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Scientists working to develop a vaccine for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) report they have created the first antigen that induces protective antibodies capable of blocking infection of human cells by genetically-diverse strains of HIV. The new antigen differs from previously-tested vaccines by virtue of its chemically-activated property that enables close sharing of electrons and produces strong covalent bonding. Researchers used a mouse model to generate the antibodies.

DURHAM, N.C. -- Tell-tale signs of a condition that can blind premature babies are being seen for the first time using a new handheld device in a study at Duke University Medical Center.

A new study by researchers at the University of Colorado Denver and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) shows vitamin D plays a vital role in reducing the risk of death associated with older age. The research, just published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, evaluated the association between vitamin D levels in the blood and the death rates of those 65 and older. The study found that older adults with insufficient levels of vitamin D die from heart disease at greater rates that those with adequate levels of the vitamin.

The second article in CMAJ's (Canadian Medical Association Journal's) www.cmaj.com series on asthma provides practical guidance for the diagnosis of adult asthma, including occupational asthma.

Physicians at The Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York became the first in the U.S. to ablate atrial fibrillation using a visually-guided laser balloon catheter. The procedure was performed September 15 by Vivek Y. Reddy, MD, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Cardiac Arrhythmia Service at Mount Sinai Heart, and his colleague, Srinivas R. Dukkipati, MD, Director of Mount Sinai's Experimental Electrophysiology Laboratory.

Scientists have identified how a protein enables sections of so-called junk DNA to be cut and pasted within genetic code – a finding which could speed development of gene therapies.

The study by researchers at the University of Edinburgh sheds light on the process, known as DNA transposition, in which shifted genes have a significant effect on the behaviour of neighbouring genes. In the human genome, rearrangement of antibody genes can enable the immune system to target infection more effectively.

Scientists are now developing clearer insights into the mechanisms of major cellular processes such as cell signaling and growth. This valuable knowledge could be used in the future to better understand and cure diseases such as depression and Alzheimer's, explains Associate Professor Dimitrios Stamou, Nano-Science Center and Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, who led the work.

An investigative drug deprived non-Hodgkin lymphoma cells of their ability to survive too long and multiply too fast, according to an early study published recently in the journal Experimental Hematology.

The human brain consists of about 100 billion (1011) neurons, which altogether form about 100 trillion (1014) synaptic connections with each other. A crucial mechanism for the generation of this complex wiring pattern is the formation of neuronal branches. The neurobiologists Dr. Hannes Schmidt and Professor Fritz G. Rathjen at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch, Germany, have now discovered a molecule that regulates this vital process.

Many biopharmaceuticals comprise small proteins that are quickly eliminated from the body. Scientists at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) combine such small proteins with a kind of molecular balloon that swells and thus prolongs the half-life of the proteins in the body. The TUM spin-off XL-protein GmbH has now started to further develop this new technology with blockbuster potential.

University of Central Florida Microbiology Professor Keith Ireton has uncovered a previously unknown mechanism that plays an important role in the spread of a deadly food-borne bacterium.

Listeria monocytogenes is a bacterium that can cause pregnant women to lose their fetuses and trigger fatal cases of meningitis in the elderly or people with compromised immune systems. The bacterium has been linked to outbreaks traced to food processing plants in the U.S. and Canada.

Many people are not receiving the best possible care when it comes to managing cardiovascular conditions according to two new Australian research studies. The studies highlight the need for wide scale reform to ensure that people at the highest risk of having a heart attack or stroke are identified early and are provided with optimal care. The studies give a comprehensive snapshot of the state of cardiovascular care in the primary health care system for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

Middle-aged women with large abdominal fat cells have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life compared to women with smaller fat cells. Waist circumference divided by body height can also be used to determine which women are at risk. This is shown in a new study from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

The study, which will be published in the next issue of the scientific journal FASEB Journal, is based on the extensive population study of women in Gothenburg Kvinnoundersökningen i Göteborg.

Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT) is a serious condition that involves the formation of a blood clot inside of a deep vein usually in the legs. A patient with DVT is typically treated with anticoagulants (blood thinners) however researchers have found that image-guided interventional radiology procedures may play a more central role in the long-term treatment of DVT, according to a study published in the October issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR).

Pericardial effusion, the collection of fluid around the heart, typically occurs in patients following heart surgery and is usually treated using an invasive surgical drainage technique. However researchers have discovered that a minimally invasive procedure called CT-guided tube pericardiostomy is just as effective — requiring no recovery time, fewer resources, and provides an 89 percent cost savings over the surgical drainage technique, according to a study published in the October issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR).