Health News

Discovery of genomic variant associated with sun sensitivity, freckles

Date: Nov-25-2013
Researchers have identified a genomic variant strongly associated with sensitivity to the sun, brown hair, blue eyes - and freckles. In the study of Icelanders the researchers uncovered an intricate pathway involving the interspersed DNA sequence, or non-coding region, of a gene that is among a few dozen that are associated with human pigmentation traits. The study by an international team including researchers from the National Institutes of Health was reported in the online edition of the journal Cell.

Seasonal flu escapes immunity with single amino acid substitutions

Date: Nov-25-2013
Scientists have identified a potential way to improve future flu vaccines after discovering that seasonal flu typically escapes immunity from vaccines with as little as a single amino acid substitution. Additionally, they found these single amino acid changes occur at only seven places on its surface - not the 130 places previously believed. The research was published in the journal Science."This work is a major step forward in our understanding of the evolution of flu viruses, and could possibly enable us to predict that evolution.

Poorer children with kidney disease at greater risk of stunted growth

Date: Nov-25-2013
Even with more prescriptions for growth hormone, children and adolescents with chronic kidney disease were less likely to grow to normal height ranges if they came from lower-income families, according to research funded by the National Institutes of Health. Results from the Chronic Kidney Disease in Children (CKiD) Study are published in the December issue of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases and online now.

Seasonal flu escapes immunity with single amino acid substitutions

Date: Nov-25-2013
Scientists have identified a potential way to improve future flu vaccines after discovering that seasonal flu typically escapes immunity from vaccines with as little as a single amino acid substitution. Additionally, they found these single amino acid changes occur at only seven places on its surface - not the 130 places previously believed. The research was published in the journal Science."This work is a major step forward in our understanding of the evolution of flu viruses, and could possibly enable us to predict that evolution.

Hybrid nano-materials that could replace human tissue or today's pills

Date: Nov-25-2013
A team of researchers has uncovered critical information that could help scientists understand how protein polymers interact with other self-assembling biopolymers. The research helps explain naturally occurring nano-material within cells and could one day lead to engineered bio-composites for drug delivery, artificial tissue, bio-sensing, or cancer diagnosis.Results of this study, "Bionanocomposites: Differential Effects of Cellulose Nanocrystals on Protein Diblock Copolymers," were recently published in the American Chemical Society's BioMacromolecules.

Targeting a single enzyme could prevent and treat diabetes

Date: Nov-25-2013
A single overactive enzyme worsens the two core defects of diabetes - impaired insulin sensitivity and overproduction of glucose - suggesting that a drug targeting the enzyme could help correct both at once, according to mouse studies carried out by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center. The findings were published in the online edition of Cell Metabolism.

Asian, Hispanic, black parents more concerned than whites about online safety issues

Date: Nov-25-2013
Nearly all parents agree -- when their children go online, stranger danger is their biggest safety concern, followed closely by exposure to pornography, violent content and bullying, according to a collaborative study between researchers at Northwestern University and Microsoft Research.But, a parent's level of concern for these and other online safety issues varies depending on their racial and ethnic background, researchers said.

Investigating optimal site for cell transplantation to treat spinal cord injury

Date: Nov-25-2013
It is known that transplanting neural stem/progenitor cells (NS/PCs) into the spinal cord promotes functional recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI). However, which transplantation sites provide optimal benefit? This question was investigated by a Japanese research team and their findings will be published in a future issue of Cell Transplantation, but are currently freely available on-line as an unedited early e-pub.*"It is critical to determine the optimal transplantation site for NS/PCs aimed at treating SCI," said Dr.

Marriage suffers if only one spouse drinks

Date: Nov-25-2013
Do drinking and marriage mix? That depends on who's doing the drinking - and how much - according to a recent study by the University at Buffalo Research Institute on Addictions (RIA).Researchers followed 634 couples from the time of their weddings through the first nine years of marriage and found that couples where only one spouse was a heavy drinker had a much higher divorce rate than other couples.But if both spouses were heavy drinkers? The divorce rate was the same as for couples where neither were heavy drinkers.

Hybrid nano-materials that could replace human tissue or today's pills

Date: Nov-25-2013
A team of researchers has uncovered critical information that could help scientists understand how protein polymers interact with other self-assembling biopolymers. The research helps explain naturally occurring nano-material within cells and could one day lead to engineered bio-composites for drug delivery, artificial tissue, bio-sensing, or cancer diagnosis.Results of this study, "Bionanocomposites: Differential Effects of Cellulose Nanocrystals on Protein Diblock Copolymers," were recently published in the American Chemical Society's BioMacromolecules.