The persistence and recurrence of H5N1 avian influenza in endemic regions can largely be blamed on movement and infection by migratory birds. Trade in poultry, poultry products and caged birds, and movement of wild birds also account for H5N1 prevalence in these areas. Several recent outbreaks of avian influenza have suggested strong evidence of migratory birds playing a role in transmitting the virus over long distances.
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NEW YORK (April 5, 2011) -- Thanks to the zebrafish, there is new hope for people with melanoma, an aggressive skin cancer that is responsible for approximately 8,700 deaths each year in the United States.
In a study that was published in the March 24th issue of the journal Nature, and featured on the cover, researchers identified SETDB1 as a new gene that promotes the growth of melanoma and may play a role in up to 70 percent of malignant melanomas.
A device designed to treat people with resistant hypertension helped lower blood pressure by 33 points, a substantial drop that would otherwise require patients to take an additional three or four drugs, on top of this subgroup's usual regimen of up to five drugs, to control their difficult-to-treat condition.
MADISON, WI MARCH 31, 2011 – Recycling manure is an important practice, especially for large livestock producers. Manure can be used as fertilizer to aid in crop production, aiding livestock producers that grow their own feed crops. While manure does provide a rich nutrient source for crops, it also can contribute to nutrient leaching and runoff. This can contaminate the surrounding ecosystem and lead to eutrophication of waterways.
Orlando, Fla. -- Most women are infected with human papillomavirus (HPV), which can cause cervical cancer - yet few develop the cancer. Now researchers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, a part of Georgetown University Medical Center, believe they have found the missing link explaining why: activation of the beta-catenin oncogene.
ORLANDO, FL (April 5, 2011) – A nutrient found in carrots and sweet potatoes may prove key to fighting breast cancer at early stages, according to a new study by researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center. Sandra Fernandez, PhD, an assistant research professor at Fox Chase, will present the findings at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011 on Tuesday, April 5.
ORLANDO -- Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine may have found a way to turn an adaptive cellular response into a liability for cancer cells. When normal cells are starved for food, they chew up existing proteins and membranes to stay alive. Cancer cells have corrupted that process, called autophagy, using it to survive when they run out of nutrients and to evade death after damage from chemotherapy and other sources.
Researchers have identified a molecular switch that appears to be a common feature in the development of fatty liver disease. The discovery made in mice is consistent with data from human patients, suggesting that it may provide an underlying explanation for the development of fatty liver in people with obesity and metabolic syndrome.
The culprit is the reduced concentration of a little-known transcriptional co-factor known as transducin beta-like (TBL) 1, according to the report in the April issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication.
ORLANDO, Fla., April 5, 2011 – Not all cholesterol is bad. Every cell requires it for growth – they either have to get cholesterol somewhere or they die. In a new study published April 6 in the journal Cell Metabolism, researchers from Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) and their collaborators found that a protein sensor known to balance cholesterol sources can also access a previously underappreciated cellular fat storage depot.
Faced with the prospect of costly in vitro fertilization (IVF) but with no help from insurance coverage, some infertile couples feel pressure to transfer multiple embryos in an attempt to ensure that the IVF is a success. This can lead to higher rates of twin and triplet births and prematurity. But having insurance coverage could curtail the costs associated with these multiple births, according to a new study by researchers at Yale School of Medicine.
For the first time, researchers have found five regions in the human genome that increase susceptibility to immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy, a major cause of kidney failure worldwide — systematically identifying those that point to a tendency for IgA nephropathy, or a protection against it.
Making DNA sequences being passed through nanochannels a thousand times thinner than a human hair to the point that they take on the form of diminutive spaghetti. This is an innovative technique, known as DNA stretching, and is one of the lines of research in which CIC microGUNE is working, and about which they have already published two scientific articles and are shortly to apply for a patent. The technique basically consists of the analysis of a single molecule of DNA, after stretching it, measuring its length and analysing its sequence.
Bremerhaven/Vienna, 05.04.2011. Over the past few days ozone-depleted air masses extended from the north pole to southern Scandinavia leading to higher than normal levels of ultraviolet (UV) radiation during sunny days in southern Finland. These air masses will move east over the next few days, covering parts of Russia and perhaps extend as far south as the Chinese/Russian border. Such excursions of ozone-depleted air may also occur over Central Europe and could reach as far south as the Mediterranean.
Research published in the Cancer Cell journal in March was a significant step in knowing the causes of cancer better, especially breast cancer, revealing that the lack or loss of a protein in the cells known as SIRT3, induces the proliferation of this disease and thereby, this protein can be an may be a therapeutic target in the development of effective therapies for cancer. The research was led by Dra. Marcia Haigis of the Harvard Medical School, with the participation of Dr. Arkaitz Carracedo, from the Proteomics Laboratory at CIC bioGUNE.