Body

Stem cells have a unique ability: when they divide, they can either give rise to more stem cells, or to a variety of specialised cell types. In both mice and humans, a layer of cells at the base of the skin contains stem cells that can develop into the specialised cells in the layers above.

The master gene that causes blood stem cells to turn into disease-fighting 'Natural Killer' (NK) immune cells has been identified by scientists, in a study published in Nature Immunology today. The discovery could one day help scientists boost the body's production of these frontline tumour-killing cells, creating new ways to treat cancer.

A team of scientists led by researcher Brenda Hernandez, Ph.D., M.P.H.—an assistant professor at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa's Cancer Research Center of Hawai'i—has reported that body mass in younger and older adulthood, and weight gain between these life periods, may influence a man's risk for prostate cancer. This risk varies among different ethnic groups, according to findings reported in a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

SRI International, an independent nonprofit research and development organization, announced today it will present new research identifying methods for designing safer structures in the future for hydrogen fueled vehicles, at the upcoming International Conference on Hydrogen Safety, Sept. 16 - 18, in Ajaccio–Corsica, France.

HAMILTON, Ont. September 11, 2009—The smell of recent death or injury that repels living relatives of insects has been identified as a truly ancient signal that functions to avoid disease or predators, biologists have discovered.

David Rollo, professor of biology at McMaster University, found that corpses of animals, from insects to crustaceans, all emit the same death stench produced by a blend of specific fatty acids.

The findings have been published in the journal Evolutionary Biology.

LA JOLLA, Calif., September 11, 2009 – Dieter Wolf, M.D., and colleagues at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) have illuminated how competition between proteins enhances combinatorial diversity during ubiquitination (the process that marks proteins for destruction). Using S. pombe fission yeast as a model, the Wolf laboratory uncovered an intricate relationship, in which an array of Fbox proteins alternately attach to and are kicked off of a cullin-RING ubiquitin ligase (CRL1) containing CUL1 and Skp1.

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---The growth of cancerous tumors is fueled, at least in part, by the buildup of free radicals---highly reactive oxygen-containing molecules.

It stands to reason, then, that cancer should respond to treatment with antioxidants, which inhibit the rogue radicals, or with pro-oxidants, which go the opposite direction, increasing "oxidative stress" on cancer cells to the point of vanquishing them.

PHILADELPHIA – Best known as the oxygen-carrying component of hemoglobin, the protein that makes blood red, heme also plays a role in chemical detoxification and energy metabolism within the cell. Heme levels are tightly maintained, and with good reason: Too little heme prevents cell growth and division; excessive amounts of heme are toxic.

Have you ever noticed that people have thinner arms and legs as they get older? As we age it becomes harder to keep our muscles healthy. They get smaller, which decreases strength and increases the likelihood of falls and fractures. New research is showing how this happens — and what to do about it.

A team of Nottingham researchers has already shown that when older people eat, they cannot make muscle as fast as the young. Now they've found that the suppression of muscle breakdown, which also happens during feeding, is blunted with age.

In Arctic areas, climate change is progressing faster than in any other location on Earth. Researchers at the University of Helsinki have participated in two new studies indicating that the changes are astonishingly fast. Many original species of Arctic areas are in jeopardy, as global warming causes species from southern areas to migrate north, where they occupy the living space of the original species.

Spain is one of the leading European countries, along with Sweden, in terms of wood production for paper paste, but this uses large amounts of energy. Spanish and Swedish scientists have compared the environmental load stemming from forestry operations, and have concluded that the Spanish sector uses more energy than the Swedish one. They are proposing improvements, such as the use of biofuels, in order to make forestry production more sustainable.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Children with more fat around their midsections could be at a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease later in life, researchers say.

"While general obesity certainly has its own set of risks for the heart, we now know that all fat is not created equally," says Dr. Reda Bassali, an associate professor of pediatrics in the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine and co-author of a study published online in the International Journal of Pediatric Obesity.

FINDINGS: Some budding yeast species have the ability to silence genes using RNA interference (RNAi). Until now, most researchers thought that no budding yeasts possess the RNAi pathway because Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the protoypical model budding yeast does not.

WASHINGTON, DC – New World Health Organization data to be published in this week's edition of the Lancet will shed new light on two leading causes of pneumonia, the world's leading killer of children under age 5, both globally and within specific countries. The results, which are the first ever available at the country level, are expected to serve as a clarion call to developing country governments to invest in pneumonia prevention programs.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Overblown fears about surgical risk and lack of awareness about the risk of not operating are among the reasons only half of eligible patients were referred for mitral valve repair, according to a study by doctors at the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center.

A leaking mitral valve, known as mitral regurgitation or mitral insuffiency, can lead to fatigue, abnormal heart rhythms with irregular heart beats, and congestive heart failure. The longer the leak continues, the more likely there will be permanent heart damage.