EurekAlert! - National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 2-Dec-2012

Nature Chemical Biology
Glowing fish shed light on metabolism
A tiny, translucent zebrafish that glows green when its liver makes glucose has helped an international team of researchers identify a compound that regulates whole-body metabolism and appears to protect obese mice from signs of metabolic disorders.

National Institutes of Health and by a grant from the American Heart Association

Public Release: 2-Dec-2012

Nature Genetics
Cell surface transporters exploited for cancer drug delivery
According to Whitehead Institute researchers, a protein known as monocarboxylate transporter 1 (MCT1), which is highly expressed in a subset of metabolically altered cancer cells, is needed for the entry of the investigational cancer drug 3-bromopyruvate (3-BrPA) into malignant cells. This work may open a new avenue for cancer therapeutic research, as other transport molecules have already been identified on the surface of certain cancer cells.

National Institutes of Health, David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Jane Coffin Childs Fund, National Science Foundation

Public Release: 2-Dec-2012

Nature Genetics
Scientists find 'bully' genes in common childhood tumor
In a genome sequencing study of 74 neuroblastoma tumors in children, scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia found that patients with changes in two genes, ARID1A and ARID1B, survive only a quarter as long as patients without the changes. The discovery could eventually lead to early identification of patients with aggressive neuroblastomas who may need additional treatments.

St. Baldrick's Foundation, NIH/National Cancer Institute

Public Release: 2-Dec-2012

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology
Scientists at Scripps Research Institute discover how 2 proteins help keep cells healthy
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have determined how two proteins help create organelles, or specialized subunits within a cell, that play a vital role in maintaining cell health. This discovery opens the door for research on substances that could interfere with the formation of these organelles and lead to new therapies for cancer.

National Institutes of Health, Japan Science and Technology Agency

Public Release: 2-Dec-2012

Nature Genetics
Genes linked to low birth weight, adult shortness and later diabetes risk
An international team of genetics researchers has discovered four new gene regions that contribute to low birth weight. Three of those regions influence adult metabolism, and appear to affect longer-term outcomes such as adult height, risk of type 2 diabetes and adult blood pressure. The cumulative effect of the genes is equivalent to the effect of maternal smoking during pregnancy.

National Institutes of Health, Wellcome Trust, Medical Research Council, and others

Public Release: 2-Dec-2012

Nature Genetics
New gene-sequencing tools offer clues to highest-risk form of a childhood cancer
Using powerful gene-analysis tools, researchers have discovered mutations in two related genes, ARID1A and ARID1B, that are involved in the most aggressive form of the childhood cancer neuroblastoma. While these findings do not immediately improve clinical treatments, they identify a novel pathway that is defective in these cancers, a pathway that scientists can now study to develop potential new therapies.

St. Baldrick's Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Children's Oncology Group, and others

Public Release: 1-Dec-2012

Journal of Thoracic Oncology
Lung cancer patients with pockets of resistance prolong disease control by 'weeding the garden'
This study of 65 patients showed that continuing either crizotinib or erlotinib after the treatment of resistant pockets with focused radiation ("weeding the garden") was associated with more than half a year of additional cancer control.

NIH/National Cancer Institute

Public Release: 30-Nov-2012

NeuroImage
In schizophrenia patients, auditory cues sound bigger problems
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the VA San Diego Healthcare System have found that deficiencies in the neural processing of simple auditory tones can evolve into a cascade of dysfunctional information processing across wide swaths of the brain in patients with schizophrenia.

NIH/National Institute of Mental Health, US Department of Veteran Affairs, Mitsubishi Pharma Research

Public Release: 30-Nov-2012

Lancet
Emerging vector-borne diseases create new public health challenges
West Nile virus, Lyme disease, dengue fever, and plague are examples of "vector-borne zoonotic diseases," caused by pathogens that naturally infect wildlife and are transmitted to humans by vectors such as mosquitoes or ticks. Land-use change, globalization of trade and travel, and social upheaval are driving the emergence of such diseases in many regions.

National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 30-Nov-2012

Genetics
Native Americans and Northern Europeans more closely related than previously thought
Using genetic analysis, scientists have discovered that Northern European populations descend from a mixture of two very different ancestral populations, and one of these populations is related to Native Americans. This discovery helps fill gaps in scientific understanding of both Native American and Northern European ancestry, while providing an explanation for some genetic similarities among what would otherwise seem to be very divergent groups.

National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 30-Nov-2012

PLOS One
Researchers discover how C. diff red lines immune response
Virginia Tech researchers have discovered how a common diarrhea-causing bacterium sends the body's natural defenses into overdrive, actually intensifying illness while fighting infection. Using computational and mathematical modeling in combination with RNA-sequencing and mouse studies, scientists examined an important regulatory pathway during Clostridium difficile infection. They found the severity of the C. difficile infection can be reduced by using an existing diabetes drug. More studies are needed before the drug can be tested in patients.

NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Public Release: 30-Nov-2012

PLOS ONE
Electrically spun fabric offers dual defense against pregnancy, HIV
Electrically spun cloth with nanometer-sized fibers show promise as a cheap, versatile platform to simultaneously offer contraception and prevent HIV. New funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will further test the system's versatility and feasibility.

National Institutes of Health, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation