SUNDAY - April 29, 2007---------------------------- Previous Week News Alerts / Return to Today's News Alerts

Cervical Abnormalities Common in HIV-Infected Girls.
Sexually active teenage girls infected around the time of birth with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, are more likely to have cervical infections and abnormal Pap test results, new research shows. The study involved a total of 638 girls infected with HIV during birth, and who were 13 to 21 years old when they entered a pediatric AIDS study between 2000 and 2005. More than three-quarters were receiving HIV medication and their rate of pregnancy was much lower than among uninfected girls of similar ages in the US. The low pregnancy rates were attributed to the fact that "some of these girls have severely compromised health and serious illness, making it difficult to become pregnant."

A Revolution In The Monitoring Of Unborn Babies.
A new technology the size of a mobile phone that could save the life of an unborn child, has been developed by scientists from The University of Nottingham. The device monitors the baby's heart for signs of potential danger. It is small and easy to use so that mother's-to-be can keep a regular check on their baby's heart beat without having to go into hospital and be attached to a machine. No other technology allows them to do this.

Drug Therapy Reduces Preterm Births - Lifetime Medical Costs.
Researchers from MetroHealth Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH have found that expectant mothers with a history of spontaneous preterm births, when treated with 17 Alpha Hydroxyprogesterone caproate (17P), reduced the incidence of another preterm birth and consequently reduced both short-term and lifetime medical costs in their children. Senior investigator Jennifer Bailit MD, MPH, of the MetroHealth Medical Center says, "If the eligible population was universally treated with 17P, lifetime medical costs of their offspring could be reduced by more than $2 billion annually."

Food Cue-related Brain Activity Linked To Obesity?
A unique pattern of gene expression observed in rats may be linked to a conditioned desire for food and excessive food intake, an article published in BMC Biology suggests. The study results suggest that food-associated cues have a powerful influence on neuronal activity and gene expression in brain areas mediating complicated functions such as cognition and emotion, and more basic abilities such as arousal and energy balance. The pattern of activation differs from that elicited by neutral cues, and may well contribute to a conditioned motivational state that can lead to excessive food intake.

Smoking Common During Pregnancy, Study Shows.
While pregnancy may be considered an effective motivator for smoking cessation, results of a new study by researchers at the Mailman School of Public Health indicate that pregnant U.S. women commonly smoke, placing themselves and their unborn children at risk for health and developmental complications. The research also found a significant association between cigarette use, nicotine dependence, and the presence of mental disorders among pregnant women.
SATURDAY - April 28, 2007---------------------------- Previous Week News Alerts / Return to Today's News Alerts

Scientists ReCreate 'Human' Leukemia Process To Map Disease.
Cancer researchers have developed a method to convert normal human blood cells into "human" leukemia stem cells. When transplanted into special mice that permit the growth of human cells, these cells can replicate the entire disease process from the very moment it begins. The leukemic stem cells that were created change as the human leukemia is grown for longer times in a series of transplanted mice. These leukemic stem cells could explain several features of the leukemia in children and adults that also contain the same leukemia gene.

Minuscule Molecules Pack A Powerful Punch.
One of the world's first microRNA knockout mouse is showing the important role of microRNA in the immune system. Although plentiful, a gene called Bic/microRNA-155 (or miR-155) in embryonic stem cells had never before been knocked out in mice, the best model for human disease. Knocking out miR-155 was significant: the knockout mice were less able to resist infection by bacteria than mice with normal miR-155, producing lower levels of antibody and a reduced response by T-cells. The failure to mount an effective immune response, susceptibility to autoimmunity and susceptibility to infection are being examined for possible therapeutic agents.

Four New Genes Linked to Diabetes.
The findings by four international teams of researchers, published on Thursday in the journals Science and Nature Genetics, provided great insight into the role played by genes in a disease also tremendously influenced by behavior - eating too much and exercising too little. They identified at least eight genes that are clear diabetes risk factors - including three previously unknown ones - and several other likely risk factors that merit further attention. All are common in the general population.

Mouse's Internal Clock Works Overtime.
Fbxl3 is a gene that has been discovered to help trigger the destruction of proteins no longer needed in the cell. F-box proteins play a part in the protein machinery known as the SCF ubiquitin E3 ligase complex, tagging unwanted proteins with a small molecule - ubiquitin - and targeting them for destruction. Scientists have found out now that FBXL3 specifically targets two circadian proteins called Cryptochrome 1 and Cryptochrome 2. When the "Overtime mutation" prevents the destruction of these two Cryptochrome proteins, they accumulate within the cell. Their normal disappearance is needed for key "Period" genes to switch on, triggering a next cycle of the cell's circadian clock. In a Cryptochrome mutant mouse, the clock ticks slower, giving the mouse a 26-hour circadian cycle.

Dynamin's Role in Nerve Cell Function
Endocytosis is the process by which synaptic vesicles are created thus allowing neurotransmission to occur. Dynamin 1 helps sever the slender necks of these hollow bud-like structures - but only when stimulated during high levels of activity. It turns out that dynamin 1 is not needed for basic nerve cell function. The tremendous amount of dynamin 1 that exists in the brain appears only necessary to increase the response of synaptic function to stimulation.

Prions Block Cell Recycling System to Cause Disease.
The rogue prion proteins responsible for diseases like BSE and vCJD can destroy brain cells by blocking the protein recycling process that helps keep cells healthy. An international group of scientists, led by Dr Sarah Tabrizi of University College London’s Institute of Neurology, has now discovered which part of the structure of the protein it is that creates this effect and that even a tiny number of rogue prions are toxic enough to stop a cell’s protein clearing machinery and cause disease.

Gene Found in Human Stem Cells May Benefit Transplant Patients
Oxford scientists have revealed a link between a gene and the activity of human blood stem cells, giving hope that stem cell transplant success for blood cancer patients may be significantly improved. Dr Rajeev Gupta, a Leukaemia Research-funded consultant haematologist, has uncovered that the gene Nephroblastoma Overexpressed (Nov) plays a key role in regulating the production of blood from stem cells. The work, which was carried out in the MRC Molecular Haematology Unit, is published in the journal Science.

FRIDAY - April 27, 2007---------------------------- Previous Week News Alerts / Return to Today's News Alerts

Effectiveness of China’s One-Child Policy Examined.
The first systematic examination of China’s fertility policy and practice reveals that, despite government exemptions in rural areas, 63 percent of Chinese couples still are limited to one child. The policy has proven remarkably effective in decreasing birth rates nearly to the mandated levels - but, the law’s success is contributing to an increasing proportion of older Chinese citizens, a shrinking workforce, and a disproportionate number of males to females.

Omega-3 May Fight Alzheimer Brain Changes.
A type of omega-3 fatty acid may slow the growth of two brain lesions that are hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease, UC Irvine scientists have discovered. The finding suggests that diets rich in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) can help prevent the development of Alzheimer’s disease later in life. This latest study adds to growing evidence that diet and lifestyle changes may reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease

No Evidence Ethnic Groups’ Genes Cause Diabetes.
A study by U.S. and Australian researchers is helping dispel the 40-year-old “thrifty genotype theory,” which purports that certain minority groups are genetically prone to diabetes. The team found no evidence to support the widely held thrifty genotype theory, which suggests that cycles of feast and famine early in human history created a gene that helps the body use scarce nutrients.

Native Alaskan Children Falling Ill with Non Vaccine Strain of Strep.
After responding well to the heptavalent childhood pneumococcal vaccine for three years, Native Alaskan children are falling ill from strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae not covered by the vaccine, according to the CDC. The rate of overall invasive pneumococcal disease fell 67% in native Alaskan children younger than two in 2001 through 2003, the first three years after the vaccine was introduced. However, since 2004, the rate of disease caused by non-vaccine strains of S. pneumoniae has increased by 140%. Over-crowded and sometimes substandard housing, combined with a lack of running water and flush toilets, may provide an opportunity for bacteria to spread.

Genomic Hunt Captures "Diabetes DNA"
Scientists have identified three new stretches of DNA that appear to boost the chance of getting diabetes. The findings, confirmed in roughly 32,000 people with and without the disease, suggest that so-called genome-wide association (GWA) studies are paying off. Scientists caution that they have a long way to go before the new genetics can be applied to patients, but they're hopeful that after years of trying, they're finally beginning to decipher the genetics of common diseases.

Looking back - news worth a second look...

Building the nuclear pore piece by piece.
April 13, 2007
Nuclear pore complexes are the sole gatekeepers for the cell’s nucleus - proteins, RNA, viruses, anything that passes between the nucleus and the rest of the cell has to use one of these giant protein holes. When arranging the different snapshots one after another as if in a flipbook, scientists see that Nup58/45 proteins are actually sliding back and forth along each other, changing the size of the central channel much like the opening of a camera aperture.

