Body

Among patients with intermittent claudication, those who had revascularization had significantly improved walking function, better health-related quality of life, and fewer symptoms of claudication at 12 months compared with those who had medical management (walking program, smoking cessation counseling, and medications), according to a study published online by JAMA Surgery.

One year into the National Institutes of Health's Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI), the massive project could still benefit from incorporating experimental studies of animal models of human disease, according to Kent Lloyd and colleagues in this Editorial. The PMI hopes to prompt a new era of individualized medicine, where a person's own genetic profile along with personal environmental exposures and behaviors can be used to target therapies more effectively.

The number of microbes in, on, and around the planet - on the order of a nonillion, or 10^30 - is estimated to outnumber the stars in the Milky Way. Microbes are known to play crucial roles in regulating carbon fixation, as well as maintaining global cycles involving nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus and other nutrients, but the majority of them remain uncultured and unknown. The U.S.

In a recent survey designed to measure public attitudes about the Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) Cohort Program, a majority of respondents expressed willingness to participate in the nationwide research effort. The findings were published online in PLOS ONE by a team of National Institutes of Health researchers.

With temperatures soaring across the UK, our ability to detect and avoid places that are too warm is vital for regulating our body temperature. However, until now, little was known about the molecular mechanisms responsible for detecting warmth in the sensory neurons of our skin.

A new King's College London study, published today in Nature, reveals that a gene called TRPM2 initiates a 'warm' signal in mice that drives them to seek cooler environments. When this gene is removed, the mice are unable to distinguish between cool and warm temperatures.

Long ago, one great ocean flowed between North and South America. When the narrow Isthmus of Panama joined the continents about 3 million years ago, it also separated the Atlantic from the Pacific Ocean. If this took place millions of years earlier, as recently asserted by some, the implications for both land and sea life would be revolutionary. Aaron O'Dea, staff scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), and colleagues writing in Science Advances firmly set the date at 2.8 million years ago.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Children are less likely to be diagnosed with crossed eyes, a condition known as strabismus, if they live in poor communities, according to an analysis led by researchers at the University of Michigan's Kellogg Eye Center.

It is a cause for concern because strabismus can lead to permanent vision loss if not treated early in life, not to mention the adverse impact on the child's self-image.

Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have discovered a flaw in the armor of the most aggressive form of lung cancer, a weakness that doctors may be able to exploit to slow or even stop the disease. Remarkably, this vulnerability stems from the very aggressiveness that makes the cancer so deadly.

Calixarenes bear a fascinating class of macrocycles that have served broadly in molecular recognition and supramolecular chemistry. These, supramolecular structures have been utilized in several different directions ranging from catalysis to therapy. Their multifactorial significance originates from their structural plasticity and the fact that they can be easily derivatized and manipulated to adapt and complement a mosaic of different specifications and applications. This paper provides an overview of the utilization of calixarenes in biocatalysis and cancer therapy and diagnosis.

Coral reefs are delicate ecosystems, which are endangered by climate change and human activities. The restoration of these underwater environments is typically carried out by transplanting corals from healthy reefs to compromised ones. This practice can be problematic, as it overlooks the local characteristics of each reef, and may reduce genetic diversity.

The cell's internal skeleton undergoes constant restructuring. Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich physicists now show that its associated proteins can be efficiently transported to their sites of action by diffusion - provided they can be arrested when they get there.

Researchers at The University of Manchester have unlocked the potential of a new test which could revolutionise the way doctors diagnose and monitor a common childhood Leukaemia.

Dr Suzanne Johnson says that cancerous acute lymphoblastic leukaemia cells produce and release special structures that can be traced in the blood.

The discovery could have major implications on the diagnosis, monitoring, drug delivery and treatment of childhood leukaemia.

Researchers of Osaka University have discovered a way to visualize sites where bone-resorbing cells (osteoclasts) were in the process of resorbing bone in living mice. This real-time visualization of changes in osteoclast localization and activity allowed the successful measurement of bone resorption intensity. Since this enables simple and quick access to information on the activity of osteoclasts, this discovery will contribute to the early diagnosis of affected areas and the development of new therapeutic drugs.

At the start of reproductive life an ovary contains, on average, several thousands of immature ovules in a resting state that can last for several decades. But how does each resting ovule know that it is time to prepare for ovulation? In a study published in the latest issue of Nature Communications*, researchers at Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia (IGC; Portugal), at University of Algarve (Portugal), and at University at Albany (USA) discovered in the fruit fly a molecular "alarm clock" that tells resting ovules when is the right time to wake up.

It is currently not possible to quantify emissions of methane from livestock manure. This is a significant problem, in particular at a time where the EU Commision requires Denmark to reduce drastically emissions of greenhouse gases from agriculture. Without methods to quantify emissions, it is also not possible to document effects of changes in management.