Body

A new supplemental issue of The Gerontologist contains 13 articles by Veterans Affairs (VA) researchers and colleagues looking at differences in aging and mortality between veteran and non-veteran women.

Scientists have identified a gene that appears to play a significant role in raising a person's risk of having more severe subtypes of autism that co-occur with other genetic diseases, such as the chromosomal disorder 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. Variations in this gene, RANBP1, may disrupt brain signaling in different neuropsychiatric conditions--a finding that could open new research opportunities for treatment for multiple neurological diseases.

LA JOLLA, CA - Jan. 19, 2016 - A new study led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) shows how dangerous autoimmune responses, seen in diseases such as lupus and multiple sclerosis, might be "dialed down" without compromising the immune system's ability to fight viruses and bacteria.

The new study, published this week in the Early Edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, defines an unexpected mechanism at work in an anti-autoimmune drug candidate called ozanimod (now under development by Celgene).

The Entomological Society of America (ESA) has issued a statement about the value of entomological collections and the need to implement protections for these irreplaceable resources.

Entomological collections help scientists to rapidly identify invasive pests that affect agriculture, forestry, and human and animal health. Invasive insect and mite pests can have tremendous economic impacts (estimated at nearly $33 billion dollars annually in the U.S.).

The bush dog is one of the most enigmatic of the world's canid species, seldom seen throughout its range in Central and South America. New data from photos taken by automated camera traps in remote areas in Panama, along with other sightings, show the species to be widespread in the country. The new study, co-authored by Smithsonian Research Associate Ricardo Moreno, will assist conservation planning for this near-threatened species.

For patients undergoing urologic surgery, frailty may increase their risk of experiencing complications after surgery.

Among 95,108 patients undergoing 21 different urologic procedures, such as bladder or prostate removal, the average frequency of complications per individual was 11.7%, with the most common complications being hospital readmission (6.2%), blood transfusion (4.6%), and urinary tract infection (3.1%).

People with early-stage dementia benefit when they are empowered to manage their own condition, a study led by researchers at the University of Exeter has found.

Research involving Bangor University and published in the journal International Psychogeriatrics, found that attending weekly 'self-management' group sessions which encouraged socialisation, discussion, problem solving and goal setting fostered independence and promoted social support amongst people with dementia.

Researchers from Lund University Sweden have through a new diagnostic method been able to show that the risk of developing Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease could be twice as high for women as it is for men.

This means that being a woman may be an independent risk factor for developing this disease.

Johannes Luoto, a researcher at Lund University and a doctor at the geriatric clinic of Skåne University Hospital, has followed an initial group of 2,300 people aged between 65 and 100 to study the development of this disease.

AUGUSTA, Ga. - A protein that is constantly expressed by cancer cells and quiescent in healthy ones appears to be a solid target for reducing cancer's ability to spread, scientists report.

The WASF3 protein enables cancer cell invasion, and by interrupting its relationship with another protein that helps WASF3 keep its form and function, scientists have suppressed the ability of highly invasive human breast and prostate cancer cells to metastasize through an artificial surface that mimics invading a blood vessel.

New Orleans, LA - J. Gavin Daigle, a PhD candidate at the LSU Health New Orleans School of Graduate Studies, is the first author of a paper whose findings reveal another piece of the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) puzzle. Working with mentor Udai Pandey, PhD, a former member of the Genetics Department faculty at LSU Health New Orleans now at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, the team identified a protein that can protect against the toxic degeneration of cells in diseases like ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

Estrogen dramatically reduced the amount of flu virus that replicated in infected cells from women but not from men, a new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health shows.

The findings, reported online last week in the American Journal of Physiology - Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, suggest a protective advantage to the quintessential female hormone that naturally circulates in women's bodies, as well as artificial forms given for hormone replacement therapy and estrogen-like chemicals found in the environment.

PHILADELPHIA - Patients who are undergoing treatment for diseases such as cancer often face the added challenge of a compromised immune system, which can be a toll both of their condition and the drugs used to treat it, leaving them vulnerable to various opportunistic infections. Many of these infections are not only life-threatening, but caused by rare organisms that are extremely difficult to isolate and identify. However, the sooner an infection is pinned down, the faster and more effectively it can be treated.

An investigation of previously unexplored depths of Australia's Coral Sea has revealed living fossils, rare corals and sponges, and ecosystems that have remained largely unchanged for millions of years.

A team of Australian and German researchers has published their analysis of data, specimens, photographs and video footage collected in 2009, when they sent a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to a depth of 800 meters (2,625 ft) at Osprey Reef off the far-northern coast of eastern Australia.

Enrollees in high-deductible health plans were no more likely than enrollees in traditional plans to consider going to another health care professional or to compare out-of-pocket cost differences across health care professionals during their last use of medical care, according to an article published online by JAMA Internal Medicine.

The availability of relatively low-cost 'water jet' machines, which chill and oxygenate the water, was associated with decreased student weight and fewer half-pints of milk purchased per student, according to an article published online by JAMA Pediatrics.