COLD SPRING HARBOR, N.Y. (Fri., Oct. 1, 2010) -- Post-translational modifications of histones play an important role in regulating chromatin dynamics and function. One such modification, methylation, is involved in the regulation of the epigenetic program of a cell, determining chromatin structure, and regulating transcription. Methylation of histones occurs on both lysine and arginine residues, and until recently, was thought to be an irreversible process. The recent discovery of histone demethylases revealed that histone methylation is more dynamic than previously recognized.
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With the worrying rise of antibiotic-resistant superbugs like MRSA, scientists from a wide range of disciplines are teaming up to identify alternative therapies to keep them at bay.
One long-considered solution is the use of lytic enzymes which attack bacteria by piercing their cell walls. Lytic enzymes are proteins that are naturally present in viruses, bacteria and in body fluids such as tears, saliva and mucus. However, until now, largely ad-hoc methods have been used to calculate the enzymes' killing abilities.
After a decade of joint work and scientific adventure, marine explorers from more than 80 countries today delivered a historic first global Census of Marine Life.
Food allergies are more common among people with asthma and may contribute to asthma attacks, according to one of the most comprehensive surveys of food allergies ever undertaken. National Jewish Health Associate Professor of Pediatrics Andrew H. Liu and his colleagues also report in the November 2010 Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology that food allergies are more prevalent among children, males and non-Hispanic blacks.
A new study estimates that 2.5 percent of the United States population, or about 7.6 million Americans, have food allergies. Food allergy rates were found to be higher for children, non-Hispanic blacks, and males, according to the researchers. The odds of male black children having food allergies were 4.4 times higher than others in the general population.
LA JOLLA, CA-Like cats, human cells have a finite number of lives-once they divide a certain number of times (thankfully, more than nine) they change shape, slow their pace, and eventually stop dividing, a phenomenon called "cellular senescence".
STANFORD, Calif. — Two-thirds of all human embryos fail to develop successfully. Now, in a new study, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have shown that they can predict with 93 percent certainty which fertilized eggs will make it to a critical developmental milestone and which will stall and die. The findings are important to the understanding of the fundamentals of human development at the earliest stages, which have largely remained a mystery despite the attention given to human embryonic stem cell research.
PORTLAND, Ore. - - Researchers at Oregon Health &Science University may have uncovered a new weapon for combating HIV as it is passed from mother to newborn child. The research, which was led by researchers at OHSU's Oregon National Primate Research Center, will be published in the October 3rd online edition of the journal Nature Medicine.
"Mother-to-infant transmission of HIV is a tremendous worldwide problem, especially in several African nations," said Nancy Haigwood, Ph.D., researcher and director of the Oregon National Primate Research Center at OHSU.
One of the major challenges in stem cell transplants is how to obtain sufficient numbers of these remarkably rare cells to put into patients. To help overcome this issue, research from the Centenary Institute, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and the University of Sydney has found a way to increase the number of blood-forming stem cells when growing them outside of the body.
MIAMI — Puerto Rican women who had breast cancer that lacked estrogen and progesterone receptors and did not overexpress the HER2neu protein (triple-negative) had worse survival than those with other types of invasive breast cancer, according to a study presented at the Third AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, held Sept. 30 – Oct. 3, 2010.
MIAMI — Race itself was not a prognostic factor of overall survival among black patients with lung cancer, according to data from a retrospective study presented at the Third AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities.
MIAMI — Cancer disparities persist across racial, ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic lines. Several factors contribute to the disparity in health care, including differences in culture, education and financial resources. Other factors include language barriers, limited access to health care and lack of health literacy.
MIAMI — DNA repair capacity (DRC) measurements effectively identified individuals who were at high risk for non-melanoma skin cancer, and may be a useful method to evaluate the efficacy of preventive therapies, according to study results presented at the Third AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities.
MIAMI — Awareness of genetic testing was higher among adults in Puerto Rico compared to previous U.S. population-based studies, while use of genetic testing was lower, according to data presented at the Third AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities, held Sept. 30 to Oct 3, 2010.