Body

European legislation restricts animal testing within the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries and companies are increasingly looking at alternative systems to ensure that their products are safe to use. Research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Genomics demonstrates that the response of laboratory grown human cells can now be used to classify chemicals as sensitizing, or non-sensitizing, and can even predict the strength of allergic response, so providing an alternative to animal testing.

AMHERST, Mass. – The discovery of a fundamental, previously unknown property of microbial nanowires in the bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens that allows electron transport across long distances could revolutionize nanotechnology and bioelectronics, says a team of physicists and microbiologists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Their findings reported in the Aug. 7 advance online issue of Nature Nanotechnology may one day lead to cheaper, nontoxic nanomaterials for biosensors and solid state electronics that interface with biological systems.

A new resource to define the roles of microRNAs is announced today in Nature Biotechnology. The resource, called mirKO, gives researchers access to tools to investigate the biological role and significance for human health of these enigmatic genes.

Chapel Hill, NC – Cells are the building blocks of the human body. They are a focus of scientific study, because when things go wrong at the cellular and molecular level the consequences for human health are often significant.

A new finding points to new avenues for investigation of cell metabolism that may provide insights into diseases ranging from neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease to certain types of cancers.

August 8th, 2011, Shenzhen, China – BGI, the world's largest genomics organization, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital and Shenzhen Second People's Hospital, announced today that the study on frequent mutations of chromatin remodeling genes in transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the bladder was published online in Nature Genetics. This study provides a valuable genetic basis for future studies on TCC, suggesting that aberration of chromatin regulation might be one of the features of bladder cancer.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (August 7, 2011) – The human genome is peppered with repeated DNA elements that can vary from a few to thousands of consecutive copies of the same sequence. During meiosis—the cell division that produces sperm and eggs—repetitive elements place the genome at risk for dangerous rearrangements from genome reshuffling. This recombination typically does not occur in repetitive DNA, in part because much of it is assembled into specialized heterochromatin. Other mechanisms that restrain recombination in repetitive DNA have remained elusive, until now.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- A Purdue University scientist is urging federal officials to decide whether genetically engineered salmon would be allowed for U.S. consumption and arguing that not doing so may set back scientific efforts to increase food production.

The demise of the world's forests some 250 million years ago likely was accelerated by aggressive tree-killing fungi triggered by global climate change, according to a new study by a University of California, Berkeley, scientist and her Dutch and British colleagues.

The researchers do not rule out the possibility that today's changing climate could cause a similar increase in pathogenic soil bacteria that could devastate forests already stressed by a warming climate and pollution.

FINDINGS:A man-made fat called Intralipid, which is currently used as a component of intravenous nutrition and to treat rare overdoses of local anesthetics, may also offer protection for patients suffering from heart attacks.

A new study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine reveals that in obese men with type 2 diabetes, weight loss improves erectile function, sexual desire and lowers urinary tract symptoms.

Researchers led by Professor Gary Wittert, MBBch, MD, FRACP, FRCP, of the University of Adelaide studied 31 obese men with type 2 diabetes over 8 weeks. The men received either a meal replacement-based low-calorie diet or a low-fat, high-protein, reduced-carbohydrate diet prescribed to decrease intake by 600 calories a day.

BOZEMAN, Mont. – A Montana State University researcher who analyzed 100 years of data has found a significant link between extreme Montana weather and the ocean temperatures near Peru.

Montanans who want to know what to expect from the weather should look to the Pacific Ocean in the fall or maybe find a way to chat with some Peruvian fishermen, according to Joseph Caprio, professor emeritus in MSU's Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences and former Montana State Climatologist.

In summer, more dishes like gazpacho –a cold soup containing raw vegetables, bread, olive oil and vinegar– are consumed. A new study has revealed that ingredients' vitamin C content as well as other organic acids is lower in the resulting mixture, meaning that it should be eaten immediately after preparation.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins found that use over time and not just genetics informs the structure of jaw bones in human populations. The researchers say these findings may be used to predict the diet of an ancient population, even if little evidence exists in the fossil record. It can also make it easier for scientists to pinpoint the genetic relationship between fossils.

Their results were published online June 23 in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A common technique for determining whether melanoma has spread can be used safely and effectively even in tumors from the head and neck area, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (August 1, 2011) — A groundbreaking new study published in the journal, Health Affairs, suggests that increases in public health spending result in healthier people, especially in communities with fewer resources.