Health News

Field trial with lignin modified poplars shows potential for bio-based economy

Date: Jan-02-2014
The results of a field trial with genetically modified poplar trees in Zwijnaarde, Belgium, shows that the wood of lignin modified poplar trees can be converted into sugars in a more efficient way. These sugars can serve as the starting material for producing bio-based products like bio-plastics and bio-ethanol.The results of the field trial have been published in a scientific article in which the results of a field trial of French colleagues of the INRA institute in Orleans have also been incorporated. The article has been published in the online edition of PNAS of 30 December 2013.

Johns Hopkins review throws doubt on wound care treatment

Date: Jan-02-2014
A systematic review of 66 research papers focused on the treatment of skin ulcers suggests that most are so technically flawed that their results are unreliable. And even of those that pass muster, there is only weak evidence that some treatments work better than standard compression therapy or special stockings.

Targeting malaria parasites raises hopes for new treatments

Date: Jan-02-2014
Scientists have taken an important step towards new malaria treatments by identifying a way to stop malaria parasites from multiplying.In a study published in Nature Chemistry, they show that blocking the activity of an enzyme called NMT in the most common malaria parasite prevents mice from showing symptoms and extends their lifespan. The team are working to design molecules that target NMT more potently, and hope to start clinical trials of potential treatments within four years.A recent study estimated that 1.2 million people died from malaria in 2010.

Many chronic diseases associated with aging are due to parasitic DNA

Date: Jan-02-2014
The genomes of organisms from humans to corn are replete with "parasitic" strands of DNA that, when not suppressed, copy themselves and spread throughout the genome, potentially affecting health. Earlier this year Brown University researchers found that these "retrotransposable elements" were increasingly able to break free of the genome's control in cultures of human cells. Now in a new paper in the journal Aging, they show that RTEs are increasingly able to break free and copy themselves in the tissues of mice as the animals aged.

A cyclical concept of time can boost your bank account, the Groundhog Day way

Date: Jan-02-2014
Thinking about time as a cycle of recurring experiences - a reality Bill Murray's character knows all too well in the movie Groundhog Day - may help us to put more money away into our savings, according to new research. The findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.The findings suggest that a cyclical mindset may be more effective at encouraging short-term savings than the typical linear, goal-oriented approach to time.

Powerful new screening strategy may lead to treatment for obesity-linked diabetes

Date: Jan-02-2014
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have demonstrated a drug-discovery strategy with a double payoff - it enables the rapid selection of chemical compounds that have a desired effect on cells and also highlights how the compounds work.To illustrate the power of the innovative technique, the TSRI researchers used it to identify a compound that shows promise for treating obesity-linked diabetes. At the same time, they were able to identify the fat-cell enzyme that the compound inhibits - an enzyme that has not yet been a focus of diabetes drug development.

Alzheimer's: where it starts, why it starts there, and how it spreads

Date: Jan-02-2014
Using high-resolution functional MRI (fMRI) imaging in patients with Alzheimer's disease and in mouse models of the disease, Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have clarified three fundamental issues about Alzheimer's: where it starts, why it starts there, and how it spreads. In addition to advancing understanding of Alzheimer's, the findings could improve early detection of the disease, when drugs may be most effective. The study was published in the online edition of the journal Nature Neuroscience.

Testosterone-regulated genes may affect vaccine-induced immunity

Date: Jan-02-2014
A new study has identified a link between certain genes affected by testosterone and antibody responses to an influenza vaccine. The findings, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest that testosterone levels may partially explain why men often have weaker responses to vaccines than women. The study, led by researchers at Stanford University, was supported in part by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a component of the National Institutes of Health.

Making sad sense of child abuse

Date: Jan-02-2014
When a man in Israel was accused of sexually abusing his young daughter, it was hard for many people to believe - a neighbor reported seeing the girl sitting and drinking hot chocolate with her father every morning, laughing, smiling, and looking relaxed. Such cases are not exceptional, however. Children react to sexual and physical abuse in unpredictable ways, making it hard to discern the clues.Now Dr. Carmit Katz of Tel Aviv University's Bob Shapell School of Social Work has found that when parents are physically abusive, children tend to accommodate it.

PDL-1 antibody could help immune system fight off influenza viral infection, study suggests

Date: Jan-02-2014
An antibody that blocks a component of a key signaling pathway in the respiratory airways could help the immune system rid the body of the influenza virus, a new study suggests. The findings, from a team at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, not only offer a new approach to treating the flu, but also add new information about how the immune system responds to respiratory viral infections.