Body

By modifying a protein from a plant that is much favored by science, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and colleagues have created a new type of genetic tag visible under an electron microscope, illuminating life in never-before-seen detail. Led by Nobel laureate Roger Tsien, PhD, Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and UCSD professor of pharmacology, chemistry and biochemistry, a team of scientists radically re-engineered a light-absorbing protein from the flowering cress plant Arabidopsis thaliana.

In an unprecedented collaborative analysis published in the journal PLoS Biology, scientists from 49 nations demonstrated that the ability of reef fish systems to produce goods and services to humanity increases rapidly with the number of species. However, growing human populations hamper the ability of reefs to function normally, and counterintuitively, the most diverse reef fish systems suffer the greatest impairments from stressors triggered by human populations.

Researchers have zoomed in on mouse chromosomes to map hotspots of genetic recombination — sites where DNA breaks and reforms to shuffle genes. The findings of the scientists at the National Institutes of Health and Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences (USU) have the potential to improve the detection of genes linked to disease and to help understand the root causes of genetic abnormalities. The research, published online April 3 in Nature, moves scientists one step closer to understanding how mammals evolve and respond to their environments.

Among postmenopausal women with prior hysterectomy who had used estrogen therapy for about 6 years and then stopped, longer-term follow-up indicates that the increased risk of stroke seen during the intervention period had dissipated, the decreased risk of hip fracture was not maintained, while the decreased risk of breast cancer persisted, according to a study in the April 6 issue of JAMA.

An analysis of data from 10 studies indicates that the presence of low frequency (also called "minority") human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) drug resistance mutations, particularly those involving nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) resistance, are significantly associated with an increased risk of first-line antiretroviral treatment failure, according to an article in the April 6 issue of JAMA.

Death rates after hospitalization for heart failure have dropped for veterans age 80 and older, but rehospitalizations remain frequent, according to a study in the American Heart Association journal Circulation: Heart Failure.

Results of the study highlight a need to better identify which patients among the oldest are more likely to be rehospitalized not just for heart failure, but for any reason, said Rashmee Shah, M.D., lead author of the study and postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Health Research and Policy at Stanford University School of Medicine in Palo Alto, Calif.

An editorial in the April 6 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association cautions against estrogen-only hormone therapy in women who have had a hysterectomy because of longstanding evidence that it raises the risk of breast cancer.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A Purdue University biochemist has demonstrated a process using nanotechnology to better assess whether cancer drugs hit their targets, which may help reduce drug side effects.

W. Andy Tao, an associate professor of biochemistry analytical chemistry, developed a nanopolymer that can be coated with drugs, enter cells and then removed to determine which proteins in the cells the drug has entered. Since they're water-soluble, Tao believes the nanopolymers also may be a better delivery system for drugs that do not dissolve in water effectively.

The persistence and recurrence of H5N1 avian influenza in endemic regions can largely be blamed on movement and infection by migratory birds. Trade in poultry, poultry products and caged birds, and movement of wild birds also account for H5N1 prevalence in these areas. Several recent outbreaks of avian influenza have suggested strong evidence of migratory birds playing a role in transmitting the virus over long distances.

NEW YORK (April 5, 2011) -- Thanks to the zebrafish, there is new hope for people with melanoma, an aggressive skin cancer that is responsible for approximately 8,700 deaths each year in the United States.

In a study that was published in the March 24th issue of the journal Nature, and featured on the cover, researchers identified SETDB1 as a new gene that promotes the growth of melanoma and may play a role in up to 70 percent of malignant melanomas.

A device designed to treat people with resistant hypertension helped lower blood pressure by 33 points, a substantial drop that would otherwise require patients to take an additional three or four drugs, on top of this subgroup's usual regimen of up to five drugs, to control their difficult-to-treat condition.

MADISON, WI MARCH 31, 2011 – Recycling manure is an important practice, especially for large livestock producers. Manure can be used as fertilizer to aid in crop production, aiding livestock producers that grow their own feed crops. While manure does provide a rich nutrient source for crops, it also can contribute to nutrient leaching and runoff. This can contaminate the surrounding ecosystem and lead to eutrophication of waterways.

Orlando, Fla. -- Most women are infected with human papillomavirus (HPV), which can cause cervical cancer - yet few develop the cancer. Now researchers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, a part of Georgetown University Medical Center, believe they have found the missing link explaining why: activation of the beta-catenin oncogene.

ORLANDO, FL (April 5, 2011) – A nutrient found in carrots and sweet potatoes may prove key to fighting breast cancer at early stages, according to a new study by researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center. Sandra Fernandez, PhD, an assistant research professor at Fox Chase, will present the findings at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011 on Tuesday, April 5.

ORLANDO -- Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine may have found a way to turn an adaptive cellular response into a liability for cancer cells. When normal cells are starved for food, they chew up existing proteins and membranes to stay alive. Cancer cells have corrupted that process, called autophagy, using it to survive when they run out of nutrients and to evade death after damage from chemotherapy and other sources.