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IU study: Half of urban teen girls acquire STIs within 2 years of first sexual activity

INDIANAPOLIS – Half of urban teenage girls may acquire at least one of three common sexually transmitted infections (STI) within two years of becoming sexually active, according to an Indiana University School of Medicine and Regenstrief Institute study.

The study appears in the December 2009 issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

The researchers followed 381 girls enrolled at ages 14 to 17 years and found that repeated infection with the organisms that cause chlamydia, gonorrhea and trichomoniasis also was very common.

IUPUI researchers tackle protein mechanisms behind limb regeneration

INDIANAPOLIS – The most comprehensive study to date of the proteins in a species of salamander that can regrow appendages may provide important clues to how similar regeneration could be induced in humans.

Good dentistry may have saved the dinosaurs?

Infectious diseases can be transmitted by sneezing, touching, or – for Tasmanian devils – biting each other on the face, a habit that may have driven the dinosaurs to extinction through the transmission of a protozoan parasite.

Jacqueline Upcroft, a member of f1000 Biology, highlights the 'paleobiological detective work' of David Varricchio and colleagues published in PLoS One. This led them to deduce that a protozoan parasite was to blame for the diseased jaw bones seen in many tyrannosaurid fossils.

Study uncovers potential genetic links to lung disease risk

A new study involving data from more than 20,000 individuals has uncovered several DNA sequences linked to impaired pulmonary function. The research, an analysis that combined the results of several smaller studies, provides insight into the mechanisms involved in reaching full lung capacity. The findings may ultimately lead to better understanding of lung function and diseases like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the fourth leading cause of death in the United States.

Study explores 'garbage disposal' role of VCP and implications for degenerative disease

It's important to finish what you start, say Jeong-Sun Ju and researchers from Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis. In the December 14, 2009 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology (www.jcb.org), Ju et al. reveal how a mutant ATPase blocks autophagy partway through to cause a multi-tissue degenerative disease.

Hindering HIV-1-fighting immune cells

Immune proteins called HLA molecules help to activate killer T cell responses against pathogens. But according to a study that will be published online on December 14th in the Journal of Experimental Medicine (www.jem.org), one particular group of HLA molecules cripples this activation, perhaps explaining why HIV-infected individuals who express these HLAs progress to AIDS more rapidly than others.

Gas improves blood flow and organ status during minimally invasive surgery

DURHAM, N.C. – As good as laparoscopy is in preventing some of the stresses of open surgery on the body, it does have drawbacks, including reduced blood flow and organ dysfunction. Laparoscopy is a type of surgery in the abdomen done through small incisions.

By adding another gas to the carbon dioxide used to inflate the surgical area during laparoscopy, researchers at Duke University Medical Center have found they can preserve more normal blood flow during noninvasive surgery.

Newly identified enzymes help plants sense elevated CO2 and could lead to water-wise crops

Biologists have identified plant enzymes that may help to engineer plants that take advantage of elevated carbon dioxide to use water more efficiently. The finding could help to engineer crops that take advantage of rising greenhouse gases.

Plants take in the carbon dioxide they need for photosynthesis through microscopic breathing pores in the surface of leaves. But for each molecule of the gas gained, they lose hundreds of water molecules through these same openings. The pores can tighten to save water when CO2 is abundant, but scientists didn't know how that worked until now.

Scientists use nanosensors for first time to measure cancer biomarkers in blood

New Haven, Conn.—A team led by Yale University researchers has used nanosensors to measure cancer biomarkers in whole blood for the first time. Their findings, which appear December 13 in the advanced online publication of Nature Nanotechnology, could dramatically simplify the way physicians test for biomarkers of cancer and other diseases.

New genes for lung disease discovered

Scientists have discovered five genetic variants that are associated with the health of the human lung. The research by an international consortium of 96 scientists from 63 centres in Europe and Australia sheds new light on the molecular basis of lung diseases.

Scripps Research scientists crack mystery of protein's dual function

LA JOLLA, CA—December 10, 2009—Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have solved a 10-year-old mystery of how a single protein from an ancient family of enzymes can have two completely distinct roles in the body. In addition to providing guidance for understanding other molecules in the family, the research supplies a theoretical underpinning for the protein's possible use for combating diseases including cancer and macular degeneration.

Antibody-guided drug shows encouraging activity in metastatic breast cancer

SAN ANTONIO, TX—A new antibody-drug compound shrank or halted the growth of metastatic breast tumors in almost half of a group of patients whose HER2-positive cancer had become resistant to standard therapies, according to early data from a multicenter Phase 2 clinical trial led by a Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researcher.

The findings will be presented at the 32nd annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium on Saturday, Dec. 12 (Abstract 710, Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, Exhibit Hall B, 7-9 a.m. CT).

Bacteria provide new insights into human decision making

Scientists studying how bacteria under stress collectively weigh and initiate different survival strategies say they have gained new insights into how humans make strategic decisions that affect their health, wealth and the fate of others in society.

Study shows how gene action may lead to diabetes prevention, cure

COLLEGE STATION – A gene commonly studied by cancer researchers has been linked to the metabolic inflammation that leads to diabetes.

Understanding how the gene works means scientists may be closer to finding ways to prevent or cure diabetes, according to a study by Texas AgriLife Research appearing in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Most eligible patients miss out on cardiac resynchronization therapy for heart failure

Tampa, FL (Dec. 11, 2009) -- Most patients with heart failure likely to benefit from a pacemaker including the capacity for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) do not receive such an implantable device, reports a national study in the December 2009 issue of the American Heart Journal. Less than half who qualify for the device therapy may actually get it, the large-scale study led by University of South Florida cardiologist Anne Curtis, MD, found.