Body

Stomach ulcer bug causes bad breath

Bacteria that cause stomach ulcers and cancer could also be giving us bad breath, according to research published in the December issue of the Journal of Medical Microbiology. For the first time, scientists have found Helicobacter pylori living in the mouths of people who are not showing signs of stomach disease.

Ultrasound waves aid in rapid treatment of DVT

The use of ultrasound waves for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) may help dissolve blood clots in less time than using clot-busting drugs alone, according to researchers at Emory University. The study will be presented Sunday, Nov. 23, 2008 at the annual VEITHsymposium in New York City.

"These clots are a main cause of both heart attacks and stroke and the more quickly you can eliminate them the better," says Karthikeshwar Kasirajan, MD, assistant professor of surgery in the Emory University School of Medicine.

UT Southwestern researchers develop new strategy for broad spectrum anti-viral drugs

DALLAS – Nov. 23, 2008 – Bavituximab, an anti-viral drug developed by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers, shows promise as a new strategy to fight viral diseases, including potential bioterrorism agents.

Plants grow bigger and more vigorously through changes in their internal clocks

AUSTIN, Texas—Hybrid plants, like corn, grow bigger and better than their parents because many of their genes for photosynthesis and starch metabolism are more active during the day, report researchers from The University of Texas at Austin in a new study published in the journal Nature.

Their research has relevance in many areas of agriculture, and could result in new methods to increase biomass for biofuels and seed production for animal feedstock and human consumption.

Researchers discover strategy for predicting the immunity of vaccines

In the first study of its kind, researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University, have developed a multidisciplinary approach involving immunology, genomics and bioinformatics to predict the immunity of a vaccine without exposing individuals to infection. This approach addresses a long-standing challenge in the development of vaccines--that of only being able to determine immunity or effectiveness long after vaccination and, often, only after being exposed to infection.

Melatonin may save eyesight in inflammatory disease

Buenos Aires, Argentina — Current research suggests that melatonin therapy may help treat uveitis, a common inflammatory eye disease. The related report by Sande et al., "Therapeutic Effect of Melatonin in Experimental Uveitis," appears in the December issue of The American Journal of Pathology.

Med school discovery could lead to better cancer diagnosis, drugs

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A Florida State University College of Medicine research team led by Yanchang Wang has discovered an important new layer of regulation in the cell division cycle, which could lead to a greater understanding of the way cancer begins.

Molecular memory a game-changer

A team at Rice University has determined that a strip of graphite only 10 atoms thick can serve as the basic element in a new type of memory, making massive amounts of storage available for computers, handheld media players, cell phones and cameras.

Scripps research scientists identify blood component that turns bacteria virulent

LA JOLLA, CA, November 20, 2008—Scientists from the Scripps Research Institute have discovered the key chemical that signals Bacillus anthracis, the bacterium that causes anthrax, to become lethal. This finding opens up new avenues of exploration for the development of treatments for bacterial infections.

The study was published in the November 21 edition of the journal PLoS Pathogens.

UBC researchers develop breakthrough technique to unlock the secret of plasmas

University of British Columbia researchers have developed a technique that brings scientists a big step closer to unlocking the secrets of the most abundant form of matter in the universe.

A plasma – or ionized gas – can be as commonplace as in fluorescent light bulbs, or exotic in the extreme, as a thermonuclear explosion. The Earth's upper atmosphere is a plasma, as are lightning bolts and virtually all stars that light up the night sky.

Study of ancient and modern plagues finds common features

In 430 B.C., a new and deadly disease—its cause remains a mystery—swept into Athens. The walled Greek city-state was teeming with citizens, soldiers and refugees of the war then raging between Athens and Sparta. As streets filled with corpses, social order broke down. Over the next three years, the illness returned twice and Athens lost a third of its population. It lost the war too. The Plague of Athens marked the beginning of the end of the Golden Age of Greece.

Los Alamos scientists see new mechanism for superconductivity

Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers have posited an explanation for superconductivity that may open the door to the discovery of new, unconventional forms of superconductivity.

In a November 20 Nature letter, research led by Tuson Park and Joe D. Thompson describes a new explanation for superconductivity in non-traditional materials—one that describes a potentially new state of matter in which the superconducting material behaves simultaneously as a nonmagnetic material and a magnetic material.

Old-fashioned friendliness trumps incentives among supply chain partners

Cordiality and mutually beneficial arrangements can be more important than hard-negotiated deals when it comes to cementing strong working relationships among supply chain partners, according to the Management Insights feature in the current issue of Management Science, the flagship journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS®).

Hairspray is linked to common genital birth defect, says study

Women who are exposed to hairspray in the workplace during pregnancy have more than double the risk of having a son with the genital birth defect hypospadias, according to a new study published today in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

The study is the first to show a significant link between hairspray and hypospadias, one of the most common birth defects of the male genitalia, where the urinary opening is displaced to the underside of the penis. The causes of the condition are poorly understood.

Putting an end to turbulence

When a flow reaches a certain speed, things get turbulent: The fluid or the gas no longer flows in an orderly fashion but whirls around wildly. However, in contrast to what researchers assumed until now, this state is not permanent. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization in Göttingen, Germany, and the Technical University in Delft, Netherlands, have shown that in pipe flows, all turbulence will disappear with time. The new measurements are significantly more precise than all previous experiments and computer simulations concerned with this question.