Body

A study to determine whether vaccines, particularly those for hepatitis B (HepB) and human papillomavirus (HPV), increased the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) or other acquired central nervous system demyelinating syndromes (CNS ADS) found no long-term association of vaccines with disease and a short-term increased risk in younger patients was likely resulted from existing disease, wrote authors Annette Langer-Gould, M.D., Ph.D., of Kaiser Permanente, Southern California, Pasadena, and colleagues.

Some people infected with pathogens spread their germs to others while remaining symptom-free themselves. Now, investigators at the Stanford University School of Medicine believe they may know why.

PULLMAN, Wash.—Researchers led by a Washington State University biologist have found the optimal mechanism by which plants heal the botanical equivalent of a bad sunburn. Their work, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could lead to the development of crops that can repair the sun's damage more easily, improving yields and profitability.

Older individuals who are subliminally exposed to positive stereotypes about aging showed improved physical functioning that can last for several weeks, a new study led by the Yale School of Public Health has found.

Researchers used a novel intervention method to examine for the first time whether exposure to positive age stereotypes could weaken negative age stereotypes and their effects over time, and lead to healthier outcomes.

Antibiotics—one of modernity's great success stories—are charms that come with a curse. Their overuse in human and animal populations can lead to the development of resistant microbial strains, posing a dire threat to global health.

In a new study, Hansa Done, PhD candidate, and Rolf Halden, PhD, researchers at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute, examine antibiotic use in the rapidly expanding world of global aquaculture.

Since World War II, more than 45 international human-rights treaties have been signed by many of the world's roughly 200 countries. But why do some states sign such accords, especially if they lack a strong human-rights commitment in the first place?

Older people from Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities in England fear changes in cultural attitudes will leave them without the family care they expect to rely on in their twilight years, a new study has found.

The research, undertaken at Brunel University London, reports that elderly people in these communities expect their children and wider family will look after them in old age and are traditionally unlikely to take-up state social services.

This news release is available in German.

Researchers at Griffith University's Institute for Glycomics have moved a step closer to identifying a treatment for the dreaded Human parainfluenza virus (hPIV).

These highly-infectious viruses are the leading cause of upper and lower respiratory tract disease in young children, including Croup, responsible for thousands of hospitalisations in the developed world, and hundreds of thousands of deaths each year in developing countries.

CHICAGO --- During the 2012-2013 school year, 38 Chicago Public School (CPS) students and staff were given emergency medication for potentially life-threatening allergic reactions. This finding is detailed in a new Northwestern Medicine® report in partnership with CPS.

Following national and local legislation, CPS was the first large, urban school district in the nation to develop and implement an initiative to supply all public and charter schools in Chicago with epinephrine auto-injectors (EAIs) -- medical devices used to treat acute allergic reactions.

A desert at the bottom of the sea? Although the waters of the North Sea exchange about every two to three years, there is evidence of decreasing oxygen content. If lower amounts of this gas are dissolved in seawater, organisms on and in the seabed produce less energy – with implications for larger creatures and the biogeochemical cycling in the marine ecosystem. Since nutrients, carbon and oxygen circulate very well and are processed quickly in the permeable, sandy sediments that make up two-thirds of the North Sea, measurements of metabolic rates are especially difficult here.

Individuals who are genetically predisposed to obesity may soon have a therapeutic solution to combat their condition. A research team led by scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has identified several potent inhibitors that selectively target FTO, the common fat mass and obesity-associated gene. These FTO-specific inhibitors pave the way for the development of novel anti-obesity drugs and treatments.

Iron is the most abundant trace element in humans. As a cofactor of certain proteins, it plays an essential role in oxygen transport and metabolism. Due to the major importance of iron in a wide variety of cellular processes, and the harm caused by its uncontrolled accumulation in the body, its uptake and storage is strictly regulated. In mammals, iron is imported into cells by the membrane transport protein DMT1. Mutations of DMT1, which affect its transport properties, lead to iron-related metabolic disorders such as anemia and the iron storage disease hemochromatosis.

Scientists at Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore) have discovered a new molecule which can join together chains of amino acids – the building blocks of protein.

Only three other known molecules have been discovered to be able to perform this function, which is an important process in the development of new drugs. A key difference is that the new molecule is able to do the same process 10,000 times faster than the other three and "cleanly" without leaving any residue behind.

Researchers at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the University of Turku and the University of Oslo have discovered a previously unknown molecular-level mechanism that may partly explain the increased growth of cancer cells. The study, published in the British Journal of Cancer, showed that high levels of miRNA-378a-5p molecule cause cell division anomalies. This renders the number of chromosomes in cancer cells abnormal, which is known to promote growth and the spread of cancer.