HIV's secret life in gut revealed

One of the first things HIV does when it first enters the body is mess up the gut. Now, the open access journal PLOS Pathogens reports the first 3D ultra-structural study of the human immunodeficiency virus in a live host.

The human gut has the highest concentration of HIV target immune cells, most of which the virus destroys within days of infection. This happens even before a measurable drop of immune CD4 T cells occurs in the bloodstream.

Studies using high-resolution imaging of HIV-infected tissue have revealed details of the structure of HIV-1, the virus that causes AIDS, and have demonstrated how it infects cells and accumulates in different tissue sub-structures.

But until now, these have been confined to infected cultured cells or purified virus.

In this new study, a team led by Pamela Bjorkman, a professor of biology at the California Institute of Technology, has - for the first time - used 3D electron microscopes to show active HIV infection in the gut of mice with humanized immune systems infected with HIV-1.

HIV particles bud from host cells and gather in pools

The study is important because it shows how HIV behaves in infected tissue that closely resembles the gut of human patients.

Antioxidants may speed up lung cancer progression

Numerous studies have shown that antioxidants may halt cancer progression. But a new study from researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden has found that antioxidants may actually speed up the progression of lung cancer.

The findings are published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Antioxidants are chemicals that are present in some pharmaceuticals, foods and nutritional supplements.

In the body, antioxidants interact with free radicals and neutralize them. Free radicals are chemicals that can potentially harm cells.

Although they form naturally in the body and play a role in many normal cellular processes, free radicals can damage cell components - such as DNA, proteins and cell membranes - at high concentrations. This process may contribute to the development of cancer.

Laboratory and animal studies have suggested that antioxidants are able to prevent types of free radical damage associated with cancer development.

But in this new study, led by Prof. Martin Bergo of the Sahlgrenska Cancer Center at the University of Gothenburg, the findings suggest otherwise.

Antioxidants 'deactivate p53 protein to cause tumor progression'

The team analyzed tumor progression in two groups of mice that had lung cancer.

Thirdhand smoke linked to liver, lung and skin problems

While the physical evidence of secondhand smoke can be seen wafting through the air, thirdhand smoke is a more clandestine health threat. The invisible remnant of tobacco smoke that clings to surfaces and even dust, thirdhand smoke is linked to several adverse health effects in a new study published in PLOS ONE.

According to the researchers, from the University of California-Riverside (UCR), tobacco smoke affects around 1.5 billion smokers worldwide, but several billion more are at an "underappreciated health risk" from cigarette smoke exposure.

Although many parents who smoke may protect their children from exposure to secondhand smoke, the researchers say the effects of thirdhand smoke are also dangerous.

They cite previous research suggesting that children living with adults who smoke in the home are absent from school 40% more days than children who do not live with smokers.

Medical News Today recently reported on a study that suggested secondhand smoke exposure is linked to hospital readmission for asthmatic children.

But researchers from this latest study say thirdhand smoke is left on surfaces and ages over time, becoming increasingly more toxic. The team suggests second and thirdhand smoke are just as harmful as firsthand smoke.

Health impacts of thirdhand smoke

And the threat does not only apply to smokers, the team explains. Even after smokers move out of a house or hotel, thirdhand smoke and its accompanying carcinogens remain.

Medical Device Packaging Conference, April 28-29, 2014, Alexandria, Virginia

The inaugural Medical Device Packaging Conference will take place April 28-29 in Alexandria, Virginia, offering packaging engineers an exclusive opportunity to obtain the most up-to-date information from some of the biggest names in the industry. Conference topics such as regulatory guidelines, UDI requirements, sustainability and sterilization practices and creating easy-to-use packaging for the end user are scheduled and ample networking opportunities will be readily available.

Inaugural Pharmaceutical Multi-Channel Marketing Strategy Conference, April 24-25, 2014, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The first-ever Pharmaceutical Multi-Channel Marketing Strategy Conference is set to take place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 24-25, 2014, fulfilling the demand among healthcare marketing professionals for an industry-specific meeting featuring top leaders and latest trends in the pharmaceutical space.

Stem cell research: New, major EU research grant focused on the development of stem cell-based therapies for neurodegenerative diseases

Neurostemcellrepair (European stem cell consortium for neural cell replacement, reprogramming and functional brain repair) is formed to create a world-leading consortium that aims at taking human stem cells through the final steps toward clinical application in cell replacement therapy. Neurostemcellrepair is expected to close the gap between development and clinical implementation of stem cell replacement therapies for Parkinson's Disease (PD) and make significant advance towards stem cell therapy in Huntington's Disease (HD).

Infection control practices not adequately implemented at many hospital ICUs: Study

U.S. hospital intensive care units (ICUs) show uneven compliance with infection prevention policies, according to a study in the February issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).

Radiotherapy plus hormone therapy cuts prostate cancer death in half, shows long-term study

Combination treatment more than halves mortality rates for prostate cancer, reports Norwegian health journal Dagens Medisin.The figures were presented by Norwegian cancer researcher Sophie Fosså at an international conference sponsored by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in San Francisco this week.By adding radiotherapy to the standard hormone treatment against prostate cancer, the 10 to 15 year survival rate for men with prostate cancer more than doubled, according to a long term follow-up study where Dr. Sophie Fosså is lead author.

The genetic legacy of the Neanderthals

Remnants of Neanderthal DNA in modern humans are associated with genes affecting type 2 diabetes, Crohn's disease, lupus, biliary cirrhosis and smoking behavior. They also concentrate in genes that influence skin and hair characteristics. At the same time, Neanderthal DNA is conspicuously low in regions of the X chromosome and testes-specific genes.The research, led by Harvard Medical School geneticists and published Jan. 29 in Nature, suggests ways in which genetic material inherited from Neanderthals has proven both adaptive and maladaptive for modern humans.

Potential drug targets, similarities to several cancers revealed by TCGA bladder cancer study

Investigators with The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Research Network have identified new potential therapeutic targets for a major form of bladder cancer, including important genes and pathways that are disrupted in the disease. They also discovered that, at the molecular level, some subtypes of bladder cancer - also known as urothelial carcinoma - resemble subtypes of breast, head and neck and lung cancers, suggesting similar routes of development.

Obesity-prevention efforts should focus on children who are overweight by five-years-old

A recent study by researchers from Emory's Rollins School of Public Health suggests that development of new childhood obesity cases, or incidence, is largely established by kindergarten. The study showed that overweight kindergarteners were four times as likely as normal-weight children to become obese by the 8th grade.Led by Solveig A. Cunningham, PhD, assistant professor in the Hubert Department of Global Health at Rollins School of Public Health, the team analyzed data on children who participated in an Early Childhood Longitudinal Study of the U.S. Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999.

Cognition improved by low levels of pro-inflammatory agent in rat model

Although inflammation is frequently a cause of disease in the body, research from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio indicates that low levels of a pro-inflammatory cytokine in the brain are important for cognition. Cytokines are proteins produced by the immune system.Jennifer Donegan, graduate student, and David Morilak, Ph.D., professor of pharmacology in the School of Medicine, found that neutralizing the cytokine interleukin-6 in the brain impaired reversal learning in both stressed and nonstressed rats.

Protecting the brain from detrimental effects linked to diabetes and high blood sugar

Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have created a molecule that could potentially lower diabetic patients' higher risk of developing dementia or Alzheimer's disease.Recent studies indicate that high levels of sugar in the blood in diabetics and non-diabetics are a risk factor for the development of dementia, impaired cognition, and a decline of brain function. Diabetics have also been found to have twice the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease compared to non-diabetics.

Caffeine is the most widely used drug, but little is known about helping those who depend on it

"I'm a zombie without my morning coffee." "My blood type is Diet Coke." "Caffeine isn't a drug, it's a vitamin." Most people make jokes like these about needing a daily boost from their favorite caffeinated beverage - whether first thing in the morning or to prevent the after-lunch slump.

