Brain

PHILADELPHIA –- Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and Pennsylvania State University have identified for the first time a specific "niche factor" in the mouse testes called colony stimulating factor 1, Csf1, that has a direct effect on sperm stem cell self-renewal. Moreover, the study shows that the origin of this growth factor is the Leydig cell — located in the testes and stimulated by the pituitary gland to supply testosterone — that secretes Csf1 and enhances self-renewal of the stem cells.

University of Washington (UW) researchers are helping to write the operating manual for the nano-scale machine that separates chromosomes before cell division. The apparatus is called a spindle because it looks like a tiny wool-spinner with thin strands of microtubules or spindle fibers sticking out. The lengthening and shortening of microtubules is thought to help push and pull apart chromosome pairs.

"Finish your broccoli!" Although parents may have good intentions about forcing their kids to eat cold, mushy vegetables, this approach may backfire the very next day, according to new research from Cornell University.

"We found that the more controlling the parents were about telling their child to clean their plate, the more likely the kids, especially the boys, were to request larger portions of sweetened cereal at daycare," says lead author Brian Wansink at the keynote address of the Carolinas HealthCare System Obesity 2009 Conference in Charlotte, NC on Friday.

Frontal lobe dementia

CORVALLIS, Ore. – A recent study in Oregon suggests that drugs designed for treating the most severe mental illnesses are often prescribed at inappropriately low doses and at considerable expense, for use in conditions where their benefit has not been established.

In this case, prescription drugs that might cost as much as $20 to $25 a day were being widely used to treat problems for which they were not FDA-approved. Some of those problems could have been addressed with generic medications costing $1 a day, with better results and less risk of serious side effects.

A new study suggests that the standard treatment for a common brain tumor increases the aggressiveness of surviving cancer cells, possibly leaving patients more vulnerable to tumor recurrence. The research, published by Cell Press in the March 6th issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, provides valuable insight into the molecular mechanisms that enable cancer stem-like cells to escape cytotoxic treatment and repopulate the tumor.

FINDINGS: Deploying a method that removes potentially cancer-causing genes, Whitehead Institute researchers have "reprogrammed" human skin cells from Parkinson's disease patients into an embryonic-stem-cell-like state. Whitehead scientists then used these so-called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells to create dopamine-producing neurons, the cell type that degenerates in Parkinson's disease patients.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Older, active people who have a drink or two might be more impaired afterward than they think, according to a report today from a University of Florida research group in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

Blindness, renal failure, stroke and heart disease are potential complications of type 2 diabetes, which currently afflicts more than 15 million Americans. Now research from Tel Aviv University has found more worrying news ― type 2 diabetes can be a risk factor accelerating cognitive decline and dementia.

Calgary, AB – A new study headed by Dr. Tom Feasby, Dean of UCalgary's Faculty of Medicine, shows that while Canada lags behind other countries in the number of diagnostic imaging devices, more machines are not the only solution to long wait times. The study's authors say it is critical to prioritize MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) requests effectively.

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Too little activity by gene regulators called PPARs appears to be a major player in the irreversible lung damage that can occur in children with heart defects, researchers say.

If they are right, drugs already under study to boost PPAR signaling in adults with lung injuries, may help these infants restore a healthy balance of blood vessel dilation and contraction, preventing the remodeling that transforms flexible blood vessels into rigid pipes and the pulmonary hypertension that often results.

An experimental procedure that dramatically strengthens stem cells' ability to regenerate damaged tissue could offer new hope to sufferers of muscle-wasting diseases such as myopathy and muscular dystrophy, according to researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW).

The world-first procedure has been successfully used to regrow muscles in a mouse model, but it could be applied to all tissue-based illnesses in humans such as in the liver, pancreas or brain, the researchers say.

Moths need just the essence of a flower's scent to identify it, according to new research from The University of Arizona in Tucson.

Although a flower's odor can be composed of hundreds of chemicals, a moth uses just a handful to recognize the flower.

It's like identifying a piece of music from hearing only the notes played by a few key instruments, said lead researcher Jeffrey A. Riffell.

"The moth isn't paying attention to all the chemicals at the same time," Riffell said. "It's actually just paying attention to a few."

Older adults may be more affected by a couple of glasses of wine than their younger counterparts are -- yet they are less likely to be aware of it, a new study suggests.

The findings, published in the March issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, suggest that older adults should be particularly careful about driving after social drinking.