People infected with Ebola virus were 20 percent more likely to survive if they were co-infected with malaria-causing Plasmodium parasites, according to data collected at an Ebola diagnostic laboratory in Liberia in 2014-15. Moreover, greater numbers of Plasmodium parasites correlated with increased rates of Ebola survival, according to a dozen collaborating research groups in the new study, published in Clinical Infectious Diseases. The survival difference was evident even after controlling for Ebola viral load and age.
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AURORA, Colo. (Aug. 16, 2016) - Researchers from the University of Colorado School of Medicine have published a new study showing that sleep apnea worsens non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in obese adolescents.
When should a surgeon stop cutting? The answer can depend on whether a patient's tissue does or does not contain cancer cells. This is the kind of question answered by a technique known as "intraoperative consultation by frozen section" - basically, a surgeon removes a small tissue sample, which is frozen and sent to a hospital's pathology department for lightning-fast analysis. A pathologist examines the tissue and returns an answer to the surgeon, who may base surgery decisions on the results.
Coral reefs wouldn't be the same without their beautiful fish.
A diversity of colorful, beautifully patterned species lives in tandem with coral reefs around the world, having adapted their appearance, body structure and lifestyle to take refuge in the folds of spiny, spongy, slippery reefs.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- A new discovery at Michigan State University has revealed how special genes stay open for business, helping diagram a mechanism that plays a key role in fighting inflammation and infections.
In the current issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, MSU scientists show that when immune cells encounter a bacteria, a number of genes become active. During this process, nucleosomes, which coat DNA and essentially block genes, are gone, leaving the genes open and ready to enlist in the fight against bacteria.
Scientists at MIT and the University of São Paulo in Brazil have identified the structure of an enzyme that could be a good target for drugs combatting three diseases common in the developing world.
The enzyme, fumarate hydratase (FH) is essential for metabolic processes of parasites that are responsible for the spread of three diseases: Leishmaniases, Chagas disease, and sleeping sickness. As such, understanding the enzyme's structure could help researchers figure out how to inhibit FH enzymes, thereby providing new medical therapies.
Washington, DC - August 16, 2016 - A trio of researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center, School of Public Health in Houston, have identified the location of the genes that control production of toxins that harm people infected by Clostridium difficile bacteria. The gene locus, agr1, forms part of a signaling communication system that produces a small molecule that, in turn, tells the rest of the population to turn on their toxin genes.
A fossil that has been in the collection of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History since it was discovered in 1951 is today helping scientists piece together the evolutionary history of whales and dolphins, including the origins of the endangered South Asian river dolphin.
Researchers are on a real-life search for what one calls "the ultimate Pokémon": Zenkerella, an elusive scaly-tailed squirrel that has never been spotted alive by scientists. However, biologists recently found three newly dead specimens that hint at how the "living fossil" has evolved over the past 49 million years.
Philadelphia, August 16, 2016 - Psoriasis in America 2016, a new national survey by Health Union of nearly 600 individuals with psoriasis, reveals that although patients have numerous treatment options, they have difficulty finding treatment plans that work. In addition, respondents reported a heavy emotional toll, with many feeling isolated and stigmatized due to the condition.
People receiving personalised nutrition advice develop healthier eating habits including consuming less red meat and reducing their salt intake, a study has found.
A website has also been shown to be effective at helping people make important changes to their eating patterns.
Publishing in the International Journal of Epidemiology, the pan-European study, led by Newcastle University, UK, surprisingly found there was no evidence that personalisation based on more complex information made any difference to the outcome.
Plants, bacteria and fungi react to light with light-sensitive proteins. Scientists from the University of Gothenburg and their Finnish colleagues from University of Jyväskylä have now determined the inner workings of one of these proteins. The results have been published in the most recent issue of Science Advances.
Annually about 2000 Danish patients with colorectal cancer are treated with chemotherapy. Today, a range of different chemotherapeutic regimens are available. However, deciding which regimen to use is not easy. Unfortunately, it is currently impossible to predict which regimen will be most beneficial for the individual patient and for a large number of patients their cancer cells are actually resistant to the chosen treatment.
Prostate cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's...these three diseases are associated with proteins that share a common feature, namely disordered regions that have no apparent rigid three-dimensional structure. In spite of the potential of these regions as therapeutic targets, it was believed that drugs could not be directed to them. But now scientists at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) have rediscovered their utility as drug targets.