Body | Page 3817 | Science Codex

Ben-Gurion U. research leads to improved calcium supplement derived from crustacean shells

BEER-SHEVA, ISRAEL, February, 18 2011– Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers have developed a unique technology that stabilizes an otherwise unstable form of calcium carbonate. This mineral form provides significantly higher biological absorption and retention rates than other sources presently used as dietary calcium supplements.

Calcium is considered to be one of the most important minerals in the human body for maintaining bone mass and coronary health. Insufficient dietary calcium intake can induce osteoporosis and poor blood-clotting.

Universal flu vaccine study yields success in mice

Adelaide researchers have taken a step closer to the development of a universal flu vaccine, with results of a recent study showing that a vaccine delivered by a simple nasal spray could provide protection against influenza.

Biodiversity in danger: Which areas should be protected?

Biodiversity loss is a growing concern. Protected areas are a instrument to counteract this trend. The UN's Convention on Biological Diversity conference of the parties in Nagoya (October 2010) set stringent new targets to be reached by 2020. At least 17% of terrestrial and inland water and 10% of coastal and marine areas have to be protected. But are protected areas really protected? Are they in the right place? Where should new protected areas be located?

Competing risks analysis highlights new targets in preventing ESRD and death of diabetics

Patients with both type 1 diabetes and CKD have an increased risk of adverse outcomes. Despite aggressive treatment, many patients with type 1 diabetes and overt nephropathy develop End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) and/or succumb to a premature death. The competing risks of death and ESRD may confound the estimates of risk for each outcome.

Research predicts future evolution of flu viruses

New research from the University of Pennsylvania is beginning to crack the code of which strain of flu will be prevalent in a given year, with major implications for global public health preparedness. The findings will be published on February 17 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics.

Reverse genetics allow scientists to slow the spread of the Rubella virus

Scientists have identified the gene that allows the Rubella virus to block cell death and reverse engineered a mutant gene that slows the virus's spread. Tom Hobman and a team of researchers at the University of Alberta's Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry believed that RNA viruses were able to spread by blocking the pathways in cells that lead to cell suicide, and isolated the responsible gene in Rubella, also known as German measles. They then created a mutant version of this gene that made the virus spread more slowly. These results are reported in PLoS Pathogens.

Identification of glaucoma gene brightens view for future therapies

Glaucoma – a leading cause of vision loss and blindness worldwide – runs in families. A team of investigators from Vanderbilt University and the University of Florida has identified a new candidate gene for the most common form of the eye disorder, primary open angle glaucoma (POAG).

The findings, reported Feb. 17 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics, offer novel insights into glaucoma pathology and could lead to targeted treatment strategies.

To increase physical activity, focus on how, not why

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Most people know that exercise is important to maintain and improve health; however, sedentary lifestyles and obesity rates are at all-time highs and have become major national issues. In a new study, University of Missouri researchers found that healthy adults who received interventions focused on behavior-changing strategies significantly increased their physical activity levels. Conversely, interventions based on cognitive approaches, which try to change knowledge and attitudes, did not improve physical activity.

ASTRO publishes palliative radiotherapy for bone metastases guideline

The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Clinical Affairs and Quality Committee has developed a guideline for the use of radiation therapy in treating bone metastases. The guideline will be published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology•Biology•Physics, an official journal of ASTRO.

Asthma tied to bacterial communities in the airway

Asthma may have a surprising relationship with the composition of the species of bacteria that inhabit bronchial airways, a finding that could suggest new treatment or even potential cures for the common inflammatory disease, according to a new UCSF-led study.

The NIST role in role-based control: A 20th anniversary appraisal

What NIST-led innovation is estimated to have saved U.S. industry $6.1 billion over the past 20 years? Well, probably several, but, perhaps surprisingly, a new economics study* points to the development of "role-based access control," a computer-security technology fostered and championed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the 1990s.

Post-hype, genomics research needs a realistic view

When it was time to get funding, the promise of the human genome project knew no bounds, curing cancer and anything else that would help. And in the ten years since the human genetic code was mapped, expectations among scientists, health care industry, policy makers and the public have remained high concerning the promise of genomics research for improving health.

Bears uncouple temperature and metabolism for hibernation, new study shows

Several American black bears, captured by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game after wandering a bit too close to human communities, have given researchers the opportunity to study hibernation in these large mammals like never before. Surprisingly, the new findings show that although black bears only reduce their body temperatures slightly during hibernation, their metabolic activity drops dramatically, slowing to about 25 percent of their normal, active rates.

Put major government policy options through a science test first, biodiversity experts urge

Scientific advice on the consequences of specific policy options confronting government decision makers is key to managing global biodiversity change.

That's the view of leading scientists anxiously anticipating the first meeting of a new Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)-like mechanism for biodiversity at which its workings and work program will be defined.

Subtle shifts, not major sweeps, drove human evolution

The most popular model used by geneticists for the last 35 years to detect the footprints of human evolution may overlook more common subtle changes, a new international study finds.

Classic selective sweeps, when a beneficial genetic mutation quickly spreads through the human population, are thought to have been the primary driver of human evolution. But a new computational analysis, published in the February 18, 2011 issue of Science, reveals that such events may have been rare, with little influence on the history of our species.