Michal Schwartz (from the Weizmann Institute of Science) and colleagues describe the role of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan in the repair of injured tissue and in the recovery of motor function during the acute phase after spinal cord injury.
Citation: Rolls A, Shechter R, London A, Segev Y, Jacob-Hirsch J, et al. (2008) Two faces of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan in spinal cord repair: A role in microglia/macrophage activation. PLoS Med 5(8): e171. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0050171
The burden of sepsis is greatest in developing countries and there is a need to translate modern management strategies for adults with severe sepsis to this context, says a team of authors in this week's PLoS Medicine. Sharon Peacock (Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand) and colleagues review the strategies that can be used to reduced deaths from bacterial sepsis in low income settings.
Ensuring the involvement of children in the evaluation of tuberculosis treatment is critical as we move forward in developing effective responses to active and drug-susceptible tuberculosis (TB), argues a new essay in this week's PLoS Medicine.
The mother-daughter relationship can be difficult to understand. Why are the two so different? In a new study published in PLoS Biology, Eric Weiss and colleagues show how this happens. In yeast cells, that is.
A research team has discovered a new mechanism for cell fate determination -- how one cell, the daughter, becomes dramatically different from the mother, even though they have the same genetic material. The study shows why mothers and daughters differ in how they express their genes.
EVANSTON, Ill. --- The mother-daughter relationship can be difficult to understand. Why are the two so different? Now a Northwestern University study shows how this happens. In yeast cells, that is.
A research team has discovered a new mechanism for cell fate determination -- how one cell, the daughter, becomes dramatically different from the mother, even though they have the same genetic material. The study shows why mothers and daughters differ in how they express their genes.
Cells obtained from menstrual blood, termed 'endometrial regenerative cells' (ERCs) are capable of restoring blood flow in an animal model of advanced peripheral artery disease. A study published today in BioMed Central's open access Journal of Translational Medicine demonstrates that when circulation-blocked mice were treated with ERC injections, circulation and functionality were restored.
PHILADELPHIA, August 19, 2008 – The long-term prognosis of patients infected with West Nile virus is good, according to a new study appearing in the August 19, 2008, issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, the American College of Physicians' flagship journal. This is the largest study of the long-term outcomes of West Nile virus infection.
STANFORD, Calif. - Human embryonic stem cells trigger an immune response in mice, researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine report. The finding suggests that the effectiveness of human therapies derived from the cells could be limited unless ways are found to dampen the rejection response.
The researchers found the immune response in mice could be mitigated by the use of common antirejection medications. Overall, the work indicated that, contrary to previous suggestions, the immune system is not blind to the presence of foreign embryonic stem cells.
Many drugs once considered Charles Atlases of the pharmaceutical realm have been reduced to the therapeutic equivalent of 97-pound weaklings as the diseases they once dispatched with ease have developed resistance to them.
The problem is well documented for antibiotics, although not confined to them. Chemotherapy drugs that were once highly effective when first used against a particular cancer now are often rendered near powerless when a patient's cancer resurges.
A new study of the ribosome, the cell's protein-building machinery, sheds light on the oldest branches of the evolutionary tree of life and suggests that differences in ribosomal structure between the three main branches of that tree are "molecular fossils" of the early evolution of protein synthesis.
Different keys are not supposed to fit the same lock, but in biologicalsystems multiple versions of a catalyst all make a reaction go, according toa new study that explains the phenomenon.
Scheduled for online publication in PNAS Early Edition sometime after Aug.18, the study challenges entrenched ideas about the workings of catalysts.
The study also suggests a method for designing new catalysts.
ATHENS, Ohio (Aug. 18, 2008) — Though skin cancer is deadly to male fish, it also has one perk: The black melanoma splotches arise from attractive natural markings that lure female mates. A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week shows that the melanoma gene can be conserved in swordtail fish because of its beneficial role in sexual selection.
University Park, Pa. -- A little known fungus tucked away in the gut of Asian longhorned beetles helps the insect munch through the hardest of woods according to a team of entomologists and biochemists. Researchers say the discovery could lead to innovative methods of controlling the invasive pest, and potentially offer more efficient ways of breaking down plant biomass for generating biofuels.
Teenagers who don't sleep well or long enough may have a higher risk of elevated blood pressure that could lead to cardiovascular disease later in life, researchers report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Researchers found the odds of elevated blood pressure increased 3.5 times for those with low sleep efficiency and 2.5 times for those with sleeping periods of less than 6.5 hours, even after adjusting for gender, body mass index and socioeconomic status.
Chewing gum is associated with enhanced recovery of intestinal function following surgery to remove all or part of the colon, according to an analysis of previously published studies in the August issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.