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URBANA – A new multi-university study reports that differences in bacterial colonization of the infant gut in formula-fed and breast-fed babies lead to changes in the expression of genes involved in the infant's immune system.

The study, published in the April 30 issue of BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Biology, is an Editor's Pick. The research was a joint effort of University of Illinois, Texas A&M University, Miami University, and University of Arkansas scientists.

WASHINGTON and NEW YORK – A new article titled, "An HIT Solution for Clinical Care and Disaster Planning: How One Health Center in Joplin, MO, Survived a Tornado and Avoided a Health Information Disaster," by the Geiger Gibson /RCHN Community Health Foundation Research Collaborative at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, was released today in the Online Journal of Public Health Informatics (OJPJI).

WASHINGTON, May 21, 2012 — Almost a century after telephone pioneer Alexander Graham Bell first popularized the idea of measuring smells, chemical vapor sensors ― "electronic noses" ― are being developed for use in diagnosing disease, detecting national security threats, and other futuristic uses.

Researchers from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland have in collaboration with the University of Turku, Indiana University and two Finnish companies, Biotie Therapies Corp. and Pharmatest Services Ltd, discovered a novel mechanism regulating the development of breast cancer bone metastases and showed that heparin-like compounds can potentially be used to inhibit breast cancer metastasis to bone.

These findings were published on the Molecular Cancer Research journal website on 20th April 2012.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Multiple research projects – including a 2006 study conducted at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill – have used DNA microarray analysis to identify several breast cancer subtypes, including luminal A, luminal B, basal-like and HER2-enriched. Simple tests are being developed to help doctors identify these subtypes and to treat their patients in a more biologically-based way.

From Finland to Italy and from Spain to Lithuania, thirteen research institutes from eleven European countries took part in the three-year Hialine study. The coordinator was Professor Dr Jeroen Buters of TUM's Chair of Molecular Allergology and the Center of Allergy & Environment (ZAUM). The mission was to study the three main causes of hay fever in Europe, i.e. the pollen (germ cells) of birch trees, grass and olive plants. Sufferers develop allergic symptoms when they come in contact with the allergen to which they are sensitized.

The plague, bacterial dysentery, and cholera have one thing in common: These dangerous diseases are caused by bacteria which infect their host using a sophisticated injection apparatus. Through needle-like structures, they release molecular agents into their host cell, thereby evading the immune response.

Bats use a combination of cues in their hunting sequence - capture, handling and consumption - to decide which prey to attack, catch and consume and which ones they are better off leaving alone or dropping mid-way through the hunt. Eavesdropping bats first listen to their prey, then they assess its size, and finally they taste it. The work by Dr. Rachel Page and her team from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama is published online in Springer's journal Naturwissenschaften - The Science of Nature.

New Rochelle, NY, May 21, 2012—Currently more than 10% of preschoolers in the U.S. are obese and effective strategies that target pregnancy, infancy, and toddlers are urgently needed to stop the progression of the childhood obesity epidemic, as proposed in an article in Childhood Obesity, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free online ahead of print on the Childhood Obesity website at http://www.liebertpub.com/chi.

A PhD student from CSIRO and the University of Queensland has found a better way to 'spell check' gene sequences.

The student, Lauren Bragg, has contributed to the May issue of the prestigious journal Nature Methods highlighting her new approach and its software implementation called Acacia.

Researchers try to get the temperature-independent energy spectrum of some materials for obtaining all their thermodynamic properties from their experimental heat capacities alone.

However, measurements are made at finite temperatures in practice, such as with phonon spectra obtained by inelastic neutron scattering, so it is very difficult to obtain a T-independent energy spectrum for any real material. One promising method to obtain such a spectrum is to solve the so-called specific heat-phonon spectrum inversion (SPI) problem.

In this "themed" issue, Deutsches Ärzteblatt International is focusing on medical students. Bernd Gibis, of the German National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, and his coauthors investigate the question how medical students envisage their future professional lives as doctors (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2012; 109(18): 327).

Consumption of political information is linked to more moderate and positive opinions about the sector, according to a study by the University of Navarra. The results show that scientists are the most trusted profession, and politicians are the least.

Leuven, 21 mei 2012 - VIB researcher Diether Lambrechts, associated with KU Leuven, has discovered a biomarker that might potentially predict which patients will benefit more from treatment with bevacizumab (Avastin). If validated, this discovery could be an important step towards personalized medicine and patient-tailored use of this important cancer drug.

Concentrated saline therapy not effective in young children with cystic fibrosisNIH-funded study demonstrates importance of conducting pediatric clinical trials