Video game teaches kids about stroke symptoms and calling 9-1-1

Children improved their understanding of stroke symptoms and what to do if they witness a stroke after playing a 15-minute stroke education video game, according to new research reported in the American Heart Association journal Stroke.Researchers tested 210 9- and 10-year-old, low-income children from the Bronx, New York, on whether they could identify stroke and knew to call 9-1-1 if they saw someone having a stroke. Researchers tested the children again after they played a stroke education video game, called Stroke Hero.

Postmenopausal hormones containing estrogen may reduce glaucoma risk

Using postmenopausal hormones (PMH) containing estrogen may reduce a woman's risk for primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), a common form of the disease related to the build-up of pressure inside the eye, according to a report published by JAMA Ophthalmology, a JAMA Network publication. Some prior research has suggested that PMH use may be associated with modestly reduced intraocular pressure (IOP), which suggests PMH may decrease the risk for POAG, according to the study background.

Adult tonsillectomy safe with low mortality, complication rates

Getting your tonsils removed as an adult is a safe procedure with low mortality and complication rates, according to a study by Michelle M. Chen, B.A., of the Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn., and colleagues. Tonsillectomy is one of the most commonly performed otolaryngology procedures but there are few data on the safety of tonsillectomy in adults, according to the study background. The authors identified 5,968 adults in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program who underwent tonsillectomy in 2005 to 2011.

New study finds link between slow reaction time and early death

A new study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, has found that adults who have slow reaction times have a higher risk of an early death.

Reaction time was studied because it reflects how well the central nervous system is working. It also reflects basic mental skills, such as how quickly a person is able to process information.

In a reaction time test, participants have to press a button as soon as they see an image appear on a computer monitor. An example of a test similar to the one used in this study can be found here.

In the new study, researchers analyzed data from more than 5,000 patients in the US aged between 20 and 59. In the early 1990s, the participants underwent a reaction time test, and researchers followed them over the next 15 years to record which participants had died and which survived.

Of the people in the study, 378 (7.4%) had died in the 15-year period. Cross-referencing this data with results from the reaction time test, the researchers found that the participants who logged slower reaction times were 25% more likely to have died.

When analyzing the results, socio-economic background, age, sex and the ethnic group of the participants was taken into account, as well as lifestyle. So the researchers do not think these factors could have biased the results.

What can reaction times tell us about a person's future health?

Exposure to peanuts builds immunity in allergic children

With the caveat that this should not be tried at home, researchers conducting a study in children with peanut allergies found that the participants could build up a tolerance by consuming increasingly larger amounts of peanut protein on a regular basis.

The technique, called oral immunotherapy (OIT), was used as part of the STOP II trial, results of which are published in The Lancet.

Allergies to peanuts are quite common, and symptoms can range from mild to severe. A more serious, possibly life-threatening reaction is called anaphylaxis, which can cause swelling of the throat and mouth or changes to the heart rate.

The researchers, from the UK, note that the only current way to prevent severe reactions in children allergic to peanuts is for them to completely avoid foods that contain them.

However, accidental reactions are common, says the team, with yearly incidences of 14-55%.

To combat this, the researchers followed 99 children with peanut allergies who were between the ages of 7 and 16 years. These children were randomly assigned to one of two groups:

• Group 1: received 26 weeks of OIT using gradually increasing doses of peanut protein - up to 800 mg each day


• Group 2: was instructed to follow the current standard of care, which is to avoid peanuts completely.

Vitamin D supplements: are they really good for our health?

There is no doubt that our bodies need vitamin D. It helps regulate the absorption of calcium and phosphorus in our bones, helps our cells to communicate with each other, and helps strengthen our immune system. But can vitamin D supplementation really offer additional health benefits?

Previous research suggests it can. But other studies indicate that vitamin D supplementation does not do any more than promote bone and immune system health and is only useful for people who have a vitamin D deficiency.

We look at both sides of the argument in an attempt to determine whether vitamin D supplementation really is good for us.

How vitamin D works

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin. There are five forms of the vitamin - D₁, D₂, D₃, D₄ and D₅.

However, vitamins D₂ and D₃ appear to be the most important in the human body.

Sunlight is the the body's main source of vitamin D. There is no set amount of time a person should spend in the sunlight to get a good amount of this vitamin. However, the Vitamin D Council state that "you don't need to tan or burn your skin to get vitamin D."

The UK's National Health Service (NHS) states that short bursts of sun exposure during summer months should be enough.

The energy from the sun changes a chemical in the skin to vitamin D₃, which is then carried to the liver and the kidneys where it is made into active vitamin D.

Some foods, such as oily fish, eggs and fortified fat spreads, also contain the vitamin, although these are in very small amounts. Once consumed, it is sent to the liver and processed in the same way.

The main function of vitamin D is to increase the intestinal absorption of calcium - a process that is crucial for good bone health.

Vitamin D also helps strengthen the immune system and aids cell to cell communication in the body.

The Vitamin D Council also state that the vitamin is important for muscle function, the respiratory system, cardiovascular function, brain development, and it even has anti-cancer properties.

Vitamin D deficiency

Vitamin D deficiency occurs when a person does not have the sufficient amount of the vitamin in their body.

According to the Food and Nutrition Board at the Institute of Medicine of The National Academies, the recommended dietary allowance of vitamin D for people aged 1-70 is 600 IU each day and 800 IU for those aged over 70 years.

Infants between 0-12 months should have an intake of 400 IU of vitamin D each day.

Stress reduces when shared

If you get scared when you go skydiving, perhaps a good way to cope is to team up with someone who feels the same. A new study suggests sharing your feelings of stress with someone having a similar emotional reaction to the same situation reduces levels of stress more than sharing them with someone who is not.

Study leader Sarah Townsend, assistant professor of management and organization at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business in Los Angeles, says their findings could be helpful for people experiencing stress at work:

"For instance, when you're putting together an important presentation or working on a high-stakes project, these are situations that can be threatening and you may experience heightened stress. But talking with a colleague who shares your emotional state can help decrease this stress."

She and her colleagues invited 52 female undergraduates to take part in a study on public speaking where they had to prepare and give a speech that would be recorded on video.

Before giving their speeches, the participants were placed in pairs and encouraged to discuss with each other how they felt about the situation.

The researchers measured the participants' emotional states, and how threatening they perceived giving a speech to be. They also took measures of the stress hormone cortisol, before, during and after the speeches.

Emotional similarity buffers stress

The results, write the authors, "show that sharing a threatening situation with a person who is in a similar emotional state, in terms of her overall emotional profile, buffers individuals from experiencing the heightened levels of stress that typically accompany threat."

"Confirming our hypotheses, greater initial dyadic emotional similarity was associated with a reduced cortisol response and lower reported stress among participants who feared public speaking."

In other words, says Prof. Townsend, imagine you are facing a stressful situation at work, perhaps an important project with a lot riding on it, then interacting with a co-worker with "a similar emotional profile can help reduce your experience of stress."

Prof. Townsend now wants to extend the scope of the research to look at how developing emotional similarity might help people from different cultural backgrounds who have to work together, for example as employees or students.

She also urges professionals to think about the importance of emotional similarity and consider questions like: "How do we get people to be more similar? What can you do to generate this emotional similarity with a co-worker? Or, as a manager, how can you encourage emotional similarity among your team?"

Researchers who spoke recently at a conference of the British Psychological Society urged employers to take note of the importance of emotion at work. They said employers who offer schemes that support workers' well-being outside the workplace may reap benefits during working hours.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD



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Independent quality mark for complementary therapists in the UK

The Federation of Holistic Therapists (FHT)'s voluntary register has been accredited under a new scheme set up by the Department of Health and administered by an independent body, accountable to Parliament. Patients and the public can have confidence in FHT's voluntary register which has been vetted and approved by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care.

