Body

The effects of H1N1 swine flu have been investigated in a group of piglets. Scientists writing in BioMed Central's open access Virology Journal studied the pathology of the virus, finding that all infected animals showed flu-like symptoms between one and four days after infection and were shedding virus two days after infection.

New research suggests for the first time that frequent bouts of sporadic activity could be just as beneficial to children's health as longer exercise sessions. A team from the University of Exeter measured the frequency, intensity and duration of bouts of physical activity in a group of children and analysed the results against a number of health indicators.

Clinicians are missing golden opportunities to identify heart disease before patients start displaying symptoms, according to a study of 13,877 people published in the May issue of UK-based IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice.

Researchers from Oregon, Maryland and Delaware, USA, found that just over 11% of the respondents had been diagnosed with heart disease. However, only 19% of those individuals - who had been involved in the ongoing study for two years - said that their heart disease was picked up during routine screening.

A consequence of the different cancers of the hepatobiliary system is blocked bile ducts. However, artificial catheters known as "stents" can remediate this problem. Stents are medical implants which reopen narrowed bile ducts to allow the outflow of bile. However, bacteria colonize these catheters forming dense communities, so-called biofilms. Inside these biofilms, bacteria are not only protected from the immune response initiated by the host but also from antibiotics.

Eight previously unknown genes that affect blood pressure were recently identified in a comprehensive international study comprising 34,433 Europeans. The findings of the study, in which Uppsala University researchers participated, are being presented today in the Web edition of Nature Genetics.

The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) today announced that its President, Professor Martin Silink has called on governments worldwide to recognize the severe impact of diabetes and other non-communicable diseases and take immediate action to ameliorate the threat.

Scientists in the USA have discovered why smokers may be more prone to chronic gum disease (periodontitis). One of the bacteria responsible for this infection responds to cigarette smoke – changing its properties and the way it infects a smokers mouth.

The study published recently in the Society for Applied Microbiology journal Environmental Microbiology, showed that the bacterium Porphyromonas gingivalis adapts and changes its DNA and membrane proteins in response to cigarette smoke.

UCLA scientists report for the first time on the only known frog species that can communicate using purely ultrasonic calls, whose frequencies are too high to be heard by humans. Known as Huia cavitympanum, the frog lives only on the Southeast Asian island of Borneo.

People who live in urban areas are more likely to develop late-stage cancer than those who live in suburban and rural areas. That is the conclusion of a new study published in the June 15, 2009 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. The study's results indicate a need for more effective urban-based cancer screening and awareness programs.

8 DNA regions associated with blood pressure and hypertension, 6 for first time

An international research team has identified a number of unsuspected genetic variants associated with systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and hypertension (high blood pressure), suggesting potential avenues of investigation for the prevention or treatment of hypertension. The research was funded in part by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health and by several other NIH institutes and centers.

A team of researchers from the United States, the Netherlands and Iceland has identified three genes containing common mutations that are associated with altered kidney disease risk. One of the discovered genes, the UMOD gene, produces Tamm-Horsfall protein, the most common protein in the urine of healthy individuals. Although the Tamm-Horsfall protein has been known for almost 60 years, its functions are not well understood and its relationship to chronic kidney disease risk was not known previously. The findings are published in the May 10 issue of Nature Genetics.

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, along with an international team of collaborators, have identified common genetic changes associated with blood pressure and hypertension. The study, reporting online next week in Nature Genetics, breaks new ground in understanding blood pressure regulation and may lead to advances in hypertension therapy.

Removing a single protein prevents early damage in blood vessels from triggering a later-stage, frequently lethal complication of atherosclerosis, according to research published online today in the journal Nature Medicine. By eliminating the gene for a signaling protein called cyclophilin A (CypA) from a strain of mice, researchers were able to provide complete protection against abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA).

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Brown University researchers have shown that there is an inexpensive way to help low-income, ethnically diverse people eat better: Send personalized nutrition education materials through the mail.

That is the primary finding in a new study to be published in The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. The implications are significant as public policy-makers struggle to find new cost-effective ways to slow the escalating price of health care.