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Public Release: 3-Feb-2012
Why 2 new studies represent important breakthrough in Alzheimer's disease research Two separate research findings have the potential to give us a much more sophisticated understanding of what goes wrong in Alzheimer's disease and what can be done to prevent or repair damage in the brain. Contact: Alice L. Kirkman
Public Release: 3-Feb-2012
 American Journal of Human GeneticsWhole exome sequencing identifies cause of metabolic disease Sequencing a patient's entire genome to discover the source of his or her disease is not routine, but geneticists are getting close. A case report shows how researchers can combine a simple blood test with an "executive summary" scan of the genome to diagnose a severe glycosylation disorder. 
National Institutes of Health, Rocket Fund
Contact: Holly Korschun
Public Release: 3-Feb-2012
ScienceDiscovery of extremely long-lived proteins may provide insight into cell aging One of the big mysteries in biology is why cells age. Now scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies report that they have discovered a weakness in a component of brain cells that may explain how the aging process occurs in the brain. Contact: Andy Hoang
Public Release: 3-Feb-2012
Journal of Black PsychologyDieting with the denomination, determination According to a new study, those starting new weight loss programs may be surprised to find out that both location and level of experience may influence their success. A recent article published in the Journal of Black Psychology (a journal from the Association of Black Psychologists, published by SAGE) finds that African-American women beginning a new group weight loss program are more successful if they are less experienced with weight management and if the program meets in a church. Contact: Ashley Loar
Public Release: 3-Feb-2012
Molecular Cancer TherapeuticsStudy published in Neuro-Oncology shows brain tumor eradication and prolonged survival Tocagen Inc. today announced the publication of data showing the company's investigational treatment for high grade glioma eradicates brain tumors and provides a dramatic survival benefit in mouse models of glioblastoma. Almost all mice receiving the top dose of Toca 511 followed by 5-FC were still alive at 180 days, which was the termination date for the experiment, whereas all control mice died by day 43. The article was published today in the February issue of the Neuro-Oncology journal.
Tocagen Inc.
Contact: Carin Canale
Public Release: 3-Feb-2012
Canadian Journal of Physiology and PharmacologyRegular use of vitamin and mineral supplements could reduce the risk of colon cancer Could the use of vitamin and mineral supplements in a regular diet help to reduce the risk of colon cancer and protect against carcinogens? A study published in the Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology found that rats given regular multivitamin and mineral supplements showed a significantly lower risk of developing colon cancer when they were exposed to carcinogens. Contact: Ignacimuthu Savarimuthu
Public Release: 3-Feb-2012
ObesityGene related to fat preferences in humans found A preference for fatty foods has a genetic basis, according to researchers, who discovered that people with certain forms of the CD36 gene may like high-fat foods more than those who have other forms of this gene.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Sara LaJeunesse
Public Release: 3-Feb-2012
ScienceCastaway lizards offer new look at evolutionary processes Biologists who released lizards on tiny uninhabited islands in the Bahamas have uncovered a seldom-observed interaction between evolutionary processes. Jason Kolbe, a biologist at the University of Rhode Island -- along with colleagues at Duke University, Harvard University and the University of California, Davis -- found that the lizards' genetic and morphological traits were determined by both natural selection and a phenomenon called the founder effect.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Cheryl Dybas
Public Release: 3-Feb-2012
Cancer Prevention ResearchSoy isoflavone supplements did not provide breast cancer protections Findings suggest the effects of food may be more complex. Adverse effect observed in younger women. Contact: Jeremy Moore
Public Release: 3-Feb-2012
Geological Society of America BulletinGlobal extinction: Gradual doom is just as bad as abrupt Around 250 million years ago, most life on Earth was wiped out in an extinction known as the "Great Dying." A team led by University of Cincinnati geologist Thomas J. Algeo finds that the end came slowly from thousands of centuries of volcanic activity.
National Science Foundation, Canadian Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, National Aeronautics and Space Administration Exobiology Program
Contact: Greg Hand
Public Release: 3-Feb-2012
CellCollective action Genetic switches called enhancers and the molecules that activate them can be used to draw a cell's family tree, EMBL scientists have found. Contact: Sonia Furtado Neves
Public Release: 3-Feb-2012
PLoS GeneticsParasites or not? Transposable elements in fruit flies The problem of parasitism occurs at all levels right down to the DNA scale. Genomes may contain up to 80 percent "foreign" DNA but details of the mechanisms by which this enters the host genome and how hosts attempt to combat its spread are still the subject of conjecture. Important new information comes from the group of Christian Schlötterer at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna. The findings are published in the prestigious journal PLoS Genetics. Contact: Prof. Christian Schlötterer
Public Release: 3-Feb-2012
PLoS ONENYU Courant researchers weigh methods to more accurately measure genome sequencing Researchers at New York University's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences evaluate some current methods to sequence individual genomes -- a study that serves as a "stress test" of the efficacy of these practices.
