Body

Individuals whose diet includes more salad dressing, nuts, fish, poultry and certain fruits and vegetables and fewer high-fat dairy products, red meats, organ meats and butter appear less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the June print issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Consuming carbohydrates with high glycemic index—an indicator of how quickly a food affects blood glucose levels—appears to be associated with the risk of coronary heart disease in women but not men, according to a report in the April 12 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Older patients may be more likely to die in the hospital following the implantation of defibrillators or pacemakers, according to a report in the April 12 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. More than one-fifth of cardiac devices appear to be implanted in individuals age 80 and older, despite the fact that most clinical trials have not included adults in this age group.

Childhood glaucoma may most commonly be caused by trauma, surgery or other acquired or secondary cause, according to a report in the April issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. In one Minnesota county, the condition occurred in approximately one per 43,575 residents age 20 and younger.

Neither the age of the donor nor the length of time or method by which a transplanted cornea is preserved appear to be associated with graft failure 20 years after corneal transplant, according to a report in the April issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. However, the diagnosis of the recipient does appear to be associated with this type of transplant failure.

Certain children with the visual condition known as retinopathy of prematurity appear to see better at age 6 if they received treatment early, whereas others benefit more from observation than early treatment, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the June print issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

To look at the tobacco budworm moth and its close cousin, you wouldn't be able to tell the fuzzy-looking, fingertip-size moths apart. But put males of each species as far as six car-lengths away from females, and even in the darkness of midnight they easily find their way to mates from their own species while ignoring females from the other species. Today, the genes that keep the species sexually isolated are no longer a mystery, thanks to research from North Carolina State University and the University of Utah.

A large genetic study of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) has identified three new genes associated with this blinding eye disease—two involved in the cholesterol pathway. Results of this large-scale collaborative study, supported by the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, were published online April 12 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Working in a rare, "natural seafloor laboratory" of hydrothermal vents that had just been rocked by a volcanic eruption, scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and other institutions have discovered what they believe is an undersea superhighway carrying tiny life forms unprecedented distances to inhabit the post-eruption site.

LA JOLLA, CA—With few exceptions, all known forms of life on our planet rely on the same genetic code to specify the amino acid composition of proteins. Although different hypotheses abound, just how individual amino acids were assigned to specific three-letter combinations or codons during the evolution of the genetic code is still subject to speculation.

Montreal, April 12, 2010 – An international study led by Université de Montréal scientists suggests that gene mutations may predispose some individuals to schizophrenia and provides new clues about the causes of this ambiguous disorder. Published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the findings demonstrate that new mutations in the SHANK3 gene are found in schizophrenic patients.

Chapel Hill, NC - Important advances in the fight against cancer have come as researchers proved that viruses and cancers interact in ways that were previously unknown to scientists.

A new study led by UNC scientists shows that a common cancer drug can activate a viral infection that, paradoxically, can help anti-viral medications eradicate virus-associated cancer.

URBANA – According to a University of Illinois study, omega-3 fatty acids may be good for more than heart health. A little-known omega-3 may have implications for treating male infertility.

"In our experiment, we used 'knockout' mice that lacked the gene responsible for an enzyme important in making docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). In the absence of DHA, male mice are basically infertile, producing few if any misshaped sperm that can't get where they need to go," said Manabu Nakamura, a U of I associate professor of food science and human nutrition.

CLEVELAND, OHIO -- April 12, 2010 – For millions of Americans with Type-2 diabetes and inject insulin to control diabetes (with onset typically in adulthood) the associated risk of cancer is of increasing concern. Studies have demonstrated that obesity and excess insulin – whether naturally produced by the body or injected in synthetic form – are associated with an increased incidence of some common cancers.

The Atomic Force Microscope depicts on its screen the few nanometer thick and few micrometer long fibers as white flexible sticks, crisscrossing the surface on which they are deposited. The very peculiar property of these proteins lies in fact that they can self assemble into complex ribbon-like twisted fibers.