Fifty years after participating in studies of pentosuria, an inherited disorder once mistaken for diabetes, 15 families again welcomed medical geneticists into their lives. Their willingness to have their DNA analyzed with advanced genomics technologies has solved a mystery more than a hundred years old.
Researchers from the University of Washington, Israel, and Switzerland reported the solution in the Oct. 31 Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
A vampire-like bacteria that leeches onto specific other bacteria – including certain human pathogens – has the potential to serve as a living antibiotic for a range of infectious diseases, a new study indicates.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- In 2008, physicians at Mayo Clinic Florida led by Herbert Wolfsen, M.D., were looking for new ways to keep in touch with the large group of esophageal cancer patients cared for by him and other gastroenterologists and surgeons.
During human evolution our ancestors mated with Neanderthals, but also with other related hominids. In this week's online edition of PNAS, researchers from Uppsala University are publishing findings showing that people in East Asia share genetic material with Denisovans, who got the name from the cave in Siberia where they were first found.
FINDINGS: Whitehead Institute scientists report that patients whose estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancers have high levels of an ancient cellular survival factor experience poor outcomes -- including increased mortality. The researchers also found that invasive ER-positive tumors with elevated levels of this factor, the protein known as heat shock factor 1 (HSF1), tend to be larger and more aggressive than those with low levels.
RICHMOND, Va. -- Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine researchers have discovered that the infiltration of white blood cells into an expectant mother's blood vessels may explain high blood pressure in pregnancy.
The findings could lead to novel avenues of treatment for pregnant women with preeclampsia based on regulation of white blood cells called neutrophilis, their products or their cellular effects.
By consuming fewer calories, ageing can be slowed down and the development of age-related diseases such as cancer and type 2 diabetes can be delayed. The earlier calorie intake is reduced, the greater the effect. Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have now identified one of the enzymes that hold the key to the ageing process.
DURHAM, N.C. -- More than half of eastern U.S. tree species examined in a massive new Duke University-led study aren't adapting to climate change as quickly or consistently as predicted.
"Many models have suggested that trees will migrate rapidly to higher latitudes and elevations in response to warming temperatures, but evidence for a consistent, climate-driven northward migration is essentially absent in this large analysis," says James S. Clark, H.L. Blomquist Professor of Environment at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment.
Alexandria, Va., USA - In a study titled "MicroRNA Modulation in Obesity and Periodontitis," lead author Romina Perri, University of North Carolina School of Dentistry, Oral Health Institute, conducted a pilot investigation to determine whether obesity or periodontal disease modified microRNA expression and whether there was any potential interaction between obesity and periodontitis that could involve microRNA modulation.
The convenience of Election Day voting centers can increase voter turnout, according to a new paper by political scientists Robert Stein of Rice University and Greg Vonnahme of the University of Alabama.
"Voting at Non-Precinct Polling Places: A Review and Research Agenda" appears in the latest issue of the Election Law Journal. The paper is an analysis of existing research on voter identification and nonprecinct voting, two subjects that have generated considerable debate in the media and between political parties.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 31—From detecting pathogens in blood samples to the study of protein synthesis, Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) sensors have many uses in modern biology. In this technique, antibodies anchored to gold electrodes on a piece of quartz crystal act like the "hooks" on the sticky side of a Velcro strap, grabbing molecules of interest as they pass by. The more molecule-sensing antibodies on the surface of the sensor, the more sensitive the QCM device's detection capabilities.
TAMPA, Fla. (Oct. 31, 2011) – Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a serious risk in many kinds of cell transplants, including for stem cell transplants carried out when stem cells are partially depleted of conventional T cells, which play an important role in the immune system. Now, researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center have tested a process by which T regulatory cells (Tregs) can be "expanded" to help prevent GVHD.
A computer-based tool could help GPs to speed up the diagnosis and treatment of patients suffering from two of the most common forms of cancer, potentially saving thousands of lives every year.
Researchers at The University of Nottingham and ClinRisk Ltd have shown that the algorithm is successful in identifying those suffering with gastro-oesophageal cancer and lung cancer at an earlier stage by 'red-flagging' potentially worrying combinations of symptoms and risk factors.
An international collaboration of scientists, including researchers at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), a part of the National Institutes of Health, has identified a genetic mutation that causes a rare childhood disease characterized predominantly by inflammation and fat loss. The research suggests that the disorder, named chronic atypical neutrophilic dermatosis with lipodystrophy and elevated temperature (CANDLE), actually represents a spectrum of diseases that have been described in the literature under a variety of names.