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CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Dec. 23, 2008 -- The reproductive spores of many species of fungi have evolved remarkably drag-minimizing shapes, according to new research by mycologists and applied mathematicians at Harvard University.

In many cases, the scientists report this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the drag experienced by these fungal spores is within one percent of the absolute minimum possible drag for their size. But these sleek shapes are seen only among spores distributed by air flow, not those which are borne by animals.

Researchers at Griffith University's Institute for Glycomics in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Melbourne have moved a step closer to identifying a broad spectrum treatment for the dreaded 'viral tummy bug' or rotavirus.

These highly-infectious viruses are the leading cause of severe diarrhoea in young children, responsible for thousands of hospitalisations in the developed world, and hundreds of thousands of deaths each year in developing countries.

Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome is characterized by inflammation in perihepatic capsules with concomitant pelvic inflammation. The pain in the right upper abdomen appeared as the main symptom. These cases have to be cautiously differentiated from diseases for which the major symptom is pain in the right upper abdomen Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome has been classified as a benign disease that can be diagnosed by non-invasive methoids and treated readily by antibiotic therapy.

The use of radiation therapy to treat cancer inevitably involves exposure of normal tissues. Although the benefits of this treatment have been well established, a number of patients experience distressing complications as a result injury to normal tissue These side effects related to inflammatory process cause discomfort and decreases the therapeutic benefit by increasing the overall treatment time.

The ability to regenerate after major tissue damage or surgical intervention is an important property of the liver. Since liver resection is an established therapeutic measure for severe liver diseases, it would be of importance to know which molecular events underly the regenerative process and if they depend on the extent of resection, as indicated in previous studies.

Hepatic injury caused by ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) has been proposed as a key clinical problem associated with liver transplantation and major liver surgery. The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), including superoxide, hydrogen peroxide, and hydroxyl radical, has been demonstrated in reperfusion injury. Resveratrol has been reported to have several biologic effects such as a potent antioxidative effect via prevention of lipid peroxidation.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are professional antigen presenting cells (APCs) that both initiate and modulate the immune response. DCs are cells in the pathway of antigen capture and presentation to T cells, with the unique ability to directly prime naïve CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Gastric cancer is one of the most common cancers. Although gastric cancer therapy has made great progress, it is still difficult to treat advanced gastric cancer, as it has spread to the lymph glands and metastasized. Currently, tumor immunotherapy for gastric cancer has potential.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – It might be possible to grow human blood platelets in the laboratory for transfusion, according to a new study at The Ohio State University Medical Center.

The findings, published in the January 1, 2009 issue of the journal Experimental Hematology, might one day enable blood banks to grow platelets continuously and in quantities that can ease the chronically tight supply of these critical blood components.

IN YOUR COVERAGE PLEASE USE THIS URL TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO THE FREELY AVAILABLE PAPER: http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pmed.1000003

A new study of previously confidential tobacco industry documents shows that a Philip Morris scientist established close connections with a WHO Collaborating Centre in Thailand called the Chulabhorn Research Institute (CRI). The study is published in this week's PLoS Medicine.

British American Tobacco (BAT), one of the world's largest transnational tobacco companies (TTCs), carried out an extensive, multi-pronged strategy to undermine the health policy agenda on secondhand smoke (SHS) in China, finds a new study published in PLoS Medicine.

Access to maternal health-care is extremely limited and poor nutrition, anemia and malaria are widespread in eastern Burma, which increases the risk of pregnancy complications, says new research published in the open access journal PLoS Medicine. Human rights violations—such as displacement and forced labur—are also widely present, and in some communities forced relocation doubled the risk of women developing anemia and greatly decreased their chances of receiving any antenatal care.

A trial conducted in northwest Thailand has found that it is safe to use artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) to treat pregnant women with malaria, but that efficacy is inferior to single-drug artesunate treatment. The study, published in next week's PLoS Medicine, suggests that the ACT evaluated in the trial, artemether-lumefantrine (AL), may have lower efficacy because drug concentrations were seen to be reduced during pregnancy. The authors suggest that longer, or more frequent, regimens of the drug combination should be evaluated for treatment of pregnant women.

Laws banning marriage between first cousins are based on outdated assumptions about a high degree of genetic risk for offspring and should be repealed, according to a population genetics expert.

In an opinion article published in the US open-access journal PLoS Biology, University of Otago Department of Zoology Professor Hamish Spencer and Professor Diane Paul, a Research Associate at Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology, argue that laws against cousin marriage are ill-advised.

Cell phones have already revolutionized the way people around the world communicate and do business. Thanks to advances being made at UCLA, they are about to do the same thing for medicine.