Body

As testosterone progressively dominates the hormonal milieu during the menopausal transition, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome increases according to a new study by researchers at Rush University Medical Center. The study suggests this may be a pathway by which cardiovascular disease increases during menopause. The study is published in the July 28 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

University of Panama and Smithsonian researchers report the discovery of a new Bagworm Moth species, in the Annals of the Entomology Society of America. Unlike nearly all other Bagworms, Perisceptis carnivora have predatory larvae. Strangest of all, according to Annette Aiello, staff scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the adult moths wrap their eggs individually in beautiful cases fashioned from golden abdominal hairs called setae, a behavior unique among insects.

An international team of scientists has identified processes that are heavily implicated in human multiple myeloma and other B cell cancers, moving us closer to developing quick tests and readouts that could help in the tailored treatment of patients.

B cells, the white blood cells that produce antibodies, form a key part of our 'immune response'. To remain healthy, we need to maintain the right number of B cells, not too many and not too few. This in turn relies on an intricate interplay of molecules within our bodies, and inside our B cells.

Golden, CO (July, 29 2008) – Bariatric surgery patients treated at highly rated hospitals have, on average, a 65 percent lower chance of experiencing serious complications compared to patients who undergo surgery at poorly rated hospitals according to a study released today by HealthGrades, the nations leading independent healthcare ratings organization. As part of the study, the quality ratings of hospitals performing bariatric surgery in 17 states became available today at www.healthgrades.com.

SALT LAKE CITY – The age of your neighborhood may influence your risk of obesity, according to a new study from the University of Utah.

San Diego, July 29, 2008 – Although Second Hand Smoke (SHS) is widely accepted as a risk factor for coronary heart disease, there have been few studies investigating the association of SHS and stroke risk. In a new study, published in the September 2008 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers report on evidence of increased risk of stroke for spouses of smokers.

DALLAS – July 29, 2008 – UT Southwestern Medical Center gastroenterologists are using a new method to freeze damaged cells in the esophagus, preventing them from turning cancerous.

The Food and Drug Administration-approved cryoablation therapy helps Barrett's esophagus patients with dysplasia, a condition in which normal cells are transformed into potentially cancerous ones.

Drug-resistant HIV at levels too low to be detected by standard tests is not unusual and may contribute to treatment failure, according to research published in PLoS Medicine.

For male fruit flies, sperm is not enough in the battle to reproduce – at each mating a cocktail of proteins is transferred to the female, many of which directly influence female behaviours in ways that benefit the male. In a new paper, published in this week's PLoS Biology, the online open access journal, a team of biologists from Willie Swanson's lab have investigated these proteins using a new method that is able to identify male proteins in mated females.

Long gone are the days when hundreds of thousands of bison grazed the Great Plains, millions of passenger pigeons darkened the skies while migrating to and from their breeding grounds, and some 12.5 trillion Rocky Mountain locusts crowded an area exceeding the size of California. The subject of great migrations—lost and still to be saved—is explored in two new articles published online today in the open-access journal PLoS Biology.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known in America as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a fatal neurodegenerative disease that has no effective treatment. While it is well known that specific genetic mutations can cause the condition, how the changed genes produce the symptoms has previously been a mystery. A new paper in this week's PLoS Biology, the online open access journal, is able to predict ALS patient longevity to an unprecedented degree based on two properties of the protein SOD1.

Seminal fluid contains protein factors that, when transferred from a male to a female at mating, affect reproductive success. This is true of many different animals, from crickets to primates. In fruit flies, for instance, seminal fluid proteins influence the competitive ability of a male's sperm, and alter the female's post-mating behavior by dampening her interest in other males and cueing her to lay eggs. There is also some speculation, not yet proven, that having the wrong seminal fluid proteins might be one of several barriers to cross-breeding between closely related species.

By the age of 18 years, two in every five South African schoolboys report being forced to have sex, mostly by female perpetrators. A new study, reported in BioMed Central's open access journal International Journal for Equity in Health, reveals the shocking truth about endemic sexual abuse of male children that has been suspected but until now only poorly documented.

If you're fishing for ways to reduce the risk of heart disease, you might start with the seafood-rich diet typically served up in Japan. According to new research, a lifetime of eating tuna, sardines, salmon and other fish appears to protect Japanese men against clogged arteries, despite other cardiovascular risk factors.

SEATTLE – Scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have discovered that microRNAs – molecular workhorses that regulate gene expression – are released by cancer cells and circulate in the blood, which gives them the potential to become a new class of biomarkers to detect cancer at its earliest stages. Muneesh Tewari, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues describe their findings in the July 28 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.