Body

Your friend debuts a questionable haircut and asks what you think of it. Brutal honesty would definitely hurt his feelings, so what do you say? Most people in this situation would probably opt for a vague or evasive response, along the lines of "It's really unique!" or "It's so you!" Politeness helps us get through awkward social situations like these and makes it easier for us to maintain our relationships.

LEXINGTON Ky. (Oct. 11, 2011) — According to new research by University of Kentucky investigators, an emerging pharmaceutical platform used in treating a variety of diseases may produce unintended and undesirable effects on eye function. The paper, "Short-interfering RNAs Induce Retinal Degeneration via TLR3 and IRF3", appears in the current online edition of the journal Molecular Therapy, a publication of the Nature Publishing Group and the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy.

It is one of the rarest shrubs in the southeastern United States, and for scientists trying to save it, the critically endangered Michaux's sumac (Rhus michauxii) is not cooperating.

So far botanists have exposed the hard-, thick-coated seeds of this native North American plant to boiling water, dry heat up to 284 degrees Fahrenheit and flames from a propane blowtorch to try to coax them into germination. Nothing has worked.

(Garrison, NY) The Hastings Center is exploring the ethical challenges that clinicians and organizations face when providing medical care to undocumented immigrants in the United States. The project is supported by a grant from the Overbrook Foundation Domestic Human Rights Program.

Troy, N.Y. – DNA and protein sequencing have forever transformed science, medicine, and society. Understanding the structure of these complex biomolecules has revolutionized drug development, medical diagnostics, forensic science, and our understanding of evolution and development. But, one major molecule in the biological triumvirate has remained largely uncharted: carbohydrate biopolymers.

The US Secretary of Health recently supported a recommendation that all babies born in the US are to be screened for critical heart defects, before leaving hospital. Behind this decision is a study from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, and the West Götaland Region's maternity units in Sweden which shows that a simple test can save the lives of newborns with these heart defects. Other countries too are set to make the test mandatory.

Researchers at National Jewish Health have identified cells and signaling molecules that trigger the repair of injured lungs. Stijn De Langhe, PhD, and his colleagues report October 10, 2011, online in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, that destruction of lung tissue in mice induces smooth muscle cells surrounding the airways to secrete a protein known as fibroblast growth factor 10 (FGF10), which induces surviving epithelial cells in the airways to revert to a stem-cell state, proliferate, repair and repopulate the lining of the lungs.

PHILADELPHIA — Ginger supplements reduced markers of colon inflammation in a select group of patients, suggesting that this supplement may have potential as a colon cancer prevention agent, according to a study published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Suzanna M. Zick, N.D., M.P.H., a research assistant professor at the University of Michigan Medical School, and colleagues enrolled 30 patients and randomly assigned them to two grams of ginger root supplements per day or placebo for 28 days.

A commonly prescribed antimicrobial – trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole – that has been used since 1968 can cause serious adverse reactions and physicians need to be aware of these in prescribing, states a review in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/site/embargo/cmaj111152.pdf.

Environmental toxicants such as dioxins, PCBs, and pesticides can pose a risk for cardiovascular disease. For the first time a link has been demonstrated between atherosclerosis and levels of long-lived organic environmental toxicants in the blood. The study, carried out by researchers at Uppsala University, is being published online this week in ahead of print in the prestigious journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

The research shows that in addition to the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules, which present the antigen vaccine to the immune cells, genetic factors, that control some immune cells, influence the quality of response to vaccinations. The results could make it possible to prevent neuroinflammatory reactions, which are major obstacles preventing the use of the vaccination in humans. This study has just been published in the Journal of Immunology.

Today the citizens of Liberia will participate in just their second presidential election since the country emerged from a brutal civil war in 2003, and in such an environment the specter of violence or other unrest is never far away. But what if social media, a Georgia Tech professor is asking, could identify and even help prevent dangerous situations from occurring?

Lung cancer patients could receive safer and more efficient treatment through a system being developed by researchers at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow.

The scientists have devised a method for giving drugs by inhalation to patients through a nebuliser, rather than the current approach of intravenous delivery.

The system could administer the treatment far more quickly than existing methods and without the harmful side effects associated with current systems, which can cause kidney damage.

Many people in Bangladesh and other parts of Asia have been poisoned by drinking groundwater laced with arsenic—not introduced by humans, but leached naturally from sediments, and now being tapped by shallow drinking wells. In recent years, to avoid the problem, deeper wells have been sunk 500 feet or more to purer waters—but fears have remained that when deep water is pumped out, contaminated water might filter down to replace it.