Body

High-fructose corn syrup and sugar are on the outs with calorie-wary consumers. As a result, low- and no-calorie alternatives have become popular, and soon, there could be another option that tastes more sugar-like than other substitutes. Scientists report in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry a step toward commercial production of a fruit protein called brazzein that is far sweeter than sugar -- and has fewer calories.

CHAPEL HILL, NC -UNC School of Medicine's Anne Lyerly is addressing the urgent need for effective HIV prevention and treatment for the estimated 1.5 million women worldwide with HIV who give birth each year.

Lyerly, associate director of the UNC Center for Bioethics and associate professor of social medicine at the UNC School of Medicine, is also an obstetrician/gynecologist who studies ethically complex clinical and policy issues related to women's reproductive health.

DURHAM, N.C. - Molecules that scavenge debris from dying cells appear to halt the cycle of chronic inflammation in lupus, while also enhancing the body's ability to combat flu, according to Duke Health studies in mice.

The molecules, called polymers, have commonly been used in gene-transfer experiments because they bind to the nucleic acid in DNA and RNA. When deployed directly in mice with lupus or an acute flu infection, the polymers home in on the DNA and RNA refuse from dying cells, halting the damaging immune attack.

CINCINNATI -- A significant portion of preterm births might be avoided by reducing or eliminating three major risk factors.

A new Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center study shows that as many as 25 percent of preterm births might be attributed to abnormalities in the interval between pregnancies, the mother's body mass index prior to pregnancy, and the amount of weight gain in pregnancy. All of these risk factors may be modifiable to reduce the risk of premature births - those before 37 weeks of gestation.

A new measurement standard developed by the National Institute of Standards of Technology (NIST) has been used successfully by the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research to check the performance of next-generation DNA-sequencing technologies for evaluating gene variations associated with an increased risk of breast cancer.

According to National Reference Center for Surveillance of Nosocomial Infections esti-mates, up to 15,000 patients die of hospital-acquired infections in Germany every year. Here, multidrug-resistant bacteria, against which common antibiotics are no longer effec-tive, play a major role. But where do these pathogens come from? In largest study of its kind in Europe, DZIF scientists from the University of Cologne investigated this question and discovered that almost ten percent of patients admitted into hospitals already bring these dreaded pathogens along with them from home.

(PHILADELPHIA) - Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University found similar rates of obesity and high blood pressure readings in student-athletes as would be expected in the general adolescent population, which may suggest that participation in athletics does not protect against these conditions. They published their findings in The Journal of Pediatrics.

If you hate going to the dentist, here's some good news. New research published online in The FASEB Journal, shows that melanocortin agonism may effectively control the inflammation that often occurs in gum tissue, which when unchecked, ultimately accelerates tooth and bone loss. This research involving mice, opens the door to a new class of treatments for gum disease.

Opponents of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria are six times greater in number on Twitter than ISIS supporters, but those sympathetic to the group are more active on the social media platform, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

Analyzing more than 23 million tweets posted in Arabic over a 10-month period, researchers found that supporters of ISIS produce 50 percent more tweets than opponents on a typical day, although there is evidence that ISIS opponents are increasing their activity.

Reston, Va. - Determining whether breast cancer has spread to sentinel lymph nodes (SLN) is key to prognosis and treatment, making SLN mapping critical. The blue dyes commonly used to identify SLNs spread quickly to other nodes and is poorly retained by the SLNs (less than five minutes). This requires the surgeon to identify SLNs quickly. Allergic reaction to the dyes has also been a concern.

Tying company values such as honesty and respect into employee awards and job evaluations is being championed by public relations, marketing and human resources departments in some prominent companies, a Baylor University study has found.

Building a business reputation from the inside out -- with employees giving a company high marks as an ethical place to work -- is increasingly being hailed as a way to get a leg up on the competition, right alongside customer service and quality products.

The lack of oxygen in tumor cells changes the cells' gene expression, thereby contributing to the growth of cancer. This is the main conclusion of a research project led by professor Diether Lambrechts and Dr. Bernard Thienpont (VIB-KU Leuven), which was published in the renowned scientific journal Nature. The findings are far-reaching, as the study also proved that maintaining a proper oxygen supply in tumors inhibits these so-called 'epigenetic aberrations'. The paper's insights could eventually lead to new anti-cancer drugs that target blood vessels or the epigenetic aberrations.

Published in today's edition of Nature, the research led by Dr Monkol Lek of the University of Sydney and Dr Daniel MacArthur of The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard Universities reveals patterns of genetic variation worldwide by sequencing the exomes of 60,706 individuals with diverse geographic ancestries, including European, African, South Asian, East Asian and Latino populations.

LA JOLLA--For decades, scientists have known that people with two copies of a gene called apolipoprotein E4 (ApoE4) are much more likely to have Alzheimer's disease at age 65 than the rest of the population. Now, researchers at the Salk Institute have identified a connection between ApoE4 and protein build-up associated with Alzheimer's that provides a possible biochemical explanation for how extra ApoE4 causes the disease.

A recent study by researchers at the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center took them to a not-so-likely destination: local farmers markets. They went in search of fresh ginger root.

Back at the lab, the scientists turned the ginger into what they are calling GDNPs, or ginger-derived nanoparticles. The process started simply enough, with your basic kitchen blender. But then it involved super-high-speed centrifuging and ultrasonic dispersion of the ginger juice, to break it up into single pellets. (Don't try this at home!)