Early rehabilitation important for recovery after severe traumatic brain injury

Early rehabilitation interventions seem to be essential for how well a patient recovers after a severe brain injury. It might even increase the chances for long-term survival, according to researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy.In a series of studies, Trandur Ulfarsson, doctoral student at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, has explored the long-term effects of traumatic brain injuries caused for example by accidents or violence.

Western researchers find new COPD therapy device makes breathing easier

A new device designed to help people suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other mucus producing lung diseases developed by Trudell Medical International has been clinically tested by researchers at Western University and results show it improves breathlessness and the ability to move mucus, as well as betters a patient's quality of life. The Aerobika* Oscillating Positive Expiratory Pressure (OPEP) Therapy System is a drug-free, easy to use, hand-held device that aims to help people with lung disease breathe easier. The OPEP device was tested by Dr.

Intranasal vaccine protects mice against West Nile infection

Researchers from Duke University have developed a nasal vaccine formulation that provides protective immunity against West Nile virus (WNV) infection in mice after only 2 doses. They presented their findings at the 2014 American Society for Microbiology Biodefense and Emerging Diseases Research Meeting."Our results demonstrate that a needle-free WNV vaccine using only 2 vaccine doses is able to induce protective anti-WNV immunity," says Herman Staats, a researcher on the study.

Premature birth is associated with increased risk of asthma and wheezing disorders

Children who are born preterm have an increased risk developing asthma and wheezing disorders during childhood according to new research published in PLOS Medicine.The research by Jasper Been, from the Maastricht University Medical Centre (Netherlands) and The University of Edinburgh (UK), and colleagues at Harvard Medical School (US) is a systematic review and meta-analysis of 30 unique studies that collectively involved approximately 1.5 million children.

Limited success for malaria screening in schools

School-based intermittent screening and treatment programs for malaria may be unsuccessful in low to moderate transmission areasA school-based intermittent screening and treatment program for malaria in rural coastal Kenya had no benefits on the health and education of school children, according to a study by international researchers published in this week's PLOS Medicine.The study, led by Katherine Halliday and Simon Brooker from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, included over 5000 children from 101 government schools.

What are the health benefits of strawberries?

Fresh summer strawberries are one of the most popular, refreshing and healthy treats on the planet. Wild strawberries have been popular since ancient Roman times and were used for a wide variety of medicinal purposes such as alleviating inflammation, fever, kidney stones, bad breath, gout and more.

Today there are over 600 varieties of strawberries. The sweet, slightly tart berries rank among the top 10 fruits and vegetables in antioxidant capacity.¹ Their deep, rich hue supplies their high flavonoid content, a topic of research in many studies supporting the health benefits attained by consuming strawberries on a regular basis.

This Medical News Today information article on strawberries provides a nutritional breakdown of the fruit and an in-depth look at their possible health benefits, how to incorporate more strawberries into your diet and potential health risks associated with their consumption.

Nutritional breakdown of strawberries

Strawberries are rich in the essential nutrients vitamin C, potassium, folic acid and fiber. One cup of fresh strawberries contains 160% of your daily needs for vitamin C, for only 50 calories!¹

Nutrition Facts²

Serving Size: 1 cup sliced fresh strawberries (166 grams)

New brain-scanning technique allows scientists to see when and where the brain processes visual information

Every time you open your eyes, visual information flows into your brain, which interprets what you're seeing. Now, for the first time, MIT neuroscientists have noninvasively mapped this flow of information in the human brain with unique accuracy, using a novel brain-scanning technique.This technique, which combines two existing technologies, allows researchers to identify precisely both the location and timing of human brain activity.

For adding and multiplying, quality of white matter in the brain is crucial

A new study led by Professor Bert De Smedt (Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven) has found that healthy 12-year-olds who score well in addition and multiplication have higher-quality white matter tracts. This correlation does not appear to apply to subtraction and division. Grey' cells process information in the brain and are connected via neural pathways, the tracts through which signals are transferred."Neural pathways are comparable to a bundle of cables. These cables are surrounded by an isolating sheath: myelin, or 'white matter'.

Online expert advice for clinicians treating hepatitis C now available

The American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), in collaboration with the International Antiviral Society-USA (IAS-USA), has announced the launch of a new website, HCVguidelines.org, that will offer up-to-date guidance for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. It is estimated that between 3 and 4 million Americans are infected with HCV and have chronic liver disease as a result. The most recent generation of direct-acting antivirals has the potential to cure most patients with HCV.

ADHD medication saves lives on the road

New research from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows that medication used to treat ADHD in adult men can save lives on the road. According to a large registry study, which is now being published in the scientific journal JAMA Psychiatry, up to half of the transport accidents involving men with ADHD could be avoided if the men were taking medication for their condition.The researchers have studied 17,000 individuals with ADHD over a period of four years (2006-2009) using various population health' registers.

Breakthrough: Scientists create embryonic stem cells without embryos

Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital, in collaboration with researchers from Japan, have discovered a way of changing adult stem cells back to their original embryonic state by exposing them to low oxygen and acidic environments. This is according to a study recently published in the journal Nature.

The research team, including senior author Dr. Charles Vacanti of Brigham and Women's Hospital, says their findings may one day lead to the creation of embryonic stem cells specific to each individual without the need for genetic manipulation.

Human embryonic stem cells are pluripotent, meaning they can change into many different cell types in the body.

Stem cells have already been used for the treatment of many health conditions. Last year, Medical News Today reported on a study revealing that scientists had grown artificial skin from stem cells of the umbilical cord.

Other research has detailed the use of stem cells for the treatment of cardiovascular disease, brain disorders and blood diseases.

Stem cell research has raised ethical concerns in the past, as extracting human embryonic stem cells from a 4- or 5-day-old embryo can lead to its destruction.

In 2006, scientists created induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) - an alternative to harvesting embryonic stem cells. This involves changing an adult stem cell back to its pluripotent state by genetically manipulating the cells with DNA.

The majority of scientists now use iPS for research. However, unlike human embryonic stem cells that are able to grow into any type of mature cell, adult cells can only grow into specific types of cell, so their use is limited.

Mature adult cells exposed to different environments to reach embryonic state

The research team was inspired by the ability of a plant callus - a collection of plant cells that grow into a new plant after being injured on an existing plant.

The investigators thought this process could apply to mature adult stem cells. They hypothesized that once an adult stem cell had turned into a certain cell type, it could be forced to change again through a natural process.

With this in mind, the researchers exposed multiple mature adult stem cells to traumatic, low oxygen and acidic environments until they had almost died.

They found that within a few days, these mature cells survived and changed into a state equivalent to that of an embryonic stem cell.

Commenting on these findings, Dr. Vacanti says:

"It may not be necessary to create an embryo to acquire embryonic stem cells. Our research findings demonstrate that creation of an autologous pluripotent stem cell - a stem cell from an individual that has the potential to be used for a therapeutic purpose - without an embryo, is possible.

The fate of adult cells can be drastically converted by exposing mature cells to an external stress or injury. This finding has the potential to reduce the need to utilize both embryonic stem cells and DNA-manipulated iPS cells."

Pluripotent stem cell tissue growth in mice

Using mature blood cells from green fluorescent protein-transgenic (GFP+) mice (genetically modified mice who light up green under certain wavelengths of light), the researchers exposed the cells to an acidic environment.

They found that in a few days, these blood cells also changed back to a state similar to that of an embryonic stem cell and started to grow in clusters.

Adrenal tumors: hormone secretion linked to cardiovascular events

New research suggests that patients with adrenal tumors that secrete a hormone called cortisol are at higher risk of suffering cardiovascular events and increased mortality. Investigators say their findings may lead to better clinical management of patients with these tumors.

This is according to a new study published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.

