Health News

Geneticists show the COPIA-R7 transposon enhances the immunity of its host against a pathogenic microorganism

Date: Aug-19-2013
Transposons are DNA elements that can multiply and change their location within an organism's genome. Discovered in the 1940s, for years they were thought to be unimportant and were called "junk DNA." Also referred to as transposable elements and jumping genes, they are snippets of "selfish DNA" that spread in their host genomes serving no other biological purpose but their own existence. Now Tokuji Tsuchiya and Thomas Eulgem, geneticists at the University of California, Riverside, challenge that understanding...

Researchers discover molecular target for the bacterial infection brucellosis

Date: Aug-19-2013
UC Davis scientists have uncovered a potential drug target for the development of an effective therapy against the debilitating, chronic form of the bacterial disease brucellosis, which primarily afflicts people in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries. Brucellosis, which affects about 500,000 people worldwide each year, typically is caused by ingestion of unsterilized milk or close contact with body secretions from infected animals. Symptoms include intermittent or irregular fever of variable duration, headache, weakness, profuse sweating, chills, weight loss and generalized aching...

Oxytocin may make the brain take notice of faces in autism

Date: Aug-19-2013
Difficulty in registering and responding to the facial expressions of other people is a hallmark of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Relatedly, functional imaging studies have shown that individuals with ASD display altered brain activations when processing facial images. The hormone oxytocin plays a vital role in the social interactions of both animals and humans. In fact, multiple studies conducted with healthy volunteers have provided evidence for beneficial effects of oxytocin in terms of increased trust, improved emotion recognition, and preference for social stimuli...

Omega-3 rich oils improve membrane fluidity in retina cells and can help fight age-related eye diseases

Date: Aug-19-2013
Scientists working at the Research Center on Aging at the Health and Social Services Centre - University Institute of Geriatrics of Sherbrooke (CSSS-IUGS) have been studying strategies for protecting retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells. Dysfunction of the RPE is found in retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration, which is the leading cause of blindness of elderly people in developed countries...

2 miRNAs found to correlate with survival in urinary bladder cancer

Date: Aug-19-2013
German researchers have identified four biomarkers that correctly determine malignancy of urinary bladder cancers and contribute to the accurate prediction of patient outcomes. Their results are published in the September issue of The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics. Current prognosticators of bladder cancer, such as tumor grade, stage, size, and number of foci, have limited usefulness for clinicians since they do not accurately reflect clinical outcomes. Therefore, investigators have been searching for new biomarkers with better diagnostic and prognostic capabilities...

Researchers link PRKG1 genetic mutation to thoracic aortic disease

Date: Aug-19-2013
A multi-institutional team led by Dianna Milewicz, M.D., Ph.D., of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) has found a recurrent genetic mutation that has been linked to deadly thoracic aortic dissections in family members as young as 17 years of age. The gene known as PRKG1 makes a protein called cGMP-dependent kinase, type I...

Flavonoids in celery, artichokes kill human pancreatic cancer cells

Date: Aug-19-2013
Celery, artichokes, and herbs, especially Mexican oregano, all contain apigenin and luteolin, flavonoids that kill human pancreatic cancer cells in the lab by inhibiting an important enzyme, according to two new University of Illinois studies. "Apigenin alone induced cell death in two aggressive human pancreatic cancer cell lines. But we received the best results when we pre-treated cancer cells with apigenin for 24 hours, then applied the chemotherapeutic drug gemcitabine for 36 hours," said Elvira de Mejia, a U of I professor of food chemistry and food toxicology...

Attacking the architecture of the cancer cell may help children with hard-to-treat neuroblastoma

Date: Aug-19-2013
Children with a particularly lethal cancer could benefit from potentially life-saving treatment, following breakthrough work led by researchers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). A whole new class of drugs has been developed that, for the first time, targets the structure of the cancer cell. UNSW researchers have provided proof that the therapy is effective in two types of cancers in the animal model. They are neuroblastoma, a cancer that affects children, and melanoma. The resulting paper has been published in Cancer Research...

Cell cycle-related genes in the pathogenesis of neural tube defects

Date: Aug-19-2013
In the field of developmental neurobiology, accurate and ordered regulation of the cell cycle and apoptosis are crucial factors contributing to the normal formation of the neural tube. Preliminary studies by Xinjun Li and colleagues from Deyang People's Hospital have identified several genes involved in the development of neural tube defects. Their recent study published in Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 8, No. 20, 2013) established a model of developmental neural tube defects by administration of retinoic acid to pregnant rats...

Genes discovered to explain high altitude disease

Date: Aug-19-2013
Scientists say they have discovered why some humans develop chronic mountain sickness (CMS) while other people can adapt to high altitudes. According to a study published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, it is all in the genes. Researchers from the University of California-San Diego (UCSD) say they have decoded a genetic basis for chronic mountain sickness, also known as Monge's disease, which could potentially lead to the development of new treatments...