Health News

Cryptococcus Protected By Titan Cells During Infection

Date: May-29-2012
Giant cells called "titan cells" protect the fungus Cryptococcus neoformans during infection, according to two University of Minnesota researchers. Kirsten Nielsen, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the department of microbiology, and recent Ph.D. recipient Laura Okagaki believe their discovery could help develop new ways to fight infections caused by Cryptococcus. The findings will be published in the June issue of the journal Eukaryotic Cell. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the University of Minnesota's Medical School...

Size Of Clot-Forming Cells Predicted By Mathematical Model

Date: May-29-2012
UC Davis mathematicians have helped biologists figure out why platelets, the cells that form blood clots, are the size and shape that they are. Because platelets are important both for healing wounds and in strokes and other conditions, a better understanding of how they form and behave could have wide implications. "Platelet size has to be very specific for blood clotting," said Alex Mogilner, professor of mathematics, and neurobiology, physiology and behavior at UC Davis and a co-author of the paper, published in the journal Nature Communications...

Researchers Film In Real Time As Messenger RNA Leaves The Cell Nucleus

Date: May-29-2012
The blueprint of all living beings is stored in their genetic material. In higher organisms this is stored in the well-protected cell nucleus. "Here a kind of copier works around the clock to make copies of the information needed at the time," says first author Jan Peter Siebrasse from the Institute for Physical and Theoretical Chemistry at the University of Bonn. The copies contain the information which the cells need to produce vital enzymes or other cell building materials...

Proteomic Analysis Of Immunocamouflaged Surfaces

Date: May-29-2012
The transfusion of red blood cells (RBC) is a critical component in the treatment of a number of acute and chronic medical problems. Indeed, approximately 75 million units of whole blood (~34 million liters) are annually collected worldwide for processing and eventual transfusion. Despite this massive collection effort, the need for blood constantly exceeds availability due to a combination of collection, manufacturing, storage and biological (i.e., immunological) issues...

Physicians Have Trouble Stopping PSA Tests, Despite Questionable Benefits

Date: May-29-2012
Recent recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) advising elimination of routine prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening for prostate cancer in healthy men are likely to encounter serious pushback from primary care physicians, according to results of a survey by Johns Hopkins investigators...

Ancient Chinese Medicine Inspires New Tongue Analysis Software To Warn Of Disease

Date: May-29-2012
For 5,000 years, the Chinese have used a system of medicine based on the flow and balance of positive and negative energies in the body. In this system, the appearance of the tongue is one of the measures used to classify the overall physical status of the body, or zheng. Now, University of Missouri researchers have developed computer software that combines the ancient practices and modern medicine by providing an automated system for analyzing images of the tongue...

Cancer-Promoting, Glucose-Processing Akt Activated By Skp2

Date: May-29-2012
HER2 and its epidermal growth factor receptor cousins mobilize a specialized protein to activate a major player in cancer development and sugar metabolism, scientists report in Cell. This chain of events, the scientists found, promotes Herceptin resistance in breast cancer and activation of glucose metabolism (glycolysis), which cancer cells primarily rely on to fuel their growth and survive. Their research focused on Skp2 E3 ligase, a protein that binds to and tags other proteins with molecules called ubiquitins, in this case to activate the Akt kinase...

Atomic Structure Of Human Argonaute-2 Protein Bound To A MicroRNA 'Guide' Could Lead To Better Understanding Of RNA Interference Mechanisms

Date: May-29-2012
In a study published in the journal Cell, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) scientists describe the three-dimensional atomic structure of a human protein bound to a piece of RNA that "guides" the protein's ability to silence genes. The protein, Argonaute-2, is a key player in RNA interference (RNAi), a powerful cellular phenomenon that has important roles in diverse biological processes, including an organism's development...

Scars, Disfigurement And Hair Loss From Childhood Cancer Can Affect Adult Quality Of Life

Date: May-29-2012
Scars left behind by childhood cancer treatments are more than skin-deep. The increased risk of disfigurement and persistent hair loss caused by childhood cancer and treatment are associated with emotional distress and reduced quality of life in adulthood, according to a new study led by a Northwestern Medicine advanced practice nurse, Karen Kinahan, and based on data from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS)...

Contraceptives Used By 70 Percent Of Women In Spain During Their First Sexual Encounter

Date: May-29-2012
Contraceptive use in Spain during the first sexual encounter is similar to other European countries. However, there are some geographical differences between Spanish regions: women in Murcia use contraceptives less (55.8%) whereas women in the Basque Country use them more (76.7%). Spanish researchers have analysed the prevalence of contraceptive use during the first sexual encounter over the last month in 5,141 sexually active women between the ages of 15 and 49 years through Spain's 17 autonomous communities...