#In the eye of a chicken, a new state of matter comes into viewalong with eggs soup
and rubber toys the list of the chicken's most lasting legacies may eventually include advanced materials such as self-organizing colloids
The lab of co-corresponding author Joseph Corbo an associate professor of pathology and immunology and genetics at Washington University in St louis studies how the chicken's unusual visual layout evolved.
DMS-1211087) National Cancer Institute (grant no. U54ca143803; the National institutes of health (grant nos. EY018826 HG006346 and HG006790;
The introduced gene from a South american wild relative of potato triggers the plant's natural defense mechanisms by enabling it to recognize the pathogen.
and by the time a gene is introduced successfully into a cultivated variety the late blight pathogen may already have evolved the ability to overcome it said Professor Jonathan Jones from The Sainsbury Laboratory.
With new insights into both the pathogen and its potato host we can use GM technology to tip the evolutionary balance in favor of potatoes and against late blight.
Their research will allow resistance genes to be prioritized that will be more difficult for the pathogen to evade.
By combining understanding of resistance genes with knowledge of the pathogen they hope to develop Desiree
bumblebee infection is predicted by patterns of honeybee infection; and honeybees and bumblebees at the same sites share genetic strains of DWV.
What our data show is that these same pathogens are circulating widely across our wild
and disability legacy of current smoking will endure for decades in China. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by BMJ-British Medical Journal.
These coatings included significant amounts of soil organic carbon microbes and pathogens. After the coatings dried they were incorporated into the topsoil layer of the alluvial soils using tillage equipment. â#oebecause the flooding occurred during the non-growing season for corn
#Studies of cow antibodies help scientists understand how our own bodies workunderstanding how antibodies work is important for designing new vaccines to fight infectious diseases
and certain types of cancer and for treating disorders of the immune system in animals and humans.
and neutralize a wide range of pathogens directly depends on the diversity of our antibody repertoire--the more different kinds of antibodies we have in our bodies the more different kinds of targets we can block said Ekiert.
and twig canker. Traditionally this has been controlled through the use of fungicide treatments but in some cases these are now becoming ineffective.
#Study on flu evolution may change textbooks, history booksa new study reconstructing the evolutionary tree of flu viruses challenges conventional wisdom
and solves some of the mysteries surrounding flu outbreaks of historical significance. The study published in the journal Nature provides the most comprehensive analysis to date of the evolutionary relationships of influenza virus across different host species over time.
In addition to dissecting how the virus evolves at different rates in different host species the study challenges several tenets of conventional wisdom--for example the notion that the virus moves largely unidirectionally from wild birds to domestic birds rather than with spillover
in the other direction. It also helps resolve the origin of the virus that caused the unprecedentedly severe influenza pandemic of 1918 The new research is likely to change how scientists
and health experts look at the history of influenza virus how it has changed genetically over time
and how it has jumped between different host species. The findings may have implications ranging from the assessment of health risks for populations to developing vaccines.
when and from where pandemic viruses emerged. Once you resolve the evolutionary trees for these viruses correctly everything snaps into place
Using the new family tree of the flu virus as a map showed which species moved to which host species and when.
It revealed that for several of its 8 genomic segments avian influenza virus is not nearly as ancient as often assumed.
which included UA graduate student Guan-Zhu Han and Andrew Rambaut a professor from the University of Edinburgh who is affiliated also with the U s. National institutes of health found a strong signature in the data suggesting that something revolutionary happened to avian influenza virus
Worobey said the timing is provocative because of the correlation of that sudden shift in the flu virus'evolution with historical events in the late nineteenth century.
In the 1870s an immense horse flu outbreak swept across North america Worobey said City by city
The horse flu outbreak pulled the rug out from under the economy. According to Worobey the newly generated evolutionary trees show a global replacement of the genes in the avian flu virus coinciding closely with the horse flu outbreak
which the analyses also reveal to be the closest relative to the avian virus. Interestingly a previous research paper analyzing old newspaper records reported that in the days following the horse flu outbreak there were repeated outbreaks described at the time as influenza killing chickens
and other domestic birds Worobey said. That's another unexpected link in the history and the there is a possibility that the two might be connected given
Ever since the influenza pandemic of 1918 it has not been possible to narrow down even to a hemisphere the geographic origins of any of the genes of the pandemic virus. Our study changes that Worobey said.
The results also challenge the accepted wisdom of wild birds as the major reservoir harboring the flu virus from where it jumps to domestic birds
In many cases the result is a form of malnutrition defined by overconsumption of calories.
This has helped fuel a growing global epidemic of obesity and chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Our results show that Vitamin c deficiency should be considered a risk factor for this severe type of stroke as were high blood pressure drinking alcohol
Vitamin c deficiency has also been linked to heart disease. The study was supported by the University of Rennes France.
#Grape seed promise in fight against bowel canceruniversity of Adelaide research has shown for the first time that grape seed can aid the effectiveness of chemotherapy in killing colon cancer cells as well as reducing the chemotherapy's side effects.
Published in the journal PLOS ONE the researchers say that combining grape seed extracts with chemotherapy has potential as a new approach for bowel cancer treatment--to both reduce intestinal damage commonly caused by cancer chemotherapy
This is the first study showing that grape seed can enhance the potency of one of the major chemotherapy drugs in its action against colon cancer cells says Dr Cheah researcher in the School of Agriculture Food and Wine.
The extract was tested in laboratory studies using colon cancer cells grown in culture. The research showed grape seed extract:
â#¢decreased chemotherapy-induced inflammation by up to 55%â#¢increased growth-inhibitory effects of chemotherapy on colon cancer cells in culture by 26%Our experimental studies have shown that grape
and aids in improving the GHG mitigation potential of corn-derived renewable fuels continued Jayasundara.
#Drought contributed to Typhus epidemics in Mexico from 1655 to 1918, study showsepidemiological data integrated with climate data taken from tree-ring estimates of soil moisture levels demonstrate that drought contributed to the spread of typhus in Mexico from 1655 to 1918 according to a new study by researchers
at the University of Arkansas. The study has modern-day policy implications because although typhus can be treated with modern antibiotics it remains a threat in remote impoverished areas of South america Asia
and Africa and could reemerge as a serious infectious disease especially where social strife and underdeveloped public health programs persist.
The researchers describe their findings in an article published Feb 11 in Emerging Infectious diseases a Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention journal that tracks and analyzes disease trends. Historical records show that typhus has accompanied traditionally war famine
and poverty said David Stahle a Distinguished Professor of geosciences. Now because of Mexico's rich historical record of epidemic disease we can see that drought as reconstructed by tree-ring chronologies caused conditions that allowed typhus to flourish in central Mexico over a 250-year period.
Stahle and Jordan Burns a graduate student in geography at the U of A compared historical records of 22 typhus epidemics in central Mexico with soil moisture estimates based on tree-ring reconstructions.
They analyzed data gleaned from almanacs diaries and personal accounts as well as medical and death records from hospitals physicians cemeteries and municipalities.
Below-average tree growth drought and low crop yields occurred during 19 of the 22 typhus epidemics.
The observed relationship between drought and typhus epidemics in colonial and modern Mexico is curious
because drought has not been considered specifically a risk factor for typhus Burns said. But drought much like war and natural disasters caused famine in poor agricultural regions
Epidemic typhus is caused an infectious disease by a bacterium transmitted between people by body lice. The disease spreads where conditions are crowded and unsanitary.
#Genetic find might lead to cattle that are more resistant to TBSCIENTISTS have identified genetic traits in cattle that might allow farmers to breed livestock with increased resistance to bovine tuberculosis (TB.
#Black raspberry candies find the sweet spot for cancer prevention studywhether it's a plate or pyramid healthy eating guidelines always give fruits
and that experts think may help prevent illnesses like cancer diabetes and heart disease. The research around these superfoods make headlines almost daily
In 2009 Vodovotz's team was approached by scientists from Ohio State's Comprehensive Cancer Center--Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital
and Food Innovation Center (FIC) Vodovotz has developed now novel black raspberry-based functional foods that can withstand the rigors of a large-scale cancer prevention trial.
Black raspberries--not to be confused with the more recognizable red variety--have piqued the interest of cancer scientists in the last decade due to research showing they have distinct antioxidant
and anti-inflammatory properties that appear to inhibit tumor growth. But the berries are grown only in a few places around the US (Ohio being one of them)
The black raspberry formulations are currently being used in a clinical study of men with prostate cancer undergoing surgery.
and Vodovotz on the cancer study says that she is amazed that the food scientist team was able to engineer such a potent concoction that patients also seemed to enjoy.
and Food Chemistrydetailing the production and manufacturing process as well as testing that showed both formulations maintained nearly 75%of key cancer-fighting chemicals for approximately 5 weeks in a controlled temperature setting.
which has some of the highest cancer rates in America--that don't have regular access to fresh fruits and vegetables noted Vodovtoz.
and treat diseases such as breast cancer and pancreatitis. Roberts is also planning to study how the body's natural gut bacteria impact the digestion of berry-based compounds.
We can help fight heart disease and aging and perhaps even boost our romance for the evening by choosing our foods wisely.
which may prevent the formation of toxic plaque that leads to Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Sirna warns that you should drink in moderation by consuming no more than one 5-ounce glass for women and two 5-ounce glasses for men.
and contains cancer-fighting enzymes. Other items that top the list of heart-healthy foods include:
The FDA reports that eating a diet that includes one ounce of nuts daily can reduce your risk of heart disease.
Fish--Consider a Valentine's meal with fish that is high in omega-3 fatty acids which reduce your risk of dying from a heart attack.
Jack Juvik a U of I crop sciences researcher explained that the combined application of two compounds both are extracted natural products from plants increased the presence of cancer-fighting agents in broccoli
Glucosinolates have been identified as potent cancer-preventative agents because of their ability to induce detoxification enzymes such as quinone reductase (QR) that detoxify
and Health a landmark report that linked tobacco smoke to heart disease and lung cancer and laid the foundation for tobacco control efforts in the United states
. Since then 31 Surgeon general's Reports have been released including the latest The Health Consequences of Smoking--50 Years of Progress released Jan 11.
Amoxicillin is used to treat various types of infections in animals Gehring said. The goats with lead intoxication show signs of kidney and liver damage so we had hypothesized this damage would inhibit the excretion of amoxicillin leading to higher drug concentrations in these animals.
Genetic discovery to keep crops disease-freeaccording to John Curtin Distinguished Professor Richard Oliver Director of the Australian Centre for Necrotrophic Fungal Pathogens (ACNFP) at Curtin
pathogens find it difficult to latch onto wheat and cause damage. Our finding will help breeders produce crops in
Our research looks directly at the loci that recognise the pathogens which can be identified readily using a process we developed earlier thereby bypassing the need for QTL mapping.
Diarrheal illness is a leading cause of global mortality and morbidity said Richards-Kortum director of the Rice 360ë:
Parasites such as cryptosporidium are more common causes of prolonged diarrhea. Current laboratory tests are not sensitive are time-consuming
A rapid affordable accurate point-of-care test could greatly enhance care for the underserved populations who are affected most by parasites that cause diarrheal illness.
A. Clinton White director of the Infectious disease Division at UTMB asked Richards-Kortum to help develop a diagnostic test for the parasite.
Cryptosporidiosis is also a threat to people with HIV whose immune system is less able to fight it off he said.
In the most recent global burden-of-disease study diarrheal disease accounts for the loss of more disability-adjusted life years than any other infectious disease
and cryptosporidiosis is the second leading cause of diarrheal illness. Crannell said. Anybody if it's not treated can get dehydrated to the point of death.
or fluorescent analysis of stool samples or polymerase chain reactions (PCR) that amplify pathogen DNA are considered impractical for deployment in developing countries because of the need for expensive equipment
and enzymes tuned to amplify the pathogen of interest Crannell said. If the pathogen DNA is present these primers will amplify it billions of times to a level that we can easily detect he said.
The sample is flowed then over the detection strip which provides a positive or negative result.
While current tests might catch the disease in samples with thousands of the pathogens the Rice technique detects the presence of very few--even one--parasite in a sample.
It is important to know as much as we can about virus evolution as emerging infectious plant diseases are a growing threat to global food security
It is very difficult to understand how a plant disease evolved by solely relying on recent samples
The researchers believe that the Medieval BSMV genome came from a time of rapid expansion of the plant disease in the Near east and Europe.
In the first study of its kind they analyzed the way these structures contribute to APEC's ability to cause infection
APEC infections are a serious threat to poultry causing both systemic and localized infections collectively known as colibacillosis.
Further APEC infections may pose a risk to humans due to their zoonotic potential--their ability to infect human hosts.
A better understanding of infectious capacity (or virulence) and zoonotic potential are therefore essential for combatting these hazardous pathogens.
Stacy was an undergraduate student in Dr. Mellata's lab and was supported partialy by funding from School of Life sciences Undergraduate Research (SOLUR) ASU.
and Roy Curtiss III (who directs the Institute's Center for Infectious diseases and Vaccinology). Avian Pathogenic E coli (APEC) belong to a broad group of extraintestinal pathogenic E coli (Expec) strains.
Colibacillosis caused by APEC in birds leads to serious illness often attacking the avian respiratory system producing systemic
or localized infections depending on the age and gender of bird immunologic health and various environmental factors.
Because APEC and human Expec forms share important virulence characteristics possible zoonotic transmission is a serious health concern.
E coli common pilus (ECP) was identified originally in an Expec form known to cause neonatal meningitis in humans
While E coli bacteria exist primarily as beneficial residents of the human intestine extraintestinal variants are responsible for diarrheal diseases like hemorrhagic colitis as well as urinary tract infections neonatal meningitis sepsis and pneumonia.
and high acetate concentration have been shown to upregulate the expression of ECP in human E coli strains that cause urinary tract infections meningitis and diarrheal diseases.
In the current study an APEC strain was found to adhere to human cervical cells in a manner similar to human Expec infections.
This finding suggests that ECP could be considered as a potential antigen for vaccines for both human and poultry infections.
and thus presents a plausible target for future therapeutics aimed at these serious infections of both humans and animals.
and heart disease studies conducted over the last several decades investigators found that participants directed to adopt a whole diet approach instead of limiting fat intake had a greater reduction in cardiovascular death and nonfatal myocardial infarction.
Early investigations of the relationship between food and heart disease linked high levels of serum cholesterol to increased intake of saturated fat and subsequently an increased rate of coronary heart disease.
However they did not reduce the incidence of myocardial infarction or coronary heart disease deaths. Carefully analyzing studies
and specifically Mediterranean-style diets are effective in preventing heart disease even though they may not lower total serum or LDL cholesterol.
and overall better at preventing heart disease than a blanket low-fat diet. Encouraging the consumption of olive oil over butter
The last fifty years of epidemiology and clinical trials have established a clear link between diet atherosclerosis
what is consumed as well as what is excluded is more effective in preventing cardiovascular disease than low fat low cholesterol diets.
#Study shows yogurt consumption reduces the risk of type 2 diabetesnew research published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes) shows that higher consumption of yoghurt compared with no consumption can reduce the risk of new
-onset type 2 diabetes by 28%.%Scientists at the University of Cambridge found that in fact higher consumption of low-fat fermented dairy products which include all yoghurt varieties
and some low-fat cheeses also reduced the relative risk of diabetes by 24%overall.
Lead scientist Dr Nita Forouhi from the Medical Research Council (MRC) Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge commented this research highlights that specific foods may have an important role in the prevention of type 2 diabetes
or low fat) and diabetes had inconclusive findings. Thus the nature of the association between dairy product intake and type 2 diabetes remains unclear prompting the authors to carry out this new investigation using much more detailed assessment of dairy product consumption than was done in past research.
The research was based on the large EPIC-Norfolk study which includes more than 25000 men and women living in Norfolk UK.
and drink consumed over a week at the time of study entry among 753 people who developed new-onset type 2 diabetes over 11 years of follow-up with 3502 randomly selected study participants.
This allowed the researchers to examine the risk of diabetes in relation to the consumption of total dairy products and also types of individual dairy products.
or total low-fat dairy was associated not with new-onset diabetes once important factors like healthier lifestyles education obesity levels other eating habits
Total milk and cheese intakes were associated also not with diabetes risk. In contrast those with the highest consumption of low-fat fermented dairy products (such as yoghurt fromage frais
and low-fat cottage cheese) were 24%less likely to develop type 2 diabetes over the 11 years compared with non-consumers.
which makes up more than 85%of these products was associated with a 28%reduced risk of developing diabetes.
A further finding was that consuming yoghurt in place of a portion of other snacks such as crisps also reduced the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
While this type of study cannot prove that eating dairy products causes the reduced diabetes risk dairy products do contain beneficial constituents such as Vitamin d calcium and magnesium.
In addition fermented dairy products may exert beneficial effects against diabetes through probiotic bacteria and a special form of Vitamin k (part of the menaquinone family) associated with fermentation.
therefore helps to provide robust evidence that consumption of low-fat fermented dairy products largely driven by yoghurt intake is associated with a decreased risk of developing future type 2 diabetes.
'and the new research shows that pests pathogens and management issues likely play a major role in this
and has led to hypotheses that a specific novel syndrome'Colony Collapse Disorder'(CCD) is plaguing bee populations.
