Body

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Honeybee populations have been in serious decline for years, and Purdue University scientists may have identified one of the factors that cause bee deaths around agricultural fields.

Analyses of bees found dead in and around hives from several apiaries over two years in Indiana showed the presence of neonicotinoid insecticides, which are commonly used to coat corn and soybean seeds before planting. The research showed that those insecticides were present at high concentrations in waste talc that is exhausted from farm machinery during planting.

Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have developed a new laboratory test that can rapidly identify the bacterium responsible for staph infections. This new test takes advantage of unique isotopic labeling combined with specific bacteriophage amplification to rapidly identify Staphylococcus aureus.

TORONTO, Ont., Jan. 12, 2012—Researchers at St. Michael's Hospital have published the first detailed figures showing the risk of using the prescription drug Rasilez in combination with certain other blood pressure-lowering medications.

The pharmaceutical company Novartis terminated a large, international clinical trial of the drug last month after finding an increased incidence after 18-24 months of non-fatal strokes, renal complications, high levels of potassium in the blood and low blood pressure.

A new study published in the journal Nature Medicine by NYU Cancer Institute researchers, shows how the cancer causing gene Notch, in combination with a mutated Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) protein complex, work together to cause T- cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL).

La Jolla ---- Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have identified a gene that tells cells to develop multiple cilia, tiny hair-like structures that move fluids through the lungs and brain. The finding may help scientists generate new therapies that use stem cells to replace damaged tissues in the lung and other organs.

Sufferers of smoking related lung diseases could have their debilitating symptoms reduced following the discovery of a potential new treatment.

The discovery, by researchers at the University of Melbourne, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Australia, and the Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, US, could dramatically improve treatments and slow the progression of COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) which includes the incurable condition emphysema.

SAN DIEGO – (January 12, 2012) Researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology have proven – for the first time in human tissues -- the specific immune system T cells which trigger the destruction of type 1 diabetes in the pancreas. The finding is an important advance that verifies in humans several important disease characteristics shown in mouse studies and provides a key focal point for interrupting the disease process.

The level of HIV-1 in the blood of an HIV-infected partner is the single most important factor influencing risk of sexual transmission to an uninfected partner, according to a multinational study of heterosexual couples in sub-Saharan Africa. The study, published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, calculated the risk of HIV-1 transmission per act of sexual intercourse and found the average rate of infection to be about 1 per 900 coital acts. The findings also confirmed that condoms are highly protective and reduce HIV infectivity by 78 percent.

New research into the potential link between parabens and breast cancer has found traces of the chemicals in breast tissue samples from all of the women in the study. Parabens are commonly used as preservatives in cosmetics, food products and pharmaceuticals. As the research shows that parabens are measurable in the tissue of women who do not use underarm cosmetics the parabens must enter the breast from other sources.

A team led by the University of East Anglia (UEA) has made an advance in understanding the causes of adult-acquired flat feet – a painful condition particularly affecting middle-aged women.

Published today in the journal Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, the findings could eventually lead to new drug therapy for this and other common conditions affecting the tendons, such as Achilles tendonitis.

Investigators at the National Institutes of Health have identified a genetic mutation in three unrelated families that causes a rare immune disorder characterized by excessive and impaired immune function. Symptoms of this condition include immune deficiency, autoimmunity, inflammatory skin disorders and cold-induced hives, a condition known as cold urticaria.

After a 20-year quest to find a genetic driver for prostate cancer that strikes men at younger ages and runs in families, researchers have identified a rare, inherited mutation linked to a significantly higher risk of the disease.

Chapel Hill - After a 20-year quest to find a genetic driver for prostate cancer that strikes men at younger ages and runs in families, researchers have identified a rare, inherited mutation linked to a significantly higher risk of the disease.

BATON ROUGE – LSU's Chris Austin recently discovered two new species of frogs in New Guinea, one of which is now the world's tiniest known vertebrate, averaging only 7.7 millimeters in size – less than one-third of an inch. It ousts Paedocypris progenetica, an Indonesian fish averaging more than 8 millimeters, from the record. Austin, leading a team of scientists from the United States including LSU graduate student Eric Rittmeyer, made the discovery during a three-month long expedition to the island of New Guinea, the world's largest and tallest tropical island.

Researchers have found two new frog species in New Guinea, one of which is the new smallest known vertebrate on Earth. The results are reported in the Jan. 11 issue of the online journal PLoS ONE, and the team of researchers was led by Christopher Austin of Louisiana State University.

The new smallest vertebrate species is called Paedophryne amauensis, named after Amau Village in Papua New Guinea, where it was found. The adult body size for these frogs ranges from just 7.0 to 8.0 millimeters.