Body

WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 10, 2014 - A robust, broad spectrum antibiotic, and a gene that confers immunity to that antibiotic are both found in the bacterium Staphylococcus epidermidis Strain 115. The antibiotic, a member of the thiopeptide family of antibiotics, is not in widespread use, partly due to its complex structure, but the investigators, from Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, now report that the mechanism of synthesis is surprisingly simple.

WASHINGTON (Oct. 13, 2014) — Men and women have different cardiovascular and psychological reactions to mental stress, according to a study of men and women who were already being treated for heart disease. The study, published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, looked at 56 women and 254 men diagnosed with heart disease enrolled in a larger REMIT study of the impact of the medication escitalopram on heart disease induced by mental stress.

SAN DIEGO – When the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published its policy statement in 1999 discouraging electronic media use by children under 2, the focus was on television programs, videos and DVDs.

Over the past 15 years, the technology landscape has changed dramatically. Toddlers now have access to a dizzying array of touchscreen devices that are available anywhere and everywhere. Although the AAP has revised its media use policy over the years based on the latest research, the message regarding toddlers' exposure to screens is the same.

Five of the most high-risk freshwater invaders from the Ponto-Caspian region around Turkey and Ukraine are now in Britain - including the quagga mussel, confirmed just two weeks ago on 1 October in the Wraysbury River near Heathrow airport.

SAN DIEGO – Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will discuss the role that pediatricians and parents can play in promoting young children's early learning during her remarks on Sunday Oct. 12 at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference & Exhibition in San Diego. Secretary Clinton will announce the launch of the Academy's updated early literacy toolkit for pediatricians and parents, Books Build Connections, which will be shared with its 62,000 pediatrician members immediately following Secretary Clinton's remarks.

Harvard stem cell researchers today announced that they have made a giant leap forward in the quest to find a truly effective treatment for type 1 diabetes, a condition that affects an estimated three million Americans at a cost of about $15 billion annually:With human embryonic stem cells as a starting point, the scientists are for the first time able to produce, in the kind of massive quantities needed for cell transplantation and pharmaceutical purposes, human insulin-producing beta cells equivalent in most every way to normally functioning beta cells.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Researchers have developed a technique to jump-start the body's systems for creating blood vessels, opening the door for potential new treatments for diseases whose impacts include amputation and blindness.

The international team, led by scientists at the Indiana University School of Medicine, is targeting new therapies for illnesses such as peripheral artery disease, a painful leg condition caused by poor blood circulation. The disease can lead to skin problems, gangrene and sometimes amputation.

From joint replacements to cardiac implants and dialysis machines, medical devices enhance or save lives on a daily basis. However, any device implanted in the body or in contact with flowing blood faces two critical challenges that can threaten the life of the patient the device is meant to help: blood clotting and bacterial infection.

In spite of its dangerous reputation, cholesterol is in fact an essential component of human cells. Manufactured by the cells themselves, it serves to stiffen the cell's membrane, helping to shape the cell and protect it. By mapping the structure of a key enzyme involved in cholesterol production, Rockefeller University researchers and a colleague in Italy have gained new insight into this complex molecular process.

Eating lots of white meat (such as poultry) or fish may reduce the risk of developing liver cancer by 31% and 22%, respectively, according to a recent analysis of studies published between 1956 and 2013.

Consuming red meat, processed meat, or total meat was not associated with liver cancer risk. The Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics findings suggest that dietary interventions may be a promising approach for preventing liver cancer.

Source: Wiley

Antimicrobial usage in animals in Denmark continued to increase in 2013, mainly due to an use in pigs, though antimicrobial use in pigs is still 12% lower than in 2009. In general, livestock received very little of the antimicrobials, instead they were used for humans. These findings appear in the annual DANMAP report from Statens Serum Institut and the National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark. DANMAP is the Danish integrated antimicrobial resistance monitoring and research programme.

Scientists at the Salk Institute and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston have discovered a new class of molecules—produced in human and mouse fat—that protects against diabetes.

The researchers found that giving this new fat, or lipid, to mice with the equivalent of type 2 diabetes lowered their elevated blood sugar, as detailed October 9 in Cell. The team also found that levels of the new lipids are low in humans with a high risk for diabetes, suggesting that the lipids could potentially be utilized as a therapy for metabolic disorders.

The surprising discovery of a previously unidentified class of lipid molecules that enhance insulin sensitivity and blood sugar control offers a promising new avenue for the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes.

The new findings, made by a team of scientists from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and the Salk Institute, are described in the October 9 online issue of the journal Cell.

Beer yeasts produce chemicals that mimic the aroma of fruits in order to attract flies that can transport the yeast cells to new niches, report scientists from VIB, KU Leuven and NERF in the reputed journal Cell Reports. Interestingly, these volatile compounds are also essential for the flavor of beverages such as beer and wine.

A noninvasive method of delivering a promising therapy for persistent Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) infection appears to be as effective as treatment via colonoscopy or through a nasogastric tube.