Body

Bethesda, Md. (Sept. 19, 2011) – When researchers discovered the primary genetic defect that causes cystic fibrosis (CF) back in 1989, they opened up a new realm of research into treatment and a cure for the disease. Since then, scientists have been able to clone the defective gene and study its effects in animals. Now researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have developed a technique for observing the defects at work in human tissue donated by patients with CF.

Bethesda, Md. (Sept. 19, 2011) – Cystic fibrosis (CF), a chronic disease that clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening lung infections, is caused by a genetic defect in a chloride channel called cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductase regulator (CFTR). Although scientists do not fully understand how or why this defect occurs, a team of researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada has found a promising clue: a protein called ubiquitin ligase Nedd4L.

In a new study, Chen-Yu Zhang's group at Nanjing university present a rather striking finding that plant miRNAs could make into the host blood and tissues via the route of food-intake. Moreover, once inside the host, they can elicit functions by regulating host "target" genes and thus regulate host physiology.

Like DNA, fingerprints are unique to each person or set of identical twins. That makes them a valuable identification tool for everything from crime detection to international travel. But what happens when the tips of our fingers are missing those distinctive patterns of ridges?

Production of crop milk, a secretion from the crops of parent birds, is rare among birds and, apart from pigeons, is only found in flamingos and male emperor penguins. Essential for the growth and development of the young pigeon squab, pigeon 'milk' is produced by both parents from fluid-filled cells lining the crop that are rich in fat and protein.

The crystal structure of the dynamin protein — one of the molecular machines that makes cells work — has been revealed, bringing insights into a class of molecules with a wide influence on health and disease.

"It's a really cool structure," said Jodi Nunnari, professor and chair of molecular and cellular biology at UC Davis and senior author of the paper, to be published Sept. 18 in the journal Nature. "This is a really important class of molecules for regulating membrane dynamics."

Researchers have developed a new method to sequence and analyze the dark matter of life—the genomes of thousands of bacteria species previously beyond scientists' reach, from microorganisms that produce antibiotics and biofuels to microbes living in the human body.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The first fluorescence-guided surgery on an ovarian cancer patient was performed using a cancer cell "homing device" and imaging agent created by a Purdue University researcher.

The surgery was one of 10 performed as part of the first phase of a clinical trial to evaluate a new technology to aid surgeons in the removal of malignant tissue from ovarian cancer patients. The method illuminates cancer cells to help surgeons identify and remove smaller tumors that could otherwise be missed.

ITHACA, N.Y. – With an eye toward understanding DNA replication, Cornell researchers have learned how a helicase enzyme works to actually unzip the two strands of DNA. (Nature, online Sept. 18, 2011.)

At the heart of many metabolic processes, including DNA replication, are enzymes called helicases. Acting like motors, these proteins travel along one side of double-stranded DNA, prompting the strands to "zip" apart.

Two newer drugs used to treat Type 2 diabetes could be linked to a significantly increased risk of developing pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer, and one could also be linked to an increased risk of thyroid cancer, according to a new UCLA study.

Intrauterine devices (IUDs) may protect against cervical cancer. This is the conclusion of the broadest epidemiological study to date in which has participated the research group in Viruses and Cancer of IDIBELL, published in The Lancet Oncology.

Low-fat yogurt during pregnancy has been linked to an increase in the risk of your child developing asthma and allergic rhinitis (hay fever), according to an analysis that will be presented at the European Respiratory Society's (ERS) Annual Congress in Amsterdam on September 25th, 2011.

LA JOLLA, CA -- A "hidden" code linked to the DNA of plants allows them to develop and pass down new biological traits far more rapidly than previously thought, according to the findings of a groundbreaking study by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

The study, published today in the journal Science, provides the first evidence that an organism's "epigenetic" code - an extra layer of biochemical instructions in DNA - can evolve more quickly than the genetic code and can strongly influence biological traits.

DURHAM, N.C. – Duke University Medical Center researchers have found a genetic variant that seems to be associated with lower five-year survival after a coronary artery bypass.

The scientists found the same gene was associated with mortality in two different sets of patients, with about 1,000 patients in each group (1,018 and 930 patients, respectively).

CHICAGO – An association has been found between infection associated with cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) and increases in mortality and hospital care costs, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The article is part of the journal's Health Care Reform series.