Body

Scientists discover the basis of allergic reactions

Allergies in humans and animals are on the increase. An allergic reaction may cause unpleasant symptoms like hay fever, food intolerance or skin rashes. Allergic reactions may also cause acute and life-threatening symptoms, such as asthma or anaphylactic shock.

A single pollen protein is responsible for allergies

Design of self-assembling protein nanomachines starts to click

A route for constructing protein nanomachines engineered for specific applications may be closer to reality.

Biological systems produce an incredible array of self-assembling, functional protein tools. Some examples of these nanoscale protein materials are scaffolds to anchor cellular activities, molecular motors to drive physiological events, and capsules for delivering viruses into host cells.

Scientists inspired by these sophisticated molecular machines want to build their own, with forms and functions customized to tackle modern-day challenges.

Understanding active pharmaceutical ingredients

Active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), is the term used to refer to the biologically active component of a drug product (e.g. tablet, capsule). Drug products are usually composed of several components. The aforementioned API is the primary ingredient. Other ingredients are commonly known as "excipients" and these substances are always required to be biologically safe, often making up a variable fraction of the drug product. The procedure for optimizing and compositing this mixture of components used in the drug is known as "formulation".

American Aging Association Meeting presents latest developments in aging research

The 43rd Annual Meeting of the American Aging Association (AGE) held May 30-June 2, 2014, at the Westin Riverwalk Hotel in San Antonio, Texas, featured the latest scholarship and research findings in the field of aging research from more than 70 leading experts. The event has long been recognized as a launching pad for researchers to share cutting-edge discoveries into the underlying mechanisms of the causes of aging as well as the possible breakthroughs in finding ways to increase healthspan.

Protecting mainland Europe from an invasion of grey squirrels

The first genotyping of grey squirrels sampled from Italy and the UK shows a direct link between their genetic diversity and their ability to invade new environments.

In this new study, published in Diversity and Distributions, an international team of scientists from Imperial College London and the Zoological Society of London compared 12 DNA markers from grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) in Piedmont in Northern Italy with the same markers from squirrel populations in Northern Ireland, Northumberland and East Anglia.

New research provides better understanding of endometriosis

Philadelphia, PA, June 5, 2014 – A mouse model of endometriosis has been developed that produces endometriosis lesions similar to those found in humans, according to a report published in The American Journal of Pathology. This model closely mirrors the human condition as an estrogen-dependent inflammatory disorder, and findings from the study suggest that macrophages present in shed endometrium contribute to the development of the lesions.

Crooning in the concrete jungle: Taiwan's frogs use drains to amplify mating calls

As our cities continue to grow many animal species have to choose to abandon their changing habitats or adapt to their new setting. In Taiwan the tiny mientien tree frog (Kurixalus diootocus) is making the most of its new situation by using city storm drains to amplify mating calls.

Writing in the Journal of Zoology, Dr. Y. Kirk Lin and a team from the National Taiwan University studied a population of tree frogs in south eastern Taipei.

Habitat loss on breeding grounds cause of monarch decline, study finds

Habitat loss on breeding grounds in the United States – not on wintering grounds in Mexico – is the main cause of recent and projected population declines of migratory monarch butterflies in eastern North America, according to new research from the University of Guelph.

The groundbreaking study was published today in the Journal of Animal Ecology.

Divorce may be linked to higher risk of overweight/obesity among kids involved

Boys may be especially prone to excess weight gain, the findings indicate.

The researchers base their findings on a nationally representative sample of more than 3000 pupils attending 127 schools across Norway. All the children were part of the national 2010 Norwegian Child Growth Study.

School nurses measured the height, weight, and waist circumference of the children whose average age was 8, to gauge general overweight, as defined by the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF), and (abdominal) obesity, as defined by a waist to height ratio of 0.5 or more.

Air pollution linked to irregular heartbeat and lung blood clots

But its impact on directly boosting the risk of heart attacks and stroke is rather less clear, the research indicates.

The evidence suggests that high levels of certain air pollutants are associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular problems, but exactly how this association works has not been clarified.

The research team therefore set out to explore the short term biological impact of air pollution on cardiovascular disease, using data from three national collections in England and Wales for the period 2003-9.

First intact skull of Mediterranean worm lizard found

The first intact skull of a Mediterranean worm lizard has been found in Spain, according to a study published June 4, 2014 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Arnau Bolet from Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) and colleagues.

New app collects wildlife-vehicle collision data

A new app used to report wildlife-vehicle collisions increased efficiency and accuracy when compared to manual methods, according to a study published June 4, 2014 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Daniel Olson from Utah State University and colleagues.

Feeding increases coral transplant survival

Feeding juvenile corals prior to transplantation into a new reef may increase their survival, according to a study published June 4, 2014 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Tai Chong Toh from the National University of Singapore and colleagues.

One and done: New antibiotic could provide single-dose option

DURHAM, N.C. – In the battle against stubborn skin infections, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a new single-dose antibiotic is as effective as a twice-daily infusion given for up to 10 days, according to a large study led by Duke Medicine researchers.

Faster DNA sleuthing saves critically ill boy

A 14-year-old boy's turnaround and quick recovery after mysteriously being stricken by brain-inflaming encephalitis -- which led to him being hospitalized for six weeks and put into a medically induced coma after falling critically ill -- shows that the newest generation of DNA analysis tools can be harnessed to reveal the cause of a life-threatening infection even when physicians have no suspects.