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Biologists setting conservation targets too low to stop extinction, study argues

Conservation biologists are setting their minimum population size targets too low to prevent extinction.

That's according to a new study by University of Adelaide and Macquarie University scientists which has shown that populations of endangered species are unlikely to persist in the face of global climate change and habitat loss unless they number around 5000 mature individuals or more.

The findings have been published online in a paper 'Pragmatic population viability targets in a rapidly changing world' in the journal Biological Conservation.

Using RNAi-based technique, CSHL scientists find new tumor suppressor genes in lymphoma

Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. – Researchers from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have uncovered a large, new cache of genes that act as built-in barriers against cancer. Known as tumor suppressors, the newly identified genes and the insight that they provide into devising new therapeutic strategies against lymphoma are described in a paper published this week in Cancer Cell.

Students share findings from the frontiers of biomedical research

Doha, October 7, 2009 –Members of Qatar's research and medical community recently gathered at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar to learn more about research conducted by the college's pre-medical and medical students. The sixth annual Medical Student Research Forum not only highlighted the latest findings, but also gave 25 WCMC-Q students a chance to participate in a vital part of the research process: explaining findings with the larger scientific community.

Intensive care procedure saves lives: Swine flu study

A research team has warned medical experts in the Northern Hemisphere not to underestimate the serious impact of the H1N1 (Swine flu) virus with a new report showing that many patients who were critically ill with the virus required prolonged life support treatment with heart-lung machines.

The latest report, released today in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) revealed the extent to which doctors in Australia and New Zealand used extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) during the height of the pandemic during June to August 2009.

Missing PTEN gene explains neurofibromas' malignant transformation into sarcoma

Researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center showed for the first time that the loss or decreased expression of the tumor suppressor gene PTEN plays a central role in the malignant transformation of benign nerve tumors called neurofibromas into a malignant and extremely deadly form of sarcoma.

Once thought extinct, Banggai Crow rediscovered

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Known to science only by two specimens described in 1900, a critically endangered crow has re-emerged on a remote, mountainous Indonesian island thanks in part to a Michigan State University scientist.

The Banggai Crow was believed by many to be extinct until Indonesian biologists finally secured two new specimens on Peleng Island in 2007. Pamela Rasmussen, an MSU assistant professor of zoology and renowned species sleuth, provided conclusive verification.

Should noninvasive ventilation be considered a high-risk procedure during an epidemic?

Contrary to current policies recommending that non-invasive ventilation be avoided during an infectious outbreak, the author of a commentary (pre-embargo media link only http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj081987.pdf) in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) www.cmaj.ca argues that it should be used expeditiously in this setting.

Medical documentation of injuries is associated with more convictions in adult rapes in South Africa

A study examining how the South African criminal justice system handles cases of rape shows an association between the medical documentation of ano-genital injuries, the commencement of trials, and convictions in rape cases. The study, published in the open access journal PLoS Medicine this week, is believed to be the first investigation to show these findings in a developing country.

Nurses safely and effectively prescribe antiretroviral drugs in pilot program

Given sufficient training and support, nurses can safely and effectively prescribe antiretroviral therapy (ART) to patients with HIV, according to a Rwandan study published in this week's PLoS Medicine.

As in many other African countries, Rwanda has a shortage of doctors, which implies that many patients with HIV aren't receiving the treatment they need. To tackle this crisis, the World Health Organization recommends "task shifting"—whereby the task of prescribing ART is shifted from doctors to nurses so that more patients can be treated.

A balancing act in Parkinson's disease: Phosphorylation of alpha-synuclein

Both genetic and pathologic data indicate a role for the neuronal protein alpha-synuclein in Parkinson disease. Previous studies have indicated that phosphorylation of alpha-synuclein at amino acid 129 (Ser129) is a key event in alpha-synuclein–mediated nerve cell toxicity. However, Mel Feany and colleagues, at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, have now identified a counterbalancing role in nerve cell protection for phosphorylation of alpha-synuclein amino acid 125 (Tyr125).

Inhibiting the cellular process autophagy makes mice leaner

Recent data have indicated that the more brown fat cells a person has the lower their body mass. This contrasts with what is known for white fat cells, the more white fat cells a person has the greater their body mass. It has been suggested that manipulating the development of fat cells so that they become brown fat cells rather than white fat cells might be an approach to treat obesity. However, before such an approach can be developed more needs to be learned about the mechanisms regulating the formation, expansion, and interconversion of these two cell types.

Immune cells predict outcome of West Nile virus infection

Infection with West Nile virus (WNV) causes no symptoms in most people. However, it can cause fever, meningitis, and/or encephalitis. What determines the outcome of infection with WNV in different people has not been determined. But now, Philip Norris and colleagues, at the Blood Systems Research Institute, San Francisco, have found that levels of immune cells known as Tregs (immune cells that suppress the function of other immune cells) in the blood of a human or mouse infected with WNV predict whether the person or mouse will have symptoms of infection.

Afib triggered by a cell that resembles a pigment-producing skin cell

The source and mechanisms underlying the abnormal heart beats that initiate atrial fibrillation (Afib), the most common type of abnormal heart beat, have not been well determined. However, a group of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, has now identified a population of cells that are like pigment producing cells in the skin (melanocytes) in the atria of the heart and pulmonary veins of mice and humans and uncovered evidence in mice that these cells contribute to Afib.

New guidelines identify best treatments to help ALS patients live longer, easier

ST. PAUL, Minn. – New guidelines from the American Academy of Neurology identify the most effective treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often called Lou Gehrig's disease. The guidelines are published in the October 13, 2009, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Suppressing a gene in mice prevents heart from aging, preserves its function

Scientists prevented age-related changes in the hearts of mice and preserved heart function by suppressing a form of the PI3K gene, in a study reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

"The study provides evidence that delaying or preventing heart failure in humans may be possible," said Tetsuo Shioi, M.D., Ph.D., senior author of the study and assistant professor of medicine at Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine in Kyoto, Japan.