To Recognize Their Friends, Mice Use Their Amygdalas.
April 5, 2007
Social recognition is an important part of normal life for animals of every species. “Remembering an individual allows one animal to modify its behavior towards others based on past experiences,” says Donald Pfaff, head of the Laboratory of Neurobiology and Behavior, The Rockefeller University. By disrupting oxytocin signaling, Pfaff’s lab has shown that in female mice, as has previously been shown in males, oxytocin acts on a portion of the brain called the amygdala, involved in emotions, memories and assessing danger.

THURSDAY - April 26, 2007---------------------------- Previous Week News Alerts / Return to Today's News Alerts

Animal Model of Infant Seizures Developed.
Researchers have developed a mouse model of infantile spasms, which may help in the development of new treatments for this kind of epileptic seizure afflicting young children. Infantile spasms cause a sudden bending forward and stiffening of the body, arms and legs. The seizures, which typically last one to five seconds, occur in clusters of two to 100 at a time. There are few available treatments.

Kids' Diarrhea Virus Can Make Its Way Into Blood System.
Rotavirus, the most common cause of severe diarrhea in children, can cause a systemic infection, not just infection confined to the intestines, a new study confirms. The finding suggests that children may carry and pass on the bug even if they don't have diahhrea.

Vitamin A May Boost Vaccine Effectiveness in Kids.
Giving vitamin A supplements to young children may boost their immune system response to tetanus and other types of vaccines, U.S. researchers say. Giving vitamin A supplementation to young rats helped improve immune response to tetanus vaccinations at a later age. If the same is true in young children, the researchers said that "neonatal-age vitamin A supplementation may benefit the vaccine response of children whose post-weaning vitamin A intake is not adequate."

Urine Testing for Kidney Cells Can Help Detect Preeclampsia.
Urine testing for kidney cells can help detect preeclampsia, a potentially serious condition involving high blood pressure and fluid retention during pregnancy, according to findings published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Podocyturia, the term for the presence of certain kidney cells in the urine, can identify pregnant women with preeclampsia and was present in all patients with preeclampsia.

Addictive Drugs Harm Brain's Natural Brake.
Large swaths of garbled human DNA once dismissed as junk appear to contain some valuable sections, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the University of California-Santa Cruz. The scientists propose that this redeemed DNA plays a role in controlling when genes turn on and off. In rats, the painkiller blocked the brain's ability to strengthen connections, or synapses, that ratchet down reward or pleasure, researchers from Brown University reported in the journal Nature.

Hot flashes, Genes, Obesity and Alcohol.
Genes, obesity and alcohol consumption are contributing to – or lessening – the intensity and frequency of hot flashes in midlife women, according to a five-year research study between three institutions. Researchers are looking at a gene encoding an enzyme, 3-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, associated with an increase in hot flashes, as well as the link between obesity and hormone levels due to a higher body mass index (BMI), and the consumption of alcohol by women.

Massachusetts to Propose Lifting State Stem Cell Limits.
The Massachusetts State Department of Public Health proposes the scrapping of restrictions on stem cell research that generated widespread concern among scientists who feared criminal penalties for conducting certain kinds of laboratory work. Public health administrators write that the stem cell rule "created an uncertain regulatory environment for those engaged in stem cell research" and could hobble the state's efforts to remain a leader in the emerging field. Last month, Governor Deval Patrick announced his support for rolling back the restrictions.

Reducing Dietary Salt Today = Long Term Cardiovascular Health.
In an extended follow-up of a randomized trial, researchers found that reducing sodium intake among men and women lowered subsequent risk of cardiovascular disease by 25 percent more than 10 years after the trial ended. Participants, ages 30 to 54 years with high normal blood pressure took part in a sodium intervention during which participants were taught to identify, select and prepare low-salt foods.  The study demonstrated that by reducing dietary salt intake, an individual could lower the risk of developing cardiovascular disease 10 to 15 years post-trial. The study took place at 10 clinic sites throughout the United States from 1987 to 1995.

WEDNESDAY - April 25, 2007---------------------------- Previous Week News Alerts / Return to Today's News Alerts

Mexico City legalizes first-trimester abortions.
City lawmakers voted Tuesday to legalize abortion in this capital during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, an action supporters say will serve as a landmark for women's rights in Latin America. Cuba, Puerto Rico and Guyana are the only places in the region that allow abortion on demand. But a subculture of illegal and often unsafe abortions exists in nearly every country of overwhelmingly Catholic Latin America.

U.S. Examines if Pet Food Contaminant is in Human Food.
U.S. health officials are now looking at whether humans may have consumed food containing a chemical linked to a recall of pet foods and livestock feed, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday.

