Body

PORTLAND, Ore. September 7, 2011. Each year, more than 170 million people visit national forests for recreation. And the physical activity associated with these visits burns 290 billion food calories. That equals enough french fries laid end to end to reach the Moon and back—twice—according to a recent study in the Journal of Forestry.

Scientists have devised a method to measure the impact of age on the growth rates of cellular populations, a development that offers new ways to understand and model the growth of bacteria, and could provide new insights into how genetic factors affect their life cycle. The research, which appears in Evolution: International Journal of Organic Evolution, was conducted by scientists at New York University and the University of Tokyo.

Researchers have created mammalian cells containing a single set of chromosomes for the first time in research funded by the Wellcome Trust and EMBO. The technique should allow scientists to better establish the relationships between genes and their function.

Mammal cells usually contain two sets of chromosomes – one set inherited from the mother, one from the father. The genetic information contained in these chromosome sets helps determine how our bodies develop. Changes in this genetic code can lead to or increase the risk of developing disease.

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have identified a new drug target that may treat and/or prevent heart failure. The team evaluated failing human and pig hearts and discovered that SUMO1, a so-called "chaperone" protein that regulates the activity of key transporter genes, was decreased in failing hearts. When the researchers injected SUMO1 into these hearts via gene therapy, cardiac function was significantly improved. This research indicates that SUMO1 may play a critical role in the pathogenesis of heart failure. The data are published online in Nature.

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) –– Sensors made from custom DNA molecules could be used to personalize cancer treatments and monitor the quality of stem cells, according to an international team of researchers led by scientists at UC Santa Barbara and the University of Rome Tor Vergata.

The new nanosensors can quickly detect a broad class of proteins called transcription factors, which serve as the master control switches of life. The research is described in an article published in Journal of the American Chemical society.

The kidneys play an important role in the regulation of blood pressure by adjusting the production of urine after eating or drinking. This process begins already in the upper digestive tract, which could explain why gastric bypass surgery for obesity also markedly reduce blood pressure, reveals a thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg.

The kidneys can quickly adjust the production of urine after consumption of food or drink, which is important so that the composition of bodily fluids and the blood does not vary too much.

A group of scientists from the University of Gothenburg and the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Sweden, have become the first group in the world to demonstrate that theories about nanoscale spin waves agree with observations. This opens the way to replacing microwave technology in many applications, such as mobile phones and wireless networks, by components that are much smaller, cheaper, and that require less resources. The study has been published in the scientific journal Nature Nanotechnology, the most prestigious journal in nanoscience.

Baltimore, MD – Sept. 6, 2011 – Young women with early-stage breast cancer have similar survival rates with a lumpectomy and radiation treatment, known as breast-conservation therapy, as with mastectomy, a new study conducted at the University of Maryland has found. The results of the analysis of nearly 15,000 patients listed in a nationwide cancer registry will be presented at the 2011 Breast Cancer Symposium to be held Sept. 8-11 in San Francisco.

A major new international study involving researchers from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg and Sahlgrenska University Hospital has revealed that aspirin, statins, beta blockers and ACE inhibitors are prescribed far too infrequently. They are cheap, preventive medicines that could prevent a huge number of deaths from heart attacks and strokes.

The result of a research collaboration between 17 countries, the study is being published in the highly revered medical journal The Lancet.

Patients who have received high doses of chemotherapy may find it harder to express themselves verbally, according to new research from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Speech difficulties among cancer patients who received chemotherapy treatment were two times higher than among those who did not.

The study has been published in the scientific journal Acta Oncologica. Almost one thousand men who had survived testicular cancer were asked to respond to a questionnaire about how they felt eleven years following their diagnosis.

CHICAGO -- Researchers at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine have discovered why the immune cells of people with rheumatoid arthritis become hyperactive and attack the joints and bones. The immune cells have lost their bouncer, the burly protein that keeps them in line the same way a bouncer in a nightclub controls rowdy patrons.

Not all trans fats are created equal and it's time for a change in nutrition labels to reflect this, particularly when it comes to dairy and beef products.

According to a scientific review published in the latest edition of Advances in Nutrition, natural trans fats produced by ruminant animals such as dairy and beef cattle are not detrimental to health and in fact show significant positive health effects. Some evidence even links these natural trans fats to reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Not all trans fats are created equal and it's time for nutritional labels to reflect that reality, says a University of Alberta nutrition expert.

According to a scientific review conducted by Spencer Proctor, along with Canadian and international colleagues, natural trans fats produced by ruminant animals such as dairy and beef cattle are not detrimental to health. In fact, they show significant positive health effects and some evidence even links these natural trans fats to reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer.

COLLEGE STATION, Sept. 7, 2011 – Like clues from an Agatha Christie mystery novel, trees can provide secrets about past events, and their rings are especially good at providing information about fires, some of which happened hundreds of years ago, according to studies from a Texas A&M University researcher.