Adrenal tumors (adrenal incidentalomas) can often produce a sex hormone called cortisol. High secretion of cortisol can lead to Cushing's syndrome (overt hypercortisolism).

Symptoms include weight gain, thinning skin that is easily bruised, appearance of stretch marks and decreased interest in sex.

Because these symptoms are fairly general, they can be hard to spot. Therefore, adrenal tumors are often referred to as "silent" tumors.

Many of these tumors are found by accident as patients undergo computed tomography (CT) scans. According to the research team, led by Prof. Renato Pasquali of the S Orsola-Malpighi Hospital in Bologna, Italy, approximately 4% of CT scans coincidentally uncover an adrenal tumor.

Cure for baldness? Hair-follicle-generating stem cells bring hope

According to the American Hair Loss Association, two-thirds of men will experience hair loss by the age of 35. But women are also affected, making up 40% of all hair loss sufferers. Affecting self-image and emotional well-being, the condition has been a difficult one to treat. But a new study brings hope - in the form of human hair-follicle-generating stem cells.

Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have published results of their study in Nature, where they describe the method by which they were able to convert adult cells into epithelial stem cells (EpSCs).

Although using stem cells to regrow hair follicles has been a potential technique for combatting baldness, until now, nobody has been able to produce enough of these cells.

The team says they are the first to achieve this result in either humans or mice.

Led by Dr. Xiaowei "George" Xu, associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and dermatology at the University of Pennsylvania, the scientists started their research by using human skin cells called dermal fibroblasts.

How did the team produce the cells?

The researchers converted the human skin cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) by adding three genes. These iPSCs are able to change into any cell types in the body, so the researchers converted them into epithelial stem cells, which are normally found in a part of hair follicles.

Paranoia increases when experiencing situations from a lower height

The results of a new study published in the journal Psychiatry Research reveal that people who had their height "virtually lowered" feel more inferior and mistrustful.

Previous studies examining the psychological perceptions of height have suggested that a person's height conveys certain social connotations. Prof. Daniel Freeman, who conducted the study at the University of Oxford in the UK, explains:

"Being tall is associated with greater career and relationship success. Height is taken to convey authority, and we feel taller when we feel more powerful. It is little wonder then that men and women tend to over-report their height. In this study we reduced people's height, which led to a striking consequence: people felt inferior and this caused them to feel overly mistrustful."

In the new study, researchers used a "virtual reality simulation" to test the emotional responses of 60 adult women who "were prone to having mistrustful thoughts."

Prof. Freeman notes that although their study occurred in a virtual reality (VR) simulation, "we know that people behave in VR as they do in real life."

The simulation involved the user adopting the perspective of a passenger on the London Underground subway network. Each participant in the study took their train "journey" twice and commented on their experience.

However, in the second simulated trip, which is shown below, the height of the passenger was virtually lowered by 25 cm (approximately "one head").

Most of the participants in the study did not realize that their height had been lowered on the second pass of the simulation. But there was a significant increase in the number of people reporting negative feelings while experiencing the second journey.

These included feeling incompetent, unlikeable and inferior - and there was also an increase in feelings of paranoia toward the other "passengers" of the train.

The simulation was populated with other characters sharing the train ride with the participant in the study. These characters were computer generations pre-programmed to behave in a "neutral" way. The behavior of the simulated passengers was consistent across the two tests - they were not programmed to appear menacing to the user in either of the journeys.

But after the lowered height journey, the participants were more likely to believe that people in the carriage were staring at them, "had bad intentions towards them" or were trying to intimidate them.

Paranoia and mistrust

"It provides a key insight into paranoia," says Prof. Freeman, "showing that people's excessive mistrust of others directly builds upon their own negative feelings about themselves. The important treatment implication for severe paranoia that we can take from this study is that if we help people to feel more self-confident then they will be less mistrustful. This prediction is exactly what we are testing in the next phase of our work, a new randomized controlled clinical trial."

Another new study conducted by researchers at Newcastle University in the UK found that even a brief visit to a deprived neighborhood that is high in crime can quickly elevate feelings of paranoia and mistrust in people.

Residents of these deprived neighborhoods were found to have equivalent levels of paranoia and mistrust to the visitors, and the study found that these feelings were sustained over time.

Although studying the urban environment and assessing the psychological effects of height may not seem related, both studies contribute to growing research on the nature of paranoia and what the most effective ways to treat paranoid thinking might be.

Professor Hugh Perry, chair of the MRC Neurosciences and Mental Health Board, who funded the research, says:

"Funding research that helps improve understanding of what causes disrupted thought patterns is important if we're to develop interventions that work further down the road. For people whose lives are affected by paranoid thinking, this study provides useful insights on the role of height and how this can influence a person's sense of mistrust."

Written by David McNamee

Scientists make pure precursor liver and pancreas cells from stem cells

A new study published in the journal Cell Stem Cell, describes how scientists have developed a way of producing highly sought populations of a pure tissue-specific cell from human pluripotent stem cells.

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) are precursor cells than can produce over 200 distinct cell types in the human body. They hold great promise for regenerative medicine and drug screening. The idea is to be able to generate a range of pure tissue types by manipulating these precursor cells.

However, it is proving very challenging to obtain large numbers of pure, untainted, tissue-specific cells from hPSCs. Part of the problem is how to ensure they receive highly specific signals, that do not coax them down paths that lead to a range of other tissue types.

Now, a team led by the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) in the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) has developed a new way of coaxing hPSCs to produce highly pure populations of endoderm, a valuable cell type that gives rise to organs like the liver and pancreas, bringing closer the day when stem cells can be used in clinical settings.

Team develops signaling roadmap for coaxing hPSCs into pure endoderm cells

One of the study leaders is Dr. Bing Lim, senior group leader and associate director of Cancer Stem Cell Biology at the GIS. He and his colleagues developed a highly systematic and novel screening method.

The method teases out proteins and signaling chemicals that coax the formation of a single desired cell type, while at the same time blocking those that promote development of undesired cell types.

They found a combination of signals is involved in coaxing hPSCs to form pure populations of endoderm cells. Their work has effectively produced a "signaling roadmap" for the pathways involved.

The study also reveals new insights into how cell fates are decided during stem cell differentiation.

The authors write:

"We systematically blockaded alternate fates throughout multiple consecutive bifurcations, thereby efficiently differentiating multiple hPSC lines exclusively into endoderm and its derivatives."

Team also produces model of 'inactive enhancers'

The team then used next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics to accurately identify key genetic elements that might guide cell differentiation.

They found dormant bits of DNA - known as enhancers, that become active and switch on neighboring genes when hPSCs differentiate - were already configured in the pre-differentiated cells.

In fact, they found a large superset of these "inactive enhancers," all capable of converting to an active state on differentiation.

Thus the study provides not only a signaling roadmap, but also a comprehensive model of how enhancers regulate cell differentiation. This should be a very useful resource for stem cell researchers.

Thomas Graf, professor and coordinator of the Differentiation and Cancer Programme at the Center for Genomic Regulation, in Barcelona, Spain, comments on the study:

"Using this novel strategy, the work beautifully shows how hPSCs can be guided to differentiate into the endoderm cells at high efficiencies. The strategy described should be more widely applicable to other desired cell types."

Dr. Lim adds:

"This unprecedented access to highly pure population of endodermal cells attracts pharmaceutical companies, who are interested in further making human liver cells to test drug toxicities."

Meanwhile another group of researchers in Sweden reported success in developing a new way to increase supply of embryonic stem cells. They say their method could produce high-quality human embryonic stem cells on a large scale, without destroying embryos.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD



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Food bug toxin may trigger multiple sclerosis

New research presented at a scientific meeting adds to a growing body of evidence that a toxin produced by a common food bug may trigger multiple sclerosis, an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system.

