Body

Durham, NC – Although advances in medical care have improved standards of living over time, humans aren't entirely sheltered from the forces of natural selection, a new study shows.

A workshop at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama has dramatically improved the ability of conservationists and regulatory agencies to monitor the spread of chytridiomycosis—one of the deadliest frog diseases on Earth.

Caused by the chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, this disease is probably responsible for the extinction of nearly 100 frog species since the 1970s. During the past decade, the epidemic swept from the highlands of Costa Rica through western Panama. It is now moving toward eastern Panama from Colombia.

Boulder, CO, USA – Supervolcanoes and cosmic impacts get all the terrible glory for causing mass extinctions, but a new theory suggests lowly algae may be the killer behind the world's great species annihilations.

Today, just about anywhere there is water, there can be toxic algae. The microscopic plants usually exist in small concentrations, but a sudden warming in the water or an injection of dust or sediment from land can trigger a bloom that kills thousands of fish, poisons shellfish, or even humans.

PRESS RELEASE: Bethesda, Maryland (October 19, 2009) – The Association of Pathology Chairs joins the Association for Molecular Pathology and other leading professional organizations in their support of draft recommendations just published by the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health and Society (SACGHS) on DNA patenting.

Mother Nature has provided the lizard with a unique ability to regrow body tissue that is damaged or torn - if its tail is pulled off, it grows right back. She has not been quite so generous with human beings. But we might be able to come close, thanks to new research from Tel Aviv University.

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---Biologists long have marveled at the ability of some animals to re-grow lost body parts. Newts, for example, can lose a leg and grow a new one identical to the original. Zebrafish can re-grow fins.

These animals and others also can repair damaged heart tissue and injured structures in the eye. In contrast, humans have only rudimentary regenerative abilities, so scientists hoping eventually to develop ways of repairing or replacing damaged body parts are keenly interested in understanding in detail how the process of regeneration works.

Santa Barbara, CA—October 18, 2009—Professor Guillermo Bazan and a team of postgraduate researchers at UC Santa Barbara's Center for Polymers and Organic Solids (CPOS) today announced a major advance in the synthesis of organic polymers for plastic solar cells. Bazan's team:

Researchers have previously been able to analyse which sugar structures are to be found on certain proteins, but not exactly where on the protein they are positioned. This is now possible thanks to a new technique developed at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Antioxidant extracts of the leaves of the Gingko biloba tree may protect cells from radiation damage, according to a study published in the International Journal of Low Radiation. The discovery may one day be used to help reduce side effects in cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy.

DENVER, October 19, 2009 – A new food rating system that analyzes both nutrition and cost value of food may now make it easier for people to find budget-friendly, nutritious foods in today’s tough economy. The Affordable Nutrition Index (ANI), unveiled today at the American Dietetic Association’s Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo by leading nutrition expert Adam Drewnowski, PhD, professor at the University of Washington, is the first and only tool that assesses food’s nutritional profile and cost value to create a nutrition-value-per-dollar score.

It is common practice to insert totally implantable venous access devices (TIVADs) in cancer patients beginning a course of chemotherapy to eliminate potential peripheral venous access problems; however, risk factors impacting the survival of TIVADs remain unclear. Further studies are needed to analyze the risk factors for failure of the TIVADs and correlate adverse events with risk factors.

Focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH) is a lesion found in an otherwise normal liver, and is considered to be parenchyma overgrowth responsive to increased blood flow secondary to vascular malformations. While its clinical outcomes are believed to be different from hepatocellular adenoma and carcinoma, its pathogenesis is largely unclear and its distinction from hepatocellular adenoma is sometimes difficult.

Tsuruta et al. find that a lipid kinase directs a voltage-gated calcium channel's degradation to save neurons from a lethal dose of overexcitement. The study appears in the October 19, 2009 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology (www.jcb.org).

The International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) will issue a new 16-page report on FRAX® to mark World Osteoporosis Day on October 20, 2009. The report is available at http://www.iofbonehealth.org/publications/frax.html

The human genetic disease dyskeratosis congenita (DKC) is an autosomal dominant disease that leads to abnormalities in tissues with a rapid cell turnover – the skin, nails, bone marrow, lungs and gut. Patients with DKC experience life-threatening symptoms. Bone marrow failure increases their risk of fatal infections and cancer. Many die before the age of 30 and management of the disease is limited to trying to treat its symptoms.