Body

The first evidence that the underlying genetic defect responsible for trisomy 21, also known as Down syndrome, can be suppressed in laboratory cultures of patient-derived stem cells was presented today (Oct. 22) at the American Society of Human Genetics 2013 annual meeting in Boston.

DURHAM, N.C. – A team of scientists at Duke Medicine and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center has created an artificial protein coupled with a sugar molecule that mimics a key site on the outer coat of HIV where antibodies can bind to neutralize a wide variety of HIV strains.

University of Toronto researchers have developed a method that can rapidly screen human stem cells and better control what they will turn into. The technology could have potential use in regenerative medicine and drug development. Findings are published in this week's issue of the journal Nature Methods.

COLUMBIA, Mo. – In a new study, a University of Missouri researcher has found that institutional mutual fund investors tend to invest in companies that have an independent board of directors because it is perceived as a "safer" option, even though no evidence exists that demonstrates these companies perform better in the stock market.

PHILADELPHIA — Older men and women who used the internet were more likely to participate in screening for colorectal cancer, participate in physical activities, eat healthily, and smoke less, compared with those who did not use the internet, according to a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Philadelphia, Pa. (October 22, 2013) – New studies of factors affecting the risk of obesity in children and adolescents—as well as promising approaches to prevention and treatment—are assembled in the special October Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, the official journal of the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.

Recycling or "scrap press": physicians at the Ruhr-Universität have found out which molecular mechanisms decide about the fate of the import receptor Pex18. Pex18 is responsible for the import of proteins into specific cell components, namely peroxisomes. Two opposing regulatory circuits determine whether the receptor remains active or is broken down after the transport has been completed.

Irvine, Calif., Oct. 22, 2013 – Levels of contaminants higher than in some of the world's most polluted cities have been found downwind of Canada's largest oil, gas and tar sands processing zone, in a rural area where men suffer elevated rates of cancers linked to such chemicals.

Veterinary researchers at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech have helped identify the origin and possible evolution of an emerging swine virus with high mortality rates that has already spread to at least 17 states.

The current global epidemic of obesity-linked diabetes and its associated consequences -cardiovascular, neurological and renal diseases - is a growing public health problem for which therapeutic options are limited.

In obesity, fatty acids, derived mostly from adipose tissue, alter lipid metabolism in other tissues such as liver and skeletal muscles. Both impaired fatty acid metabolism and glucose are hallmarks of diabetes.

People who have had what they believe to be supernatural experiences are more likely to be "religious givers," with their behavior based on cost-benefit principles that apply in other transactions — whether they be through Amazon.com or an auto repair shop, according to a Baylor University study.

Scientists have misunderstood one of the most fundamental processes in the life of plants because they have been looking at the wrong flower, according to University of Leeds researchers.

Arabidopsis thaliana—also known as thale cress or mouse-ear cress—grows abundantly in cracks in pavements all over Europe and Asia, but the small white flower leads a second life as the lab rat of the plant world.

Famous as the sacred beetles of ancient Egypt the scarab beetle group in fact represents much greater diversity around the globe. Some of the most vulnerable representatives are contained in the flightless genus Gyronotus, which currently includes six known species. A recent study published in the open access journal Zookeys describes two new species with unusual distribution from southern Africa.

In the dog days of summer, female edible dormice (Glis glis) are busy caring for their young but immediately after this energy-intensive period they start to replenish their fat stores to cope with the upcoming winter. Unfortunately, this habit seems to give the animals a pleasant taste and dormice have long been viewed as a special delicacy. The Romans even kept them in captivity to fatten them up for eating, which explains the "edible" part of their name.

Is moonlight dangerous? It depends on what you are, according to a study published online recently in the Journal of Animal Ecology.

"Ecologists have long viewed the darkness of a moonless night as a protective blanket for nocturnal prey species," said Laura Prugh, a wildlife biologist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

In the dark, creatures of the night can go about their business in relative safety from lurking predators. Moonlight, according to this logic, helps predators find their prey and is risky if you are a prey species trying not to get eaten.