science newsletter: Science News SciGuru.com

Τρίτη 17 Δεκεμβρίου 2013

Science News SciGuru.com

Lion numbers could improve with new sustainable hunting quotas
Retinoblastoma dysfunction promotes pancreatic cancer cell growth
Mothers See Their Youngest as Shorter Than They Are
Regulation of Cancer-Causing Protein Could Lead to New Therapeutic Targets
New NIH Network Revolutionizes Stroke Clinical Research
CRISPR system scales up in human cells
‘Superbugs’ found breeding in sewage plants
Enzyme BACE1 May Be Important in Predicting Onset of Alzheimer Disease

Lion numbers could improve with new sustainable hunting quotas

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 11:00 AM PST

Researchers have devised a simple and reliable way to set sustainable quotas for hunting lions, to help lion populations to grow, in a new study.

Trophy hunting occurs in 9 of the 28 African countries that have wild populations of lions. Hunting is legal in these countries but quotas are set to restrict the numbers of lions that can be killed.

Retinoblastoma dysfunction promotes pancreatic cancer cell growth

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 10:31 AM PST

Indiana University cancer researchers have discovered that a protein that normally suppresses tumors actually promotes the growth and spread of pancreatic cancer.

Murray Korc, M.D., the Myles Brand Professor of Cancer Research at the Indiana University School of Medicine and a researcher at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center, and colleagues have shown that the retinoblastoma protein, a tumor suppressor, often malfunctions in pancreatic cancer. That dysfunction enables an inhibitory protein to promote pancreatic cancer growth.

Mothers See Their Youngest as Shorter Than They Are

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 09:20 AM PST

Many parents say when their second child is born that their first child suddenly appears to have grown overnight. Now, researchers reporting in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on December 16 have an explanation: until the birth of the new child, those parents were subject to a ”baby illusion,” routinely misperceiving their youngest child as smaller (and younger) than he or she really was.

Regulation of Cancer-Causing Protein Could Lead to New Therapeutic Targets

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 09:15 AM PST

Researchers with the Cincinnati Cancer Center (CCC) and the University of Cincinnati Cancer Institute have discovered a new regulation for the cancer-causing protein KRas which may help with the development of targeted therapies for patients with a KRas mutation.

New NIH Network Revolutionizes Stroke Clinical Research

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 07:57 AM PST

A network of 25 nationally recognized stroke centers has been created to rapidly address the three core features of stroke research and care: prevention, treatment and recovery. The regional coordinating centers (RCCs), working with nearby satellite facilities, will span the country and have teams of researchers representing every stroke-related medical specialty, with the primary goal of bringing new therapies and strategies to the stroke community more rapidly. The centers, which include UC San Diego Health System as a grant recipient, were announced yesterday by the National

CRISPR system scales up in human cells

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 07:37 AM PST

For decades, researchers have sought a biological toolset capable of precisely and systematically turning off genes throughout the genomes of human cells. The CRISPR-Cas9 system – a recently discovered system with bacterial origins – has the potential to overcome many of the limitations of currently available gene-silencing techniques. Earlier this year, several research groups showed that it was possible to use CRISPR-Cas9 to turn off genes in mammalian cells.

‘Superbugs’ found breeding in sewage plants

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 07:25 AM PST

Tests at two wastewater treatment plants in northern China revealed antibiotic-resistant bacteria were not only escaping purification but also breeding and spreading their dangerous cargo.

Enzyme BACE1 May Be Important in Predicting Onset of Alzheimer Disease

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 07:14 AM PST

The critical enzyme beta-secretase1 (BACE1) is known to be elevated in brains with sporadic Alzheimer disease (AD). Scientists have now found increased levels of BACE1 in brains with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), suggesting that BACE1 activity is important for conversion of mild cognitive impairment to AD and may be an early indicator of AD. The results are published in the January issue of The American Journal of Pathology.