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Athens, Ga. – A University of Georgia researcher studying invasive ladybugs has developed new models that help explain how these insects have spread so quickly and their potential impacts on native species.

A technique developed by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists for tracking pathogens has helped confirm that Escherichia coli is not likely to contaminate the internal vascular structure of field-grown leafy greens and thus increase the incidence of foodborne illness.

New York – April 1, 2011 - There's more good news about pure maple syrup from the University of Rhode Island (URI). Researchers there have now identified 54 compounds in maple syrup from Canada, double the amount previously reported, and many with antioxidant activity and potential health benefits. In laboratory studies, they acted as anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory agents. Initial studies also suggest that maple compounds may inhibit enzymes relevant in Type 2 diabetes management.

This study establishes a unique system to perform in vivo RNAi screens for genetically dissecting the cellular signalling networks that regulate hepatocyte proliferation during chronic liver damage.1

Functional in vivo validation studies show that stable knockdown of the candidate gene by different shRNAs can significantly increase the repopulation efficiency of mouse hepatocytes and also increase the regenerative capacity of chronically damaged mouse livers.

Study shows, for the first time, the successful reprogramming of diseased human hepatocytes into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC).1

Results also found differentiation into mature hepatocytes was more efficient than that with fibroblast-derived iPSCs.

The generation of diseased hepatocyte-derived human iPSC lines provides a good basis for the study of liver disease pathogenesis.

Berlin, Germany, 01 April 2011: Findings from two new studies presented today at the International Liver CongressTM confirm that there are options for clinicians to expand the pool of liver grafts for use in patients with liver disease.

DARIEN, Ill. – A study in the April 1 issue of the journal SLEEP demonstrates that an Internet-based intervention was effective at reducing infant and toddler sleep disturbances, as well as providing positive, indirect benefits for maternal sleep, mood and confidence. The study suggests that the Internet can give parents widespread access to individualized, behaviorally based advice for sleep problems in young children.

DARIEN, IL – A study in the April 1 issue of the journal SLEEP suggests that the risk of death is more than two times higher in older adults who have sleep apnea and report struggling with excessive daytime sleepiness.

PHILADELPHIA — Researchers have found that it may not be necessary to look for tumors directly in patients with prostate cancer — analyzing non-tumor tissue may be an effective option, according to study results published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Biological invasions get less prime-time coverage than natural disasters, but may be more economically damaging and warrant corresponding investments in preparedness and response planning, according to three biologists writing in the April issue of BioScience.

Eating a fatty fast food meal is never good for you, but washing that meal down with a coffee is even worse, according to a new University of Guelph study.

Researcher Marie-Soleil Beaudoin has discovered not only that a healthy person's blood sugar levels spike after eating a high-fat meal, but that the spike doubles after having both a fatty meal and caffeinated coffee – jumping to levels similar to those of people at risk for diabetes.

The new TNM 7 lung cancer staging system seems to be a better predictor of local or regional recurrence of lung cancer following surgery, according to a study published in the April issue of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology.

Being able to better define which patients might experience a cancer recurrence is important, especially given the controversies surrounding the use of adjuvant therapies, particularly postoperative radiation therapy (RT), for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

A component in soybeans increases radiation's ability to kill lung cancer cells, according to a study published in the April issue of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, the official monthly journal of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer.

Two species of gorillas live in central equatorial Africa. Divergence between the Western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) and Eastern Gorillas (G. beringei) began between 0.9 and 1.6 million years ago and now the two species live several hundred kilometres apart. New research published by BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology shows that the divergence of Western lowland gorillas and the Critically Endangered Cross River gorillas (G. g. diehli) occurred more recently, about 17,800 years ago, during the Pleistocene era.

Research being presented today (01 April) at the UK National Stem Cell Network annual science conference provides another piece in the puzzle of why it can be so hard to produce large numbers of the same type of cell in the lab – a process that is vital for scaling up stem cell production for therapeutic use. This knowledge will help researchers to develop strategies for obtaining the desired cell type for use in either research or medicine.