science newsletter: Science News SciGuru.com

Τρίτη 7 Ιανουαρίου 2014

Science News SciGuru.com

New compounds discovered that are hundreds of times more mutagenic
New Technique Targets Specific Areas of Cancer Cells with Different Drugs
Disparities Run Deep: Parkinson's Patients Utilization of Deep Brain Stimulation Treatment Reduced within Demographic Groups
Intimate yeast: Mating and meiosis
Researchers Discover Molecule Behind the Benefits of Exercise

New compounds discovered that are hundreds of times more mutagenic

Posted: 06 Jan 2014 09:55 AM PST

Researchers at Oregon State University have discovered novel compounds produced by certain types of chemical reactions – such as those found in vehicle exhaust or grilling meat - that are hundreds of times more mutagenic than their parent compounds which are known carcinogens.

These compounds were not previously known to exist, and raise additional concerns about the health impacts of heavily-polluted urban air or dietary exposure. It’s not yet been determined in what level the compounds might be present, and no health standards now exist for them.

New Technique Targets Specific Areas of Cancer Cells with Different Drugs

Posted: 06 Jan 2014 09:46 AM PST

Researchers have developed a technique for creating nanoparticles that carry two different cancer-killing drugs into the body and deliver those drugs to separate parts of the cancer cell where they will be most effective. The technique was developed by researchers at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Disparities Run Deep: Parkinson's Patients Utilization of Deep Brain Stimulation Treatment Reduced within Demographic Groups

Posted: 06 Jan 2014 09:40 AM PST

Among Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, female, black, and Asian patients are substantially less likely to receive proven deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery to improve tremors and motor symptoms, according to a new report by a Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania researcher who identified considerable disparities among Medicare recipients receiving DBS for Parkinson's disease.

Intimate yeast: Mating and meiosis

Posted: 06 Jan 2014 09:33 AM PST

Mating and meiosis – the specialized cell division that reduces the number of chromosomes in a cell – are related, but in most yeasts they are regulated separately. Not so in Candida lusitaniae, where the two programs work in unison, according to a new study in Nature. Comparison with other species suggests that this fusion may support C. lusitaniae’s “haploid lifestyle” of maintaining only one set of chromosomes in each cell.

Researchers Discover Molecule Behind the Benefits of Exercise

Posted: 06 Jan 2014 05:56 AM PST

While it's clear that exercise can improve health and longevity, the changes that occur in the body to facilitate these benefits are less clear. Now researchers publishing in the January issue of Cell Press journal Cell Metabolism have discovered a molecule that is produced during exercise and contributes to the beneficial effects of exercise on metabolism.