Body

SALT LAKE CITY— Researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah studied the events leading to colon cancer and found that an unexpected protein serves as the "spark" that triggers formation of colon polyps, the precursors to cancerous tumors.

Through sophisticated statistical analyses and advanced computer simulations, researchers are learning more about the genomic patterns of human population structure around the world.

Revealing such patterns provides insights into the history of human evolution, the predominant evolutionary forces that shaped local populations, and the relationships among populations.

By snipping off parts of male genitalia and reducing genital sensation in both male and female tsetse flies, researchers induced a suite of changes in female reproduction, including reduced ovulation, reduced sperm storage and increased re-mating attempts by the females. "To the best of our knowledge, this was the first study to look at female choice following experimental manipulation of both male and female genitalia," said William Eberhard, staff scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and professor of biology at the University of Costa Rica.

A novel species of bacteria with cholesterol-busting properties has been discovered by scientists at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain. Dr Oliver Drzyzga and colleagues isolated the new bug, called Gordonia cholesterolivorans, from sewage sludge. Their findings are reported in the current issue of the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology.

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common vaginal infection in US women of childbearing age, and is common in pregnant women. BV occurs when the normal balance of bacteria in the vagina is disrupted and replaced by an overgrowth of certain bacteria. Because having BV puts a woman at increased risk for a variety of complications, such as preterm delivery, there is great interest in understanding how it can be prevented. Vitamin D may play a role in BV because it exerts influence over a number of aspects of the immune system.

Everyone knows that smoking can kill you, but did you know that it may help with your allergies? A new study shows that cigarette smoke can prevent allergies by decreasing the reaction of immune cells to allergens.

Napa, Calif., (May 14, 2009) – Dey, L.P., a subsidiary of Mylan Inc. (NYSE: MYL), announced today that data from two presentations highlighting the use of Perforomist® (formoterol fumarate) Inhalation Solution will be featured in poster format at the International Conference of the American Thoracic Society on May 19, 2009 in San Diego.

Montreal, May 14th 2009 - The Canadian policy of fortifying grain products with folic acid has already proved to be effective in preventing neural tube defects. The latest article published in the British Medical Journal by a group of researchers from the McGill Adult Unit for Congenital Heart Disease (MAUDE Unit), the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and McGill University, shows that folic acid also decreases the incidence of congenital heart defects by more than 6%.

Molecular biologists, including the cool dudes from CSI, use gel electrophoresis to separate DNA fragments from each other in order to analyze the DNA. A team of researchers under the leadership of Vici winner Serge Lemay, has now shown for the first time how the gel influences the movement of the DNA. The researchers drove a single DNA molecule through a nanopore in order to analyze the forces on the DNA. The results of the research were published on March 29 in Nature Physics.

Nature has long perfected the construction of nanomachines, but David Gonzalez and his fellow researchers from Eindhoven University of Technology and Utrecht University under the leadership of Spinoza Award winner Bert Meijer, have brought the construction of artificial supramolecular structures a step closer by. The researchers managed to carefully control the self-assembly of guanosine, one of the building blocks of our DNA. Their research results were published by Nature Chemistry on April 19.

A landmark follow-up study found that heart attack survivors who receive implanted cardioverter defribillators (ICDs) live longer the longer they have them, according to the results of late-breaking clinical trail presented today at the annual Scientific Sessions of the Heart Rhythm Society.

Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology for the first time have shown the earliest stages in biomineralization, the process that leads to the formation of bones, teeth and sea shells.

Scientists at Singapore's Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), under the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), have identified the protein, WIP1, as the molecular "brake" that curbs severe inflammation in the body.

The findings may prove relevant to developing more effective treatments against sepsis, the severe inflammatory condition caused by bacterial infection that afflicts many patients in intensive care units (ICU).

MAYWOOD, Il. -- Treating a common heart rhythm disorder by burning heart tissue with a catheter works dramatically better than drug treatments, a major international study has found.

One year after undergoing a treatment called catheter ablation, 63 percent of patients with an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation were free of any recurrent atrial arrhythmias or symptoms. By comparison, only 17 percent of those treated with drugs were arrhythmia-free. Results were so convincing the trial was halted early.

Driving Miranda, a protein in fruit flies crucial to switch a stem cell's fate, is not as complex as biologists thought, according to University of Oregon biochemists. They've found that one enzyme (aPKC) stands alone and acts as a traffic cop that directs which roads daughter cells will take.