Body

Johns Hopkins scientists say they have figured out how bacteria that cause diarrhea may also be the culprit in some colon cancers. The investigators say that strains of the common Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF) dupe immune system cells into permitting runaway colon tissue inflammation, a precursor for malignant growth.

Tiny, solitary spikes that stick out of nearly every cell in the body play a central role in a type of skin cancer, new research has found. The discovery in mice shows that the microscopic structures known as primary cilia can either suppress or promote this skin cancer, depending on the mutation triggering the disease.

The finding suggests that drugs that boost or block primary cilia activity could offer a new strategy against cancer.

Low levels of vitamin D are known to nearly double the risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with diabetes, and researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis now think they know why.

They have found that diabetics deficient in vitamin D can't process cholesterol normally, so it builds up in their blood vessels, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke. The new research has identified a mechanism linking low vitamin D levels to heart disease risk and may lead to ways to fix the problem, simply by increasing levels of vitamin D.

A preliminary evaluation of methylation of two gene promoters in fecal DNA showed promise as a noninvasive method to detect colorectal and gastric cancers, according to a new study published online August 21 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

(New York, NY – August 21, 2009) – Physicians at The Mount Sinai Medical Center were the first in the country to perform a non-surgical procedure using sutures to tie off a left atrial appendage (LAA), which is the source of blood clots leading to stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (AFib). AFib is the most common sustained heart-rhythm disorder in the United States.

Grand Rapids, Mich. (Aug. 21, 2009) – An indigenous family living in a mountainous area of Malaysian Borneo helped Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) researchers to discover information about genetic mutations associated with acromegaly, a form of gigantism that often results in enlarged hands, feet, and facial features.

The information could lead to better screening for the disease, which most often results from a benign pituitary gland tumor that can be deadly if left untreated, but which is difficult to detect until later stages when features become pronounced.

Discovery of a deafness-causing gene defect in mice has helped identify a new protein that protects sensory cells in the ear, according to a study led by University of Iowa researchers. The findings, which also involved Kansas State University, appear in the Aug. 21 issue of the open-access journal PLoS Genetics.

In humans, hereditary deafness is one of the most common birth defects, yet most genes involved in hearing are unidentified. Mice are used as research models because mouse and human auditory genetics are very similar.

Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore and Washington DC (August 21, 2009) – Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the Western world. Fortunately physicians today have an abundance of drug therapies available to improve survival length for more advanced cancer patients. Now the discovery of genetic biomarkers relevant to CRC means that targeted personalised medication is increasingly common.

Exciting research into Brown adipose tissue (BAT) — brown fat, which is found in abundance in hibernating animals and newborn babies — could lead to new ways of preventing obesity.

Studies have already shown that BAT activity in adults is reduced with obesity. Therefore, promoting BAT function could prevent or reduce obesity in some people.

The ability to envisage the future may be closer than you would think. A recent paper by Sean Hammond and Karl Niklas in the August 2009 issue of the American Journal of Botany (available here) presents an algorithm that may be used to predict the future dynamics of plant communities, an increasingly interesting area of study as significant environmental changes, such as global climate change and invasive species, are affecting current plant communities.

Berkeley - Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have for the first time captured elusive nanoscale movements of ribosomes at work, shedding light on how these cellular factories take in genetic instructions and amino acids to churn out proteins.

Discovery of a deafness-causing gene defect in mice has helped identify a new protein that protects sensory cells in the ear, according to a study by University of Iowa and Kansas State University researchers. The findings appear in the August 21 issue of the open-access journal PLoS Genetics.

In humans, hereditary deafness is one of the most common birth defects, yet most genes involved in hearing are unidentified. Mice are used as research models because mouse and human auditory genetics are very similar.

Cholesterol can affect the flow of the electrical currents that generate the heart beat, according to a study from two UBC cardiovascular researchers funded by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of BC & Yukon. The research team has just published the important discovery about the causes of cardiac arrhythmias (abnormal heartbeats) in one of the world's leading scientific journals.

The parasites that cause leishmaniasis use a quirky trick to convince the immune system to effectively invite them into cells for dinner, according to a new study published today in PLoS Pathogens. The researchers, from Imperial College London, say their findings improve understanding of the way Leishmania parasites establish an infection and could aid the search for a vaccine against this neglected tropical disease.

For the first time, scientists have used a genetically engineered "friendly" bacterium to deliver a therapy.

The treatment is for bowel disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease, which affects one in 400 people in the UK and for which there is no cure. The bacterium Bacteroides ovatus activates a protein when exposed to a specific type of sugar, xylan. In research to be published in Gut, the therapy has been proven to work in animals with colitis, one of the major forms of inflammatory bowel disease.