Body

In an exciting development, an international team of researchers have, for the first time, pieced together the human genome from an Aboriginal Australian. The results, now to be published in the international journal Science, re-interpret the prehistory of our species.

Children with severe therapy-resistant asthma (STRA) may have poorer lung function and worse symptoms compared to children with moderate asthma, due to lower levels of vitamin D in their blood, according to researchers in London. Lower levels of vitamin D may cause structural changes in the airway muscles of children with STRA, making breathing more difficult. The study provides important new evidence for possible treatments for the condition.

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Researchers at Mayo Clinic are hacking the genetic code that controls the human response to disease vaccination, and they are using this new cipher to answer many of the deep-seated questions that plague vaccinology, including why patients respond so differently to identical vaccines and how to minimize the side effects to vaccination.

Bethesda, Md. (Sept. 22, 2011) – The kidney performs several vital functions. It filters blood, removes waste products from the body, balances the body's fluids, and releases hormones that regulate blood pressure. A number of diseases and conditions can damage the kidney's filtration apparatus, such as diabetes and immune disorders. This damage leads to a condition called nephrotic syndrome, which is characterized by protein in the urine, high cholesterol and triglycerides, and swelling (edema).

A new study published in the November 2011 issue of Stroke reveals some promising data on the positive effects of soy protein reducing the progression of clogged arteries in women who were within five years of menopause. This study was the largest and longest randomized controlled human study conducted to-date that directly investigated the efficacy of isolated soy protein consumption on the progression of atherosclerosis (lipid deposition in the artery walls).

Scientists are reporting deep new insights into whys and hows of the famous caste system that dominates honey bee societies, with a select few bee larvae destined for royalty and the masses for worker status. Their study probing the innermost biological makings of queen bees and worker bees appears in ACS's Journal of Proteome Research.

Dr. Katja Fälber and Professor Oliver Daumke, structural biologists at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch, together with researchers from Freie Universität (FU) Berlin, have determined the molecular structure of dynamin, a 'wire-puller' that mediates nutrient uptake into the cell. Since pathogens such as HIV can also enter the body's cells in this way, understanding the underlying molecular mechanisms can potentially open up new approaches for medical applications (Nature, DOI: 10.1038/nature10369)*.

CHICAGO --- African-American men living in areas with low sunlight are up to 3 ½ times more likely to have Vitamin D deficiency than Caucasian men and should take high levels of Vitamin D supplements, according to a new study from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Berkeley — Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have turned back the clock on mature muscle tissue, coaxing it back to an earlier stem cell stage to form new muscle. Moreover, they showed in mice that the newly reprogrammed muscle stem cells could be used to help repair damaged tissue.

An international team of researchers studying DNA patterns from modern and archaic humans has uncovered new clues about the movement and intermixing of populations more than 40,000 years ago in Asia.

Bethesda, Md. (Sept. 22, 2011) -- Maintaining fluid balance in the body is essential to survival, from the tiniest protozoa to the mightiest of mammals. By researching recent genomic data, Swiss researchers have found genetic evidence that links this intricate process to a turning point in evolution.

A blast of gamma radiation could toughen up plastic prosthetic joints to make them strong enough to last for years, according to researchers in China writing in the current issue of the International Journal of Biomedical Engineering and Technology.

Quebec City, September 22, 2011 -- Boosting up microprocessors -the heart of modern computers- at the speed of light, reducing consumptions and costs, may now be a reality thanks to the development of a new high-performance chip, the results of which have been published in Nature Photonics. Fruit of an international scientific team effort, this important step forward has been made by Alessia Pasquazi, a postdoctoral fellow with the team of professor Roberto Morandotti of the Energy, Materials and Telecommunications Centre at INRS. With this new chip, Dr.

BOSTON (September 22, 2011) -- Identifying the cellular origins of breast cancer might lead to earlier diagnosis and more efficient management of the disease. New research led by Charlotte Kuperwasser of Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM) has determined that common forms of breast cancer originate from breast cells known as luminal epithelial cells while rarer forms of breast cancer, such as metaplastic carcinomas, originate from basal epithelial cell types.

Scientists have made an exciting breakthrough in unraveling the genetic basis of two debilitating neurodegenerative disorders, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Two independent studies, published online this week by Cell Press in the journal Neuron, identify a new human genetic mutation as the most common cause of ALS and FTD identified to date. This mutation explains at least a third of all familial cases of ALS and FTD within the European population.