September 16, 2009 - Oakland, CA – An important analysis conducted by Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute scientists suggests the importance of ensuring optimal dietary intakes of vitamin K to prevent age-related conditions such as bone fragility, arterial and kidney calcification, cardiovascular disease, and possibly cancer (1). Vitamin K is concentrated in dark green plants such as spinach or Swiss chard, and is either not present or present in only small amounts in most multivitamin pills.
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Spanish scientists have developed a model to identify the agricultural areas with the greatest potential for restoring the habitat of the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus), which is at risk of extinction. The study shows that olive groves with low production close to the Natural Park of the Sierra de Cardeña y Montoro, in Córdoba – which is the only place, along with Doñana, where this species lives – are the most appropriate sites for this purpose.
The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility marked a step forward in the field of advanced particle accelerator technology with the successful test of the first U.S.-built superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) niobium cavity to meet the exacting specifications of the proposed International Linear Collider (ILC).
NEW YORK (September 16, 2009) -- Attempts to eradicate tuberculosis (TB) are stymied by the fact that the disease-causing bacteria have a sophisticated mechanism for surviving dormant in infected cells. Now, a team of scientists led by researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College has identified compounds that inhibit that mechanism -- without damaging human cells.
New Rochelle, NY, September 17, 2009—Risk factors for metabolic syndrome, such as obesity, high blood pressure, and elevated blood lipid levels, can increase a person's healthcare costs nearly 1.6-fold, or about $2,000 per year. For each additional risk factor those costs rise an average of 24%, according to an illuminating article in a recent issue of Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. The article is available free online at www.liebertpub.com/met
A protein found present in all cells in the body could help scientists better understand how we store fat.
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have found that the protein invadolysin, which is essential for healthy cell division, is present in lipid droplets – the parts of cells used to store fat.
The study also found that lower levels of invadolysin were linked to reduced amounts of fat deposits.
Like vampires, cancer tumors require an ample supply of blood to stay alive. Without fresh blood for sustenance, cancer cells shrivel up like raisins and die.
Jerusalem, Sept. 16, 2009 – Discovery by Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers of an additional role for a key molecule in our bodies provides a further step in world-wide efforts to develop genetic regulation aimed at controlling many diseases, including AIDS and various types of cancers.
Researchers at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) have revealed the process by which proteins with a tendency to cause conformational diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy, familial amyloidotic cardiomyopathy, etc. finally end up causing them. Researchers have carried out an analysis of their 3D structure and studied why these proteins finally become toxic although they are correctly folded, an indicator that they are functioning correctly.
UCSF researchers have identified collections of tiny molecules known as microRNAs that affect distinct processes critical for the progression of cancer. The findings, they say, expand researchers' understanding of the important regulatory function of microRNAs in tumor biology and point to new directions for future study and potential treatments.
Fibrosis is a key feature of chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. The extensive deposition of extracellular matrix proteins fosters the development of an exocrine and endocrine organ insufficiency, and accelerates progression of the tumour. Pancreatic stellate cells (PSC) are the principal effector cells in pancreatic fibrosis. They are activated by profibrogenic mediators, which include, for example, cytokines and ethanol metabolites. So far, there are no therapies available to interfere with fibrogenesis in the diseased organ.
As a member of the S100 family, S100A2 is considered a candidate tumor-suppressor gene. Recently, p63 gene, a new member of the p53 gene family, has been studied in the fields of tumorigenesis, cell apoptosis and tissue growth. At present, few studies have been carried out on the expression and relationship of S100A2 and p63 in EC.
An international study involving Monash University mathematician Dr Malcolm Clark has been used to demonstrate the impact of global warming and to predict the effect further warming will have on plant life.
The study, published in the International Journal of Climatology, predicts a difference in flowering times of certain plants in certain climates by as much as 50 days by the year 2080.
Two years ago, a group of friends were enjoying a glass of wine in the Mosel region in south-west Germany when their conversation turned to the health benefits which studies attribute to the drink. During the fermentation process of making wine, by-products are left over which are often just discarded as waste and the friends reasoned that since these by-products contain the goodness of wine in an even more concentrated form, and without the alcohol, shouldn't it be more often used and consumed by humans?
As college administrators, social scientists and law enforcement officials across the country continue to debate whether the drinking age should be 18 instead of 21, and Darren Grant a Sam Houston State University economist challenges a related law: the "zero tolerance" policy. In a paper in the journal Economic Inquiry, he analyzed data from 30,000 fatalities in nighttime accidents involving drivers under 21.