Viruses have played a role in shaping human genetic variability, according to a study published February 19 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics. The researchers, from the Don C. Gnocchi and Eugenio Medea Scientific Institutes, the University of Milan and the Politecnico di Milano, Italy, used population genetics approaches to identify gene variants that augment susceptibility to viral infections or protect from such infections.
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February 18, 2010 – Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine presented today the results from an ongoing Phase I/II open-label clinical trial of Lexgenleucel-T at the 16th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in San Francisco, CA. Lexgenleucel-T is a cell and gene therapy product being investigated for the treatment of HIV infection.
The European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) is among the few laboratories in the world that can provide the highly specialised analytical methods and techniques needed for nuclear safeguards and forensics purposes. In Europe, the JRC's Institute for Transuranium Elements (JRC-ITU) supports Euratom Safeguards, whose mission is to ensure that within the EU, nuclear material is not diverted from its intended use and that safeguarding obligations agreed with third parties are complied with.
The drug avosentan substantially reduces urinary protein loss in people with type 2 diabetes and kidney disease, but the drug causes serious side effects, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). The results suggest that lower doses of avosentan may have a more favorable risk/benefit ratio for patients.
An international group of medical experts has crafted a much-needed classification system for diabetic nephropathy, the leading cause of total kidney failure, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). The effort should improve communication among health professionals, help researchers design better clinical studies, and guide patient care.
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Malaria remains one of the most deadly infectious diseases. Yet, how Plasmodium, the malaria parasite, regulates its infectious cycle has remained an enigma despite decades of rigorous research.
But now a research team led by a cell biologist at the University of California, Riverside has identified a mechanism by which Plasmodium intensively replicates itself in human blood to spread the disease.
How do we as a society imagine our future? With social and natural environments changing, often quickly, it's difficult to imagine how our society might look a generation or more into the future. How can we then develop robust solutions for the sustainability challenges we face? Courses in sustainability offer insights; still sustainability science remains a developing field of study.
BETHESDA, Md. (Feb. 16, 2010) — A few minor variations in one gene may make a difference in athletic endurance, according to a new study from Physiological Genomics.
The study found that elite endurance athletes were more likely to have variations of the NRF2 gene than elite sprinters. Non-elite endurance athletes were also more likely to have the genetic variations compared to sprinters, although the difference was not as pronounced.
A UCSF team, led by bioethicist Bernard Lo, MD, recommends that the National Institutes of Health ethics guidelines for embryonic stem cell research be modified to better protect the rights of individuals donating egg or sperm to patients undergoing in vitro fertilization.
The recommendation is reported in the February 19, 2010 issue of Science.
Third parties frequently donate sperm and egg, or "gametes," for patients attempting to create embryos in the in vitro fertilization clinic.
After testing dozens of samples from marine mammals, University of Florida aquatic animal health experts say dolphins may be the ideal model for the study of cervical cancer in people.
UNPRECEDENTED CONTAMINANT LEVELS IN COASTAL DOLPHINS WARN OF POTENTIAL HEALTH RISKS
In the tropics, carnivorous plants trap unsuspecting prey in a cavity filled with liquid known as a "pitcher."
The moment insects like flies, ants and beetles fall into a pitcher, the plant's enzymes are activated and begin dissolving their new meal, obtaining nutrients such as carbon and nitrogen which are difficult to extract from certain soils. Carnivorous plants also possess a highly developed set of compounds and secondary metabolites to aid in their survival.
Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have used data from the whole genome sequencing of cancer patients to develop individualized blood tests they believe can help physicians tailor patients' treatments. The genome-based blood tests, believed to be the first of their kind, may be used to monitor tumor levels after therapy and determine cancer recurrence.
Researchers have developed a new technique for tracking cancer by identifying personalized biomarkers from tumor DNA, reports a new study in the 24 February 2010 issue of the journal Science Translational Medicine, published by AAAS, the nonprofit science society. The findings show that next-generation sequencing technology is poised become an important tool in the new era of personalized management of cancer patients.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – It is not unusual to hear people blame their metabolism after gaining a few pounds. But changes in metabolism – the process that shapes how our bodies turn food into energy -- can have much more sinister effects than making it hard to fit into your favorite jeans.