Body | Page 4512 | Science Codex

Research team reveals molecular mechanism underlying a form of diabetes

By investigating a rare and severe form of diabetes in children, University of Iowa researchers have discovered a new molecular mechanism that regulates specialized pancreatic cells and insulin secretion. The mechanism involves a protein called ankyrin, which UI researchers previously linked to potentially fatal human heart arrhythmias.

The findings, which appear this week in the Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, may help identify new molecular targets for treating both rare and common forms of diabetes and hyperinsulinemia.

'Second hit' pushes noninvasive breast cancer towards deadly metastasis

A new study identifies a molecule that acts cooperatively with a well known oncoprotein to drive progression of noninvasive breast cancer to metastatic, life-threatening disease. The research findings, published by Cell Press in the September issue of the journal Cancer Cell, could have a significant impact on therapeutic decisions by facilitating identification of high risk patients.

Researchers link depression and early stages of chronic kidney disease

DALLAS – Sept. 8, 2009 – One in five patients with chronic kidney disease is depressed, even before beginning long-term dialysis therapy or developing end-stage renal disease, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.

The study, based on a pool of 272 participants, is the first to examine the rate of depression among these patients using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th edition (DSM IV), which is considered the gold-standard in evaluating depression.

The ins and outs of bacteria and tumors

In the scientific journal PLoS ONE, Sara Bartels and Siegfried Weiss of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, Germany have shown how the bacteria migrate into tumors. A messenger substance from the immune system is the door opener: It makes blood vessels in the cancerous tissue permeable; enabling the bacteria to conquer and destroy the tumor. Simultaneously, blood streams from the vessels into the cancerous tissue, a so-called necrosis develops – and the tumor dies.

Better immune defense against anthrax

Scientists discover a gene in anthrax-causing bacteria may help defend against this form of bio-warfare.

Spread of the deadly disease anthrax by spores of the bacterium Bacillus anthracis is a known terrorism risk and protection includes finding ways to treat the disease, according to an academic paper reviewed by Faculty of 1000.

Are men and women reproductive partners or antagonists?

About 10% of all couples hoping for a baby have fertility problems. Environmentalists say pollution is to blame and psychiatrists point to our stressful lifestyles, but evolutionary biologist Dr. Oren Hasson of Tel Aviv University's Department of Zoology offers a different take. The reproductive organs of men and women are currently involved in an evolutionary arms race, he reports in a new study. And the fight isn't over yet.

When it comes to mating, female crickets know best

Scientists have found new evidence to explain how female insects can influence the father of their offspring, even after mating with up to ten males. A team from the University of Exeter has found that female crickets are able to control the amount of sperm that they store from each mate to select the best father for their young.

The research team believes the females may be using their abdominal muscles to control the amount of sperm stored from each mate. Their findings are now published in the journal Molecular Ecology.

Cell discovery could open new chapter in drug development

Scientists have uncovered new details about how the cells in our bodies communicate with each other and their environment.

Cells 'talk' to each other through a complex process called 'signaling'. When these signals go wrong, it can lead to all kinds of diseases, including cancer, diabetes and arthritis, to name but a few.

Need a remedy for hot flashes? Try this new seizure medication

Gabapentin, a drug initially used to treat seizures, improves sleep quality in menopausal women with hot flashes, University of Rochester Medical Center researchers report online and in the September issue of the Journal of Women's Health.

Approximately 40 percent of menopausal women experience sleep disruption, often in the form of difficulty with sleep initiation and frequent nighttime awakenings. The study is the first to show sustained benefits in sleep quality from gabapentin, which Rochester researchers already have demonstrated alleviates hot flashes.

Composted dairy manure in foliage plant production

Peat has been a major component of substrates used in container plant production since the 1960s. Highly porous with the capacity to hold water, peat makes an ideal rooting and growing medium for potted plants. But harvesting peat (and draining valuable peatlands in the process) releases the carbon stored in peat into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. And because peat plays an important role in wetland ecosystems—-peat bogs improve groundwater quality and are unique habitats for wild plants and animals—-the use of peat has been challenged and peat mining is increasingly regulated.

'Relaxed selection' explains evolutionary fate of 'useless' traits

Durham, NC – What happens when traits no longer give creatures a competitive edge?

Some subterranean animals that live in darkness function perfectly well without eyesight, for example. And the tiny leg bones buried in the backs of whales — left over from their land-dwelling ancestors — don't get much action in the ocean.

Preventing periodontitis reduces risk of head and neck cancer

PHILADELPHIA – Chronic periodontitis, a form of gum disease, is an independent risk factor for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. This suggests the need for increased efforts to prevent and treat periodontitis as a possible means to reduce the risk of this form of cancer.

Enzyme inhibitor takes an unexpected approach toward blocking cancer-promoting protein

Scientists at Fox Chase Cancer Center have discovered a unique method of attack that may be used to inhibit signaling enzymes called kinases, which often have a role in sustaining drug-resistant cancerous cells. They have confirmed that IPA-3, a small molecular inhibitor of a kinase called PAK1, targets the enzyme's regulatory domain, mimicking how enzymes are naturally regulated within cells.

Infections may lead to faster memory loss in Alzheimer's disease

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Getting a cold, stomach bug or other infection may lead to increased memory loss in people with Alzheimer's disease, according to research published in the September 8, 2009, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Genomes reveal bacterial lifestyles: Research

Sampling just a few genes can reveal not only the "lifestyle" of marine microbes but of their entire environments, new research suggests.

The finding means researchers may be able to predict the types of microbes that thrive in specific marine environments by sampling the genomes of just a few dominant species, according to research co-author Rick Cavicchioli of the University of New South Wales. As well, it may reveal new insights into the impacts of climate change on biodiversity in the world's oceans.