Body

Boston, Mass. – Some 90 percent of people are exposed to the Epstein Barr virus (EBV) at some point in their life. Even though it is quickly cleared from the body, the virus can linger silently for years in small numbers of infected B cells. According to researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and the Immune Disease Institute (IDI), the immune system subdues the virus by watching for a single viral protein called LMP1, knowledge that has already helped suggest two new treatments for the EBV-fueled cancers seen in some immunosuppressed patients.

The traditional seas of scientific practice were once commanded by solitary captains in disciplinary ships. However, the nature of scientific practice has changed significantly in the 21st century. Collaborations now draw singular H.M.S. Pinafores into interdisciplinary armadas armed to address complex, cross-cutting problems in health, energy, agriculture, education and conservation.

New Haven, Conn. – Yale scientists have discovered the molecular pathway by which maternally inherited deafness appears to occur: Mitochondrial DNA mutations trigger a signaling cascade, resulting in programmed cell death. The study is in the Feb. 17 issue of Cell.

Mitochondria are cellular structures that function as "cellular power plants" because they generate most of the cell's supply of energy. They contain DNA inherited from one's mother. Mitochondria determine whether a cell lives or dies via the process of programmed cell death, or apoptosis.

VANCOUVER -- Thinning ice resulting from climate change in the Arctic is happening far faster than experts previously imagined. With it come new global shipping routes and growing interest in natural resource development and regional tourism. These changes, says a leading expert in oceanic governance, are urging Canada to advance its laws on shipping regulation, ocean governance and marine biodiversity protection.

Proteins, the building block for all living organisms, are the ultimate transformers – able to splice and switch roles and functions within the human body. But when these changes go wrong, diseases such as cancers and arthritis may result, says University of British Columbia researcher Chris Overall.

Food scientists have found a way of measuring how we register the saltiness of crisps which could lead to new ways of producing healthier crisps — without losing any of the taste. The research by scientists at The University of Nottingham could lead to significant salt reduction in all snack foods.

The research, published on Thursday February 16 2012 in the Royal Society of Chemistry journal Food & Function, follows an investigation into how salt is released from crisps into the mouth.

What we perceive as the beating of our heart is actually the co-ordinated action of more than a billion muscle cells. Most of the time, only the muscle cells from the larger heart chambers contract and relax. But when the heart needs to work harder it relies on back-up from the atrial muscle cells deep within the smaller chambers (atria) of the heart.

Scientists have discovered a molecular mechanism that could help explain how multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune diseases can be exacerbated by the onset of an infection.

MS is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system which affects approximately 100,000 people in the UK.

More than one in four elderly patients was given potentially hazardous medication during 2007. That is the conclusion of a study by Ute Amann and her co-authors in the current issue of the Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2012; 109[5]: 69-75).

Giving certain medical drug substances to over-65-year-olds can increase the risk of undesired drug effects, and for this reason experts describe them as "potentially inappropriate medications" (PIMs).

However, women with a previous history of cardiovascular pathologies seem to have a higher cancer risk after five years of supplementation. The research is published in detail in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Although some studies have suggested that supplementation with B vitamins has some benefits for protecting against cancer, the few randomised clinical trials conducted internationally in recent years remain equivocal.

The results of studies of the influence of supplementation with polyunsaturated fatty acids have been mixed.

Germán Chávez and Diego Vásquez from the Centro de Ornitología y Biodiversidad (CORBIDI) in Peru have discovered a new colorful lizard which they named Potamites montanicola, or "mountain dweller". The new species was found in Cordillera de Vilcabamba and Apurimac river valley, the Cusco Region of Peru at altitude ranging from 1,600 to 2,100 meters. Their study was published in the open access journal ZooKeys.

Fever control using external cooling in sedated patients with septic shock is safe and decreases vasopressor requirements and early mortality, according to a new study from researchers in France.

While there have been major advances in the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of tumors within the brain, brain cancer continues to have a very low survival rate in part to high levels of resistance to treatment. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Journal of Nanobiotechnology has used Sendai virus to transport Quantum Dots (Qdots) into brain cancer cells and to specifically bind Qdots to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) which is often over-expressed and up-regulated in tumors.

American Quarter Horses are renowned for their speed, agility, and calm disposition. Consequently over four million Quarter horses are used as working horses on ranches, as show horses or at rodeos. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Genomics used 'next-generation' sequencing to map variation in the genome of a Quarter Horse mare.