Breast-feeding No Help in Preventing Adult Obesity.
IBeing breast-fed as a baby provides no protection against adult obesity, according to a U.S. study published on Tuesday. Health agencies including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics encourage women to breast-feed their babies for at least six months, mostly because many studies show it leads to healthier babies. It also reduces the risk of childhood obesity. But the effects do not appear to extend into adulthood.

Horses Lead Humans in Stem Cells Race.
Stem cell therapy may be controversial in human medicine but in the world of horse racing it is becoming the odds-on favorite for tackling tendon damage, which accounts for one in three racecourse injuries.

'Junk' DNA Now Looks Like Powerful Regulator.
Large swaths of garbled human DNA once dismissed as junk appear to contain some valuable sections, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the University of California-Santa Cruz. The scientists propose that this redeemed DNA plays a role in controlling when genes turn on and off.

Anti-aging Gene Influence on Metabolic Activity & Obesity.
A relative of the anti-aging gene Klotho helps activate a hormone that can lower blood glucose levels in fat cells of mice. This makes beta-Klotho a novel target for treating human obesity and diabetes to either block or enhance metabolic activity. Beta-Klotho is active in fat cells, and binds to receptors activating FGF21, a hormone known to lower blood glucose levels in diabetic and obese mice.

Obese Women's Difficult Births Due To Uterus Failure.
In a United Kingdom study of 4,000 pregnant women, researchers found that almost 1 in 5 overweight women had to undergo an emergency Caesarean Section birth because the muscles in their uterus failed. The research suggests obesity impairs the ability of the uterus to contract sufficiently in order to dilate the cervix and deliver the baby.

Diagnostic Test For Women At High Risk Of Preterm Birth.
Oregon Health Science University's Srinivasa R. Nagalla and colleagues there and at the University of Washington in Seattle, report the discovery of protein biomarkers that could lead to a noninvasive test for predicting when pregnant women are about to deliver early.

Children's Lungs Fall Victim To Traffic Pollution.
Young children living close to busy roads are at increased risk of developing asthma, ear, nose and throat (ENT) infections, and are more sensitive to food allergens. The study is published in the forthcoming issue of the European Respiratory Journal (ERJ), and monitored over 4,000 Dutch infants from birth to the age of four, assessing their exposure to airborne pollutants on the basis of where they lived.

Enzyme Mutations Lnked to Inherited Form of Fatal Lung Disease.
Mutations in a gene that helps regulate cell division are responsible for some inherited cases of a fatal lung disease called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, or IPF. The findings support evidence that normal lungs contain a population of cells that, like stem cells, divide to provide new cells in response to age or injury and keep the lungs functional. Researchers found that a deficiency of telomerase in the lungs may interfere with this self-repair mechanism, leading to IPF.

TUESDAY - April 24, 2007---------------------------- Previous Week News Alerts / Return to Today's News Alerts

PCBs Found to Cause Developmental Abnormalities in Rat Pups.
A study reported in the on line, Early Edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the week of April 23-27, showed that non-coplanar PCBs and related toxicants altered rat pups’ auditory cortex, the part of the brain that processes sound. The neural circuitry was disorganized and the nerve cells had a decreased capacity to change, or “learn,” in response to sound. In children with a variety of developmental disorders, including language impairments and autism, the auditory cortex responds abnormally to sound. Sadly, scientists also noted that infants who were breast fed for more than three months had 6.6 times higher levels of PCBs in their blood plasma than infants who did not breast feed.

Men and Women Show Alcohol Problems Differently.
In a study of 2,750 men and women, researchers at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis found that the sexes showed some key differences in symptoms of problem drinking. Men more often reported they binged, got into fights when drinking, or they needed to drink increasing amounts in order to get drunk. Women were less likely to report such symptoms, but were more likely to have depression or to say they felt guilty when they drank.

Alcohol Damages Women's Brains Faster Than Men's.
Women metabolize alcohol differently than men. One reason is that men have more water in their bodies, which better dilutes alcohol's effects. Women may also have less of an enzyme that converts alcohol into an inactive substance. Other physiological effects of alcoholism, such as heart and liver damage, are known to occur more quickly in women than in men, a phenomenon known as "telescoping."

Melanoma in Kids Different from Adult Melanoma.
Researchers compared melanoma cases of children and teenagers who were between 1 and 19 years old with those for patients between 20 and 24 years. Using the National Cancer Data Base of 3,158 children and teenagers, the authors detected a relationship between the site of skin melanomas and age. Younger patients were significantly more likely to be male and nonwhite, to have primary tumors of the head and neck, and to have regional or distant cancer spread.

Pregnant Moms - Antibiotics not advised before dental work.
Even if the patient is in a high-risk group, not all dental procedures warrant preventive antibiotics. In a marked departure from prior guidelines, new recommendations released by the American Heart Association emphasize that most patients undergoing dental procedures do not need antibiotics to prevent infective endocarditis, a potentially life-threatening infection of the heart.

One of Life's Most Common Compounds Causes Allergic Asthma.
The beetle’s back and the crab’s shell owe their toughness to a common compound called chitin that now appears to trigger airway inflammation and possibly asthma, UCSF scientists have found. Despite being the most common biopolymer on earth after cellulose, chitin never occurs naturally in humans and other vertebrates.

Natural Antioxidant Is Potent Killer of Leukemia Cells.
A naturally occurring compound found in many fruits and vegetables as well as red wine, selectively kills leukemia cells in culture while showing no discernible toxicity against healthy cells, according to a study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. These findings, which were published online March 20 in the Journal of Biological Chemistry and will be in press on May 4, offer hope for a more selective, less toxic therapy for leukemia.

Oxford Geneticist Wins Research Award.
Oxford scientist Dr Mary Lyon of the Medical Research Council, has been presented with the Lewis S. Rosenstiel Award for Distinguished Work in Basic Medical Science for hter work begun 50 years ago. Dr Lyon’s curiosity about a mouse’s unusual coat color, led her to reveal the fundamental genetic mechanism called X-chromosome inactivation, a process now known as ‘Lyonisation’. This phenomenon has opened more lines of enquiry than any other recent biological concept and improved scientists’ understanding of the underlying genetic events leading to a number of medical conditions.

MONDAY - April 23, 2007---------------------------- Previous Week News Alerts / Return to Today's News Alerts

FOUND! - Ability to Detect Cancer at Earliest, Curable Stage.
Researchers at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego report that they have developed a new method for detecting cancer very early in its development, when it consists of just a few cells. The best existing detection methods are not able to detect a tumor until it consists of about one million cells. Researchers, working with two cancer cell lines, were able to select and amplify tiny amounts of cancer-causing DNA from more than 99.9 percent of normal DNA.“We have developed a new technology for very early detection of virtually any type of solid-tumor cancer based upon damaged DNA, which is where all cancers begin,” said co-author Dennis A. Carson, M.D., professor of medicine and director of the Moores Cancer Center. “We are now working with engineers toward the fabrication of the clinical devices that will enable this to be widely used in patients.”

Infant Deaths Climb in Southern US States.
Infant mortality is defined as deaths by the age of 1 year per thousand live births. To the shock of Mississippi officials, their state's rate jumped sharply in 2005, to 11.4. Cuts in welfare, Medicaid and poor access to doctors, are implicated. The national average in 2003, the last year for which data have been compiled, was 6.9. Smaller rises also occurred in 2005 in Alabama, North Carolina and Tennessee. Louisiana and South Carolina saw rises in 2004. Most striking, here and throughout the United States, is the large racial disparity. In Mississippi, infant deaths among Black Americans rose to 17 per thousand births in 2005 from 14.2 per thousand in 2004, while those among White Americans rose to 6.6 per thousand from 6.1. (The national average in 2003 was 5.7 for whites and 14.0 for blacks.)

Obesity rising in Europe, especially in children.
The number of overweight people in Europe is rising and there is an especially worrying trend of increasing childhood obesity and adults who are grossly obese, according to recent studies. Europe is facing major health and social burdens and the rise in obesity is reaching "epidemic" proportions, the 15th European Congress on Obesity in Budapest was told on Sunday. Estimates show there are around 1.1 billion overweight people in the world, of whom 312 million are obese, and that in Europe 10-20 percent of men are obese and almost half the population is overweight.

Discharge 24 hrs after hysterectomy can be safe.
Patient discharge 24 hours after vaginal hysterectomy can be safe and acceptable, according to a report in the BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The only requirements are having a home environment suitable for recovery after early discharge and a body mass index of less than 40, indicating a woman can not be morbidly obese. Because this approach is relatively new in the United Kingdom, investigators add that it is important to closely monitor results.

ALS Mouse Stem Cell Line Created.
A team of Harvard researchers has used embryonic stem cells, derived from mice carrying a human gene known to cause a form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and created an in vitro model of the always-fatal neurodegenerative disease. Harvard Stem Cell Institute principal investigator Kevin Eggan and Tom Maniatis, the Thomas H. Lee Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology in Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences, are the senior authors of the study published online April 15, 2007 by Nature Neuroscience.