Philadelphia, PA, April 5, 2010 – Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) is a congenital retinal dystrophy present in approximately 1 of 80,000 births. It is estimated that about 3,000 people in the United States are living with LCA and will likely become blind in their lifetimes. Recently, there has been progress in gene therapy for this condition.
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Researchers from the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have unveiled a new class of reverse-osmosis membranes for desalination that resist the clogging which typically occurs when seawater, brackish water and waste water are purified.
The highly permeable, surface-structured membrane can easily be incorporated into today's commercial production system, the researchers say, and could help to significantly reduce desalination operating costs. Their findings appear in the current issue of the Journal of Materials Chemistry.
San Jose, California, April 6, 2010 – Chronix Biomedical today announced publication of a study that supports the utility of its serum DNA blood tests to predict clinical status and monitor disease activity and response to treatment in multiple sclerosis (MS). Chronix Biomedical uses proprietary technology to identify disease-specific genetic fingerprints based on the circulating DNA that is released into the bloodstream by damaged and dying cells.
LOS ANGELES (EMBARGOED UNTIL 5PM EASTERN APRIL 5, 2010) –In a rigorous new review of the antiarrhythmic drug dronedarone (Multaq), researchers at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute conclude that the controversial drug is only modestly effective and has no clear safety benefits.
At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, one of the most powerful magnetic detectors in the world is helping screen high-risk pregnant patients for rare but very serious fetal heart rhythm problems. Thanks to a collaboration with The Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; and Hope Children's Hospital, Chicago, the ultrasensitive detector measures magnetic signals coming from the tiny beating hearts of fetuses.
While previous twin studies have consistently shown the importance of genetic influences on various measures of alcohol consumption, a full diagnostic assessment can be complicated and lengthy. This has led some researchers to ask: To what extent do measures of alcohol consumption accurately index the genetic risk for alcohol dependence (AD)? Findings indicate that four relatively simple measures of alcohol consumption were able to capture all (in women) or a very large proportion (in men) of the genetic risk for AD.
SEATTLE – Women with breast cancer before age 55 who carry an inherited mutation in the breast cancer susceptibility genes BRCA1 or BRCA2 are four times more likely to develop cancer in the breast opposite, or contralateral, to their initial tumor as compared to breast cancer patients without these genetic defects. These findings, by Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center breast cancer epidemiologist Kathleen Malone, Ph.D., and colleagues, were published online April 5 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
AMES, Iowa – Agronomists at Iowa State University are offering doubled haploid technology that allows corn breeders to more quickly produce inbred lines for research or private use.
Thomas Lübberstedt, associate professor and K.J. Frey chair in agronomy and director of the R.F. Baker Center for Plant Breeding, has launched a Doubled Haploid Facility at ISU that can develop pure, inbred corn lines in less time than traditional methods.
The gentle touch of a lesion on the tongue or cheek with a brush can help detect oral cancer with success rates comparable to more invasive techniques, according to preliminary studies by researchers at Rice University, the University of Texas Health Science Centers at Houston and San Antonio and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
The test that uses Rice's diagnostic nano-bio-chip was found to be 97 percent "sensitive" and 93 percent specific in detecting which patients had malignant or premalignant lesions, results that compared well with traditional tests.
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Swiss needle cast epidemic in Douglas-fir forests of the coastal Pacific Northwest is continuing to intensify, appears to be unprecedented over at least the past 100 years, and is probably linked to the extensive planting of Douglas-fir along the coast and a warmer climate, new research concludes.
A team of biologists from the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) reported today that Madagascar's radiated tortoise – considered one of the most beautiful tortoise species – is rapidly nearing extinction due to rampant hunting for its meat and the illegal pet trade.
The team predicts that unless drastic conservation measures take place, the species will be driven to extinction within the next 20 years.
Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that exposure to three common chemical classes—phenols, phthalates and phytoestrogens—in young girls may disrupt the timing of pubertal development, and put girls at risk for health complications later in life. The study, the first to examine the effects of these chemicals on pubertal development, is currently published online in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
The mysterious life cycle of a sheep virus that causes malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) has been discovered by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and their university collaborators—the first step in developing a vaccine against the disease.
Microbiologist Hong Li and veterinary medical officer Naomi Taus at the ARS Animal Diseases Research Unit in Pullman, Wash., collaborated on the research with Lindsay Oaks at Washington State University and Donal O'Toole at the University of Wyoming.
Durham, NC – Surplus food can be a double-edged sword for bottom-feeders in the ocean deep, according to a new study in the April issue of Ecology. While extra nutrients give a boost to large animals on the deep sea floor, the feeding frenzy that results wreaks havoc on smaller animals in the seafloor sediment, researchers say.
Descend thousands of feet under the ocean to the deep sea floor, and you'll find a blue-black world of cold and darkness, blanketed in muddy ooze. In this world without sunlight, food is often in short supply.
Philadelphia, PA, April 5, 2010 – The recently discovered retrovirus, xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV), has been identified in some prostate cancer patients. In light of conflicting data concerning XMRV, standardized diagnostic testing is important to identify patients in which XMRV is present and to determine whether it plays a role in the incidence of prostate cancer.