Body

Thiols are sulfur-containing molecules found in most proteins of the human body. Characterized by their 'garlicky' smell, they also give coffee, sweat and the spray of skunks their unique odor. Because they are so widespread in biology, medicine and materials science, thiols are ideal targets for connecting molecules like drugs or polymers together, except that they must first be fitted with a chemical group that acts like an adaptor to other molecules. One of the most potentially useful of these 'adaptors' are the alkynes, which can be extremely powerful in bioconjugation.

The UK New Labour Government's ideological preoccupations included tackling deprivation, addressing anti-social behaviour and persuading young people to engage in 'positive activities'. In 2007, the report 'Aiming High for Young People' outlined policies intended to contribute to the achievement of associated goals. The Youth Sector Development Fund (YSDF) provided Civil Sector Organisations (CSOs) with the means to put the policies into practice and also aimed to build organisational capacity.

Young female cancer patients are unhappy about the way fertility preservation options are discussed with them by doctors before starting cancer treatment, according to a new study by researchers from the University of Sheffield and The Children's Hospital, Sheffield.

The pioneering study discovered that only 40 per cent of young female cancer patients were happy with the way their doctors discussed the options they had to preserve fertility, before undergoing chemotherapy or radiotherapy which can have a harmful effect on a patient's fertility.

July 22, 2013, Shenzhen, China - The largest genomic institute of the world, BGI Shenzhen, China (hereinafter BGI), together with Reproductive & Genetic Hospital CITIC-XIANGYA (hereinafter CITIC-XIANGYA) announced today that they have successfully applied Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) to detect in vitro fertilized (IVF) embryos with genetic abnormalities. The successful application of preimplantation sequencing (the most advanced form of preimplantation genetic screening, PGS) opens a new chapter in the field of human assisted reproduction, providing new hopes for IVF couples.

Climate change could drive the Iberian lynx ‒ the world's most threatened cat – to extinction within 50 years, despite substantial ongoing conservation efforts, a new international study has found.

Published today in Nature Climate Change, the research team says the impact of climate change must be incorporated in strategies to reintroduce the Iberian lynx to new habitats if the species is to be saved.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – An animal model of the human norovirus created at the University of Michigan Health System lays the groundwork for understanding the biology of the pesky virus and developing antiviral drug treatment.

Well-known as the virus that impacts cruise ship vacations, norovirus leads to misery on land too. The virus spreads quickly from person to person in any closed-in space, such as schools, nursing homes, or day-care centers.

Birthday celebrations often follow a formula, including off-key singing, making a birthday wish while blowing out candles, and the ceremonial cutting of the birthday cake. New research suggests that this ritual not only makes the experience more memorable, but might also improve the taste of the cake.

The new collection of studies, published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, reveals that the rituals we perform before eating -- even the seemingly insignificant ones -- can actually change our perception of the food we eat.

In older men, a natural antioxidant compound found in red grapes and other plants -- called resveratrol -- blocks many of the cardiovascular benefits of exercise, according to research published today [22 July 2013] in The Journal of Physiology.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Painstaking new analysis of the genetic sequence of the X chromosome—long perceived as the "female" counterpart to the male-associated Y chromosome—reveals that large portions of the X have evolved to play a specialized role in sperm production.

PHILADELPHIA – The evolution of adaptations for life on land have long puzzled biologists – are feathers descendents of dinosaur scales, how did arms and legs evolve from fins, and from what ancient fish organ did the lung evolve?

KANSAS CITY, MO—Constructing a body is like building a house—if you compromise structural integrity, the edifice can collapse. Nowhere is that clearer on a cellular level than in the case of epithelial sheets, single layers of cells that line every body cavity from the gut to mammary glands. As long as epithelial cells pack tightly and adhere to their neighbors, the cellular business of building tissue barriers and constructing ducts goes smoothly. But if epithelial cells fail to hold together, they die, or worse, produce jumbled masses resembling tumors known collectively as carcinomas.

Monash University researchers have gained new insight into the early stages of our immune response, providing novel pathways to develop treatments for diseases from multiple sclerosis to cancer.

In a study published today in Nature Immunology, a team of researchers led by Professor Paul Hertzog, of the Monash Institute of Medical Research (MIMR) and Professor Jamie Rossjohn, of the School of Biomedical Sciences, have characterised for the first time how interferon beta (IFNβ) proteins bind to cells and activate an immune response.

The number of tumor-associated immune cells is correlated with poor prognosis in cancer patients.

Reducing these cells in mouse models of breast cancer reduces tumor metastasis, indicating that tumor-immune interactions are critical for cancer progression. In the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Shelley Earp and colleagues at the University of North Carolina a Chapel Hill demonstrate that removal of the protein MerTK from immune cells decreased tumor growth in mouse models of breast cancer, melanoma, and colon cancer.

Ticks - blood-sucking arthropods that occur across the world - can transmit viruses, bacteria, and protozoa that threaten the health of their vertebrate hosts.

Dangerous diseases transmitted by ticks include Lyme disease, which attacks humans in Europe and the USA and is caused by Borrellia bacteria; babesiosis, caused by the protozoan Babesia (a relative of the malaria parasite) that infects pets, cattle, and sometimes humans; and anaplasmosis, caused by the Anaplasma bacterium, which can have serious effects on cattle.

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is an inherited systemic disorder caused by mutations in PKD1 or PKD2 that predominately affects the kidneys and is characterized by the formation of cysts in the kidneys and other organs.

Xiaogang Li and colleagues at the University of Kansas Medical Centr used a mouse model of ADPKD to explore the role of the protein sirtuin 1 in cyst formation.