Body

Researchers at McMaster University have found that brief high intensity workouts, as little as six sessions over two weeks, rapidly lower blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetics, offering a potential fix for patients who struggle to meet exercise guidelines.

The small proof-of-principle study, conducted on eight diabetics, appears in the latest edition of the Journal of Applied Physiology.

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Teaching young children with autism to imitate others may improve a broader range of social skills, according to a new study by a Michigan State University scholar.

The findings come at a pivotal time in autism research. In the past several years, researchers have begun to detect behaviors and symptoms of autism that could make earlier diagnosis and even intervention like this possible, said Brooke Ingersoll, MSU assistant professor of psychology.

The practice of deep banding fertilizer is growing in popularity as more growers turn to strip-till. However, this method may be costing growers more than it is worth.

A new University of Illinois study revealed that strip-till was superior to no-till and increased yield in soybean. However, the results showed no difference in yield between fertilizer application methods.

The problems of archaic logistics infrastructure, inefficient distribution channels and disruptive black markets must all be addressed urgently if Africa is to cope with the growing problem of malaria, according to a study published in the International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management.

An experimental drug that works by blocking the export of key control molecules from the nucleus of cancer cells shows promise as a treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and other incurable B-cell malignancies, according to a new study by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James).

Field work by researcher Fred Kraus from Bishop Museum, Honolulu has found the world's smallest frogs in southeastern New Guinea. This also makes them the world's smallest tetrapods (non-fish vertebrates). The frogs belong to the genus Paedophryne, all of whose species are extremely small, with adults of the two new species - named Paedophryne dekot and Paedophryne verrucosa - only 8-9 mm in length.

All 10 trillion cells in the adult human body are genetically identical, but develop into distinct cell types, such as muscle cells, skin cells or neurons, by activating some genes while inhibiting others. Remarkably, each specialized cell maintains a memory of their individual identity by remembering which genes should be kept on or off, even when making copies of themselves. This type of memory is not written directly into the DNA, yet it is heritable.

Oxford, December 12, 2011 - The World Trade Center disaster exposed nearly half a million people to hazardous chemicals, environmental toxins, and traumatic events. According to research published in the December 2011 issue of Elsevier-published journal Preventive Medicine, this has resulted in increased risk of developing physical and mental health conditions after 9/11.

(SAN DIEGO, December 11, 2011) – Research assessing the safety and efficacy of hydroxyurea therapy in pediatric patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) and the use of pre-operative transfusions for patients with SCD who undergo low- and moderate-risk elective surgery will be presented today at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology.

(COLUMBUS, OH) December 12, 2011 -- With the National Basketball Association (NBA) training camps now underway, serious injuries may come next. A national sports medicine expert, who published an article in a respected medical journal about the injury ramifications of lockouts, says players in the NBA should learn from information analyzed after the National Football League (NFL) lockout.

How astrocytes, certain cells of the nervous system, are generated was largely unknown up to now. Bochum's researchers have now investigated what influence the cell environment, known as the extracellular matrix, has on this process. They found out that the matrix protein tenascin C has to be present in order for astrocytes to multiply and distribute in a controlled fashion in the spinal cord of mice. Together with colleagues from the RWTH Aachen, the scientists from RUB Department of Cell Morphology and Molecular Neurobiology report their findings in the journal Development.

Scientists at University College Dublin, Ireland, have identified a genetic alteration which causes a child to be born with no eyes – a condition called anophthalmia.

According to the findings published in the current issue (December 2011) of Human Mutation, a child's eyes will not develop fully in the womb if the child has alterations in both copies of its STRA6 gene which is responsible for transporting vitamin A into the cells.

LAKE SUCCESS, NY -- Women who inherit the cancer genes BRCA1 or BRCA2 from their paternal lineage may get a diagnosis a decade earlier than those women who carry the cancer genes from their mother and her ancestors, according to a new study by researchers at the North Shore-LIJ Health System's Monter Cancer Center in Lake Success, NY. The findings were reported on Thursday, Dec. 8, at the San AntonioBreast Cancer Symposium.

Many plants produce compounds that serve as a defense against predators or pathogens. Some are also used by humans for a variety of beneficial purposes, such as in medicines. As recently as the early 1990s, a unique class of proteins previously unknown to science, the cyclotides, was discovered.

(SAN DIEGO, December 10, 2011) –Despite major research advances over the last several decades that have helped deliver improved therapeutic options for leukemia, the condition remains deadly. Specialists are in need of new options to help diagnose the condition earlier and new therapies that will extend patients' lives. New research addressing important updates on the diagnosis and treatment of leukemia will be presented today at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology.