A genome-wide study by researchers at the RIKEN Center for Genomic Medicine, Hiroshima University Hospital and Sapporo-Kosei General Hospital has identified a genetic variant associated with the development of liver cancer in chronic hepatitis C virus carriers. The findings are based on a study of 3,312 Japanese individuals and appear in the journal Nature Genetics.
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Scientists from Queen Mary, University of London have discovered a new way of detecting zinc in zebra fish, that could pave the way for furthering our understanding of diseases like type 2 diabetes, prostate cancer and Alzheimer's.
The results will be announced today (3 July) at the Sixth International Symposium on Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry, in Brighton.
Young house spiders weave webs with perfect angles and regular patterns, but as they reach old age their webs deteriorate, showing gaping holes and erratic weaving.
By using spiders as a simple model this research may provide insight into how age affects behaviour in other organisms, including humans.
Poor maternal diet before conception can result in offspring with reduced birth weights and increased risk of developing type II diabetes and obesity.
This work, which is being presented at the Society for Experimental Biology Annual Conference in Glasgow on Saturday the 2nd of July, used an animal model to illustrate the importance of maternal diet even before pregnancy begins.
The question of why there are so many species in the sea and how new species form remains a central question in marine biology. Below the waterline, about 30% of Hawai'i's marine species are endemic – being found only in Hawai'i and nowhere else on Earth – one of the highest rates of endemism found worldwide. But where did this diversity of species come from? Hawai'i is famous for its adaptive radiations (the formation of many species with specialized lifestyles from a single colonist) above the water line.
Introducing increasing amounts of foods that contain baked milk into the diets of children who have milk allergies helped a majority of them outgrow their allergies, according to a study conducted at Mount Sinai School of Medicine's Jaffe Food Allergy Institute. The data are reported in the May 23 issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
RALEIGH, NC—Each year, a wide variety of new cut flower cultivars and species are evaluated in trials administered by North Carolina State University and the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers. The research, conducted at about 50 locations in the United States and Canada, provides valuable production and marketing information.
QUEBEC—A new, versatile strawberry has been introduced for home gardeners. 'Roseberry' is predicted to be very popular as an ornamental addition to gardens. The strawberry features attractive pink blooms and produces sweet, aromatic fruit all summer long. Because it produces flowers and fruits on stolons before they root, 'Roseberry' works equally well in hanging baskets and when planted as groundcover. 'Roseberry' premiered in HortScience.
CHASE, LA—Sweetpotato is gaining popularity in the United States, where health-conscious consumers have created increased demand for the tasty, versatile food. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, per capita consumption of the crop increased over 24% from 1998-2008 and the value of the U.S. sweetpotato crop in 2009 exceeded $400 million.
STANFORD, Calif. — Stanford University School of Medicine investigators have linked a master molecule of the immune system, gamma-interferon, to the pathology of asthma, in a study of mice. This somewhat surprising finding — the key immune molecule has often been assumed to steer the immune system in a different direction from the cluster of allergic disorders to which asthma belongs — could lead to new treatments for the disease.
KINGSTON, R.I. – July 1, 2011 – Tiny marine organisms called zooplankton can use specialized adaptations that allow them to hide from predators in areas of the ocean where oxygen levels are so low that almost nothing can survive, but they may run into trouble as these areas expand due to climate change.
DETROIT – Wayne State University researchers believe medical practitioners can help reduce the number of breast cancer deaths among low-income African-American women by more effectively educating their patients about the importance of mammography screening.
- Patients with a form of pulmonary fibrosis often do not get referred to a tertiary care center quickly.
- Delayed access is associated with a higher death rate.
- Better methods of early detection would shorten time from first symptoms to referral.
DALLAS – July 1, 2011 – Surgery and all its implications can be scary, especially so for pediatric patients and their parents who dread sometimes disfiguring scars.
Now a UT Southwestern Medical Center urologist has developed a new "hidden" minimally invasive procedure that makes scarring virtually invisible yet is just as effective as more common surgical methods.