Body

The effectiveness of toxin-neutralizing antibodies is considered to be mediated through the interaction of the variable region of the antibody and the toxin; however, recent studies suggest that the constant region (Fc) of antibodies also influence efficacy.

Individuals with asthma and COPD are subject to debilitating bronchospasm as a result of airways that are hyperresponsive to stimuli. Factors that lead to the development of airway hyperresponsiveness are not well characterized.

BOSTON – (January 9, 2013) – Researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center have discovered that a hormone long associated with weight loss and improved glucose metabolism is linked to activation of calorie-burning brown fat. This finding could have implications for production of new medications for type 2 diabetes and obesity. The results are published in the January issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation in a paper titled "Interplay between FGF21 and Insulin Action in the Liver for the Regulation of Metabolism."

A study reports the development of a new mouse model for atopic dermatitis, an inflammatory skin disorder commonly known as eczema. The findings, published in Cell Reports, suggest that mast cells, a type of immune cell, are critical for both spontaneous and allergen-induced eczema. The study, led by researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, was supported in part by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a component of the National Institutes of Health.

A fast and comprehensive method for determining the function of genes could greatly improve our understanding of a wide range of diseases and conditions, such as heart disease, liver disease and cancer.

The method uses stem cells with a single set of chromosomes, instead of the two sets found in most cells, to reveal what causes the "circuitry" of stem cells to be rewired as they begin the process of conversion into other cell types. The same method could also be used to understand a range of biological processes.

Contrary to a common belief, researchers have shown that genetic regions associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes were unlikely to have been beneficial to people at stages through human evolution.

Type 2 diabetes is responsible for more than three million deaths each year and this number is increasing steadily. The harmful genetic variants associated with this common disease have not yet been eliminated by natural selection.

HOUSTON – (Jan.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Scientists have solved a longstanding mystery of the central nervous system, showing how a key protein gets to the right spot to launch electrical impulses that enable communication of nerve signals to and from the brain.

SAN DIEGO – (January 9th, 2014) Researchers from the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology have revealed a critical player in the cellular interactions leading to eczema – a chronic inflammatory skin condition affecting more than 14 million U.S. children and adults.

The Fleckvieh is a breed of cattle that originated in the Alpine region. A robust animal, it is now found on every continent, with an estimated worldwide population of around 40 million.

In Germany, there are approximately 1 million Fleckvieh dairy cows: "Their genomes can be traced back to a small number of key ancestors," explains Prof. Ruedi Fries, Chair of Animal Breeding at TUM. "With artificial insemination, male breeding animals can produce more than one hundred thousand offspring."

Infertility caused by a single gene

UCLA researchers have found that minority patients and those of lower socioeconomic status are far more likely to have advanced thyroid cancer when they are diagnosed with the disease than white patients and those in higher economic brackets.

In one of the most comprehensive studies of its kind, the UCLA team looked at nearly 26,000 patients with well-differentiated thyroid cancer and analyzed the impact of race and socioeconomic factors on the stage of presentation, as well as patient survival rates.

Findings published in the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases journal, Hepatology, indicate that infection, the commonest cause of mortality in patients with acute liver failure (ALF), may be decreased by inhibiting the activity of a protein found in saliva called SLPI (secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor). New research has found that this protein, produced by the body in response to injury, plays a vital role in patients with ALF.

An analysis of emergency room (ER)visits over a 10-year period finds that while inappropriate antibiotic use is decreasing in pediatric settings, it continues to remain a problem in adults, according to an article published ahead of print in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.

A new study is giving researchers hope that novel targeted therapies can be developed for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most common and most aggressive form of brain cancer, after demonstrating for the first time that a gene known as melanoma differentiation associated gene-9/syntenin (mda-9/syntenin) is a driving force behind the disease's aggressive and invasive nature.

A group of scientists from the University of Mainz and the Senckenberg Museum of Natural History Goerlitz, headed by Susanne Foitzik and Bernhard Seifert, recently described a new slave-making ant species from the eastern USA. They baptized the new ant Temnothorax pilagens – from pilere (Latin): to pluck, plunder or pillage.