Body

Bioinformatics researchers at the University of California, San Diego and Genentech have developed a new, quicker way to sequence monoclonal antibodies – a process that is many times faster than the sequencing technology typically used by academic and industry researchers today.

Scientists have found that genetic variation at the hexokinase-1 gene is linked to variation in the blood concentration of glycated hemoglobin, an index of long-term blood glucose concentration widely used in the follow-up of diabetes patients. The study, conducted by researchers from the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, USA, is published December 19 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics.

By leaving the remains of their old exoskeletons, called 'exuviae', in and around their colonies, aphids gain some measure of protection from parasites. Research published in the open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology has shown that parasitoid wasps are likely to attack the empty shells, resulting in a lower attack rate on their previous occupants – much like in the popular 'shell game' confidence trick.

With the aid of a straightforward experiment, researchers have provided some clues to one of biology's most complex questions: how ancient organic molecules came together to form the basis of life.

Specifically, this study, appearing online this week in JBC, demonstrated how ancient RNA joined together to reach a biologically relevant length.

Kingston, ON – A commonly-prescribed drug for men suffering from a painful pelvic condition failed to significantly reduce patients' symptoms in an international study led by Queen's University professor and urologist at Kingston General Hospital, Curtis Nickel.

The drug, called Alfuzosin, is regularly prescribed by more than half of family doctors to treat chronic prostititis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome. This affliction is estimated to affect from six to 12 per cent of the population.

For the first time, researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have successfully pushed nature beyond its limits by genetically modifying Escherichia coli, a bacterium often associated with food poisoning, to produce unusually long-chain alcohols essential in the creation of biofuels.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- A new type of highly sensitive microscopy developed by researchers at Harvard University could greatly expand the limits of modern biomedical imaging, allowing scientists to track the location of minuscule metabolites and drugs in living cells and tissues without the use of any kind of fluorescent labeling.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Scientists are looking to outer space for help in their attempt to prevent new outbreaks of the tropical disease schistosomiasis in southern China.

Once the Three Gorges Dam is fully operational, researchers plan to use satellite data from space to determine whether changing water conditions in Poyang Lake, China's largest freshwater lake, create favorable conditions for the snails associated with the chronic disease that can damage internal organs and impair growth and cognitive development in children.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State University scientists believe they are the first in the world to study the molecular underpinnings of cancer by probing individual bonds between an asbestos fiber and human cells.

Though any clinical application is years away, the researchers hope their findings could aid in drug development efforts targeting illnesses caused by excessive exposure to asbestos, including the deadly cancer called mesothelioma.

The study, which appears in the December 18 online version of Cell Stem Cell and the January 2009 print edition of the journal, provides proof of principle that alternative sources of stem cells can be created.

Montreal, December 18, 2008 – A discovery by Canada-U.S. biophysicists will improve the understanding of ion channels, akin to little 'nano-machines' or 'nano-valves' in our body, which when they malfunction can cause genetic illnesses that attack muscles, the central nervous system and the heart.

People who have been diagnosed with panic attacks or panic disorder have a greater risk of subsequently developing heart disease or suffering a heart attack than the normal population, with higher rates occurring in younger people, according to research published in Europe's leading cardiology journal, the European Heart Journal [1] today (Thursday 11 December).

DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University and United States Army scientists have found that a cheap and nontoxic sunburn and diaper rash preventative can be made to produce brilliant light best suited to the human eye.

Duke adjunct physics professor Henry Everitt, chemistry professor Jie Liu and their graduate student John Foreman have discovered that adding sulfur to ultra-fine powders of commonplace zinc oxide at about 1,000 degrees centigrade allows the preparation to convert invisible ultraviolet light into a remarkably bright and natural form of white light.

If you spend the majority of your time among stores, restaurants and skyscrapers, it may be time to trade in your stilettos for some hiking boots. A new study in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, reveals that spending time in nature may be more beneficial for mental processes than being in urban environments.