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ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Mayo Clinic researchers have developed a genome-based immunization strategy to fight feline AIDS and illuminate ways to combat human HIV/AIDS and other diseases. The goal is to create cats with intrinsic immunity to the feline AIDS virus. The findings -- called fascinating and landmark by one reviewer -- appear in the current online issue of Nature Methods.

A study involving more than 200,000 people worldwide has identified 29 DNA sequence variations in locations across the human genome that influence blood pressure. These genes, whose sequence changes are associated with alterations in blood pressure and are linked to heart disease and stroke, were found with the help of decades' worth of population data that were pooled and analyzed by a large international consortium, including Johns Hopkins researchers.

MADISON – Ever since human induced pluripotent stem cells were first derived in 2007, scientists have wondered whether they were functionally equivalent to embryonic stem cells, which are sourced in early-stage embryos.

Both cell types have the ability to differentiate into any cell in the body, but their origins – in embryonic and adult tissue – suggest that they are not identical.

Researchers from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and the Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter, Fla., report they have created prototype drugs having powerful anti-diabetic effects, yet apparently free – at least in mice – of dangerous side effects plaguing some current diabetes medications.

The researchers say that their "proof-of-principle" findings could lead to safer medications for Type 2 diabetes, which affects more than 25 million children and adults in the United States. Their findings are being published Sept. 4 in Nature .

Scientists at A*STAR's Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) have made a landmark discovery in the battle against the rapid spread of aggressive cancers associated with PRL-3 oncoprotein.

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) –– Homeowners and taxpayers are picking up most of the tab for damages caused by invasive tree-feeding insects that are inadvertently imported along with packing materials, live plants, and other goods. That's the conclusion of a team of biologists and economists, whose research findings are reported in the journal PLoS One this week.

A new, open-access article (DOI: 10.1603/IPM10024) in the Journal of Integrated Pest Management provides a brief summary of the various species of thrips present in U.S. cotton, their plant host range and injury to cotton, a general description of thrips biology, and management practices currently available to growers.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists have conducted studies to investigate the use of virgin cotton in nonwoven materials and products. The work was led by cotton technologist Paul Sawhney and his colleagues at the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Cotton Chemistry and Utilization Research Unit in the agency's Southern Regional Research Center (SRRC) in New Orleans, La.

Sawhney is the lead scientist of the cotton-based nonwovens research program at the center. ARS is USDA's chief intramural scientific research agency.

In an article in the current issue of the journal Climatic Change Letters, Boston University researchers have estimated the impact near-term increases in global-mean temperatures will have on summertime temperatures in the U.S. and around the globe.

The "2°C global warming target" is in reference to the current international efforts to reduce emissions of heat-trapping gases and limit human-induced global-mean near-surface temperature increases to 2°C (3.5°F) relative to the pre-industrial era, three-fifths of which has already occurred.

Transplantation specialists have proposed changes to the allocation and distribution of organs used for liver transplants. The recommended policy modifications take into account the scarcity of available organs, ensuring rapid allocation and delivery of the organ to those most in need in order to reduce mortality for waitlisted patients. Details of the proposed model are available in the September issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists have successfully disrupted the function of a cancer gene involved in the formation of most human tumors by tampering with the gene's "on" switch and growth signals, rather than targeting the gene itself. The results, achieved in multiple myeloma cells, offer a promising strategy for treating not only myeloma but also many other cancer types driven by the gene MYC, the study authors say. Their findings are being published by the journal Cell on its website Sept. 1 and in its Sept. 16 print edition.

The diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, is one of the world's most destructive crop pests. It has developed resistance to many chemical and biological pesticides, and the estimated global cost of controlling this insect is approximately US$1billion annually.

The heartbeat is the result of rhythmic contractions of the heart muscle, which are in turn regulated by electrical signals called action potentials. Action potentials result from the controlled flow of ions into heart muscle cells (depolarization) through channels in their membranes, and are followed by a compensating reverse ion current (repolarization), which restores the original state. If the duration of the repolarization phase is not just right, the risk of ventricular arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death increases significantly.

HOUSTON, Sept. 8, 2011 – A team of researchers from the University of Houston (UH) and St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital (SLEH) are working to develop improved screening methods to detect a potentially lethal, drug-resistant superbug that has made its way to Texas.

Fewer than three doses of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Cervarix may be just as effective as the standard three-dose regimen when it comes to preventive measures against cervical cancer, according to a new study published September 9 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.