Dr. Jennifer Linden, a microbiologist at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, presented the research at the 2014 ASM Biodefense and Emerging Diseases Research Meeting that is taking place in Washington, D.C., this week.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory disease, where the body's own immune system attacks and destroys healthy tissue in the central nervous system. The disease gradually disrupts the blood brain barrier (BBB) and destroys myelin, the protein that insulates the nerves in the spinal cord, brain and optic nerve and stops the electrical signals they convey from leaking out.

As the disease progresses, patients experience symptoms ranging from mild numbness in the arms and legs to paralysis and blindness.

According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, MS affects around 400,000 Americans, and with the exception of trauma, it is thought to be the most frequent cause of neurological disability that starts before old age.

Epsilon toxin may be a trigger for MS

MS is thought to result when genetically susceptible individuals are exposed to one or more environmental triggers. But while we have not yet firmly identified the triggers, there is increasing evidence, like this latest research, that a toxin called epsilon produced by certain strains of food bacteria is one of them, as Dr. Linden explains:

"We provide evidence that supports epsilon toxin's ability to cause BBB permeability and show that epsilon toxin kills the brain's myelin producing cells, oligodendrocytes; the same cells that die in MS lesions."

She and her colleagues also found that epsilon toxin targets other types of cells associated with MS inflammation, found in other parts of the central nervous system.

"Epsilon toxin may be responsible for triggering MS," concludes Dr. Linden.

Epsilon toxin produced by certain strains of food bug C. perfringens

Epsilon toxin is produced by certain strains of Clostridium perfringens, a bacterium that commonly causes foodborne illness in the United States.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), strains of C. perfringens that do not produce epsilon toxin cause nearly a million cases of foodborne illness each year.

C. perfringens is found in soil and contaminated undercooked meats, and previous studies have suggested the bacterium, and epsilon toxin, may play a role in triggering MS.

For instance, in October 2013, Dr. Linden and colleagues reported in the journal PLOS ONE that the soil bacterium might be a trigger for MS when they found C. perfringens type B - a strain that produces epsilon toxin - in a 21-year-old patient suffering from MS.

They further tested their hypothesis by studying the toxin in mice, to see which particular cells it targeted. They found that it targeted not only brain cells, but also cells in other parts of the central nervous system, producing effects only seen in MS patients, as Dr. Linden explains:

"Originally, we only thought that epsilon toxin would target the brain endothelium cells and oligodendrocytes; we just happened to notice that it also bound to and killed meningeal cells. This was exciting because it provides a possible explanation for meningeal inflammation and subpial cortical lesions exclusively observed in MS patients, but not fully understood."

When they tested 37 local food samples, the researchers found 13.5% of them contained C. perfringens and 2.7% contained the epsilon toxin gene.

If further studies confirm these findings, Dr. Linden says it suggests a vaccine that neutralizes the ability of epsilon toxin to trigger MS could stop the disease progressing, or perhaps even prevent it.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD



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BioLamina's LN-521 removes problems delaying stem cell therapy

BioLamina (Stockholm, Sweden) is a company developing, producing and marketing tools that help scientists handle different types of primary cells including stem cells. One of the main products is LN-521™, a human recombinant laminin-521, which has now shown to solve several critical technical problems that have been delaying or even blocking the development of cell therapy and regenerative medicine.Only a few clinical trials have so far been performed with cells of embryonic stem cell origin since they were first isolated in 1998.

A natural sugar delivers DNA aptamer drug inside tumor cells

Drugs comprised of single strands of DNA, called aptamers, can bind to targets inside tumor cells causing cell death. But these DNA drugs cannot readily get inside tumor cells on their own. Effective delivery of DNA aptamers using a natural polysaccharide as a carrier is described in an article in Nucleic Acid Therapeutics, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. publishers.

Mayo Clinic study finds standardized protocol and surgery improve mortality outcomes

For patients who have experienced a large stroke that cuts off blood supply to a large part of the brain, the use of standardized medical management protocol and surgery to decompress swelling can improve life expectancy, Mayo Clinic researchers found in a recent study.

Outcome predicted by early tumor response from stereotactic radiosurgery

The response of a patient with metastatic brain tumors to treatment with stereotactic radiosurgery in the first six-to-twelve weeks can indicate whether follow-up treatments and monitoring are necessary, according to research conducted at the University of North Carolina.The study of 52 patients with metastatic brain legions, published in the January issue of the journal Neurosurgery, found that the tumors whose sizes decreased significantly after treatment with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) did not resume growth or require additional treatment.

New stent for aortic aneurysms

Temple University Hospital (TUH) could be among the first U.S.-based hospitals to test a new device known as a multilayer stent in patients suffering from aortic aneurysm, a condition characterized by the formation of a potentially life-threatening bulge in the aorta. Approved in Europe in 2010, the device has already been used to help hundreds of European patients with the condition, and Grayson H.

Educating Illinois judges on how genetic information can impact court decisions

Genomic research will eventually uncover a complete picture of how our genetic information, acting in concert with our experiences, influences our behavior, our risk for disease, and our responsiveness to medical treatments. These are all subjects of great academic and personal interest, but what happens when they are connected to a question of legality?

What are the health benefits of bananas?

Bananas are one of the most widely consumed fruits in the world for good reason. The curved yellow fruit packs a big nutritional punch, wrapped in its own convenient packaging. Some scientists believe that the banana may have even been the world's first fruit.

Dan Koeppel, author of Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World, traces the banana back to the Garden of Eden, where he believes it was the banana, not the apple, that was the "forbidden fruit" that Eve offered Adam.

Today, bananas are grown in at least 107 countries and are ranked fourth among the world's food crops in monetary value. Americans consume more bananas than apples and oranges combined.

The possible health benefits of consuming bananas include lowering the risks of cancer and asthma, lowering blood pressure, improving heart health and promoting regularity.

This Medical News Today article on bananas provides a nutritional breakdown of the fruit and an in-depth look at its possible health benefits, how to incorporate more bananas into your diet and any potential health risks of consuming bananas.

Nutritional breakdown of bananas

One medium banana (about 126 grams) is considered to be one serving. One serving of banana contains 110 calories, 30 grams of carbohydrate and 1 gram of protein. Bananas are naturally free of fat, cholesterol and sodium.²

Bananas provide a variety of vitamins and minerals:

Nutrition programmes should shift from treatment to prevention to meet African needs, new research shows

Nutrition programmes by foreign donors in Africa are generally focused on treatment and technical solutions, like vitamin and mineral supplementation. But African researchers and policy makers ask for community-based interventions to prevent, rather than only remedy, nutritional problems. They also want Africa to take charge of research priorities to beat malnutrition and hunger. These are the findings of the two-year EU-funded SUNRAY ('Sustainable nutrition research for Africa in the years to come') project, which will be published in PLOS Medicine.

Premature babies 'at higher risk for asthma'

The World Health Organization estimates that 15 million babies are born premature every year, which means they are born before 37 weeks. But new research suggests that risks are higher than previously thought for preterm babies to develop childhood asthma, compared with their full-term counterparts.

Publishing their results in the journal PLoS Medicine, the researchers studied data on more than 1.5 million children around the world.

They used information on patients born since the 1990s from 30 studies, which came from six continents. The majority of the studies came from Europe.

Preterm babies often encounter breathing problems because their lungs are immature, the authors note. They drew from previous research on preterm children born between the 1960s and 1980s, which showed that many of them developed asthma.

However, the researchers say it was unclear whether improved care for preterm babies since then has affected the long-term risk of developing asthma.

Asthma is the most common chronic disease in children, and the team notes that because an increasing number of preterm babies survive birth, the condition is becoming a "significant health problem."

Preterm babies 50% more likely to develop asthma

Overall, the study revealed that while asthma affects 8% of children born at full term, it affects 14% of preterm babies.

