Body

Researchers at Texas A&M University are participating in developing a medicine that is worth sneezing about: a treatment for influenza that forms a jelly when sprayed into the nose.

Even though trial treatments are being used to treat bird flu in humans, technically termed the H5N1 virus, the vaccine has the potential for numerous other uses, such as for the common flu shot, says Dr. Ian Tizard, professor of pathobiology in the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences.

There are many reports of medical journal articles being researched and written by or on behalf of pharmaceutical companies, and then published under the name ofacademics who had played little role earlier in the research and writing process.

Florida Atlantic University received U.S. patent no. 10/822,496, “Promoting Cardiac Cell Differentiation,” based on an invention which induces and restores cardiac muscle function.

Everyone knows how a bicycle works - or so we think. But for 150 years why a moving bicycle can, all by itself, be so stable has been something of a mystery.

What do video games and seismic explorations have in common? Both require very demanding computer applications that call for the ability to process massive quantities of data rapidly. Using computer technology originally co-designed by IBM for video-game consoles, University of Houston seismic researchers are employing this extremely fast technology to more effectively target oil reserves.

The Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University have received a $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation to establish "The Origins Project," a center for integrated research, education and public outreach focused on the chemistry that may have led to the origin of life. The center also includes the participation of Spelman College in Atlanta and Jackson State University in Mississippi.

The NSF is supporting The Origins Project as part of an effort to address "big picture" questions in chemistry through the formation of Chemical Bonding Centers (CBC).

A report on the Chinese consumption and production of meat was published today at the European Conference of Biotechnology in Barcelona. The report was the outcome of a meeting in Hangzhou, China where experts from all over the world met and discussed the perspectives of the Chinese food production.

Meat consumption in China is expected to reach 73 kilo per person per year in 2020 compared with 26,2 kg in 2004. This increase in meat consumption means that the environmental impact of the Chinese population will double if the rapid growth continues.

Within three years, insulin-producing islet cells from pigs may be used in clinical trials on a path to finally cure insulin dependant diabetes.

This key finding was the discovery of Dr. Bernhard Hering, Scientific Director of the Diabetes Institute for Immunology & Transplantation at the University of Minnesota and his team, who first documented their medical breakthrough in Nature Medicine last year.

Drug experts have warned parents and healthcare professionals to double-check if children with allergic conditions such as asthma and hayfever are being over-prescribed corticosteroids. The warning follows research unveiled at the British Pharmaceutical Conference (BPC) in Manchester revealing that many children with multiple allergic conditions such as asthma, eczema and hayfever may be exposed to high, cumulative doses of corticosteroids through co-prescribing of steroid preparations for different conditions.

Constipation is a condition that we are all familiar with, however, according to new international research from Dulcolax(R), constipation actually affects much more than just bowel movements and can have a severely detrimental impact on people's quality of life, in some cases comparable to that experienced by people suffering from more serious ailments.

Fossilized footprints are relatively common, but figuring out exactly which ancient creature made particular tracks has been a mystery that has long stumped paleontologists. In the latest issue of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, a team of researchers overcome this dilemma for the first time, and link a fossil trackway to a well-known fossil animal.

Muhammad Ali, three-time heavyweight boxing champion and one of the most recognized people in the world, is a nominee for this year's Nobel Peace Prize. Co-nominated with Ali is Peter Georgi, Ali's former senior humanitarian advisor.

The nomination is based on Ali's and Georgi's many years of effort to create the Children's General Assembly, a new United Nations-authorized organization that will allow children to promote the following:

Just how a dividing cell rebuilds the nuclear envelope, the protective, functional wrapping that encases both the original and newly copied genetic material, has been a source of controversy for the last 20 years. The answer matters because the architecture established during formation of the envelope is regarded as key to future regulation of gene expression.Image courtesy of Daniel J. Anderson, Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

University of Minnesota researchers have initiated a ground breaking clinical trial to determine the optimal dose and safety of T regulatory cells (T-regs) to decrease the risk of immune reactions common in patients undergoing blood and marrow transplantation.

Ultimately, the researchers hope the experimental cellular therapy will improve overall survival rates for blood cancer patients as well as offer a potential new paradigm for treating autoimmune diseases.

Two studies report that exercise and yoga can help maintain and in some cases improve quality of life in women with early-stage breast cancer. The first study found that resistance and aerobic exercise improved physical fitness, self-esteem and body composition, and that resistance exercise improved chemotherapy completion rates. The second study demonstrated that yoga was particularly beneficial for women who were not receiving chemotherapy during the study period. Both studies will be published online September 4 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO).