and Holocene says Dr Marã a Napal leading author of thepaper published in Forest Ecology and Management.
Christine Austin and Manish Arora Icahn School of medicine at Mount sinai New york Harvard School of Public health and University of Sydney Australia;
The work was funded by the U s. Environmental protection agency U s. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences U s. National Science Foundation Australian National Health and Medical Research Council Australian
#Research aims for insecticide that targets malaria mosquitoesin malaria-ridden parts of Africa mosquito netting protects people from being infected
now a University of Florida entomologist wants to improve the netting by coating it with insecticide toxic only to mosquitoes.
but affect a broad range of species said entomologist Jeff Bloomquist a professor in UF's Emerging Pathogens Institute and its Institute of food and agricultural sciences.
The research team's goal is to develop compounds perfectly matched to the acetylcholinesterase molecules in malaria-transmitting mosquitoes he said.
but only in target species. Malaria is spread by mosquitoes in the Anopheles genus notably Anopheles gambiae native to Africa.
The disease is common in poor communities where homes may not have adequate screens to keep flying insects out.
Malaria is caused by microscopic organisms called protists which are present in the saliva of infected female mosquitoes and transmitted when the mosquitoes bite.
Initial symptoms of the disease can include fever chills convulsions headaches and nausea. In severe cases malaria can cause kidney failure coma and death.
Worldwide malaria infected about 219 million people in 2010 and killed about 660000 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
About 90 percent of those infected lived in Africa. Bloomquist and colleagues at Virginia Tech where the project is based are trying to perfect mosquito-specific compounds that can be manufactured on a large scale
and applied to mosquito netting and surfaces where the pests might land. It will take at least four to five years before the team has developed
Though they were less toxic to mosquitoes than commercial products the experimental compounds were far more selective indicating researchers are on the right track he said.
The compounds we're using are not very toxic to honeybees fish and mammals but we need to refine them further make them more toxic to mosquitoes
and safer for nontarget organisms he said. Funding for the project came from a five-year $3. 6 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious diseases part of the National institutes of health.
In Florida malaria was a significant problem in the early 20th century transmitted by native Anopheles mosquitoes.
The disease has been curtailed greatly via mosquito-control practices but even today cases are reported occasionally in the Sunshine state.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by University of Florida Institute of food and agricultural sciences. The original article was written by Tom Nordlie.
#Future doctors unaware of their obesity biastwo out of five medical students have an unconscious bias against obese people according to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical center.
The study is published online ahead of print in the Journal of Academic Medicine. Bias can affect clinical care
and the doctor-patient relationship and even a patient's willingness or desire to go see their physician so it is crucial that we try to deal with any bias during medical school said David Miller M d. associate professor of internal medicine at Wake Forest Baptist
and lead author of the study. Previous research has shown that on average physicians have a strong anti-fat bias similar to that of the general population Doctors are more likely to assume that obese individuals won't follow treatment plans
and they are less likely to respect obese patients than average weight patients Miller said.
Miller and colleagues conducted the study as part of their efforts to update the medical school's curriculum on obesity.
At Wake Forest Baptist all third-year medical students in the family medicine clerkship must complete the online IAT
The study was funded by grant 1r25ca117887-01a from the National Cancer Institute. Co-authors of the study are John Spangler M d. Mara Vitolins Dr. PH. Stephen Davis M. S. Edward Ip Ph d. Gail Marion Ph d. and Sonia Crandall
Ph d. of Wake Forest Baptist. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Wake Forest Baptist Medical center.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. Journal Reference e
#Reforestation study shows trade-offs between water, carbon and timbermore than 13000 ships per year carrying more than 284 million tons of cargo transit the Panama canal each year generating roughly $1. 8 billion dollars in toll fees for the Panama canal Authority.
#Ferrets, pigs susceptible to H7n9 avian influenza viruschinese and U s. scientists have used virus isolated from a person who died from H7n9 avian influenza infection to determine
whether the virus could infect and be transmitted between ferrets. Ferrets are used often as a mammalian model in influenza research
and efficient transmission of influenza virus between ferrets can provide clues as to how well the same process might occur in people.
The researchers dropped H7n9 virus into the noses of six ferrets. A day later three uninfected ferrets were placed inside cages with the infected animals
The scientists detected viral material in the nasal secretions of the ferrets at least one day before clinical signs of disease became apparent.
The potential public health implication of this observation is that a person infected by H7n9 avian influenza virus who does not show symptoms could
The researchers also infected pigs with the human-derived H7n9 virus. In natural settings pigs can act as a virtual mixing bowl to combine avian-and mammalian-specific influenza strains potentially allowing avian strains to better adapt to humans.
New strains arising from such mixing have the potential to infect humans and spark a pandemic so information about swine susceptibility to H7n9 could help scientists gauge the pandemic potential of the avian virus. Unlike the ferrets infected pigs in this small study did not transmit virus to uninfected pigs
either through direct contact or by air. All the infected ferrets and pigs showed mild signs of illness such as sneezing nasal discharge
and lethargy but none of the infected animals became seriously ill. The research was supported in part by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious diseases part of the National institutes of health.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious diseases.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. Journal Reference e
#Tomatoes: The worlds favorite fruit, only better-tasting and longer-lastingtomatoes said to be the world's most popular fruit can be made both better-tasting and longer-lasting thanks to UK research with purple GM varieties.
The research could also lead to GM varieties with better flavour health and shelf life characteristics because even higher levels of the compounds can be achieved.
and colleagues studied tomatoes enriched in anthocyanin a natural pigment that confers high antioxidant capacity The purple GM tomatoes have already been found to prolong the lives of cancer-prone mice
The purple tomatoes were also less susceptible to one of the most important postharvest diseases grey mould caused by Botrytis cinerea.
However at least one species of the group O. gallopava causes disease in humans who have compromised immune systems.
because the size and placement of its lamps suggest that it is using light to mimic toxic luminescent click beetles.
and as diverse species as possible so that ecosystems are resilient to whatever stresses they face in the future.
and cutting to injection molding foaming and heating. Olivetti Kirchain and their colleagues found that for these small light components such processes are energy-intensive
and injection molding of parts of a sneaker's sole which expend large amounts of energy in the manufacture of small lightweight parts.
Dr Luisa Carvalheiro lead author on the paper said: It is possible that by 1990 the most sensitive species had gone already.
Dr Carvalheiro said: If what we take from the Rio targets is that the investment in conservation gave us no results then that is a counsel of despair.
which was developed initially for human genome and disease research. In this way Kobayashi and Shimizu identified 98 genes that are associated with the flowering of the plant-including the genes Sbft and Sbsvp
Environmental protection and restoration of the forests have so far been hindered severely by the irregularity of the mass flowering intervals
and Celtic Knots opens up new possibilities in areas including medical devices drug delivery elastics and adhesives.
The research team was led by NFB's Dr Wenxin Wang at the National University of Ireland Galway who said:
The new process developed by the team in collaboration with Dr Julien Poly from the Institut de Science des Mat riaux de Mulhouse France is called'vinyl oligomer combination'.
Dr Wenxin Wang is trying to uncover therapies for diseases such as diabetic ulcers and Epidermolysis Bullosa
which causes chronic skin conditions: We are currently investigating the use of these new materials for biomedical applications such as drug/gene delivery cross linkable hydrogel materials and skin adhesives.
However in reality this synthesis method could be used for a wide range of materials outside the biomedical field.
Dr Wenxin Wang continued: It is interesting to note the period of difficulty often encountered with break through developments.
For example the road to acceptance of dendrimer materials was long and winding. Because this work contradicts longstanding theories about polymerization we too have faced the challenge of acceptance.
The research funded by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) the Health Research Board (HRB) DEBRA Ireland
#Scientists uncover how grapefruits provide a secret weapon in medical drug deliverylipids (right panel first three tubes) derived from grapefruit.
GNVS can efficiently deliver a variety of therapeutic agents including DNA RNA (DIR-GNVS) proteins
and anticancer drugs (GNVS-Drugs) as demonstrated in this study. Grapefruits have long been known for their health benefits
and the subtropical fruit may revolutionize how medical therapies like anticancer drugs are delivered to specific tumor cells.
University of Louisville researchers have uncovered how to create nanoparticles using natural lipids derived from grapefruit
and we believe they are less toxic for patients result in less biohazardous waste for the environment
The researchers demonstrated that GNVS can transport various therapeutic agents including anticancer drugs DNA/RNA and proteins such as antibodies.
Treatment of animals with GNVS seemed to cause less adverse effects than treatment with drugs encapsulated in synthetic lipids.
Our GNVS can be modified to target specific cells--we can use them like missiles to carry a variety of therapeutic agents for the purpose of destroying diseased cells he said.
The therapeutic potential of grapefruit derived nanoparticles was validated further through a Phase 1 clinical trial for treatment of colon cancer patients.
So far researchers have observed no toxicity in the patients who orally took the anti-inflammatory agent curcumin encapsulated in grapefruit nanoparticles.
whether this technology can be applied in the treatment of inflammation related autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis. A Common sense Approachzhang said he began this research by
On the flip side outcomes were not favorable for our ancestors who ate poisonous mushrooms for example he said.
It made sense for us to consider eatable plants as a mechanism to create medical nanoparticles as a potential nontoxic therapeutic delivery vehicle.
#Whodunnit of Irish potato famine solvedan international team of scientists reveals that a unique strain of potato blight they call HERB-1 triggered The irish potato famine of the mid-nineteenth century.
It is the first time scientists have decoded the genome of a plant pathogen and its plant host from dried herbarium samples.
This opens up a new area of research to understand how pathogens evolve and how human activity impacts the spread of plant disease.
Phytophthora infestans changed the course of history. Even today The irish population has recovered still not to pre-famine levels.
We have discovered finally the identity of the exact strain that caused all this havoc says Hernã¡
and the US reconstructed the spread of the potato blight pathogen from dried plants. Although these were 170 to 120 years old they were found to have many intact pieces of DNA.
The researchers examined the historical spread of the funguslike oomycete Phytophthora infestans known as The irish potato famine pathogen.
A strain called US-1 was thought long to have been the cause of the fatal outbreak.
The current study concludes that a strain new to science was responsible. While more closely related to the US-1 strain than to other modern strains it is unique.
Both strains seem to have separated from each other only years before the first major outbreak in Europe says Burbano.
The researchers compared the historic samples with modern strains from Europe Africa and The americas as well as two closely related Phytophthora species. The scientists were able to estimate with confidence
when the various Phytophthora strains diverged from each other during evolutionary time. The HERB-1 strain of Phytophthora infestans likely emerged in the early 1800s
and continued its global conquest throughout the 19th century. Only in the twentieth century after new potato varieties were introduced was replaced HERB-1 by another Phytophthora infestans strain US-1. The scientists found several connections with historic events.
The first contact between Europeans and Americans in Mexico in the sixteenth century coincides with a remarkable increase in the genetic diversity of Phytophthora.
The social upheaval during that time may have led to a spread of the pathogen from its center of origin in Toluca Valley Mexico.
This in turn would have accelerated its evolution. The international team came to these conclusions after deciphering the entire genomes of 11 historical samples of Phytophthora infestans from potato leaves collected over more than 50 years.
Crop breeding methods may impact on the evolution of pathogens. This study directly documents the effect of plant breeding on the genetic makeup of a pathogen.
Perhaps this strain became extinct when the first resistant potato varieties were bred at the beginning of the twentieth century speculates Yoshida.
What is for certain is that these findings will greatly help us to understand the dynamics of emerging pathogens.
This type of work paves the way for the discovery of many more treasures of knowledge hidden in herbaria.
and tobacco smoke are at a greater risk for developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and for experiencing more frequent and severe symptoms of the disease as well as more severe airflow obstruction than those who are exposed to only one type of smoke according to the results of a new population-based study conducted by researchers in Colombia.
The results of the study will be presented at the ATS 2013 International Conference. Although previous studies have shown a definite link between wood smoke exposure
and case series of patients with similar disease or health profiles said study lead author Carlos Torres-Duque M d. director of research at the Fundacion Neumologica Colombiana in Bogota.
and the overall prevalence of COPD as well as the characteristics of the disease and those who suffer from it.
For this study Dr. Torres-Duque and his colleagues used data from the PREPOCOL (Prevalencia de la Enfermedad Pulmonar Obstructiva Crã nica en Colombia) study which evaluated the prevalence
Patients'lung function was measured using spirometry a technique used to measure the amount of air a person is able to inhale
and exhale and all patients completed a standardized respiratory questionnaire to identify exposure to smoke.
and men Dr. Torres-Duque said. In addition the prevalence of COPD was significantly higher in those who were exposed to both wood
and more severe disease than those who were exposed to only one type of smoke. This result suggests that the combination of wood
which they're exposed Dr. Torres-Duque noted. Future studies might provide additional data regarding varying responses
and help clinicians determine specific treatments based on exposures he said. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by American Thoracic Society (ATS.
For nonnative mammals such as humans they may experience life-threatening acute mountain sickness when visiting high-altitude regions.
The research was the result of a two-year collaboration between Dr Huw Barton from the School of Archaeology and Ancient History at the University of Leicester and Dr Xiaoyan Yang Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural resources
Dr Barton Senior Lecturer in Bioarchaeology at the University of Leicester described the find as'hitting the jackpot':
Dr Barton said: The presence of at least two possibly three species of starch producing palms bananas
and spatially separated co-catalysts says Peidong Yang a chemist with Berkeley Lab's Materials Sciences Division who led this research.
Our research suggests that parents may play an important role in influencing their adolescents to establish behavioral patterns that improve their long-term health and chronic-disease risk.
The results appear in the current issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health. According to Small the researchers did not document the content of the conversations between students and their parents;
Indirectly communication with parents may remind students someone cares about their health and well being and that may motivate them to take better care of themselves.
Lisa Bailey-Davis research associate at the Geisinger Center for Health Research; and Jennifer Maggs professor of human development and family studies Penn State.
The National institutes of health funded this research. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Penn State.
These measures have been taken in response to evidence that neonicotinoids are toxic to honeybees and are contributing to the decline of bee colonies.
Problems seen with constant exposurean Eawag study published today in the journal PLOS ONE (Public library of Science) now shows that at least one of the insecticides in this class also has toxic effects on freshwater invertebrates.
Failure of conventional toxicity testingthe slow starvation effect observed under constant exposure to low levels of neonicotinoids is detected not by conventional toxicity tests as they are carried not out over a period of several weeks.
the results of the experiments are affected significantly by organisms'initial fitness and lipid reserves. To eliminate these effects
and disease in the United states. Declines in smoking among youths were observed from the late 1990s.
However limited information exists on trends in smokeless tobacco use among U s. youths writes Israel T. Agaku D. M d. M p h. of the Harvard School of Public health Boston and colleagues.
The above story is provided based on materials by American Medical Association (AMA. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length n
This treatment is part of this collaborative effort. explains Dr. Sandra Knapp the author of this extensive contribution.
and having a long history of medicinal use. The new species described in this revision Solanum agnoston discovered by Dr. Sandra Knapp Department of Life sciences The Natural history Museum UK comes from the inter Andean valleys of Southern Ecuador
and is known only from two collections. Many of the other species of the group are similarly rare--of the 45 species 14 are threatened or endangered.
and disease in the United states. Declines in smoking among youths were observed from the late 1990s.
However limited information exists on trends in smokeless tobacco use among U s. youths writes Israel T. Agaku D. M d. M p h. of the Harvard School of Public health Boston and colleagues.
The above story is provided based on materials by American Medical Association (AMA. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length n
This treatment is part of this collaborative effort. explains Dr. Sandra Knapp the author of this extensive contribution.
and having a long history of medicinal use. The new species described in this revision Solanum agnoston discovered by Dr. Sandra Knapp Department of Life sciences The Natural history Museum UK comes from the inter Andean valleys of Southern Ecuador
and is known only from two collections. Many of the other species of the group are similarly rare--of the 45 species 14 are threatened or endangered.
and a cancer causing agent found specifically in tobacco smoke--known as NKK--as measured by their metabolites cotinine and NNAL.
The above story is provided based on materials by BMJ-British Medical Journal. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
The work was led by Dr Manash Chatterjee an Adjunct Faculty member of Botany and Plant science at NUI Galway and has been published in the journal BMC Plant Biology.
Dr Chatterjee is currently a Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) ETS Walton Fellow at NUI Galway collaborating with the SFI Genetics and Biotechnology Lab of Professor Charles Spillane.
Dr Chatterjee's research uses an approach called TILLING (Targeting Induced Lesions In The Genome) an established non-GM method for creating
According to Dr Chatterjee: Over the centuries the sunflower has been cultivated for traits such as yield. However along the way many useful genetic variations have been lost.
Dr Chatterjee is involved also in research in the NUI Galway Plant and Agribiosciences Research Centre (PABC) to improve the bioenergy crop Miscanthus.
#Bird flu in live poultry markets are the source of viruses causing human infectionson 31 march 2013 the Chinese National Health and Family planning Commission announced human cases of novel
H7n9 influenza virus infections. A group of scientists led by Professor Chen Hualan of the Harbin Veterinary Research Institute at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences has investigated the origins of this novel H7n9 influenza virus
and published their results in Springer's open access journal Chinese Science Bulletin (Springeropen). Following analysis of H7n9 influenza viruses collected from live poultry markets it was found that these viruses circulating among birds were responsible for human infections.
These results provide a basis for the government to take actions for controlling this public health threat.
The novel H7n9 influenza virus was identified in China as the agent that causes a flu-like disease in humans resulting in some deaths.
A total of 970 samples were collected from live poultry markets and poultry farms located in Shanghai and Anhui Province.
Of these samples 20 were positive for the presence of H7n9 influenza viruses. All of the positive samples originated from live poultry markets in Shanghai.
The analysis of these novel H7n9 influenza virus isolates showed that that the six internal genes were derived from avian H9n2 viruses
HA receptor-binding specificity is a major molecular determinant for the host range of influenza viruses.
which is characteristic of the HA gene in human influenza viruses. This finding implies that H7n9 viruses have acquired partially human receptor-binding specificity.
and culling of poultry in affected areas should be taken during this initial stage of virus prevalence to prevent a possible pandemic.
and transmissibility of these H7n9 viruses and to develop effective vaccines and antiviral drugs so as to reduce their adverse effects upon human health.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Springer. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Journal Reference e
#Molecular basis of strawberry aromayou know that summer is here when juicy red strawberries start to appear on the shelves.
--and ended up understanding how Faeo produces the HDMF flavor compound explains Dr. Andr Schiefner from The chair of Biological Chemistry.
#Poultry drug increases levels of toxic arsenic in chicken meatchickens likely raised with arsenic-based drugs result in chicken meat that has higher levels of inorganic arsenic a known carcinogen according to a new study
led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future at the Bloomberg School of Public health.
whether or not the poultry was raised with arsenical drugs. The findings provide evidence that arsenical use in chickens poses public health risks
and indicate that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the agency responsible for regulating animal drugs should ban arsenicals experts say.
The study was published online today in the scientific journal Environmental Health Perspectives. Conventional antibiotic-free
and USDA Organic chicken samples were purchased from 10 U s. metropolitan areas between December 2010 and June 2011 when an arsenic-based drug then manufactured by Pfizer
and known as roxarsone was readily available to poultry companies that wished to add it to their Feed in addition to inorganic arsenic the researchers were able to identify residual roxarsone in the meat they studied;
in the meat where roxarsone was detected levels of inorganic arsenic were four times higher than the levels in USDA Organic chicken (in
Arsenic-based drugs have been used in poultry production for decades. Arsenical drugs are approved to make poultry grow faster
and improve the pigmentation of the meat. The drugs are approved also to treat and prevent parasites in poultry.
In 2010 industry representatives estimated that 88 percent of the roughly nine billion chickens raised for human consumption in the U s. received roxarsone.
In July 2011 Pfizer voluntarily removed roxarsone from the U s. market but the company may sell the drug overseas
Pfizer still domestically markets the arsenical drug nitarsone which is chemically similar to roxarsone. Currently in the U s. there is no federal law prohibiting the sale or use of arsenic-based drugs in poultry feed.
In January Maryland became the first U s. state to ban the use of most arsenicals in chicken feed.
Hopefully this study will persuade FDA to ban the drug and permanently keep it off the market.
and skin cancers and has been associated with other conditions as well including heart disease type 2 diabetes cognitive deficits and adverse pregnancy outcomes.
According to National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data at least 75 percent of Americans regularly eat chicken.
The above story is provided based on materials by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public health. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
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