Body

Ultraviolet radiation not culprit killing amphibians, research shows

In nature, ultraviolet radiation from sunlight is not the amphibian killer scientists once suspected.

Researchers from the p53 Laboratory of Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), have made a finding that makes feasible a unique method of cancer treatment. Their work, published online in the leading journal Cell Death and Differentiation today , offers new insight on how to tap on the properties of p53, the 'guardian of the genome' , to more effectively kill cancer cells while sparing normal cells.

Haifa, Israel – Current research suggests that T helper-type 1 (Th1) cells, previously thought to mediate autoimmunity, may actual inhibit the development of experimental immune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS), by suppressing Th17 cells. The related report by Wildbaum et al, "Antigen-specific CD25-Foxp3-IFN-γ high CD4+ T cells restrain the development of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis by suppressing Th17 cells," appears in the June 2010 issue of The American Journal of Pathology.

African-Americans and women are less likely than Caucasians and men to undergo bone marrow transplantation to treat cancers of the blood. That is the conclusion of a new analysis published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. The study's results indicate that additional research is needed to determine why disparities exist in access to bone marrow transplantation and also that the medical community should work to eliminate these inequities.

Athens, Ga. – Scientists some years back found ways to automate the production of DNA and proteins, making studies of these essential components of life far easier. With complex carbohydrates, it's been a different story.

PITTSBURGH, May 23 – Young women of reproductive-age are among those at greatest risk of acquiring HIV, and several studies have suggested that during pregnancy women are even more susceptible to infection. Now, a new study finds that pregnancy is a time when men also are at greater risk. In fact, their risk doubles if their partner is both HIV-infected and pregnant.

PITTSBURGH, May 23 – Researchers testing a vaginal microbicide based on a new type of anti-HIV drug found it provided monkeys significant protection against infection with a virus similar to HIV, according to a study reported at the International Microbicides Conference in Pittsburgh today.

Experts from The Cancer Institute at NYU Langone Medical Center will present new research findings at the 46th Annual Meeting of The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago, Illinois. The conference will run from June 4-8, 2010 and scientists from the NYU Cancer Institute will be available to discuss various topics including improved ways to diagnose melanoma in lymphatic vessels, genetic differences in melanoma subtypes and post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders that are a potential serious complication after organ or bone marrow transplant.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- About 30 percent of Americans believe they have food allergies. However, the actual number is far smaller, closer to 5 percent, according to a recent study commissioned by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). That's due in large part to the unreliability of the skin test that doctors commonly use to test for food allergies.

Baltimore, May 21, 2010 – For the first time ever, the World Health Assembly passed a resolution today focused on the prevention and treatment of pneumonia, the world's leading killer of children. This resolution, approved by a consensus, reflects the growing momentum to fight this treatable and preventable cause of suffering and illness.

Every single one of our cells contains so-called motor proteins that transport important substances from one location to another. However, very little is known about how exactly these transport processes occur. Biophysicists at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) and Ludwig Maximilians Universitaet Muenchen (LMU) have now succeeded in explaining fundamental functions of a particularly interesting motor protein. They report their findings in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA).

COTONOU, BENIN (21 May 2010)—As part of a redoubled effort to stave off future food crises by bringing Africa's rice production in line with its rapidly growing consumption, scientists have announced a paradigm shift in rice research for the region, which will give elite status to genetically diverse indigenous varieties. Long considered a poor cousin of the Asian rice grown around the world, African rice will be the focus of a major scientific initiative to break the yield ceiling in farmers' fields.

At the University of Oklahoma, researchers captured unprecedented high-resolution radar data during the May 10, 2010, tornadoes using one of the most advanced weather radars in the world.

"This unique polarimetric data set is likely to reveal new discoveries about tornado genesis and severe storms for years to come," said the Director of OU's Atmospheric Radar Research Center, Robert D. Palmer.

Palmer's team is currently processing the data using advanced techniques developed at OU and preparing it for distribution.