Body

A research coordinated by the UAB has succeeded in testing a vaccine against leishmaniasis. The vaccine was tested with the best animal model existing, the golden hamster, and can be produced at low costs by using insect larvae. The research, published in the latest edition of PLoS ONE, is an important step towards the fight against a disease which causes the death of 70,000 people each year in developing countries and of countless dogs, which also suffer from this disease and are its natural reservoir.

For centuries, humans have been exploring, researching, and, in some cases, discovering how to stave off life-threatening diseases, increase life spans, and obtain immortality.

A research study from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has yielded important breakthroughs on how the body loses muscle, paving the way for new treatments for aging, obesity and diabetes.

The study found that by inhibiting a particular molecule produced naturally in the body, muscle loss due to aging or illnesses can be prevented. Blocking the same molecule will also trigger the body to go into a 'fat-burning mode' which will fight obesity and also treat the common form of diabetes.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Scarring of the airways can lead to long-term breathing problems for some people exposed to high levels of chlorine gas from events such as an industrial accident, chemical spill following a train derailment or terroristic chemical warfare. Household mishaps from mixing bleach with acidic cleaning products also can cause release of chlorine gas; if this occurs in a poorly ventilated space, chlorine levels could be high enough to cause lung injury.

New York, NY, December 19, 2012 – About 30 percent of the more than 70,000 bladder cancer cases expected in 2012 are muscle invasive. In such cases, radical cystectomy is the preferred treatment. In a pilot trial, a team of investigators assessed the efficacy of open radical cystectomy (ORC) vs. robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical cystectomy (RARC). While there were no significant differences in treatment outcomes, RARC resulted in decreased estimated blood loss and shorter hospital stay compared to ORC.

Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) among children in China are a growing public health concern. Two new studies by researchers of the International Program at the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital and the Wuhan Children's Hospital in China examined pediatric TBIs that were treated at Wuhan Children's Hospital from 2002 to 2011.

Celiac disease affects about one percent of the population but occasional 'epidemics' have been noticed along with a seasonal variation in number of cases diagnosed. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Pediatrics indicates that repeated infections early in life increases the risk for celiac disease.

An insect-trapping pitcher plant in Venezuela uses its downward pointing hairs to create a 'water slide' on which insects slip to their death, new research reveals. The research was published today, 19 December, in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Hairs on plants, called trichomes, are typically used to repel water. However, the Cambridge researchers observed that the hairs on the inside of Heliamphora nutans pitcher plants were highly wettable, prompting them to test whether this phenomenon is related to the trapping of insects.

San Francisco, CA, Dec. 15-19, 2012Moscone Center, 747 Howard Street

ORGANIZING THE EYE'S NEURONS

Poster: 2342/B1205

Special Interest Subgroup: Tissue Development and Morphogenesis II

Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012; Exhibit Halls A-C, 12:30 – 2 p.m.

Authors: A. R. Tomás and M. R. Deans

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report that tumor cells use stress signals to subvert responding immune cells, exploiting them to actually boost conditions beneficial to cancer growth.

The findings are published in the December 18 online issue of the journal PLOS ONE.

Scientists from the AIDS Research Institute IrsiCaixa have identified how HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, enters the cells of the immune system enabling it to be dispersed throughout an organism. The new study is published December 18 in the open access journal PLOS Biology.

STANFORD, Calif. — Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a set of proteins circulating in blood whose levels accurately flag the presence of lymphedema. The findings, to be reported Dec. 18 in PLoS ONE, spur optimism that this common but relatively neglected condition, which affects an estimated 10 million people in the United States, finally will be amenable to detection (and, eventually, treatment) with 21st-century techniques.

There is little evidence from real world situations in low-and-middle income countries to support the effectiveness and financial value of five interventions* recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) to control tuberculosis, which may be a reason why these interventions have not been implemented in many countries, according to a study by international experts published in this week's PLOS Medicine.

In 2010, almost 50 million couples worldwide were unable to have a child after five years of trying. Infertility rates have hardly changed over the past 20 years, according to a study by international researchers published in this week's PLOS Medicine.

Emergency aid has failed to address the needs of older people in emergency situations and so donors and humanitarian agencies must urgently ensure that this vulnerable group is included in any emergency response, according to experts from the humanitarian organizations Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders) and HelpAge International writing in this week's PLOS Medicine.