Body

Low levels of the "sunshine" vitamin D appear to increase a child's risk of anemia, according to new research led by investigators at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center. The study, published online Oct. 10 in the Journal of Pediatrics, is believed to be the first one to extensively explore the link between the two conditions in children.

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered a way to effectively deliver staurosporine (STS), a powerful anti-cancer compound that has vexed researchers for more than 30 years due to its instability in the blood and toxic nature in both healthy and cancerous cells. For the first time, the new method safely delivered STS to mouse tumors, suppressing them with no apparent side effects. The results were published online, October 20, in the International Journal of Nanomedicine.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — In a new study published online in the journal PLOS Pathogens, an international team of scientists showed that by swapping a single amino acid they could change the sugar to which the human BK polyomavirus will binds on the surface of cells. The BK polyomavirus lost the ability to bind its usual target sugar and instead "preferred" the same sugar as its cousin SV40 polyomavirus, which is active in monkeys.

MADISON, Wis. — A study of the full genetic code of a common human virus offers a dramatic confirmation of the "out-of-Africa" pattern of human migration, which had previously been documented by anthropologists and studies of the human genome.

The virus under study, herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), usually causes nothing more severe than cold sores around the mouth, says Curtis Brandt, a professor of medical microbiology and ophthalmology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Brandt is senior author of the study, now online in the journal PLOS ONE.

DURHAM, N.C. – A substance in breast milk that neutralizes HIV and may protect babies from acquiring HIV from their infected mothers has been identified for the first time by researchers at Duke Medicine.

The protein, called Tenascin-C or TNC, had previously been recognized as playing a role in wound healing, but had not been known to have antimicrobial properties. The discovery could lead to potential new HIV-prevention strategies.

The search for a common ancestor linking modern humans with the Neanderthals who lived in Europe thousands of years ago has been a compelling subject for research. But a new study suggests the quest isn't nearly complete.

Through analysis of the human genome, Basle scientists have identified molecules and compounds that are related to human memory. In a subsequent pharmacological study with one of the identified compounds, the scientists found a drug-induced reduction of aversive memory. This could have implications for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder, which is characterized by intrusive traumatic memories. The findings have been published in the latest edition of the magazine PNAS.

It has long been known that the characteristics of many plants with wide ranges can vary geographically, depending on differences in climate. But changes in grazing pressure and pollination can also affect the genetic composition of natural plant populations, according to a new study.

Researchers at Uppsala University and Stockholm University are presenting the new study this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, PNAS.

A new report from the Wilson Center's Commons Lab, "Connecting Grassroots and Government for Disaster Response," examines a growing problem confronting government agencies: how to quickly make sense of data from the emerging technologies that are now overloading disaster responders, including social media, satellite imagery, and community-curated maps.

BOSTON, MA, October 21, 2013 – Contact lens discomfort (CLD) may be the leading cause of patient dissatisfaction with, and discontinuation of, contact lens wear throughout the world — but there is little agreement among vision researchers and eye care professionals about how to define and manage its causes.

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- A Mayo Clinic physician and two other pediatric experts say that parental perceptions pose a major barrier to acceptance of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination — and that many of those perceptions are wrong. Their comments are published in Expert Review of Clinical Immunology, in an editorial on why HPV vaccination rates remain poor.

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. – October 21, 2013 – Researchers report that in patients with pseudocysts with viscous debris-laden fluid, endoscopic ultrasound-guided drainage by using a combination of a nasocystic drain and transmural stents improves clinical outcomes and lowers the stent occlusion rate compared with those who underwent drainage via stents alone. The study appears in the October issue of GIE: Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE).

COLUMBIA, Mo. – According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in three adults age 65 and older falls at least once every year. These falls can result in moderate to severe injuries, such as hip fractures and head traumas, and can increase the risk of early death. Now, a University of Missouri researcher has found a way to help older adults who live independently better prepare for health emergencies.

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) –– Bold and outgoing or shy and retiring –– while many people can shift from one to the other as circumstances warrant, in general they lean toward one disposition or the other. And that inclination changes little over the course of their lives.

With winter around the corner some homeowners may be thinking about plugging all the leaks in their home to make them less drafty. Imagine if every homeowner in the country did that—how much energy could be saved? Using physics-based modeling of the U.S. housing stock, researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) found in a new study that upgrading airtightness to a uniform level could achieve as much as $33 billion in annual energy savings.