That the major causes of annual losses include pests (e g. the Varroa mite) pathogens (e g. viruses that these mites carry) and the need for research and advancements in management techniques available for large-scale apiaries
and pathogens play in species declines said Dr. Peter Daszak Disease Ecologist and President of Ecohealth Alliance.
We call this phenomenon'Pathogen Pollution 'and bees are no exception--the role of introduced mites
and the pathogens they carry is researched under and desperately in need of more work he added.
Last year a campaign to vaccinate children in Scotland against influenza was halted because of concern in the Muslim community about pork gelatine within the vaccine.
Certain people may be more susceptibleprevious studies have shown the certain pesticides can increase the risk for developing Parkinson's disease.
In a previous study published January 2013 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the UCLA research team discovered a link between Parkinson's
and therefore contributed to the development of Parkinson's. In this study UCLA researchers tested a number of other pesticides
and increase the risk of Parkinson's and at much lower levels than those at which they are currently being used said study lead author Jeff Bronstein a professor of neurology
and were two to six times more likely to develop Parkinson's than those without the variant when exposed to these pesticides.
The study compared 360 patients with Parkinson's in three agriculture heavy Central California counties to 816 people from the same area who did not have Parkinson's.
When ALDH does not detoxify DOPAL sufficiently it accumulates damages neurons and increases an individual's risk of developing Parkinson's.
which these environmental toxins contribute to Parkinson's pathogenesis especially in genetically vulnerable individuals said study author Beate Ritz a professor of epidemiology at the Fielding School of Public health at UCLA. This suggests several potential interventions to reduce Parkinson's occurrence
Then the researchers found that those participants in the epidemiologic study with a genetic variant in the ALDH gene were increased at risk of Parkinson's when exposed to these pesticides.
This report provides evidence for the relevance of ALDH inhibition in Parkinson's disease pathogenesis identifies pesticides that should be avoided to reduce the risk of developing Parkinson's disease
and tested to potentially reduce Parkinson's disease occurrence or slow its progression particularly for patients exposed to pesticides the study states.
but they did not suffer any harm even over multiple generations. In a similar article appearing in the February 2014 issue of the Journal of Economic Entomology called Tri-Trophic Studies Using Cry1ac-Resistant Plutella xylostella Demonstrate No Adverse Effects of Cry1ac on the Entomopathogenic
Nitrogen the most important and widely used agricultural nutrient is also a major environmental contaminant. In many regions increased levels of nitrate found in groundwater have been attributed to the high rates of nitrogen fertilizer applied to surrounding crops.
and The Sainsbury Laboratory Norwich looked in unprecedented detail at how Phytophthora infestans a pathogen that continues to blight potatoes
The study published today in the journal Science is the first to show how pathogens switch from targeting one species to another through changes at the molecular level.
and sister species Phytophthora mirabilis a pathogen that split from P. infestans around 1300 years ago to target the Mirabilis jalapa plant commonly known as the four o'clock flower.
They found that each pathogen species secretes specialised substances to shut down the defences of their target hosts'Plants have called these enzymes proteases that play a key role in their defence systems'said Dr Renier van der Hoorn co-author of the study from Oxford university
'When a plant becomes infected proteases help plants to attack the invading pathogens and trigger immune responses.
'We looked at specialisation in the blight pathogens'secret weapon a key family of effectors called'EPIC'that can pass through plants'defences undetected to disable the proteases.
and destroy the pathogen. Potato and tomato plants with such proteases would be resistant to the blight pathogens
and combined with other resistant traits could provide another'wall'of defence against the pathogens.'
'Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by University of Oxford. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
#Gastric bypass improves insulin secretion in pigsthe majority of gastric bypass patients mysteriously recover from their type 2 diabetes within days before any weight loss has taken place.
A study at Lund University Diabetes Centre in Sweden has shown now that the insulin-producing beta cells increase in number and performance after the surgery.
Type 2 diabetes develops when the body's insulin-producing beta cells stop working or when the body is not able to use the insulin that the cells produce.
and undergo a gastric bypass operation recover from their diabetes within days of the procedure.
The group at Lund University Diabetes Centre found that the pigs'beta cells improve their insulin secretion.
since it also helps the further refinements of surgical methods says Jan Hedenbro surgeon at Aleris Obesitas who has collaborated with Lund University Diabetes Centre on the project.
The researchers hope that the findings could lead to new methods of treatment for type 2 diabetes in the future.
and diabetes concludes Nils Wierup. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Lund University.
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