science newsletter: Science News SciGuru.com

Πέμπτη 19 Δεκεμβρίου 2013

Science News SciGuru.com

Stress Reaction Gene Linked to Death, Heart Attacks
Mouse study shows potential for gene therapy in Alport syndrome, an inherited kidney disease
Debate continues on impact of artificial sweeteners
Neandertal genome project reaches its goal
Preferable treatment for MS found in allogenic bone marrow stem cells

Stress Reaction Gene Linked to Death, Heart Attacks

Posted: 19 Dec 2013 05:34 AM PST

A genetic trait known to make some people especially sensitive to stress also appears to be responsible for a 38 percent increased risk of heart attack or death in patients with heart disease, scientists at Duke Medicine report.

The finding outlines a new biological explanation for why many people are predisposed to cardiovascular disease and death, and suggests that behavior modification and drug therapies could reduce deaths and disability from heart attacks.

Mouse study shows potential for gene therapy in Alport syndrome, an inherited kidney disease

Posted: 19 Dec 2013 05:29 AM PST

A new study in mice suggests that gene therapy one day may be a viable treatment for Alport syndrome, an inherited disease that leads to kidney failure. The research, by scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is available online in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

Debate continues on impact of artificial sweeteners

Posted: 19 Dec 2013 05:22 AM PST

New research from the University of Adelaide has added to the debate about how our bodies respond to artificial sweeteners and whether they are good, bad or have no effect on us.

In a study published in this month's Diabetes Care journal, researchers in the University's School of Medicine and the Nerve-Gut Laboratory have found that artificially sweetened drinks produced no different response in the healthy human gut to a glass of water.

Neandertal genome project reaches its goal

Posted: 19 Dec 2013 05:15 AM PST

An international research team led by Kay Prüfer and Svante Pääbo of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, has determined a high-quality genome sequence of a Neandertal woman. The genome allows detailed insights into the relationships and population history of the Neandertals and other extinct hominin groups. The results reveal that gene flow among such groups was common but generally of low magnitude. It also provides a definitive list of the DNA sequence changes that distinguish modern humans from our nearest extinct relatives.

Preferable treatment for MS found in allogenic bone marrow stem cells

Posted: 18 Dec 2013 09:11 AM PST

Multiple sclerosis (MS), an inflammatory autoimmune disease affecting more than one million people worldwide, is caused by an immune reaction to myelin proteins, the proteins that help form the myelin insulating substance around nerves. Demyelination and MS are a consequence of this immune reaction. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been considered as an important source for cell therapy for autoimmune diseases such as MS because of their immunosuppressive properties.