Body

Our genes control many aspects of who we are — from the colour of our hair to our vulnerability to certain diseases — but how are the genes, and consequently the proteins they make themselves controlled?

Researchers have discovered a new group of molecules which control some of the fundamental processes behind memory function and may hold the key to developing new therapies for treating neurodegenerative diseases.

RENO, Nev. – In a paper published today in Nature's open access journal Scientific Reports, researchers at the University of Nevada, Reno report that male pseudoscorpions treated with the antibiotic tetracycline suffer significantly reduced sperm viability and pass this toxic effect on to their untreated sons. They suggest that a similar effect could occur in humans and other species.

In the fight against emerging public health threats, early diagnosis of infectious diseases is crucial. And in poor and remote areas of the globe where conventional medical tools like microscopes and cytometers are unavailable, rapid diagnostic tests, or RDTs, are helping to make disease screening quicker and simpler.

In a groundbreaking study published last year, scientists reported that effective treatment with HIV medications not only restores health and prolongs life in many HIV-infected patients, but also curtails transmission to sexual partners up to ninety-seven percent. However, a new study by UCSF scientists shows that lack of basic living needs severely undercuts these advances in impoverished men.

(Toronto) - Researchers at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) led a study discovering a gene for a new form of intellectual disability, as well as how it likely affects cognitive development by disrupting neuron functioning.

CAMH Senior Scientist Dr. John Vincent and his team found a mutation in the gene NSUN2 among three sisters with intellectual disability, a finding to be published in the May issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics.

Now that hay fever season has started, sufferers are well aware of the effect of histamines. However it is easy to forget that histamine is also a neurotransmitter involved in controlling memories, regulating sleep, and controlling secretion of gastric acid. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Developmental Biology shows that for the purple sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) histamine is also responsible for controlling metamorphosis from a free swimming larval form to the spiny adult living on the sea floor.

The genetics responsible for frequency-specific hearing loss have remained elusive until recently, when genetic loci were found that affected high-frequency hearing. Now, a study published today in the open access journal BMC Genetics reports, for the first time, genetic loci with effects that are limited to specific portions of the hearing frequency map, particularly those that are most affected in ageing-related hearing loss.

A team of American researchers have created a portable, miniature microscope in the hope of reducing the time taken to diagnose oral cancer.

The probe, which is around 20 cm long and 1 cm wide at its tip, could be used by doctors to diagnose oral cancer in real-time or as a surgical guidance tool; dentists could also use it to screen for early-stage cancer cells.

DISASTROUS disease outbreaks like the one which led to the decimation of the red squirrel in Britain can now be avoided through the implementation of new preventive measures developed by UK scientists.

Researchers at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) looked at the disease risks associated with moving wild animals (translocation), and worked out the key baseline data required to predict the outcome of wild animals being moved around.

Research: Bullying victimisation and risk of self harm in early adolescence: longitudinal cohort study.

Children who are bullied in childhood are up to three times more likely to self harm up to the age of 12, a study published today on bmj.com suggests.

PHILADELPHIA — If Pygmies are known for one trait, it is their short stature: Pygmy men stand just 4'11" on average. But the reason why these groups are so short and neighboring groups are not remains unclear. Scientists have proposed various theories based on natural selection, including that Pygmies' reduced size lowered nutritional requirements, helped them better handle hot climates, or allowed them to reach sexual maturity at an earlier age.

Highlights

If Pygmies are known for one trait, it is their short stature: Pygmy men stand just 4'11" on average. A study of the Western African Pygmies in Cameroon, led by geneticists from the University of Pennsylvania, has identified genes that may be responsible for the Pygmies' relatively small size.

The work, published in PLoS Genetics, also provides evidence based on genetic signatures of natural selection to suggest why these groups evolved to be small, with signs pointing to hormonal pathways and immune system regulation as possible drivers.

Boston (April 26, 2012) – Results from the largest genetic study of glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness and vision loss worldwide, showed that two genetic variations are associated with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), a common form of the disease. The identification of genes responsible for this disease is the first step toward the development of gene-based disease detection and treatment.

A one-inch long grasshopper can leap a distance of about 20 inches. Cicadas can produce sound at about the same frequency as radio waves. Fleas measuring only millimeters can jump an astonishing 100 times their height in microseconds. How do they do it? They make use of a naturally occurring protein called resilin.

Resilin is a protein in the composite structures found in the leg and wing joints, and sound producing organs of insects. Highly elastic, it responds to exceptionally high rates of speed and demonstrates unmatched resilience after being stretched or deformed.