Body

Researchers at Michigan State University have identified a test that can determine which children with malaria are likely to develop cerebral malaria, a much more life-threatening form of the disease.

The screening tool could be a game-changer in resource-limited rural health clinics where workers see hundreds of children with malaria each day and must decide which patients can be sent home with oral drugs and which need to be taken to hospitals for more comprehensive care.

SEATTLE – Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and University of Washington scientists have identified a class of immune cells that reside long-term in the genital skin and mucosa and are believed to be responsible for suppressing recurring outbreaks of genital herpes. These immune cells also play a role in suppressing symptoms of genital herpes, which is why most sufferers of the disease are asymptomatic when viral reactivations occur.

In biology, we often think of natural selection and survival of the fittest. What about survival of the luckiest?

Like pioneers in search of a better life, bacteria on a surface wander around and often organize into highly resilient communities, known as biofilms. It turns out that a lucky few bacteria become the elite cells that start the colonies, and they organize in a rich-get-richer pattern similar to the distribution of wealth in the U.S. economy, according to a new study by researchers at UCLA, Northwestern University and the University of Washington.

Many kinds of cinnamon, cinnamon-flavored foods, beverages and food supplements in the United States use a form of the spice that contains high levels of a natural substance that may cause liver damage in some sensitive people, scientists are reporting. Their study, published in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, found similar results as those published in the European Union.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – A common nutritional supplement may be part of the magic in improving the survival rates of babies born with heart defects, researchers report.

Carnitine, a compound that helps transport fat inside the cell powerhouse where it can be used for energy production, is currently used for purposes ranging from weight loss to chest pain.

URBANA – Tomatoes and soy foods may be more effective in preventing prostate cancer when they are eaten together than when either is eaten alone, said a University of Illinois study.

"In our study, we used mice that were genetically engineered to develop an aggressive form of prostate cancer. Even so, half the animals that had consumed tomato and soy had no cancerous lesions in the prostate at study's end. All the mice in the control group--no soy, no tomato--developed the disease," said John Erdman, a U of I professor of food science and nutrition.

A carnivorous, cannibalistic tadpole may play a role in understanding the evolution and development of digestive organs, according to research from North Carolina State University. These findings may also shed light on universal rules of organ development that could lead to better diagnosis and prevention of intestinal birth defects.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is caused by mutations in CFTR and is characterized by dysfunction of the lungs, liver, pancreas, and intestines. Approximately 15% of babies with CF are born with an obstruction of the small intestine known as meconium ileus, frequently the first sign of CF. Unlike in humans, meconium ileus occurs in 100% of newborn CF pigs. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Michael Welsh and colleagues at the University of Iowa demonstrate that transgenic expression of normal CFTR in the intestine of CF pigs alleviated meconium ileus.

They're ba-ack! But in a new disease-fighting role. Viruses that infect and kill bacteria — used to treat infections in the pre-antibiotic era a century ago and in the former Soviet Union today — may have a new role in preventing formation of the sticky "biofilms" of bacteria responsible for infections on implanted medical devices. That's the topic of a report in the ACS journal Biomacromolecules.

A new "solder" for laser welding of tissue during surgical operations has the potential to produce stronger seals and expand use of this alternative to conventional sutures and stapling in intestinal surgery, scientists are reporting. Their study, which involves use of a gold-based solder, or sealing material, appears in the journal ACS Nano.

Math and reading ability at age 7 may be linked with socioeconomic status several decades later, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The childhood abilities predict socioeconomic status in adulthood over and above associations with intelligence, education, and socioeconomic status in childhood.

ORLANDO, Fla., May 8, 2013 – Researchers discovered that small pieces of genetic material called microRNAs link the two defining characteristics of fit muscles: the ability to burn sugar and fat and the ability to switch between slow- and fast-twitch muscle fibers. The team used two complementary mouse models—the "marathon mouse" and the "couch potato mouse"—to make this discovery. But what's more, they also found that active people have higher levels of one of these microRNAs than sedentary people.

On May 8thJoVE will publish research that demonstrates how a biosensor can detect antibiotic resistance in bacteria. This new technology is a preliminary step in identifying and fighting superbugs, a major public health concern that has led to more deaths than AIDS in the United States in recent years. The technology is the result of collaboration between Dr. Vitaly Vodyanoy at Auburn University and the Keesler Air Force Base with funding from the United States Air Force.

To understand how proteins work it is important to know their three-dimensional shape, but also the way it is produced. We need to know, in other words, how the amino acid filament which makes up the proteins is capable of folding over itself to take on a specific shape.

Sydney, Australia -- Researchers from the University of New South Wales have cautioned that more work is needed to understand how micro-organisms respond to the disinfecting properties of silver nano-particles, increasingly used in medical and environmental applications.

Although nanosilver has effective antimicrobial properties against certain pathogens, overexposure to silver nano-particles can cause other potentially harmful organisms to rapidly adapt and flourish, a UNSW study reveals.