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New target discovered for dengue virus vaccine
Date: Feb-28-2014By re-engineering a tiny chain of amino acids in one type of dengue virus, Ralph Baric and Aravinda de Silva discover a new path toward solving the dengue vaccine dilemma. The research has the potential to transform vaccine development for other diseases, including SARS and HIV. Creating a vaccine that protects people from all four types of dengue virus has frustrated scientists for decades. But researchers at the University of North Carolina have discovered a new target for human antibodies that could hold the key to a vaccine for the world's most widespread mosquito-borne disease.
Technology to detect explosives from greater distances may signal the beginning of the end for full-body scanners
Date: Feb-28-2014Standing in a full-body scanner at an airport isn't fun, and the process adds time and stress to a journey. It also raises privacy concerns. Researchers now report in ACS' The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters a more precise and direct method for using that "terahertz" (THz) technology to detect explosives from greater distances. The advance could ultimately lead to detectors that survey a wider area of an airport without the need for full-body scanners.R. Kosloff and colleagues explain that using THz spectroscopy by itself is challenging for sensing far-away explosives.
Bio-inspired actuated material developed that mimics the complex motion of the heart muscle and could lead to better implantable medical devices
Date: Feb-28-2014In the heart, as in the movies, 3D action beats the 2D experience hands down.In 3D, healthy hearts do their own version of the twist. Rather than a simple pumping action, they circulate blood as if they were wringing a towel. The bottom of the heart twists as it contracts in a counterclockwise direction while the top twists clockwise. Scientists call this the left ventricular twist - and it can be used as an indicator of heart health.The heart is not alone. The human body is replete with examples of soft muscular systems that bend, twist, extend, and flex in complex ways.
Prescribing and reimbursement practices improved in China
Date: Feb-28-2014Pay-for-performance - reimbursing health care providers based on the results they achieved with their patients as a way to improve quality and efficiency - has become a major component of health reforms in the United States, the United Kingdom, and other affluent countries. Although the approach has also become popular in the developing world, there has been little evaluation of its impact. A new study, just released as a Web First by Health Affairs, examines the effects of pay-for-performance, combined with capitation, in China's largely rural Ningxia Province.
Xylem tissue in sapwood can filter bacteria from contaminated water
Date: Feb-28-2014If you've run out of drinking water during a lakeside camping trip, there's a simple solution: Break off a branch from the nearest pine tree, peel away the bark, and slowly pour lake water through the stick. The improvised filter should trap any bacteria, producing fresh, uncontaminated water.In fact, an MIT team has discovered that this low-tech filtration system can produce up to four liters of drinking water a day - enough to quench the thirst of a typical person.
Handgrip strength may be linked to a person's ability to fight disease, cancer
Date: Feb-28-2014New acquaintances are often judged by their handshake. Research has now recognized the simple squeeze as an important diagnostic tool in assessing strength and quality of life among critical care patients.In a study published in the journal, Support Care Cancer, Concordia professor Robert Kilgour and his colleagues at the McGill Nutrition and Performance Laboratory confirmed a link between handgrip strength and survival rates.The test was simple: 203 patients fighting advanced-stage cancers squeezed a device known as a dynamometer with their dominant hand.
Handgrip strength may be linked to a person's ability to fight disease, cancer
Date: Feb-28-2014New acquaintances are often judged by their handshake. Research has now recognized the simple squeeze as an important diagnostic tool in assessing strength and quality of life among critical care patients.In a study published in the journal, Support Care Cancer, Concordia professor Robert Kilgour and his colleagues at the McGill Nutrition and Performance Laboratory confirmed a link between handgrip strength and survival rates.The test was simple: 203 patients fighting advanced-stage cancers squeezed a device known as a dynamometer with their dominant hand.
A woman's attitude during pregnancy affects weight gain
Date: Feb-28-2014Overweight or obese women with the mentality that they are "eating for two" are more likely to experience excessive weight gain while pregnant, according to researchers at Penn State College of Medicine.Cynthia Chuang, associate professor of medicine and public health sciences, studied the attitudes and habits of women who gained appropriate weight and those who exceeded guidelines. Overweight is defined as having a body mass index of 25 to 29; obese is having a BMI greater than 29.
Study of the chronic lymphocytic leukaemia genome reveals new advances
Date: Feb-28-2014A study led by Dr. Roderic Guigo from the Centre for Genomic Regulation in Barcelona, as part of the Chronic Lymphatic Leukaemia Genome Consortium, has made new advances in the study of this disease. The work, which was published (in print version) last week in the journal Genome Research, scrutinised the functional profile of the genes and mutations associated with leukaemia.The Spanish Chronic Lymphatic Leukaemia Genome Consortium had previously identified the principal mutations involved in the development of the disease.
New target discovered for dengue virus vaccine
Date: Feb-28-2014By re-engineering a tiny chain of amino acids in one type of dengue virus, Ralph Baric and Aravinda de Silva discover a new path toward solving the dengue vaccine dilemma. The research has the potential to transform vaccine development for other diseases, including SARS and HIV. Creating a vaccine that protects people from all four types of dengue virus has frustrated scientists for decades. But researchers at the University of North Carolina have discovered a new target for human antibodies that could hold the key to a vaccine for the world's most widespread mosquito-borne disease.
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