Body

BOSTON (April 27, 2009) —In an in vitro study, led by Grace Gill, PhD, Tufts University School of Medicine, researchers discovered how a protein called SUMO (Small Ubiquitin-related Modifier) guides an enzyme complex that alters the structure of chromatin to regulate expression of genes. Chromatin is a compacted mass of DNA and protein that make up chromosomes.

The respective microRNA seed region influences the production of sensory hair cells in the inner ear, both in the mouse and in humans. The findings have been published ahead of print in the current online issue of Nature Genetics. This study represents a major step forward in elucidating the common phenomenon of progressive hearing loss, opening up new avenues for treatment.

The May 2009 issue of the Journal of General Physiology features an article and accompanying commentary on new experimental evidence that advances previous conclusions about the essential features of the Shaker K+ channel, a voltage-gated potassium (Kv) channel.

As Richard Horn (Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Institute of Hyperexcitability, Jefferson Medical College) explains in his JGP commentary:

Autoimmune diseases have long been regarded as illnesses in which the immune system creates autoantibodies to attack the body itself. But, researchers at the California non-profit Autoimmunity Research Foundation (ARF) explain that the antibodies observed in autoimmune disease actually result from alteration of human genes and gene products by hidden bacteria.

WASHINGTON, DC – A supplement to be published in the June issue of the Journal of Nutrition encourages the scientific community and the general public to stop demonizing high fructose corn syrup as the culprit of obesity and to rethink the myths about high fructose corn syrup's impact on the American diet.

The enduringly popular theory that the Chicxulub crater holds the clue to the demise of the dinosaurs, along with some 65 percent of all species 65 million years ago, is challenged in a paper to be published in the Journal of the Geological Society on April 27, 2009.

The crater, discovered in 1978 in northern Yucutan and measuring about 180 kilometers (112 miles) in diameter, records a massive extra-terrestrial impact.

Our bodies' tissues need continuous irrigation and drainage. Blood vessels feeding the tissues bring in the fluids, and drainage occurs via the lymphatic system. While much is known about how blood vessels are built, the same was not true for lymph vessels. Now though, Norrmén et al. have identified two of the lead engineers that direct drainage construction in the mouse embryo.

STANFORD, Calif. — New research from Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and the Stanford University School of Medicine is helping physicians unravel the cause of a deadly and mysterious bowel disease that strikes medically fragile newborn babies. The findings could lead to a better understanding of the disease and its medical management, and also shed light on the causes of sepsis, a major killer of children and young adults.

Lugano, 27 April 2009 – Prevention, personalized therapies and closer collaborations between surgeons, medical oncologists and radiation oncologists will result in better outcomes for lung cancer patients and those at risk, a leading European expert says.

"Lung cancer is a complex disease. It is one of the most complex cancers, and the more we learn about the biology of the disease, the more we realize that improved cancer care will result from multidisciplinary treatment," said Prof Robert Pirker, from the Medical University of Vienna, Austria.

Scientists at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease have identified for the first time key genetic factors that drive the process of generating new heart cells. The discovery, reported in the current issue of the journal Nature, provides important new directions on how stem cells may be used to repair damaged hearts.

UPTON, NY — New details of the composition and structure of a needlelike protein complex on the surface of certain bacteria may help scientists develop new strategies to thwart infection. The research, conducted in part at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, will be published April 26, 2009, in the advance online edition of Nature Structural & Molecular Biology.

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Statins, drugs widely prescribed to lower cholesterol, may have protective effects on prostate health. This large Mayo Clinic cohort study looked at three different aspects of urological health -- prostate cancer, erectile dysfunction and prostate enlargement. Initial research results are being presented April 25-30, 2009, at the American Urological Association (AUA) meeting in Chicago.

LINTHICUM, MD, April 26, 2009–Men taking generic drugs may be more likely to have less effective results and more adverse events than if they were using branded medications, according to new data from researchers in New York. Researchers presented a study at the 104th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA) showing that generic substitutes for alpha blockers and 5-alpha reductase inhibitors (5-ARIs), two classes of medications used to treat lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in men, are less effective than their branded counterparts.

LINTHICUM, MD, April 26, 2009–Tadalafil may improve lower urinary tract symptoms in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Researchers from Nashville, Dallas, San Antonia and Indianapolis will present these findings during the 104th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA).

The current outbreak of swine flu in California and Texas recalls the discovery of a cluster of swine flu cases in New Jersey in 1976 that led to the mass immunization of Americans. According to Dr. George T. DiFerdinando, Jr., a physican epidemiologist and professor at the UMDNJ-School of Public Health, the reaction to current and past outbreaks points out what can go right and what can go wrong in the face of a potential epidemic.