In detail, the team found that babies born before 37 weeks were 50% more likely to develop asthma, and those born 2 months early were three times as likely to develop asthma, compared with full-term babies.

Additionally, risks of developing the breathing condition were the same for preschoolers and school-age children, which suggests children who are born early do not outgrow the risk.

"Doctors and parents need to be aware of the increased risks of asthma in premature babies, in order to make early diagnosis and intervention possible," says Dr. Jasper Been, lead study author from the University of Edinburgh's Centre for Population Health Sciences in Scotland.

Dr. Been adds:

"By changing the way we monitor and treat children born preterm, we hope to decrease the future risks of serious breathing problems, including asthma. Our findings should help find better ways to prevent and treat asthma and asthma-like symptoms in those born preterm."

Standard asthma meds 'safe in pregnancy'

The authors say the results of their study provide "compelling evidence" that preterm birth increases asthma risks, and they note that future research "needs to focus on understanding underlying mechanisms, and then to translate these insights into the development of preventive interventions."

But Dr. Samantha Walker, executive director of research and policy at Asthma UK, emphasizes the importance of current asthma medications:

"Standard asthma medicine is very safe to use in pregnancy, and by far the most important way to reduce this risk is for pregnant women to take their medication as prescribed."

She adds that maintaining a healthy weight, staying active, avoiding stress and not smoking are also important measures to keep in mind.

When asked about any further research the team has planned, Dr. Been told Medical News Today:

"An important factor that causes both preterm birth and asthma, particularly in those born preterm, is tobacco smoke exposure before birth. Our current research focuses on evaluating interventions to address this issue."

In other asthma news, a study recently suggested that secondhand smoke is linked to hospital readmission for asthmatic children. The authors of that study believe their findings could prompt insurance companies to give incentives to parents or guardians who quit smoking.

Written by Marie Ellis



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Breast cancer survivors benefit from yoga

A new US study finds that yoga can benefit breast cancer survivors by reducing fatigue and inflammation. While yoga has many components, the researchers believe breathing and meditation probably had the biggest impact.

At the end of 12 weeks of yoga classes, a group of women who had completed breast cancer treatment, including surgery and radiotherapy, showed an average reduction in fatigue of 57% and up to 20% reduction in inflammation, compared with a similar group that had not received yoga instruction.

The researchers also found the more yoga the women practiced, the better the results.

They report the findings of the randomized controlled trial in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Study leader Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, a professor of psychiatry and psychology at The Ohio State University in Columbus, says the study shows how several months of modest yoga practice can benefit breast cancer survivors substantially. She also thinks the results could apply to other people who have problems with fatigue and inflammation.

Largest known trial of yoga in cancer survivors using biological measures

Many studies have shown that yoga can benefit cancer patients. For instance, in 2010, another group from the US reported how 4 weeks of yoga reduced fatigue and improved sleep quality in cancer survivors who also reported taking less sleep medication and improved quality of life.

However, the researchers behind this new study believe it is the largest known randomized controlled trial of the effect of yoga on cancer survivors that includes biological measures. They decided to concentrate on breast cancer survivors because the treatment they undergo is very rigorous and taxing, as Prof. Kiecolt-Glaser explains:

"One of the problems they face is a real reduction in cardiorespiratory fitness. The treatment is so debilitating and they are so tired, and the less you do physically, the less you're able to do. It's a downward spiral."

For the study, the researchers recruited 200 women who had undergone treatment for breast cancer and randomly assigned them to either the intervention group or a control group.

The participants were aged from 27 to 76 and had completed their surgery or radiotherapy between 2 months and 3 years before taking part in the trial: none had done yoga before they took part in the study.

Trial designed so results apply to other cancer survivors

They deliberately recruited a mix of participants with a wide age range, with cancer at various stages (from 0 to 3A), and who underwent a range of treatments, so they could generalize the results to a broad population of cancer survivors.

Scientists discover why a protein is crucial to healthy cell growth

Researchers from Penn State University and the University of California have discovered how a protein is crucial for the growth of healthy cells in mammals. This is according to a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In previous research, Aimin Liu, associate professor of biology at Penn State University and co-author of the study, and his colleagues discovered that a protein called C2 calcium-dependent domain containing 3 (C2cd3) is needed in order for cilia to grow on the surfaces of cells.

Cilia are hair-like structures that reside on the surface of mammalian cells. They are responsible for transmitting and processing information in the body.

"You could think of cilia as the cells' antennae. Without cilia, the cells can't sense what's going on around them, and they can't communicate," says Liu.

Furthermore, cilia also play an important role in filtering bacteria, preventing it from entering the body's organs.

Lack of cilia may lead to serious health conditions, including polycystic kidney disease, blindness and neurological disorders. Therefore, the researchers say their findings have important implications for human health.

How C2cd3 works

Liu and colleagues first discovered that C2cd3 was important for cilium formation in 1962. They discovered that mice lacking the protein demonstrated serious developmental problems.

However, the researchers did not understand why lack of C2cd3 led to these developmental problems. Now, this new research has answered their question.

Compounds in exhaled breath may detect early lung cancer

Of all cancers, lung cancer is the biggest killer in both men and women. According to the American Lung Association, it causes more deaths than colon, breast and prostate cancer combined. Diagnosing the disease can involve a number of tests, but scientists have discovered that specific compounds in exhaled breath may be used to diagnose the disease in its early stages.

Researchers from the University of Louisville presented their study at the 50th Annual Meeting of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons in Orlando, FL, this week.

Dr. Michael Bousamra and colleagues made the discovery when they were examining patients with "suspicious" lung lesions.

They say they used a silicone microprocessor and mass spectrometer to test exhaled breath of patients with suspected lung cancer for specific volatile organic compounds (VOCs) known as carbonyls.

These included aldehydes and ketones - organic compounds with carbon double-bonded to oxygen - which are at very low concentrations and produced by the human body.

Pandemic concerns prompt experts to seek better understanding of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)

Health officials have expressed concern that the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) could become a major public health threat, according to an article being published in Annals of Internal Medicine.Since September 2012, 163 infections have been reported to the World Health Organization (WHO), including 71 deaths. The severity of symptoms, high fatality rate, and ease of transmission resemble the infection caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) but data on MERS-CoV-infected critically ill patients are limited.

Task Force evidence reviews suggests that one-time screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms could benefit older men

A one-time screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm in men 65 years or older is associated with decreased AAA rupture and AAA-related mortality rates, according to a new review being published in Annals of Internal Medicine. AAA is a weakening in the wall of the infrarenal aorta resulting in localized dilation, or ballooning, of the abdominal aorta. A large proportion of AAAs are asymptomatic until a rupture develops, which is generally acute and often fatal (up to 83 percent of patients die before hospitalization).

Researchers discover new hormone receptors to target when treating breast cancer

About three-quarters of breast cancers, the most common cancer in women in the U.S., are estrogen hormone dependent. Patients with this type of breast cancer are initially treated with drugs that block estrogen, such as Tamoxifen. However, one-third to half of these patients eventually become resistant to this treatment. For these patients and those whose tumors are not estrogen dependent to begin with, there are no alternative hormone treatment options. In a new study directed by Tan A. Ince, M.D., Ph.D.

A new initiative improves asthma control in teenagers

What is believed to be the first quality improvement initiative focusing exclusively on asthmatic teenagers - conducted by researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in Ohio - has reported significant improvements in asthma outcomes.

Asthma is the most common chronic disease in childhood, affecting 9% of all children (approximately 7 million children in total) in the US. Statistics suggest that 10.5 million school days are missed each year due to asthma.

There is no cure for asthma, and severe asthma attacks can be fatal, so it is important for people with asthma to take an active role in managing their condition.

Self-management involves avoiding anything that triggers asthma, without that impeding on the patient's ability to stay physically active. People with asthma also need to work with their doctor to find medication that works for them and to treat any other conditions that could make their asthma worse.

