Health News

Autophagy predicts which cancer cells live and die when faced with anti-cancer drugs

Date: Jan-14-2014
When a tumor is treated with an anti-cancer drug, some cells die and, unfortunately, some cells tend to live. A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in the journal Nature Cell Biology details a possible difference between the susceptible and resistant cells: the rate at which cells are able to cleanse themselves via the process known as autophagy."In these studies, say we treat cells with the IC-50 of a drug - at that dose, 50 percent of cells should live and 50 percent of cells should die. But the fundamental question is why does cell A die whereas cell B lives?

A daughter's risk of nicotine dependence increased by maternal stress hormones and maternal smoking

Date: Jan-14-2014
Tobacco smoking by pregnant women has long been viewed as a public health risk because of smoking's adverse effects on the development of a fetus.Smoking during pregnancy is linked to numerous negative outcomes, including low birth weight, sudden infant death syndrome, and increased risk for attention deficit disorder, conduct disorder, and nicotine use in offspring. Despite this extensive literature, it is estimated that 13%-30% of women in the United States continue to smoke while pregnant.

Bacteria-invading virus yields new discoveries

Date: Jan-14-2014
Innovative work by two Florida State University scientists that shows the structural and DNA breakdown of a bacteria-invading virus is being featured on the cover of the February issue of the journal Virology.Kathryn Jones and Elizabeth Stroupe, both assistant professors in the Department of Biological Science, have deconstructed a type of virus called a bacteriophage, which infects bacteria. Their work will help researchers in the future have a better understanding of how the virus invades and impacts bacteria, and could be particularly useful for the agriculture industry.

Physicians hesitate to prescribe antidepressants for depressed teens

Date: Jan-14-2014
Pediatric primary care practitioners (PCPs) are reluctant to prescribe antidepressant medications to adolescent patients - even those with severe depression, reports a study in the January Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, the official journal of the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

Seeking the source of body louse pathology

Date: Jan-14-2014
A new study seeks to determine how one parasitic species can give rise to two drastically different outcomes in its host: The human body louse (Pediculus humanus) can transmit dangerous bacterial infections to humans, while the human head louse (also Pediculus humanus) does not.A report of the new study appears in the journal Insect Molecular Biology."Body louse-transmitted diseases include trench fever, relapsing fever and epidemic typhus," said University of Illinois entomology professor Barry Pittendrigh, who led the research.

Research reveals the mechanism of genetic mutations known to cause familial Alzheimer's disease

Date: Jan-14-2014
New research, led by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute researcher Chunyu Wang, has solved one mystery in the development of Familial Alzheimer's Disease (FAD), a genetic variant of the disease that affects a small fraction of the Alzheimer's population. In a paper published in the journal Nature Communications, Wang and his team follow the trail of two genetic mutations - V44M and V44A - known to cause FAD, and show how the mutations lead to biochemical changes long linked to the disease.

Cilia in the same organism may operate at different speeds animated by different molecular motors

Date: Jan-14-2014
Cilia - short, hair-like fibers - are widely present in nature. Single-celled paramecia use one set of cilia for locomotion and another set to sweep nutrients into their oral grooves. Researchers at Brown have discovered that those two cilia sets operate at different speeds when the viscosity of the environment changes. That suggests different molecular motors driving them, which could help explain how cilia have come to be used for so many different tasks in nature. Cilia are one of nature's great multipurpose tools.

Looking younger for longer

Date: Jan-14-2014
Newcastle University researchers have identified an antioxidant Tiron, which offers total protection against some types of sun damage and may ultimately help our skin stay looking younger for longer.Publishing in The FASEB Journal, the authors describe how in laboratory tests, they compared the protection offered against either UVA radiation or free radical stress by several antioxidants, some of which are found in foods or cosmetics.

The start of the cyborgs era

Date: Jan-14-2014
Medical implants, complex interfaces between brain and machine or remotely controlled insects: Recent developments combining machines and organisms have great potentials, but also give rise to major ethical concerns. In their review entitled "Chemie der Cyborgs - zur Verknüpfung technischer Systeme mit Lebewesen" (The Chemistry of Cyborgs - Interfacing Technical Devices with Organisms)*, KIT scientists discuss the state of the art of research, opportunities, and risks. The review is published now by the renowned journal Angewandte Chemie Int. Ed..

Flu vaccine rates boosted by text messaging during pregnancy

Date: Jan-14-2014
A study by researchers at the Mailman School of Public Health evaluated the impact of text messaging reminders for influenza vaccine in a low-income obstetric population. The findings showed that sending text messages to this population of women resulted in an uptick in influenza vaccination, especially for those who received the messages early in their third trimester.