Body | Page 4107 | Science Codex

Polar oceans key to temperature in the tropics

Scientists have found that the ocean temperature at the earth's polar extremes has a significant impact thousands of miles away at the equator.

Newcastle University's Dr Erin McClymont is part of an international team of researchers who have published research in Science today (18 June 2010) demonstrating a close link between the changes in the subpolar climate and the development of the modern tropical Pacific climate around two million years ago.

The team believes this solves another piece of the puzzle concerning oceanic behaviour and its influence on climate.

Orphaned elderly serious casualty of African AIDS epidemic, Stanford study finds

STANFORD, Calif. — The rise in AIDS death rates in sub-Saharan Africa has led to a burgeoning new category of neglected individuals — nearly a million orphaned elderly, or older adults living alone without the benefit of any caregivers, Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have found.

When do newborns first feel cold?

Cold sensing neural circuits in newborn mice take around two weeks to become fully active, according to a new study.

The finding adds to understanding of the cold sensing protein TRPM8 (pronounced trip-em-ate), first identified in a Nature paper in 2002 by David McKemy of the University of Southern California.

McKemy's latest study, published online by Neuroscience, shows that the cold sensing circuit starts to develop in utero but does not mature until well after birth.

Gut-residing bacteria trigger arthritis in genetically susceptible individuals

BOSTON, Mass. (June 17, 2010) – A single species of bacteria that lives in the gut is able to trigger a cascade of immune responses that can ultimately result in the development of arthritis.

Our gut, like that of most mammals, is filled with thousands of species of bacteria, many of which are helpful and aid in the development of a normal, healthy immune system. Gut-residing bacteria can also play a role in disorders of the immune system, especially autoimmune disorders in which the body attacks its own cells.

New research shows malaria threat is as old as humanity

New research published today (17 June) by scientists funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) shows that malaria is tens of thousands of years older than previously thought. An international team, led by researchers at Imperial College London, have found that the potentially deadly tropical disease evolved alongside anatomically modern humans and moved with our ancestors as they migrated out of Africa around 60-80,000 years ago. The research is published in the journal Current Biology.

The 3-dimensional transcription film

Gene expression takes place in two stages: the transcription of DNA to RNA by an enzyme called RNA polymerase, , followed by the translation of this RNA into proteins, whose behaviour affects the characteristics of each individual.

Transcription: a mechanism controlled in time and space

Physicists help biologists understand how to fold

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) –– Physicists at UC Santa Barbara have created a microscopic device to assist biologists in making very fast molecular measurements that aid the understanding of protein folding. This development may help elucidate biological processes associated with diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Since proteins in the body perform different functions according to their shape, the folding process is considered a key area of study.

Dental pulp cells for stem cell banking

Alexandria, Va., USA – Defined sets of factors can reprogram human cells to induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. However, many types of human cells are not easily accessible to minimally invasive procedures. In a paper published in the International and American Associations for Dental Research's Journal of Dental Research, lead researcher K. Tezuka and researchers N. Tamaoki, H. Aoki, T. Takeda-Kawaguchi, K. Iida, T. Kunisada and T. Shibata all from the Gifu University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan; and K. Takahashi, T. Tanaka and S.

Father involvement in pregnancy could reduce infant mortality

Father involvement in pregnancy could reduce infant mortality

Turning up the heat on natural selection - protein study shows bacteria can grow at higher temperatures too

Scientists in Munich report evidence that high concentrations of the molecular "chaperone" proteins GroEL and GroES -- intracellular machines that can stabilize folding proteins under stress -- play a critical role in increasing the maximum temperature at which E. coli bacteria can grow. Massively and permanently elevated levels of the GroE proteins were found in bacteria adapted, step-wise over a period of years, for growth at 48.5 degrees C.

Researchers use science to identify soccer stars

Until now, rating the world's best soccer players was often based on a fan's personal sense of the game. But researchers at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., recently developed a computer program that, for the first time, measures player success based on objective assessments of performance instead of opinion.

From head to toe: Deep insights from whole body MRI

Thanks to technical progress, there are now new areas in which whole body magnetic resonance imaging (WB-MRI) can be used. In the current edition of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2010; 107[22]: 383-9), Gerwin Schmidt and his coauthors present a review of possible uses, together with the limits of this radiation-free diagnostic procedure.

Connection elucidated between obesity, salt sensitivity and high blood pressure

Connection elucidated between obesity, salt sensitivity and high blood pressure

AUGUSTA, Ga. – One way obese people become salt sensitive and hypertensive has been identified by Medical College of Georgia researchers.

Smoking cigarettes is a predictor of RA and may negatively impact on efficacy of anti-TNFs

Rome, Italy, Thursday 17 June 2010: Smoking cigarettes is a significant risk factor for developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and may have a negative impact on the effectiveness of anti-tumour necrosis factor (anti-TNF) inhibitors in RA patients taking these treatments, according to results of two studies presented today at EULAR 2010, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism in Rome, Italy. A further study has shown that smoking interferes with the expression of several genes which, when over-expressed can contribute to processes which exacerbate disease activity.

NT-proBNP is a predictor of CV risk in arthritis patients taking NSAIDs

Rome, Italy, Thursday 17 June 2010: The role of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP, a protein thought to be a regulator of cardiovascular function) as a robust, non-invasive predictor of cardiovascular (CV) risk in patients with arthritis taking cyclooxygenase inhibitors has been reinforced by the results of a multinational study presented today at EULAR 2010, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism in Rome, Italy.