Body

NEW YORK (Jan. 7, 2009) -- An innovative approach for implanting a new aortic heart valve without open-heart surgery is being offered to patients at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. Known as the PARTNER (Placement of AoRTic traNscathetER valves) trial, this Phase 3 multicenter study is being led by national co-principal investigators Dr. Martin Leon and Dr. Craig Smith and is focused on the treatment of patients who are at high risk or not suitable for open-heart valve replacement surgery.

Helping adolescents with arthritis develop the skills and secure resources to assure that their health care needs are met as they transition to adulthood is an important issue in the U.S. In general, the frequency of which young people with special health care needs receive transition services is low and, to date, no studies have examined this frequency.

Total knee replacement (TKR) is a common treatment for osteoarthritis, a disease affecting more than 20 million Americans. However, the surgery poses risks and both patients and physicians must carefully assess its potential benefits and harm. Studies have shown that doctor-patient communication is correlated with outcomes and that patient satisfaction and commitment to treatment are usually higher when the doctor and patient are able to agree on a number of factors.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – January 7, 2008 – Researchers from Harvard University and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have measured, for the first time, a repulsive quantum mechanical force that could be harnessed and tailored for a wide range of new nanotechnology applications.

The study, led by Federico Capasso, Robert L. Wallace Professor of Applied Physics at Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS), will be published as the January 8 cover story of Nature.

The molecular details of Aromatase, the key enzyme required for the body to make estrogen, are no longer a mystery thanks to the structural biology work done by the Ghosh lab at the Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute (HWI) in Buffalo, New York. Dr. Debashis Ghosh's solution of the three-dimensional structure of aromatase is the first time that scientists have been able to visualize the mechanism of synthesizing estrogen.

The enzyme machine that translates a cell's DNA code into the proteins of life is nothing if not an editorial perfectionist.

Johns Hopkins researchers, reporting this week in Nature, have discovered a new "proofreading step" during which the suite of translational tools called the ribosome recognizes errors, just after making them, and definitively responds by hitting its version of a "delete" button.

Boston, Mass. – January 07, 2009 – A special issue of American Journal of Medical Genetics (AJMG): Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics presents a comprehensive overview of the latest progress in genetic research of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The issue covers major trends in the field of complex psychiatric genetics, underscoring how genetic studies of ADHD have evolved, and what approaches are needed to uncover its genetic origins.

(Boston) -- A Boston University School of Medicine-led research team has discovered a more efficient way to create induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) cells, derived from mouse fibroblasts, by using a single virus vector instead of multiple viruses in the reprogramming process. The result is a powerful laboratory tool and a significant step toward the application of embryonic stem cell-like cells for clinical purposes such as the regeneration of organs damaged by inherited or degenerative diseases, including emphysema, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, and Alzheimer's Disease.

The novel design of a deep muscle along the spinal column called the multifidus muscle may in fact be key to spinal support and a healthy back, according to researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. Their findings about the potentially important "scaffolding" role of this poorly understood muscle has been published on line in advance of the January issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.

Orlando, FL – January 7, 2009 – A new study in Strategic Management Journal examines how the nature of outside directors' prior experience, and resulting expertise, will influence the performance of a firm's performance. Results show that this past experience and expertise will have positive effects on the firm's acquisitions.

A new University of Colorado at Boulder study shows the resistance of the avian flu virus to a major class of antiviral drugs is increasing through positive evolutionary selection, with researchers documenting the trend in more than 30 percent of the samples tested.

Poulsbo, WA – January 7, 2009 – Human calmodulin-like protein (CLP) is found in many cell types including breast, thyroid, prostate, kidney, and skin. The protein can regulate many cell activities and has a highly specific expression. Gaining an understanding about the expression of CLP in oral epithelial cells and its possible downregulation (or lack of production) in cancer may be a potentially valuable marker in early detection of oral cancer.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Influenza's ability to resist the effects of cheap and popular antiviral agents in Asia and Russia should serve as a cautionary tale about U.S. plans to use the antiviral Tamiflu in the event of widespread avian flu infection in humans, scientists say.

New Rochelle, NY, January 6, 2009—Dedicated to the memory and scientific accomplishments of Dr. Judah Folkman, who pioneered the fields of angiogenesis and vasculogenesis and shed light on the link between blood supply and neoplastic disease, the newly released special double issue (Volume 6, Number 3-4) of Lymphatic Research and Biology includes a series of papers that reflect the research impact of one of the pre-eminent physician-scientists of his generation. Lymphatic Research and Biology is a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

COLUMBIA, Mo. – There is no cure for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a genetic disorder that causes the weakening of muscles and is the leading genetic cause of infant death, but University of Missouri researchers have discovered a new therapeutic target that improves deteriorating skeletal muscle tissue caused by SMA. The new therapy enhanced muscle strength, improved gross motor skills and increased the lifespan in a SMA model.