In 2013, Medical News Today reported on a study published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology demonstrating five areas of quality of life that children and teenagers need to discuss with their parents and health care providers in order to successfully control their asthma. These include whether their asthma is stopping them from physical activity or from going to school, or whether their asthma is worse at home or outside.

Dr. Maria Britto, senior author of the new study and director of the Center for Innovation in Chronic Disease Care at Cincinnati Children's, says: "Improving asthma is particularly difficult for teenagers, whose adherence to treatment is often poor and outcomes worse than those of younger patients."

How did the new initiative improve asthma outcomes for teenagers?

Between 2007 and 2011, Dr. Britto and her colleagues trialled their new quality improvement initiative with 322 teenage primary care asthma patients, of which only 10% had well-controlled asthma.

Long-living breast stem cells give clues to cancer cells of origin

Researchers in Australia have found that breast stem cells and their "daughters" have a longer life than previously believed. This newly discovered longer lifespan suggests that these cells could carry damage or genetic defects earlier in life that eventually lead to cancer decades later.

The researchers, from Melbourne's Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, have published their results in the journal Nature, and they say their discovery could help with the development of treatments and diagnostics for breast cancer.

Their project involved tracking the development of normal breast stem cells. By tracking these cells, they found they actively maintain breast tissue throughout a woman's life, from puberty through adulthood, contributing to all major stages of breast development.

"Given that these stem cells - and their 'daughter' progenitor cells - can live for such a long time and are capable of self-renewing, damage to their genetic code could lead to breast cancer 10 or 20 years later," says Prof. Geoff Lindeman, study author and oncologist at The Royal Melbourne Hospital.

He adds that their finding "has important applications for our understanding of breast cancer."

Potential for 'new treatment and diagnostic strategies'

Prof. Jane Visvader, another study author from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, says understanding how breast cells develop is crucial to establishing which cells bring about breast cancer and why.

"Without knowing the precise cell types in which breast cancer originates, we will continue to struggle in our efforts to develop new diagnostics and treatments for breast cancer, or developing preventive strategies," she says.

She explains how they used a 3D imaging technique to track stem cells and their daughter cells in the video below:

Using this 3D imaging technique in 2009, another study from the Institute showed that the "daughters" of breast stem cells were the likely origin for BRCA1-associated breast cancers, Prof. Visvader notes.

She says this previous work helped them better understand normal breast development, but it will also help them further their knowledge about breast cancer.

"Our team was amongst the first to isolate 'renewable' breast stem cells," Prof. Visvader says. "However, the existence of a common stem cell that can create all the cells lining the breast ducts has been a contentious issue in the field."

She adds:

"In this study, we've proven that ancestral breast stem cells function in puberty and adulthood and that they give rise to all the different cell types that make up the adult breast."

Prof. Lindemann says they hope their finding "will lead to the development of new treatment and diagnostic strategies in the clinic to help women with breast cancer in the future."

There have been several studies recently that have suggested diet could be a major factor in development of breast cancer. One study suggested folic acid is linked to breast cancer growth, while another found that limiting alcohol and following a healthy diet could minimize risks for the disease.

Written by Marie Ellis



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Gun-related injuries 'hospitalize 20 children in the US every day'

New research suggests that around 20 children in the US are hospitalized every day after being injured by firearms, and approximately 6% of these children die from their injuries. This is according to a study published online in the journal Pediatrics.

The research team, led by Dr. John Leventhal of the Yale School of Medicine in Connecticut, analyzed data of children and adolescents under the age of 20 who had been admitted to a hospital in the US during 2009.

From this, the investigators found that 7,391 hospitalizations occurred as a result of firearm injuries, and 453 of these patients died while in hospital.

Almost 400 of these hospitalizations were in children younger than 10 years old.

Assaults were to blame for 4,559 of the hospitalizations. Although suicide attempts accounted for the fewest hospitalizations (270), injuries from these most often resulted in death.

For children younger than 10, three-quarters of hospitalizations were from unintentional or accidental injuries.

Older people more likely to regard public behavior as antisocial

A UK study that compares teenagers' perceptions of what constitutes antisocial behavior with those of adults - the first to do so - finds they differ significantly.

Dr. Susie Hulley, currently at the Institute of Criminology of the University of Cambridge, is the author of the study, which is published in the Journal of Crime Prevention and Community Safety. She conducted the research while studying at University College London.

She found adults were more likely than teenagers to regard public behavior as antisocial, particularly when displayed by young people.

Dr. Hulley believes perceptions of risk may influence older people's views of young people, suggesting that "the information that adults have about young people, for example from their negative portrayal in the media, often defines them in terms of the threat that they allegedly pose to adults."

For the study, which collected data in 2006, Dr. Hulley compared the views of 185 Greater London schoolchildren aged between 11 and 15 with those of over 200 adults living in the same area.

All participants completed questionnaires that asked them to consider vignettes of situations portraying 18 different public behaviors, ranging from "assaulting a police officer" to "young people hanging around in streets/parks," and give their views about what constituted antisocial behavior.

Wide generation gap about what constitutes antisocial behavior

The results showed that:

• Over 80% of the adult participants were of the view that swearing in public was antisocial, compared with under 43% of the teenagers.


• More than 60% of the adults listed skateboarding or cycling on the street as antisocial, compared with under 8% of the youngsters.


• 40% of the adults considered young people hanging around as antisocial behavior, compared with only 9% of the teenagers.


• However, with respect to criminal behavior, a considerable majority (at least 93%) of both adults and teenagers agreed that murder, assault, burglary and shoplifting were antisocial.

When it came to the non-criminal end of the spectrum, the gulf between the generations widened considerably in terms of what they viewed as antisocial behavior.

There were large differences, for example, in views about dropping litter, chewing gum, scratching names on bus windows, illegal parking and spray painting on walls.

The study is thought to be the first of its kind - with both age groups filling in the same questionnaire - and Dr. Hulley suggests the findings offer some valuable insights for policymakers looking to engender more cohesive communities.

"It is notable, and worrying," Dr. Hulley says, "that young people's presence in public places, regardless of their behavior, was considered to be an ASB [antisocial behavior] by 4 in 10 adults."

As the generation gap widens, we should be "improving social connectedness by bringing adults and young people together so that adults can get a better understanding of young people and their behavior," she says, adding:

"For example, previous research shows that young people gather in public places, which adults use, to feel safe and that adults often don't know the local young people, whose behavior they are interpreting and who they perceive as a risk."

Age of victims and perpetrators also affected perception of antisocial behavior

The results also showed that not only did the age of the person defining the behavior affect interpretation, but also the age of the assumed victims and perpetrators in the vignettes.

For instance, both adults and teenagers were more likely to describe a group of youths blocking the sidewalk as antisocial than a group of middle-aged women with buggies blocking the sidewalk.

And in the responses to another vignette where a group of girls shouts insults at an elderly lady, all the adults and all but five of the teenagers said this was antisocial behavior. But in another scenario, where an elderly man shouts abuse at a group of teenage boys, only 60% of adults saw this as antisocial compared with 76% of the teenage participants.

When they talked about the scenarios, the adults said they assumed the boys must have provoked the elderly man, and some commented he must have been "brave" to confront them.

Dr. Hulley says:

"The results of the study show that, in practice, the identification of behavior as antisocial involved an interpretative process that is not based simply on the behavior itself but on the age of those involved."

She says the findings show that young people are more likely to be seen as perpetrators of antisocial behavior - especially by adults - and less likely to be recognized as victims of it.

Meanwhile, another UK study published in 2013 found that watching TV is linked to antisocial behavior in small children.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD



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Bad version of 'good' cholesterol causes disease

Studies have suggested that a form of so-called good cholesterol, or high-density lipoprotein, can become dysfunctional and instead of protecting against heart disease becomes a promoter of it, actively clogging up and hardening arteries.

