Europe
The Lead
Four-stranded ‘Quadruple Helix’ DNA Structure Proven to Exist in Human Cells
January 21, 2013 12:55 pm | News | Comments
In 1953, Cambridge researchers Watson and Crick published a paper describing the interweaving ‘double helix’ DNA structure – the chemical code for all life. Now, in the year of that scientific landmark’s 60th Anniversary, Cambridge researchers have published a paper proving that four-stranded ‘quadruple helix’ DNA structures – known as G-quadruplexes – also exist within the human genome.
Blood Vessels Linked to Spread of Cancer Cells
February 11, 2013 4:29 pm | News | Comments
A lack of the protein endoglin in the blood vessels of tumour-bearing mice enables the spread of...
Wind in the Willows Boosts Biofuel Production
January 21, 2013 12:58 pm | News | Comments
Willow trees cultivated for green energy can yield up to five times more biofuel if they grow...
France Confirms Initial Case of SARS-related Virus
May 8, 2013 6:17 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsA 65-year-old Frenchman is hospitalized after contracting France's first case of a deadly new respiratory virus related to SARS, and French health authorities say they are trying to find anyone who might have been in contact with him to prevent it from spreading.
Endogenous Antibiotic Exists in the Brain
May 6, 2013 3:39 pm | News | CommentsScientists have discovered that immune cells in the brain can produce a substance that prevents bacterial growth: Namely, itaconic acid. Until now, biologists had assumed that only certain fungi produced itaconic acid. A team has now shown that even so-called microglial cells in mammals are also capable of producing this acid.
Bacterial Defense System Has Valuable Genes
May 1, 2013 9:45 am | News | CommentsEven bacteria have a kind of “immune system” they use to defend themselves against unwanted intruders– in their case, viruses. Scientists are now able to show that this defense system is much more diverse than previously thought and that it comes in multiple versions.
Ancient DNA Reveals Europe's Genetic History
April 24, 2013 11:56 am | News | CommentsAncient DNA recovered from a series of skeletons in central Germany up to 7,500 years old has been used to reconstruct the first detailed genetic history of modern Europe. The study reveals a dramatic series of events including major migrations from both Western Europe and Eurasia, and signs of an unexplained genetic turnover about 4000-5000 years ago.
Newly Discovered Genes Can Treat Childhood Arthritis
April 23, 2013 12:03 pm | News | CommentsScientists have identified 14 new genes which could have important consequences for future treatments of childhood arthritis. Researchers looked at DNA extracted from blood and saliva samples of 2,000 children with childhood arthritis and compared these to healthy people.
Man Dies as UK Measles Epidemic Spreads
April 19, 2013 5:16 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsU.K. authorities say a 25-year-old man is suspected to have died from measles as an epidemic continues to sweep across south Wales. The outbreak has led to more than 800 infections and renewed discussions over the failure of some parents to vaccinate their children against the potentially fatal virus.
Researchers Publish Improved Neanderthal Genome
March 19, 2013 6:32 pm | by FRANK JORDANS - Associated Press - Associated Press | News | CommentsResearchers in Germany said Tuesday they have completed the first high-quality sequencing of a Neanderthal genome and are making it freely available online for other scientists to study. The genome produced from remains of a toe bone found in a Siberian cave is far more detailed than a previous Neanderthal genome sequenced three years ago by the same team.
Protein Creation Rate Mystery Solved
March 14, 2013 10:51 am | News | CommentsScientists have solved a problem that has frustrated biologists for years: Why different parts of proteins are made at different rates.
New Methods Can Prevent Prosthesis Detachment
March 13, 2013 10:43 am | News | CommentsA usual reason for the need to change a prosthesis is its becoming detached from bone. A recent doctoral dissertation has come across several methods with which the adhesion of implants to bone can be improved.
Evolution in the Antibody Factory
March 12, 2013 11:06 am | News | CommentsImmune system B cells play a crucial role in the defence of pathogens: When they detect such an intruder, they produce antibodies that help to combat the enemy. They concurrently and continuously improve these molecules to more precisely recognize the pathogens.
Cancer, Huntingdon’s Images Win Annual GE Competition
March 4, 2013 11:25 am | News | CommentsGE Healthcare Life Sciences announced Jane Stout, from the United States, Anushree Balachandran, from Australia and Markus Posch, from the UK, as the winners of the GE Healthcare 2012 Cell Imaging Competition.
Morning Sickness Meds Won’t Harm Fetus
February 27, 2013 5:00 pm | by MARILYNN MARCHIONE - AP Chief Medical Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsThere’s reassuring news for pregnant women miserable with morning sickness: A very large study in Denmark finds no evidence that using a popular anti-nausea drug will harm their babies.
Capturing Cancer Cells
February 27, 2013 9:14 am | News | CommentsResearchers developing innovative biological and chemical techniques to image and diagnose cancer, have recently been investigating the use of magnetic beads in cancer diagnosis.
Brain Has Innate Stroke Damage Protection
February 25, 2013 10:59 am | News | CommentsThe origin of an innate ability the brain has to protect itself from damage that occurs in stroke has been explained for the first time.
Mediterranean-style diets found to cut heart risks
February 25, 2013 6:36 am | by MARILYNN MARCHIONE - AP Chief Medical Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsPour on the olive oil, preferably over fish and vegetables: One of the longest and most scientific tests of a Mediterranean diet suggests this style of eating can cut the chance of suffering heart-related problems, especially strokes, in older people at high risk of them.
EU committee rejects Vivus weight-loss drug
February 22, 2013 7:33 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsA panel of advisers to the European Union's health agency has again rejected Vivus Inc.'s weight-loss drug for sale in Europe. Vivus, based in Mountain View, Calif., said that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use confirmed its October decision to decline an application to sell the drug under the name Qsiva.
Reports of toxic milk trigger scare in Balkans
February 19, 2013 8:33 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsReports that milk in the Balkans has been contaminated by a cancer-causing toxin have triggered a major health scare throughout the region, with authorities appealing for calm before official tests are conclusive. Senior agriculture official Goran Jesic claims on his website that out of 35 tested...
UK patient dies from SARS-like coronavirus
February 19, 2013 6:42 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsA patient being treated for a mysterious SARS-like virus has died, a British hospital said Tuesday. Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, central England, said the coronavirus victim was also being treated for "a long-term, complex unrelated health problem" and already had a compromised immune...
UK: Horse drug may have entered human food chain
February 14, 2013 6:49 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsThree horse carcasses that tested positive for the equine drug bute may have entered the human food chain in France, the British government said Thursday. Environment Minister David Heath told the House of Commons that eight horses from British abattoirs had tested positive for bute, and "three...
397,000-Year-Old European Bone Has Evolutionary Implications
February 13, 2013 10:48 am | News | CommentsA fossilized bone fragment found buried deep in the soil of a Serbian cave is causing scientists to reconsider what happened during a critical period in human development. The fragment is now securely dated to be at least 397,000 years old and could even be older than 525,000 years.
Protein Paves the Way for Correct Stem Cell Differentiation
February 8, 2013 10:20 am | News | CommentsA single embryonic stem cell can develop into more than 200 specialized cell types that make up our body. This maturation process is called differentiation and is tightly regulated through strict control of gene activity. If the regulation is lost, specialized cells cannot develop correctly during development. In adulthood, the specialized cells may forget their identity and develop into cancer cells.
Implants Make Light Work of Fixing Broken Bones
February 8, 2013 10:14 am | News | CommentsArtificial bone, created using stem cells and a new lightweight plastic, could soon be used to heal shattered limbs. The use of bone stem cells combined with a degradable rigid material that inserts into broken bones and encourages real bone to re-grow has been developed at the Universities of Edinburgh and Southampton.
Can You Predict How a Disease Will Spread in a Population?
February 5, 2013 10:37 am | News | CommentsHow, when and where a pathogen is transmitted between two individuals in a population is crucial in understanding and predicting how a disease will spread. New research has laid the foundation for a new generation of zoonotic disease spreading models, which could allow for more targeted prevention strategies.
How Our Cells Cope with Toxic Small Molecules
January 31, 2013 12:09 pm | News | CommentsScientists recently reviewed an important, but so far neglected, part of metabolism, namely metabolite damage-control and present a comprehensive overview of the known reactions generating unwanted small molecules in the cell as well as of the corresponding control mechanisms.
At Least One in Five Were Infected in Flu Pandemic, International Study Suggests
January 25, 2013 10:20 am | News | CommentsAt least one in five people in countries for which data are available were infected with influenza during the first year of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, according to a new study. The highest rates of infection were in children, with 47 per cent of those aged five to 19 showing signs of having caught the virus.