National Science Foundation, Abraxis BioScience LLC
Contact: James Devitt
Public Release: 3-Feb-2012
Physical BiologyNew technology to tackle treatment-resistant cancers Free-flowing cancer cells have been mapped with unprecedented accuracy in the bloodstream of patients with prostate, breast and pancreatic cancer, using a brand new approach, in an attempt to assess and control the disease as it spreads in real time through the body, and solve the problem of predicting response and resistance to therapies. Contact: Michael Bishop
Public Release: 3-Feb-2012
Journal of Neuroscience ResearchNew procedure repairs severed nerves in minutes, restoring limb use in days or weeks American scientists believe a new procedure to repair severed nerves could result in patients recovering in days or weeks, rather than months or years. The team used a cellular mechanism similar to that used by many invertebrates to repair damage to nerve axons. Their results are published today in the Journal of Neuroscience Research. Contact: Ben Norman
Public Release: 3-Feb-2012
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care MedicineBreastfeeding and lung function at school age: Does maternal asthma modify the effect? Breastfeeding is associated with improved lung function at school age, particularly in children of asthmatic mothers, according to a new study from researchers in Switzerland and the UK. Contact: Nathaniel Dunford
Public Release: 2-Feb-2012
Journal of BiomechanicsFootball findings suggest concussions caused by series of hits A two-year study of high school football players suggests that concussions are likely caused by many hits over time and not from a single blow to the head, as commonly believed.
National Science Foundation, Indiana State Department of Health's Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Fund
Contact: Emil Venere
Public Release: 2-Feb-2012
ScienceScientists coax shy microorganisms to stand out in a crowd Scientists have advanced a method that allowed them to single out a marine microorganism and map its genome even though the organism made up less than 10 percent of a water sample teeming with many millions of individuals from dozens of identifiable groups of microbes.
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
Contact: Sandra Hines
Public Release: 2-Feb-2012
Journal of Food ProtectionA zap of cold plasma reduces harmful bacteria on raw chicken in Drexel study A new study by food safety researchers at Drexel University demonstrates that plasma can be an effective method for killing pathogens on uncooked poultry. The proof-of-concept study was published in the January issue of the Journal of Food Protection. Contact: Rachel Ewing
Public Release: 2-Feb-2012
International Journal of Plant SciencesBouquet bargains Most creatures face compromises when they reproduce -- the more energy they devote to having lots of babies, the less they can invest in each one. But do the same tradeoffs hold true for plants? Biologists have long assumed that plants with bigger, showier flowers can make fewer of them per plant. But the data don't always hold up, scientists say. A new study by researchers at the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center may help explain why. Contact: Robin Ann Smith
Public Release: 2-Feb-2012
Dalton TransactionsA silver bullet to beat cancer? The internet is awash with stories of how silver can be used to treat cancer. Now, lab tests have shown that it is as effective as the leading chemotherapy drug - and may have fewer side-effects.
Yorkshire Cancer Research
Contact: Richard Mellor
Public Release: 2-Feb-2012
CellSanford-Burnham researchers find molecular switch that allows melanoma to resist therapy In a paper published Feb. 3 in Cell, researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute identified a molecular switch that controls the protein Activating Transcription Factor 2 (ATF2), which is associated with poor prognosis in melanoma. This switch is controlled by protein kinase Cε (PKCε), which disables ATF2's tumor-suppressing activities, sensitizing cells to chemotherapy; Instead, ATF2's tumor-promoting activity is enhanced. The team also found that high levels of PKCε in melanoma are associated with poor prognosis.
NIH/National Cancer Institute, American Cancer Society/Illinois Division
Contact: Heather Buschman, Ph.D.
Public Release: 2-Feb-2012
Physical Biology Scripps research scientists demonstrate effective new 'biopsy in a blood test' to detect cancer Scientists from the Scripps Research Institute, Scripps Health, and collaborating cancer physicians have successfully demonstrated the effectiveness of an advanced blood test for detecting and analyzing circulating tumor cells -- breakaway cells from patients' solid tumors -- from cancer patients. The findings, reported in five new papers, show that the highly sensitive blood analysis provides information that may soon be comparable to that from some types of surgical biopsies.
NIH/National Cancer Institute
Contact: Mika Ono
Public Release: 2-Feb-2012
CellSex-specific behaviors traced to hormone-controlled genes in the brain The new evidence shows that the sex hormones – testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone – act in a key region of the brain, switching certain genes on and others off. When the researchers tinkered with each of these genes one by one, animals showed subtle but important shifts in individual sex-specific behaviors, such as how males mate or females care for their pups. Contact: Elisabeth (Lisa) Lyons
Public Release: 2-Feb-2012
ScienceHurricane gave researchers a rare opportunity to study evolution In the first experimental study of the founder effect in a natural setting, UC Davis researchers found that natural selection does not overwhelm the founder effect.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Thomas Schoener
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