Body

Why have some of our genes evolved rapidly? It is widely believed that Darwinian natural selection is responsible, but research led by a group at Uppsala University, suggests that a separate neutral (nonadaptive) process has made a significant contribution to human evolution. Their results have been published today in the journal PLoS Biology.

For the first time, male flies of a serious agricultural pest, the medfly, have been bred to generate offspring that die whilst they are still embryos. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Biology describe the creation of the flies that, when released into a wild population, could out-compete the normal male flies and cause a generation of pests to be stillborn – protecting important crops.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Can't help being the life of the party? Maybe you were just born that way. Researchers from Harvard University and the University of California, San Diego have found that our place in a social network is influenced in part by our genes, according to new findings published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

This is the first study to examine the inherited characteristics of social networks and to establish a genetic role in the formation and configuration of these networks.

Simple aspirin may prevent liver damage in millions of people suffering from side effects of common drugs, alcohol abuse, and obesity-related liver disease, a new Yale University study suggests.

Overdoses of acetaminophen (also known as paracetamol) account for most drug overdoses in a number of countries, including the United States. Such overdoses damage the liver, causing acute liver failure, which can be fatal. Wajahat Mehal and colleagues, at Yale University, New Haven, have now provided new insight into the mechanisms by which acetaminophen causes liver damage in mice and determined that aspirin provides substantial protection from these toxic effects of acetaminophen.

DALLAS – Jan. 26, 2009 – Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified in mice a compound that liberates cholesterol that has inappropriately accumulated to excessive levels inside cells.

The findings shed light on how cholesterol is transported through the cells of the body and suggest a possible therapeutic target for Niemann-Pick type C disease (NP-C), an inherited neurodegenerative disorder characterized by abnormally high cholesterol levels in every organ.

New molecular research shows that birds within the family Zosteropidae—named white eyes for the feathers that frame their eyes—form new species at a faster rate than any other known bird. Remarkably, unlike other rapid diversifications, which are generally confined in their geography, white eyes have managed to diversify across multiple continents and far-flung islands spanning much of the eastern hemisphere. The research was published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

HOUSTON – Just when the Food and Drug Administration is reconsidering the use of stimulants to treat asthma, a new research study offers further evidence to support a University of Houston professor's theory that an opposite approach to asthma treatment may be in order.

MAYWOOD, Ill. -- Most people know that too much sodium from foods can increase blood pressure.

A new study suggests that people trying to lower their blood pressure should also boost their intake of potassium, which has the opposite effect to sodium.

Researchers found that the ratio of sodium-to-potassium in subjects' urine was a much stronger predictor of cardiovascular disease than sodium or potassium alone.

Cold Spring Harbor, NY – Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) announced today the discovery of a new class of small RNAs. At the same time, they reported that their discovery suggests the presence of a strikingly novel biochemical pathway for RNA processing in which these and possibly other small RNAs are produced. The research, which is part of a multinational project called ENCODE, also provided information concerning the biological function of the new short RNA class.

Patients at Texas hospitals that have automated some aspects of their health information systems appear to have fewer complications, lower death rates and reduced costs, according to a report in the January 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Sedentary, obese older adults appear to improve their functional abilities and reduce insulin resistance through a combination of resistance and aerobic exercises, according to a report in the January 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

The use of loop diuretics does not appear to be associated with changes in bone mineral density, falls or fractures in postmenopausal women, according to a report in the January 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. However, prolonged use of loop diuretics may increase fracture risk in this group.

Results from a large-scale Johns Hopkins study of more than 40 hospitals and 160,000 patients show that when health information technologies replace paper forms and handwritten notes, both hospitals and patients benefit strongly.

New York, NY, January 26, 2009—A study published today in the Archives of Internal Medicine, finds that when physicians in hospitals use health information technology (health IT) to its full potential there are fewer deaths, fewer complications, and lower health care costs.