Health News

In girls from low-income families,cultural differences shed light on non-completion of HPV vaccination

Date: Oct-08-2013
Although they are at higher risk for cervical cancer, girls from low-income families are less likely to receive the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine that prevents it, and the reasons they are not fully vaccinated differ depending on whether their parents are English-speaking or Spanish-speaking, suggests research presented at IDWeek 2013™. In the study, Spanish-speaking parents whose daughters were not fully vaccinated said their providers either did not encourage the vaccine or didn't explain that three shots were necessary for full protection...

New heart drug targets suggested by massive DNA study

Date: Oct-08-2013
A global hunt for genes that influence heart disease risk has uncovered 157 changes in human DNA that alter the levels of cholesterol and other blood fats - a discovery that could lead to new medications. Each of the changes points to genes that can modify levels of cholesterol and other blood fats and are potential drug targets. Many of the changes point to genes not previously linked to blood fats, also called lipids. A surprising number of the variations were also associated with coronary artery disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure...

Genetically modified sweet corn better for the environment and safer for farm workers

Date: Oct-08-2013
Since 1996, corn containing a gene that allows it to create a protein that is toxic to certain insects, yet safe for human consumption, has been grown in the United States. However, most of this "Bt corn" has been used for animal feed or processed into corn meal, starch, or other products. Although varieties of sweet corn (corn on the cob) have existed since the late 1990s, relatively few acres have been planted. Due to pressure from activist groups, some grocery stores have refused to carry Bt sweet corn...

How fluid dynamics and transport shaped the structure of our lungs in the course of evolution

Date: Oct-08-2013
Two French physicists, Bernard Sapoval and Marcel Filoche from Ecole Polytechnique in Palaiseau, France, suggest in a study published in European Physical Journal E, how evolution has shaped our lungs through successive optimisations of physical parameters such as conservation of energy and speed of delivery. Our respiratory system consists of a bronchial tree designed to transport air through the lungs combined with an alveolar system designed to capture the oxygen. Both are subjected to different type of optimisations...

For the first time gene activity and transcript patterns visualized in thousands of single cells

Date: Oct-08-2013
Biologists of the University of Zurich have developed a method to visualize the activity of genes in single cells. The method is so efficient that, for the first time, a thousand genes can be studied in parallel in ten thousand single human cells. Applications lie in fields of basic research and medical diagnostics. The new method shows that the activity of genes, and the spatial organization of the resulting transcript molecules, strongly vary between single cells...

A protein discovered that triggers inflammatory responses in hemorrhage and sepsis

Date: Oct-08-2013
Investigators at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have discovered a protein in the human body that can trigger and mediate inflammation in patients suffering from hemorrhage and sepsis. The findings were published in the online version of Nature Medicine. Thirty-seven million people are admitted to the emergency room with traumatic injury each year, and these injuries are a leading cause of death in the US. Two major reasons why traumatic injury is so deadly are loss of blood (hemorrhage) and a clinical condition called sepsis...

Inhibitory neuron type found to specifically suppress activation of other inhibitory neurons in cerebral cortex

Date: Oct-08-2013
The cerebral cortex contains two major types of neurons: principal neurons that are excitatory and interneurons that are inhibitory, all interconnected within the same network. New research now reveals that one class of inhibitory neurons - called VIP interneurons -- specializes in inhibiting other inhibitory neurons in multiple regions of cortex, and does so under specific behavioral conditions. The new research finds that VIP interneurons, when activated, release principal cells from inhibition, thus boosting their responses...

New drug candidate found for fungal lung infections

Date: Oct-08-2013
On a molecular level, you have more in common with shower curtain mold or the mushrooms on your pizza than you might think. Humans and fungi share similar proteins, a biological bond that makes curing fungal infections difficult and expensive. Current costs to treat these stubborn infections can top $50,000 per patient, and no new classes of antifungal drugs that treat systemic infections have been introduced for at least 20 years...

The mechanism of the sodium-potassium pump revealed

Date: Oct-08-2013
It's not visible to the naked eye and you can't feel it, but up to 40 per cent of your body's energy goes into supplying the microscopic sodium-potassium pump with the energy it needs. The pump is constantly doing its job in every cell of all animals and humans. It works much like a small battery which, among other things, maintains the sodium balance which is crucial to keep muscles and nerves working. The sodium-potassium pump transports sodium out and potassium into the cell in a fixed cycle. During this process the structure of the pump changes...

Six new Sjögren's syndrome genes identified

Date: Oct-08-2013
With the completion of the first genome-wide association study for Sjögren's syndrome, an international coalition of researchers led by scientists at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation has identified six new disease-related genes. Their work appears in the journal Nature Genetics. Sjögren's syndrome is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system becomes confused and turns against the body's moisture-producing glands, damaging the ability to produce saliva or tears...