Body

STANFORD, Calif. — Macrophages, the scavenger cells of the body's immune system, are responsible for disposing of dying cells. Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have identified one pathway in this important process in mice that, if disrupted, causes a lupuslike autoimmune disease.

The findings could lead to both a better understanding of the cause of lupus in humans and potential drug treatments for the disorder, which affects an estimated 1.5-2 million people in the United States.

La Jolla, CA – October 18, 2009 – Fate Therapeutics, Inc. announced today the generation of human induced-pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) using a combination of small molecules that significantly improves the speed and efficiency of reprogramming. The discoveries, which were made by Sheng Ding, Ph.D.

Researchers identified a new chromosomal abnormality in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) that appears to work in concert with another mutation to give rise to cancer. This latest anomaly is particularly common in children with Down syndrome.

LA JOLLA, CA – October 15, 2009 A team led by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute has developed a method that dramatically improves the efficiency of creating stem cells from human adult tissue, without the use of embryonic cells. The research makes great strides in addressing a major practical challenge in the development of stem-cell-based medicine.

The findings were published in an advance, online issue of the journal Nature Methods on October 18, 2009.

EAST LANSING, Mich. – A 21-year Michigan State University experiment that distills the essence of evolution in laboratory flasks not only demonstrates natural selection at work, but could lead to biotechnology and medical research advances, researchers said.

Charles Darwin's seminal Origin of Species first laid out the case for evolution exactly 150 years ago. Now, MSU professor Richard Lenski and colleagues document the process in their analysis of 40,000 generations of bacteria, published this week in the international science journal Nature.

Researchers have identified that Rituxan, a drug previously approved for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's B cell lymphoma and rheumatoid arthritis, can treat severe ANCA-associated vasculitis as effectively as cyclophosphamide, the current standard therapy. The news will be presented October 18 at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology in Philadelphia.

Investigators have identified a drug that is currently approved to treat certain types of cancer, Gleevec, that could provide the first treatment for scleroderma, a chronic connective tissue disease for which a treatment has remained elusive. The news will be presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology on October 18 in Philadelphia.

A gene has been associated with human kidney aging, according to researchers from Stanford University, the National Institute on Aging, the MedStar Research Institute, and the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology. In work published on October 16 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics, the investigators claim that their approach, which combines sequential transcriptional profiling and eQTL mapping, can be applied to any phenotype of interest to help find other genetic associations.

WASHINGTON, October 16, 2009 – MedImmune announced today it will present four abstracts at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) 2009 National Conference & Exhibition that add to the company's growing body of research on the burden of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) on children, as well as pediatric infectious disease prevention.

Boston, Mass. – Alcohol and drug use are known contributors to adolescents engaging in dangerous sexual activity; leading to substantial health risks such as unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted illnesses, drug overdoses and alcohol poisonings. Yet, research suggests that fewer than half of pediatricians report screening patients for substance use and at-risk sexual behavior.

Emory University researchers have identified the first fish known to have switched from ultraviolet vision to violet vision, or the ability to see blue light. The discovery is also the first example of an animal deleting a molecule to change its visual spectrum.

Their findings on scabbardfish, linking molecular evolution to functional changes and the possible environmental factors driving them, were published Oct. 13 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The skin's pigment cells can be formed from completely different cells than has hitherto been thought, a new study from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet shows. The results, which are published in the journal Cell, also mean the discovery of a new kind of stem cell.

Mothers receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) to treat HIV-1 infection are less likely than untreated mothers to transmit the virus to their newborns through breastfeeding, according to a new study. The findings, now available online in the Nov. 15 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, suggest HAART regimens should be initiated as early as possible in eligible mothers in areas with limited resources, such as Africa, where most infant HIV-1 infections occur, and breastfeeding is common.

An international partnership of 54 countries led by the United Kingdom's Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is celebrating a decade of work to set aside seeds for future generations from 10 percent of the world's wild flowering species.

Satellite tracking has allowed a research team to uncover the mysteries of the migration of Eleanora's falcon for the first time. In total, the bird flies more than 9,500 kilometres across the African continent from the Balearic and Columbretes Islands before reaching the island of Madagascar. Some of the previously-obscure secrets now revealed by the scientists show that these falcons migrate by both day and night, and cross supposed ecological barriers such as the Sahara Desert.