Body

A UConn research team has found a way to stabilize hemoglobin, the oxygen carrier protein in the blood, a discovery that could lead to the development of stable vaccines and affordable artificial blood substitutes.

The team's novel approach involves wrapping the polymer poly(acrylic acid) around hemoglobin, protecting it from the intense heat used in sterilization and allowing it to maintain its biological function and structural integrity.

Two weevil species, the bluegrass billbug and the hunting billbug, have caused widespread economic damage to orchardgrass, a cool season grass that is cultivated throughout the United States as a high-value forage crop.

Half of trials with results posted in ClinicalTrials.gov database have not been published in a journal, and for some that have, the database contains more information

Infants and toddlers frequently carry toxigenic Clostridium difficile, usually with no harm to themselves, but can serve as a reservoir and spread the bacteria to adults in whom it can cause severe disease, according to a study by a team of Swedish researchers published ahead of print in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology.

From 2000 to 2010, the presence of a minority faculty development program at U.S. medical schools was not associated with greater underrepresented minority faculty representation, recruitment, or promotion, according to a study appearing in the December 4 issue of JAMA, a medical education theme issue.

Among anesthesiology residents entering primary training from 1975 to 2009, 0.86 percent had a confirmed substance use disorder during training, with the incidence of this disorder increasing over the study period and the risk of relapse high, according to a study appearing in the December 4 issue of JAMA, a medical education theme issue.

HOUSTON, Dec. 3, 2013 – A University of Houston (UH) geoscientist and his colleagues are revealing new discoveries about the Earth's development, following a major international expedition that recovered the first-ever drill core from the lower crust of the Pacific Ocean.

Washington, DC— Children's National researcher, Javad Nazarian, PhD, authored a new study entitled, "Comparative Multidimensional Molecular Analyses of Pediatric Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma Reveals Distinct Molecular Subtypes." The study found, for the first time, two distinct subtypes in pediatric diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPG).

Irvine, Calif., Dec. 3, 2013 — Infectious disease researchers have identified a novel mechanism wherein HIV-1 may facilitate its own transmission by usurping the antibody response directed against itself. These results have important implications for HIV vaccine development and for understanding the earliest events in HIV transmission.

Leading cardiologists at The Mount Sinai Hospital have contributed to the development of a new classification system called MOGE(S) for cardiomyopathies, the diseases of the heart muscle which can lead to heart enlargement and heart failure.

A University of Iowa researcher has discovered that a "Goldilocks" effect applies to the reproductive output of a tiny New Zealand snail—considered a troublesome species in many countries—that may one day help environmentalists control their spread.

Known in the United States as the "New Zealand mud snail," the freshwater snail (Potamopyrgus antipodarum) grows to a length of about one-quarter inch in U.S. rivers and lakes, and up to one-half inch in its native New Zealand.

LA JOLLA, CA—December 3, 2013—Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have discovered a natural mechanism that cells use to protect mitochondria, the tiny but essential "power plants" that provide chemical energy for cells throughout the body. Damage to mitochondria is thought to be a significant factor in common neurodegenerative disorders, cancer and even the aging process. The TSRI researchers' discovery could lead to new methods for protecting mitochondria from such damage, thereby improving human health.

NEW YORK (December 3, 2013) – A new study led by the Wildlife Conservation Society and Zoological Society or London warns that the world's largest tropical desert, the Sahara, has suffered a catastrophic collapse of its wildlife populations.

Listen up nickel-titanium and all you other shape-memory alloys, there's a new kid on the block that just claimed the championship for elasticity and is primed to take over the shape memory apps market at the nanoscale. A research team at Berkeley Lab has discovered a way to introduce a recoverable strain into bismuth ferrite of up to 14-percent on the nanoscale, larger than any shape-memory effect observed in a metal. This discovery opens the door to applications in a wide range of fields, including medical, energy and electronics.

(MEMPHIS, TENN. – December 3, 2013) St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have evidence that descendants of the H2N2 avian influenza A virus that killed millions worldwide in the 1950s still pose a threat to human health, particularly to those under 50. The research has been published in an advance online edition of the Journal of Virology.

The study included 22 H2N2 avian viruses collected from domestic poultry and wild aquatic birds between 1961 and 2008, making it the most comprehensive analysis yet of avian H2N2 viruses.