Body

New York, NY (November 15, 2012) — About 10 percent of kids born with kidney defects have large alterations in their genomes known to be linked with neurodevelopmental delay and mental illness, a new study by Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers has shown.

The study was published today in the online edition of the American Journal of Human Genetics.

Every taxonomist has calculated the number of existing species within their specialty and estimated the number that remain to be discovered, both through statistical models as based on the experience of each expert. According to Enrique Macpherson, researcher at the Center for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC, Spain), who has participated in the study: "Bringing together the leading taxonomists around the world to pool their information has been the great merit of this research".

PHILADELPHIA – Fifty years ago, British researcher John Gurdon demonstrated that genetic material from non-reproductive, or somatic, cells could be reprogrammed into an embryonic state when transferred into an egg. In 2006, Kyoto University researcher Shinya Yamanaka expanded on those findings by expressing four proteins in mouse somatic cells to rewind their genetic clocks, converting them into embryonic-like stem cells called induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells.

JUPITER, FL, November 15, 2012 – For the past several years, Min Guo, an assistant professor at The Scripps Research Institute, has focused on the intricate actions of an ancient family of catalytic enzymes that play a key role in translation, the process of producing proteins.

The loss of sensitive species in streams begins to occur at the initial stages of urban development, according to a new study by the USGS. The study found that streams are more sensitive to development than previously understood.

"We tend not to think of waterways as fragile organisms, and yet that is exactly what the results of this scientific investigation appear to be telling us," said USGS Director Marcia McNutt. "Streams are more than water, but rather communities of interdependent aquatic life, the most sensitive of which are easily disrupted by urbanization."

TORONTO, Ontario (13 November, 2012) - A study published this month by researchers at the University of Toronto and Toronto's Princess Margaret Hospital has shown that cells derived from the umbilical cord, "Human Umbilical Cord PeriVascular Cells" (HUCPVCs), are more effective in restoring heart function after an acute myocardial infarction (in common parlance, a heart attack) in a pre-clinical model than a similar cell population derived from bone marrow.

WASHINGTON (Nov. 15, 2012) – Researchers at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) will be featured as a top paper in next week's issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry. Research by Rakesh Kumar, Ph.D., Catharine Birch McCormick Endowed Chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, and Beatriz Sánchez-Solana, postdoctoral fellow at the department of biochemistry and molecular medicine, both at SMHS, has been selected as the journal's "Paper of the Week".

WASHINGTON—A study by researchers at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS) indicates that full implementation of the Affordable Care Act would expand health insurance coverage for more low-income women, enabling more than a million women to obtain potentially life-saving screening for breast and cervical cancer. The study, "Health Care Reform and Women's Insurance Coverage for Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening," was published in a recent issue of the journal Preventing Chronic Disease.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Two proteins are in a tug of war that determines how much the body makes of superoxide, a highly reactive and potentially destructive product of oxygen that's dramatically elevated in cardiovascular disease, researchers report.

Their finding indicates an antiulcer drug just may help the body reduce excessive levels.

Proposed funding cuts within the international body responsible for tobacco control will leave the world's poorest countries more vulnerable to smoking-related diseases, a study suggests.

As many as 80 countries from the developing world, such as Paraguay, Rwanda, and Kyrgyzstan, could effectively be excluded from the forum tasked with reducing global tobacco use should the cuts go ahead.

The World Health Organisation's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) is considering cutting its funding for delegates from poorer countries to attend meetings.

Cambridge, MA, November 15, 2012 – A group of researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have for the first time described the structure of the active site core of topoisomerase II alpha, an important target for anti-cancer drugs.

Search for King Richard III press portal: http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/press/media-centre/richard-iii

DNA testing, environmental sampling and radiocarbon dating are some of the tests being undertaken to determine whether the skeleton found in Leicester was once Richard III - and there are also plans to do a facial reconstruction.

Research by the University of Warwick indicates that vaccinating families could protect young babies against a common winter virus which can be fatal for infants under six months.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) typically leads to mild, cold-like symptoms in adults and older children but can be more serious and even fatal in infants under the age of six months as it can lead to bronchiolitis and pneumonia.

New research at the University of Adelaide has revealed a genetic link in pregnant mums - and their male partners - to pre-eclampsia, a life-threatening complication during pregnancy.

Pre-eclampsia involves high blood pressure and fluid retention and can cause damage to the kidneys and liver. About 7% of pregnancies are affected by pre-eclampsia.

Research led by Queen Mary, University of London has found that having asthma is not linked to poorer scores in national school examinations. In contrast, ethnicity and social deprivation were associated with poorer educational outcomes in the study, published in the journal PLOS ONE.