Now, new research led by the Cleveland Clinic in the US has discovered the molecular process that makes "good" cholesterol start behaving badly.

They found that Apolipoprotein A1 (apoA1), an important structural molecule that helps transfer cholesterol out of artery walls and send it to the liver for excretion, can become oxidized while in the artery wall. Once oxidized, it loses its protective properties and instead contributes to the development of coronary artery disease.

They describe their findings in a paper published online in Nature Medicine.

Senior author Stanley Hazen, section head of Preventive Cardiology & Rehabilitation in the Miller Family Heart and Vascular Institute at the Cleveland Clinic, says:

"Identifying the structure of dysfunctional apoA1 and the process by which it becomes disease-promoting instead of disease-preventing is the first step in creating new tests and treatments for cardiovascular disease."

Their findings help explain why, despite the fact extensive studies have reported how high-density lipoprotein (HDL) protects the heart, clinical trials of drugs to raise HDL levels have so far failed to show they significantly improve cardiovascular health.

Oxidized form of apoA1 found in artery walls disrupts cholesterol removal

Also, researchers have recently been finding apoA1, normally abundant in HDL, is present in an oxidized form in diseased artery walls.

For the last 5 years, Dr. Hazen, who is also vice chair of Translational Research for the Lerner Research Institute at the Cleveland Clinic, and colleagues have been developing a way to identify dysfunctional apoA1/HDL and find how it becomes oxidized.

The protein becomes oxidized by a compound called myeloperoxidase (MPO).

In their report of this latest study, they describe showing how in test tubes "oxidation of either apoA1 or HDL particles by MPO impairs their cholesterol acceptor function," thus disabling the ability to ferry cholesterol out of the artery wall.

They then tested blood from 627 patients attending the Clinic and found higher levels of dysfunctional HDL raised their risk for cardiovascular disease.

The researchers suggest their findings highlight some new possible targets for drugs that might prevent formation of dysfunctional HDL and thus block its promotion of atherosclerosis.

Dr. Hazen says:

"Now that we know what this dysfunctional protein looks like, we are developing a clinical test to measure its levels in the bloodstream, which will be a valuable tool for both assessing cardiovascular disease risk in patients and for guiding development of HDL-targeted therapies to prevent disease."

Grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) helped to finance the study.

Meanwhile in a study published in JAMA Neurology in 2013, another team of US researchers describe how they discovered a link between cholesterol and brain deposits that cause Alzheimer's. They found both higher levels of HDL - or "good" cholesterol - and lower levels of LDL - or "bad" cholesterol - in the bloodstream were associated with fewer amyloid plaque deposits in the brain. Such plaques are a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD



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Tracing unique cells with mathematics

Stem cells can turn into heart cells, skin cells can mutate to cancer cells; even cells of the same tissue type exhibit small heterogeneities. Scientists use single-cell analyses to investigate these heterogeneities. But the method is still laborious and considerable inaccuracies conceal smaller effects. Scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen, at the Technische Unitversitaet Muenchen and the University of Virginia (USA) have now found a way to simplify and improve the analysis by mathematical methods.Each cell in our body is unique.

Are enough women included in medical device studies, as required by the FDA?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mandates adequate enrollment of women in post-approval studies (PAS) of medical devices to ensure that any sex differences in device safety and effectiveness are not overlooked. A group of authors from the FDA report the results of a study evaluating the participation of women and analysis of sex differences in PAS in Journal of Women's Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

Scripps Florida scientists find regulator of amyloid plaque buildup in Alzheimer's disease

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have identified a critical regulator of a molecule deeply involved in the progression of Alzheimer's disease.The new study, published in an advance, online edition of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, shows for the first time that levels of this regulating protein are decreased in the brains of Alzheimer's disease sufferers and that this decrease could be a significant factor in the advance of the disease.

Guilt, innocence and last meals on death row

Can last meals reveal more about individuals on death row than their taste preference? Some have argued there is significance embedded in death row last meal decisions. Famously, Ricky Ray Rector asked to save his untouched pecan pie for after his execution. This request sparked significant discussion about Rector's competency - on the basis of his food request. Similarly, in a documentary film about last suppers, artists Bigert and Bergstrom have claimed a connection between whether or not an individual choses to have a last meal and his or her guilt.

Sniffing out sickness

Humans are able to smell sickness in someone whose immune system is highly active within just a few hours of exposure to a toxin, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.According to researcher Mats Olsson of Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, there is anecdotal and scientific evidence suggesting that diseases have particular smells. People with diabetes, for example, are sometimes reported to have breath that smells like rotten apples or acetone.

Alcohol interventions work to stem freshman drinking

A new systematic review of data published in more than 40 studies of freshman alcohol interventions finds that there are many effective ways for colleges to mitigate common drinking patterns and problems among new students.Based on their findings, published online in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, the team of researchers at Brown University and The Miriam Hospital recommend that colleges screen all freshmen within their first few weeks for alcohol risk and offer effective combinations of interventions for those who report drinking.

Novel approach to stay a step ahead of breast cancer

Cancer isn't a singular disease, even when talking about one tumor. A tumor consists of a varied mix of cells whose complicated arrangement changes all the time, especially and most vexingly as doctors and patients do their best to fight it. Researchers reporting in the Cell Press journal Cell Reports have now developed a tool to help them predict which direction a tumor is most likely to go and how it might respond to chemotherapy.

How age affects our views of anti-social behavior

A study of interpretations of anti-social behaviour (ASB) found a significant gap between the views of different age groups - with older people more likely than younger people to interpret public behaviour as anti-social, particularly when associated with young people.More than 80% of adults thought swearing in a public place was ASB compared with less than 43% of young people, and more than 60% of adults listed cycling or skateboarding on the street compared with less than 8% of young people.40% of adults saw young people hanging around as ASB compared with 9% of teenagers.

Sexual selection enhances ability of offspring to cope with infection

Offspring from female mice who mate with their preferred male are better able to cope with an experimental infection compared to those of females mated with non-preferred males, according to new results just published. The findings by scientists at the Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology at the Vetmeduni Vienna have been published in the open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology.

Greater experience causes older brains to slow down, study shows

We are all familiar with the saying "older but wiser." And new research may prove this to be true. A new study published in the journal Topics in Cognitive Science suggests that as we age, our brain functions slow down as a result of greater experience, not because of cognitive decline.

According to the research team, led by Dr. Michael Ramscar of the University of Tuebingen in Germany, the reason why brains of older adults slow down is because they take longer to process constantly increasing amounts of knowledge.

They argue that this process is frequently confused with cognitive decline.

To reach their findings, the investigators programmed computers to act like humans.

Each day, the computers "read" a certain amount of data while processing new information.

The computers then carried out a series of tests using measures that are traditionally used to determine cognitive abilities. These included word recall tests.

Increased knowledge, not cognitive decline

The researchers found that when they limited the computers to reading a set amount, the cognitive performance of the computers was similar to the cognitive performance expected from a young adult.

However, the investigators discovered that when the same computers read unlimited data - the equivalent to a lifetime of experiences - their cognitive performance resembled that of an older adult.

The researchers say that the cognitive performance of the computers slowed down, not because of a decline in processing capacity, but because the unlimited data increased their database, meaning they needed more time to process the information.

Explaining what their findings mean, the study authors write:

"The results reported here indicate that in older and younger adults, performance in psychometric testing are the product of the same cognitive mechanisms processing different quantities of information. Older adults' performance reflects increased knowledge, not cognitive decline."

'False assumptions' about the aging mind

The investigators say that their findings suggest that society needs to rethink what is meant by the "aging mind," as "false assumptions" may deprecate the aging population and lead to wastage of public resources on problems that do not exist.