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The Genetic Causes Of A Male Infertility Disorder
Date: Oct-29-2012Severe spermatogenic failure (SSF) is a genetic condition that causes low sperm count and infertility. New insights into the genetic alterations that cause this disorder and their prevalence in populations of men around the world are provided by a study published by Cell Press in the American Journal of Human Genetics . The findings reveal which alterations are the greatest risk factors for the disease, and they could be immediately applicable in genetic counseling for assisted reproduction...
New Means To Eradicate Malaria Infections By Rapidly Killing The Blood-Borne Plasmodium Parasites That Cause The Disease
Date: Oct-29-2012Malaria causes up to 3 million deaths each year, predominantly afflicting vulnerable people such as children under five and pregnant women, in tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Treatments are available for this disease, but the Plasmodium parasite is fast becoming resistant to the most common drugs, and health authorities say they desperately need new strategies to tackle the disease. This new potential treatment uses molecules that interfere with an important stage of the parasite's growth cycle and harnesses this effect to kill them...
New Insights Into How Antibiotics Work
Date: Oct-29-2012Powerful antibiotics that scientists and physicians thought stop the growth of harmful bacteria by completely blocking their ability to make proteins actually allow the germs to continue producing certain proteins -- which may help do them in. The finding, by a team at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy, clarifies how antibiotics work and may aid in the discovery of new drugs or improve clinical therapy with existing ones. The study is published in the journal Cell...
First Mouse Model Of Typhoid Fever
Date: Oct-29-2012Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have created the first true mouse model of typhoid infection. The development promises to advance the study of typhoid and the creation of new vaccines against the infection, which remains a major health threat in developing countries. The paper was published in the online edition of the journal Cell. "Vaccines are the most practical solution for preventing typhoid in the Third World. Unfortunately, existing typhoid vaccines are only modestly effective, leaving millions of people vulnerable to infection...
Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Cell Wall Could Soon Be Breached
Date: Oct-29-2012Researchers at Johns Hopkins have figured out the three-dimensional shape of the protein responsible for creating unique bonds within the cell wall of the bacteria that cause tuberculosis. The bonds make the bacteria resistant to currently available drug therapies, contributing to the alarming rise of these super-bacteria throughout the world. With the protein structure in hand, the scientists say, drug designers have a clear way forward for weakening the cell wall and killing these deadly bacteria. Their results are reported in a paper published online in Structure...
New Nano Drug Delivery System Developed For Bladder Cancer
Date: Oct-29-2012A team of UC Davis scientists has shown in experimental mouse models that a new drug delivery system allows for administration of three times the maximum tolerated dose of a standard drug therapy for advanced bladder cancer, leading to more effective cancer control without increasing toxicity. The delivery system consists of specially designed nanoparticles that home in on tumor cells while carrying the anti-cancer drug paclitaxel. The same delivery system also was successfully used to carry a dye that lights up on imaging studies, making it potentially useful for diagnostic purposes...
Key Regulatory Pathways Of Myeloid Differentiation Identified
Date: Oct-29-2012Associate Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology Fei Wang and colleagues have created a new technique to study how myeloids, a type of blood stem cell, become the white blood cells important for immune system defense against infections and tissue damage. This tool provides an improved understanding of the molecular mechanisms at work during this myeloid differentiation process, and may improve our ability to treat myeloid diseases like leukemia. Their findings appear in the journal Blood...
Major Flaw Identified In Standard Approach To Global Gene Expression Analysis
Date: Oct-29-2012Whitehead Institute researchers report that common assumptions employed in the generation and interpretation of data from global gene expression analyses can lead to seriously flawed conclusions about gene activity and cell behavior in a wide range of current biological research. "Expression analysis is one of the most commonly used methods in modern biology," says Whitehead Member Richard Young. "So we are concerned that flawed assumptions may affect the interpretation of many biological studies...
Prevention And Treatment Strategies For Low Blood Pressure Developed For Astronauts May Also Hold Promise For The Elderly
Date: Oct-29-2012When astronauts return to Earth, their altitude isn't the only thing that drops - their blood pressure does too. This condition, known as orthostatic hypotension, occurs in up to half of those astronauts on short-term missions (two weeks or less) and in nearly all astronauts after long-term missions (four to six months). A new research report published online in The FASEB Journal solves the biological mystery of how this happens by showing that low gravity compromises the ability of arteries and veins to constrict normally, inhibiting the proper flow of blood...
Improving Understanding Of Organ Regeneration Using Planarian Flatworms
Date: Oct-29-2012In a new study published in Developmental Cell,corresponding author Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator Phillip Newmark and colleagues report the identification of genes that control growth and regeneration of the intestine in the freshwater planarian Schmidtea mediterranea. How animals repair their internal organs after injury is not well understood. Planarian flatworms are useful models for studying this question...
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