Body

Abnormalities in the kidneys and their blood vessels occur in at least 25% of healthy individuals, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). While most of these conditions are not harmful enough to prevent someone from donating a kidney, future studies are needed to determine their impact on long-term health.

In ASU's School of Life Sciences, Nasonia species have been utilized to conduct studies in genetics, epigenetics, male courtship behavior, evolution of speciation and social insect societies by consortium members Juergen Gadau, associate professor and associate dean for graduate studies; Stephen Pratt, assistant professor; Florian Wolschin, assistant research professor; and Joshua Gibson, doctoral student, who are also members of the Social Insect Research Group in ASU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Retroviruses such as HIV and HTLV-1 don't hit-and-run, they hit-and-hide. They slip into host cells and insert their own DNA into the cell's DNA, and from this refuge they establish an infection that lasts a lifetime.

Three frequently used human esophageal adenocarcinoma cell lines used for research were confirmed as being from other tumor types, according to a brief communication published online January 14 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Two of the cell lines have been used in 11 U.S. patents and more than 100 published studies.

The 13 established esophageal adenocarcinoma cell lines are important because of the limited availability of patient samples and animal models.

A randomized biomarker-stratified design, which uses the biomarker to guide analysis but not treatment assignment, provides a rigorous assessment of the utility of a potential biomarker for guiding therapy, according to a commentary published online January 14 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

A new study from Zambia suggests that halting breastfeeding early causes more harm than good for children not infected with HIV who are born to HIV-positive mothers. Stopping breastfeeding before 18 months was associated with significant increases in mortality among these children, according to the study's findings, described in the Feb. 1, 2010 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, and available online (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/649886) now.

Scientists have mapped the genomes for three kinds of parasitic wasps, providing a new genetic model system based on the Nasonia genus. The availability of these genome sequences will aid the analysis of complex genetic traits, such as skin color, as well as complex human diseases. Published in the Jan. 15 issue of Science, the findings may help advance our understanding of how to use these wasps as natural agents against agricultural pests and disease-carrying insects.

SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 14, 2010 – University of Utah scientists discovered that air flows in one direction as it loops through the lungs of alligators, just as it does in birds. The study suggests this breathing method may have helped the dinosaurs' ancestors dominate Earth after the planet's worst mass extinction 251 million years ago.

Before and until about 20 million years after the extinction – called "the Great Dying" or the Permian-Triassic extinction – mammal-like reptiles known as synapsids were the largest land animals on Earth.

The three wasp genomes Werren and Richards sequenced are in the wasp genus Nasonia, which is considered the "lab rat" of parasitoid insects. Among the future applications of the Nasonia genomes that could be of use in pest control is identification of genes that determine which insects a parasitoid will attack, identification of dietary needs of parasitoids to assist in economical, large-scale rearing of parasitoids, and identification of parasitoid venoms that could be used in pest control.

About 100 million years ago, the bacterium Wolbachia came up with a trick that has made it one of the most successful parasites in the animal kingdom: It evolved the ability to manipulate the sex lives of its hosts.

Plant scientists at the Centre for Novel Agricultural Products (CNAP) in the Department of Biology at the University of York are addressing this problem by using molecular technologies to rapidly improve the Artemisia crop. In the latest issue of Science, they publish the first genetic map of this species, plotting the location on the plant's genome of genes, traits and markers associated with high performance. This will enable scientists to recognise young plants as high performers from their genetics.

(Jena) When fully grown they have a diminutive size of only 1-2 mm: the "Nasonia" wasps. But great hopes are drawn from them. Nasonia are parasitic insects infesting fly pupae. By doing so, they are naturally eliminating important agricultural pests. In order to provide constant supply of food for its offspring, the wasp must prevent the early death of the host flies – not less then 40-50 eggs are laid into each pupa. As biological pest control Nasonia is not yet perfect.

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have discovered how cells in the body flatten out as they adhere to internal bodily surfaces, the first step in a wide range of important processes including clot formation, immune defense, wound healing, and the spread of cancer cells.

Their study is published in the January 15 issue of Science.

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — Taking both calcium and vitamin D supplements on a daily basis reduces the risk of bone fractures, regardless of whether a person is young or old, male or female, or has had fractures in the past, a large study of nearly 70,000 patients from throughout the United States and Europe has found.

The study included data published in 2006 from clinical trials conducted at UC Davis in Sacramento as part of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI). It appears online in this week's edition of the British Medical Journal.

PITTSBURGH, Jan. 14 – How often patients receive surveillance colonoscopy may need to be better aligned with their risks for colorectal cancer, according to two papers published this month by University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers. The studies provide evidence that colonoscopy is both overused and underused in particular patient populations with serious implications for health care spending.