Body

In monkeys and humans with AIDS, damage to the gastrointestinal tract is common, contributing to activation of the immune system, progressive immune deficiency, and ultimately advanced AIDS. How this gastric damage occurs has remained a mystery, but now researchers reporting in the Cell Press journal Cell provide new clues, implicating the presence of potentially pathogenic virus species other than the main virus that causes AIDS. The findings could provide an opportunity to explain and eventually intervene in the processes that lead to AIDS progression.

More than 15% of children suffer with eczema, or atopic dermatitis, an inflammatory skin disease that in some cases can be debilitating and disfiguring. Researchers reporting in the October issue of Immunity have discovered a potential new target for the condition, demonstrating that by blocking it, they can lessen the disease in mice.

In the largest-ever genetic study of cholesterol and other blood lipids, an international consortium has identified 21 new gene variants associated with risks of heart disease and metabolic disorders. The findings expand the list of potential targets for drugs and other treatments for lipid-related cardiovascular disease, a leading global cause of death and disability.

Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have developed a novel method for determining how ready acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells are to die, a discovery that may help cancer specialists to choose treatments option more effectively for their patients who have AML. In a study published in the Oct.

For the first time, scientists have visualised an interaction between gluten and T-cells of the immune system, providing insight into how coeliac disease, which affects approximately 1 in 133 people, is triggered.

Published today in Immunity, the discovery was led by Dr Hugh Reid and Professor Jamie Rossjohn of Monash University, Professor Frits Koning of the University of Leiden and Dr Bob Anderson of biotechnology company ImmusanT Inc, based in the US.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues today released its report concerning genomics and privacy. The report, Privacy and Progress in Whole Genome Sequencing, concludes that to realize the enormous promise that whole genome sequencing holds for advancing clinical care and the greater public good, individual interests in privacy must be respected and secured.

Domestic violence rates rose by an average of 30 percent each time England won or lost their games during the 2010 World Cup, but draws had little impact on the statistics.

Those are the key findings of research carried out by statistician Professor Allan Brimicombe and BBC News journalist Rebecca Cafe and published in the October issue of Significance, the magazine of The Royal Statistical Society and the American Statistical Association.

A new study improves our understanding of plasma sources, a state of matter similar to gas in which a certain portion of the particles are ionised and which are used for example in plasma display panels. These results revealed by physicists from the University of Greifswald, Germany, Robert Wild and Lars Stollenwerk, and are about to be published in EPJ D.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 11—Spiders use their silk to catch lunch. Now physicists are using it to catch light. New research shows that natural silk could be an eco-friendly alternative to more traditional ways of manipulating light, such as through glass or plastic fiber optic cables. Two teams independently exploring possible applications for the material's photonic talents will present their latest breakthroughs at the Optical Society's (OSA) Annual Meeting, Frontiers in Optics (FiO) 2012, to be held next week in Rochester, N.Y.

Hospital superbugs can float on air currents and contaminate surfaces far from infected patients' beds, according to University of Leeds researchers.

The results of the study, which was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), may explain why, despite strict cleaning regimes and hygiene controls, some hospitals still struggle to prevent bacteria moving from patient to patient.

AMHERST, Mass. – Until recently, medical researchers had little hope of experimentally manipulating naïve T cells to study their crucial roles in immune function, because they were largely impenetrable, says polymer scientist Gregory Tew: "So far off limits we could not readily get inside to investigate their workings."

WASHINGTON and NEW YORK – A new report finds that Texas policies to exclude Planned Parenthood clinics from a state family planning program – the Women's Health Program (WHP) – would result in leaving tens of thousands of women unable to get care.

Scientists have proved a 60-year-old theory about how nerve signals are sent around the body at varying speeds as electrical impulses.

Researchers tested how these signals are transmitted through nerve fibres, which enables us to move and recognise sensations such as touch and smell.

The findings from the University of Edinburgh have validated an idea first proposed by Nobel laureate Sir Andrew Huxley.

Differing contributions of freshwater from glaciers and streams to the Arctic and Southern oceans appear to be responsible for the fact that the majority of microbial communities that thrive near the surface at the Poles share few common members, according to an international team of researchers, some of whom were supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

A team of international researchers has provided the first comprehensive DNA evidence that the Addis Ababa lion in Ethiopia is genetically unique and is urging immediate conservation action to preserve this vulnerable lion population.

While it has long been noted that some lions in Ethiopia have a large, dark mane, extending from the head, neck and chest to the belly, as well as being smaller and more compact than other lions, it was not known until now if these lions represent a genetically distinct population.