together, think again. The importance and potential benefits of palliative care to ease suffering and improve quality of life for patients being treated in hospital intensive care units (ICUs) has received increasing recognition but is not without significant challenges, as discussed in a Roundtable discussion in Journal of Palliative Medicine, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (http://www.liebertpub.com).
Coroners are more likely to hold inquests for deaths involving younger people or people who died of fatal complications from medical care, according to a study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).