PASADENA, Calif.—Scientists from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have provided the first-ever glimpse of the structure of a key protein—gp120—found on the surface of a specific subgroup of the human immunodeficiency virus, HIV-1. In addition, they demonstrated that a particular antibody to gp120 makes contact not only with the protein, but with the CD4 receptor that gp120 uses to gain entrance into the body's T cells.
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In a world first study of its kind, 161 postnatal women with no previous depressive symptoms were divided in two separate groups to test the effect of a physiotherapist-led exercise and education program on wellbeing.
The experimental group received an eight-week "Mother and Baby" program, including specialized exercises provided by a women's health physiotherapist combined with parenting education.
In the second group, "Education Only" participants only received the written educational material.
WORCESTER, Mass.— Underscoring what researchers call a serious international public health concern, results from the Global Longitudinal Study of Osteoporosis in Women (GLOW) showed that among women at an elevated level of risk for osteoporosis-associated fractures, there is a failure to perceive the implications of having important risk factors.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- New information about early Native Americans' horticultural practices comes not from hieroglyphs or other artifacts, but from a suite of four gene duplicates found in wild and domesticated sunflowers.
Tomorrow's fragrant bouquets and colorful potted plants might last longer, thanks to floriculture research by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) plant physiologist Cai-Zhong Jiang. His investigations might help boost the vase life of favorite cut flowers and shelf life of prized potted plants.
Jiang is with the ARS Crops Pathology and Genetics Research Unit at Davis, Calif. He's collaborating with researchers from the University of California-Davis (UCD) and elsewhere.
An outbreak of a disease called Montipora White Syndrome (MWS) was found in Kaneohe Bay, Oʻahu within the last month prompting an interagency response team composed of scientists and students to document the extent, spread and potential causes of the disease. Members of the investigative team included scientists from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa's Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB), USGS National Wildlife Health Center and Bishop Museum.
Published online today by the leading journal Value in Health, the study assessed the current screening guidelines in terms of both cost effectiveness and fairness.
The researchers concluded that extending the hotly-debated screening programme to younger women would have real benefits in terms of both economic efficiency and equity. The approach could also be used for other fatal diseases with similar age distributions.
HOUSTON, April 1, 2010 – Imagine being able to image life as it happens by capturing video of the embryonic heart before it begins beating. A professor at the University of Houston, in collaboration with scientists at Baylor College of Medicine, is doing just that.
LA JOLLA, Calif., April 1, 2010 – Though heart disease is a major cause of disability and death, very little is understood about its genetic underpinnings. Recently, an international team of investigators at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) and other organizations shed new light on the subject. Studying Drosophila (fruit flies), the team investigated 7061 genes and built a detailed map that shows how a portion of these genes contribute to heart function and disease.
COLD SPRING HARBOR, N.Y. (Thurs., April 1, 2010) – The goal of tissue engineering is to recapitulate healthy human organs and tissue structures in culture, and then transplant them into patients, where they are fully integrated. This is a complicated process, and the use of high-throughput imaging systems that allow researchers to directly monitor transplanted tissues in live animals over time is important for improving the culturing and implantation techniques, as well as the design of artificial tissue scaffolds.
A new study reveals an exciting potential benefit of the rapidly accumulating databases of health care information, the ability to make unprecedented links between genomic data and clinical medicine. The research, published by Cell Press in the April issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics, supports the idea that large scale DNA databanks linked to electronic medical record (EMR) systems provide a valuable platform for discovering, assessing and validating associations between genes and diseases.
Rockville, MD — New guidelines that outline best practices for measuring the economic burden of visual impairment will make it easier for the policy, science and medical communities to draw conclusions and compare results across studies.
Grand Rapids, Mich. (April 1, 2010) – Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) scientists have determined how two proteins required for the initiation and development of prostate cancer interact at the molecular level, which could lead to improved treatments for the disease.
PORTLAND, Ore – New research conducted at the Oregon Health & Science University Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute explains how a virus that has already infected up to 80 percent of the American population can repeatedly re-infect individuals despite the presence of a strong and long-lasting immune response. The research involves cytomegalovirus (CMV), which infects 50 percent to 80 percent of the U.S. population before age 40. Details of the new findings are printed in this week's online edition of the journal Science.
EAST LANSING, Mich. --- Complex issues have hampered China's environmental protection efforts, but bold innovations can help it become a global sustainability leader, says a noted Michigan State University environmental scientist.