Body

Pediatricians often treat young children who have frequent bouts of wheezing with a daily dose of an inhaled steroid to keep asthma symptoms at bay. But results of a recent study are likely to change that.

Hypertension is an endemic condition with far-reaching consequences. For instance, high blood pressure is the main cause of heart attacks and strokes. Other organs are also damaged by the chronic condition. Hypertension is attributed to a high salt intake and a genetic predisposition. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute forHeart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim have now discovered that even a normal salt intake can cause hypertension in people suffering from a sodium dysregulation. Researchers have managed to identify the responsible gene.

Researchers from A*STAR Singapore took lead roles in a study that identified a portion of the genome mutated during long-term culture of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). The study was a worldwide collaboration, led by Drs Peter Andrews of the University of Sheffield (UK), Paul Robson of the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), Steve Oh of Singapore's Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI), and Barbara Knowles and others in the international stem cell community.

A large-scale clinical trial evaluating whether daily use of an antiretroviral-containing oral tablet or vaginal gel can prevent HIV infection in women is being modified because an interim review found that the gel, an investigational microbicide, was not effective among study participants.

PITTSBURGH, November 28, 2011 – VOICE, an HIV prevention trial that has been evaluating two antiretroviral (ARV)-based approaches for preventing the sexual transmission of HIV in women – daily use of one of two different ARV tablets or of a vaginal gel – has stopped testing the gel. The decision to discontinue use of the gel, which contains the ARV tenofovir, was made after a routine review of study data concluded tenofovir gel was not effective in preventing HIV in the women enrolled in the trial.

An international study, published today in the prestigious journal Nature Biotechnology, reveals more about human pluripotent stem cells and their genetic stability and has important implications for the development of therapies using these cells.

Scientists from the University of Melbourne, University of NSW and CSIRO contributed to this study, which examined how the genome of 138 stem cell lines of diverse ethnic backgrounds changed when the cells were grown in the laboratory.

Researchers now understand how bacteria can break down phosphonic acids, persistent and potentially hazardous environmental pollutants found in many common medicinal products, detergents and herbicides.

Arlington, VA – An independent review of the VOICE study, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and conducted by the Microbicide Trials Network, determined that tenofovir gel was no more effective than placebo gel in preventing HIV. The review found no safety concerns and the VOICE study will continue to evaluate the effectiveness of the oral Truvada tablet in preventing HIV in women. It is unknown at this time why tenofovir gel did not work in this particular trial.

The elusive snow leopard (Panthera uncia) lives high in the mountains across Central Asia. Despite potentially living across 12 countries the actual numbers of this beautiful large cat are largely unknown. It is thought that there might be somewhere between 350 and 500 distributed across Nepal's northern frontier. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Research Notes has used genetic analysis to show that the numbers of snow leopards in the central Himalayas is actually much lower than suggested.

The risk of breast cancer is increased by genetic and lifestyle factors such as the inherited BRCA2 gene, age of having first child, or use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Cancer looked at the relationship between women with breast cancer and diagnosis of cancer in their parents. The results showed that the chances of women with lobular breast cancer having a father with cancer (especially prostate cancer) was almost twice as likely as women with other forms of breast cancer.

In liver disease, extent of tissue damage depends on the balance between the generation of scar tissue and the regeneration of new liver cells. In a significant minority of people who get injury to their organs instead of repairing them, they form scars. This can progress to chronic liver disease and cirrhosis where the scarring is so extensive the liver is unable to clean blood or produce vital hormones and clotting factors. Liver scars also provide an ideal environment for the development of cancers.

Legend has it that Napoleon never needed more than four hours of sleep at a stretch. Others only feel fully rested after 10 hours between the sheets. Clearly, individuals vary with respect to how much sleep they need. Indeed, sleep duration is influenced by many factors. Apart from seasonal and other variables, age and sex play a role, as does one's sleep-wake cycle or chronotype, i.e. whether one is a lark (early to bed, early to rise) or the converse, an owl. An international team of researchers led by LMU chronobiologists Professor Till Roenneberg and Dr.

The mast from a classic racing yacht and samples from a Forestry Commission breeding trial have played a key role in the search for sustainable biofuels.

Cellulose is the most abundant organic polymer on earth — and therefore a potentially major source of glucose for the production of biofuels. But its structure in wood and plants is so complex it needs a combination of enzymes to degrade it — making the process difficult and costly.

The biodiversity loss caused by climate change will result from a combination of rising temperatures and predation – and may be more severe than currently predicted, according to a study by University of British Columbia zoologist Christopher Harley.

The study, published in the current issue of the journal Science, examined the response of rocky shore barnacles and mussels to the combined effects of warming and predation by sea stars.

An international team of scientists - including Ghent VIB scientists - has succeeded in deciphering the genome of the spider mite. This is also the first known genome of an arachnid. This premiere not only brings along new insights into the evolution of arthropods, but also offers new opportunities to develop means of crop protection against the spider mite.

Spider mites, house dust mites and ticks