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Fractional dose of scarce meningitis vaccine may be effective in outbreak control

One fifth of the standard dose of a commonly used meningitis vaccine may be as effective as using the full dose. This new finding should allow scarce vaccine resources to be stretched further, especially during epidemics in Africa.

In a study initiated by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, together with Epicentre (the research arm of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières), and Mbarara University of Science and Technology in Uganda, immune responses in patients receiving smaller doses of a meningitis vaccine were found to be comparable to a full dose.

Secondhand smoke raises odds of fertility problems in women

If you need another reason to quit smoking, consider that it may diminish your chances of being a parent or grandparent. Scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center have found that women exposed to second hand smoke, either as adults or children, were significantly more likely to face fertility problems and suffer miscarriages.

Double threat: Deadly lung disease also linked to heart attacks

Patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) are three times as likely to experience severe coronary events—including heart attacks—than people without the disease, according to a recent study that analyzed the risk of cardiovascular disease in nearly 1,000 patients with IPF and more than 3,500 matched controls.

Intervention in infants with cystic fibrosis key to slowing progression

Early detection of lung disease in cystic fibrosis (CF), combined with aggressive treatment in infants, may be the key to controlling the progression of the disease, according to a recent study. New research shows that contrary to previous scientific opinion, progressive lung damage in CF patients can begin as early as infancy even though lung function shortly after diagnosis is normal.

Genetic ancestry of African-Americans reveals new insights about gene expression

The amount of proteins produced in cells—a fundamental determinant of biological outcomes collectively known as gene expression—varies in African American individuals depending on their proportion of African or European genetic ancestry. These findings, by researchers based in Boston, Philadelphia and Oxford, are published December 5 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics.

Metabolic reactions: Less is more in single-celled organisms

All single-celled organisms are not alike. Or are they?

A Northwestern University study has found a surprising similarity among four quite different organisms. The simplest organism, a bacterium called H. pylori, uses the same number of biochemical reactions (around 300) as yeast, the largest, most complex organism of the group, when optimizing growth.

Spreading the joy around

A laugh can be infectious. You don't need a sophisticated study to tell you that. But does this happy contagion vanish as quickly as a smile?

New research from James Fowler of UC San Diego and Nicholas Christakis of Harvard Medical School shows that happiness spreads far and wide through a social network – traveling not just the well-known path from one person to another but even to people up to three degrees removed.

Depression rife among medical students

Medical students frequently suffer from depression, especially during their internship years. New research published in the open access journal BMC Medical Education reveals the extent of the problem and features a detailed analysis of the symptoms and sufferers.

A new approach improves prioritization of disease-associated SNPs

The more often a gene is differentially expressed, the more likely it is to contain disease-associated DNA variants. Research published today in BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Biology shows how a list of SNPs in genes that are repeatedly implicated across many publicly-available gene expression microarray experiments (so-called, 'fitSNPs'), based on differential expression rates, can be used to successfully prioritize candidate genes for further research.

Gene packaging tells story of cancer development

To decipher how cancer develops, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center investigators say researchers must take a closer look at the packaging.

Specifically, their findings in the December 2, 2008, issue of PLoS Biology point to the three dimensional chromatin packaging around genes formed by tight, rosette-like loops of Polycomb group proteins (PcG). The chromatin packaging, a complex combination of DNA and proteins that compress DNA to fit inside cells, provides a repressive hub that keeps genes in a low expression state.

Researchers solve piece of large-scale gene silencing mystery

A team led by Craig Pikaard, Ph.D., WUSTL professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, has made a breakthrough in understanding the phenomenon of nucleolar dominance, the silencing of an entire parental set of ribosomal RNA genes in a hybrid plant or animal.

Since the machinery involved in nucleolar dominance is some of the same machinery that can go haywire in diseases such as cancer, Pikaard and his collaborators' research may have important implications for applied medical research.

Few Ontario women with invasive ovarian cancer referred for genetic testing of breast cancer genes

(TORONTO: December 4, 2008) - An Ontario study of 491 women with invasive ovarian cancer found only a small proportion, 19%, were referred for genetic testing of BRCA1 and BRCA2, the breast cancer genes, which means family members are not informed of their cancer risk.

Dr. Kelly Metcalfe, an associate professor at the University of Toronto's Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, and an adjunct scientist at Women's College Research Institute, led the nursing study, which was published online yesterday in the journal, Gynecologic Oncology.

Mix of taiji, cognitive therapy and support groups benefits those with dementia

Those diagnosed with early stage dementia can slow their physical, mental and psychological decline by taking part in therapeutic programs that combine counseling, support groups, Taiji and qigong, researchers report. Some of the benefits of this approach are comparable to those achieved with anti-dementia medications.

The findings are detailed in the American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias.

'Zinc zipper' plays key role in hospital-acquired infections

CINCINNATI—Hospital-acquired infections that are resistant to traditional antibiotic treatment have become increasingly common in recent years, confounding health care professionals and killing thousands of Americans.

Now, in studies that could lead to new ways to prevent this growing public health danger, a team of University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers is exploring a "zinc zipper" that holds bacterial cells together and plays a key role in such infections.

UCLA expert blames American values for health-care crisis

To heal our ailing health care system, we need to stop thinking like Americans. That's the message of two articles by UCLA's Dr. Marc Nuwer, a leading expert on national health care reform, published this week in Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology.