GAINESVILLE, Fla. — University of Florida researchers have discovered a key amino acid essential for human nutrition is also an effective insecticide against caterpillars that threaten the citrus industry.
The Lime Swallowtail, or Citrus Swallowtail, is a well-known agricultural pest from southern Asia discovered in the Caribbean in 2006, and researchers say its potential impact on the U.S. citrus industry is cause for serious concern.
Los Angeles, CA (January 17, 2012) While children who suffer from attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) struggle with hyperactive-impulses and have trouble maintaining attention, a recent study found that a structured physical activity program may help to improve their muscular capacities, motor skills, behavior assessments, and the ability to process information. This new exploratory study was released in the recent issue of the Journal of Attention Disorders (published by SAGE).
Doctors at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre today performed a minimally invasive surgical procedure to treat high blood pressure, called renal denervation, for the first time in Canada. The procedure can significantly reduce high blood pressure in patients who cannot effectively treat their hypertension through drugs. These patients, numbering approximately 250,000 Canadians, have to endure an especially high risk of heart attacks and stroke, which continues to kill thousands of Canadians every year.
ORLANDO, Jan. 17, 2012 -- For the first time ever, stem cells from umbilical cords have been converted into other types of cells, which may eventually lead to new treatment options for spinal cord injuries and multiple sclerosis, among other nervous system diseases.
CHICAGO – There has not been significant change in the prevalence of obesity in the U.S., with data from 2009-2010 indicating that about one in three adults and one in six children and teens are obese; however, there have been increases in certain demographics, according to two studies being published by JAMA. The studies are being released online first because of their public health importance.
New York, NY (January 17, 2012) — Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) have identified the critical early cellular and molecular events that give rise to a type of esophageal cancer called esophageal adenocarcinoma, the fastest-rising solid tumor in the United States. The findings, published online today in Cancer Cell, challenge conventional wisdom regarding the origin and development of this deadly cancer and its precursor lesion, Barrett's esophagus, and highlight possible targets for new clinical therapies.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Researchers have created new "microtweezers" capable of manipulating objects to build tiny structures, print coatings to make advanced sensors, and grab and position live stem cell spheres for research.
More than 500 million years ago, single-celled organisms on the Earth's surface began forming multicellular clusters that ultimately became plants and animals. Just how that happened is a question that has eluded evolutionary biologists.
CLEVELAND: Promising findings on a novel combination treatment approach for a chronic type of skin lymphoma are being published today (embargoed for 4 pm) in JAMA's Archives of Dermatology by clinical researchers from Seidman Cancer Center at University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
The article outlines findings from a first-of-its-kind study showing that O6-benzylguanine is successful in treating cutaneous T-Cell lymphoma by enhancing the efficacy of topical chemotherapy (carmustine).
The most effective anti-malaria drug can now be produced inexpensively and in large quantities. This means that it will be possible to provide medication for the 225 million malaria patients in developing countries at an affordable price. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam and the Freie Universität Berlin have developed a very simple process for the synthesis of artemisinin, the active ingredient that pharmaceutical companies could only obtain from plants up to now.
A devastating neurodegenerative disease that first appears in toddlers just as they are beginning to walk has been traced to defects in mitochondria, the 'batteries' or energy-producing power plants of cells. This finding by a team of researchers, led by investigators from the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital – The Neuro- at McGill University, was published in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA (PNAS).
New research explains how cells regulate their bonds during the development of new blood vessels. For the first time, the role of the protein Raf-1 in determining the strength of the bond between cells has been shown. Manuela Baccarini's group at the Max F. Perutz Laboratories, a joint venture of the University of Vienna and the Medical University of Vienna, shows if Raf-1 is not present, the cells cannot stick together and the formation of new blood vessels is inhibited. This discovery may one day lead to new approaches to cancer treatment.
Researchers at the Centro de Genómica e Investigación Oncológica (GENYO) –of which the University of Granada, Pfizer and the Andalusian Regional Government are members– have identified the genetic and phenotypic changes that cause tumor progression and metastasis. The process of metastasis -which is the main cause of cancer death- is caused by tumor cells invading distant organs with no direct anatomical relationship with the organ originally affected.
Wood-burning stoves are a popular source of heating in many countries. However in recent years there has been much debate about the potential negative health effects associated with wood smoke. A Norwegian researcher has studied the influence of combustion conditions on the emissions and their health effects.
Wood-burning is controversial in many countries, including the USA and Canada. Some groups wish to ban wood-burning whereas others are trying to convince opponents that clean-burning technology is environmentally friendly.
Melbourne researchers have discovered that acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), an aggressive blood cancer with poor prognosis, may be susceptible to medications that target a protein called Mcl-1.