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Blame Protein- Thy1 for Weight Gain

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A new study has revealed that a protein, Thy1, in the human body makes people gain weight, thus making Thy1 a possible therapeutic target. The University of Rochester researchers found that Thy1 has a fundamental role in controlling whether a primitive cell decides to become a fat cell. Mice studies and study of human cell lines has confirmed that a loss of Thy1 function promotes more fat cells and mice lacking the Thy1 protein and fed a high-fat diet gained more weight ...

Clinical Trial of NewLink and Merck's Ebola Vaccine Put on Hold

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Scientists have decided to put a hold on the Swiss clinical trials of Ebola vaccine from NewLink and Merck, where some volunteers reported joint pains. Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, said that they were set to begin procurement of the vaccine as soon as the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended a vaccine for use. Ebola outbreak has been responsible for death of more than 6000 people in West ...

TRPA1 Gene Could Help in the Treatment of Frostbite and Hypothermia

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A cold 'sensor' which triggers the skin's vascular response to the cold could represent a new therapeutic target for the treatment of frostbite and hypothermia, according to scientists at King's College London. The study explains TRPA1's role in cold exposure and provides impetus for further research into how this gene could be targeted to enhance the body's protective response to cold. The human body has several defense mechanisms to try and boost its core temperature ...

How Does The Body React To Stress

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Physical symptoms of stress on the body are varied, ranging from hormonal changes to changes in the nervous system, manifesting as the flight-fight-freeze response.

Pharaonic Queen's Tomb Found in Egypt

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Joint team of Egyptian and French archaeologists discover the Tomb of an Ancient Egypt's Ramesside Period in Luxor. "Research is continuing to determine the name of the pharaoh she was married to," a statement said. During the Ramesside Period - the Nineteenth Dynasty (1314-1200 BC) and Twentieth Dynasty (1200-1085 BC) - 11 kings were named Rameses. Inside the tomb, archaeologists found fragments from 20 funerary statues on which was inscribed ...

The Tale of Bone-Eating Worms: Mysteries from the Sea

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It has been just 12 years since iOsedax/i, the "bone-eating" worms were discovered from the deep-sea. They feed on the bones of the dead animals. The iOsedax/i story grew even stranger when researchers found that the large female worms contained harems of tiny dwarf males. In a new study published in iCurrent Biology/i, marine biologist Greg Rouse at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and his collaborators reported a new twist to the ...

Interesting Facts on Stress

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Response given by the body to any kind of demand is called stress. Both good and bad experiences can cause stress. Knowing how to manage stress is important for physical and mental well-being.

Obese Mothers and Stunted Children Linked to Poor Diet

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The major cause of stunted growth in children is malnutrition, but new UCL research on mothers and children in Egypt suggests that the problem is not just about the quantity of food but also quality. Obesity and malnutrition are often thought of as problems at opposite ends of the nutrition spectrum, but the study found that 6.7% of Egyptian mothers were obese and had stunted children. In these 'double-burden' households with obese mothers and stunted children, ...

MERS-CoV Doubtful of Reaching Pandemic, Epidemic Status

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The first case of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), an emerging virus was reported in 2012. It exhibits a 40% fatality rate and over 97% of the cases have occurred in the Middle East. In three new studies in the current issue of the iInternational Journal of Infectious Disease/i, researchers reported on clinical outcomes in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), how long patients will shed virus during their infections, and how the Sultanate ...

Bird Flu Outbreak Reported in Canada

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After learning that an outbreak of avian influenza has spread, Canada expanded its quarantine of poultry farms in westernmost British Columbia province on Thursday. Both farms are close to one of the original two that were first to be quarantined on December 2 after they tested positive for bird flu, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said in a statement. In total, eight properties have so far been impacted, and a ninth is being monitored for the H5N2 ...

Despite Record Cereal Output, Food Insecurity is on the Rise

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Food insecurity is worsening across the globe in spite of record-high of world cereal output. This could be due to Ebola and civil conflicts, said UN's food agency on Thursday. The Food and Agriculture Organization said 2014 was heading to be a bumper year for cereals, with "an all-time record of more than 2.5 billion tonnes". That was due to a record maize output in the United States and bumper crops in Europe, a FAO report said. The record ...

UN Proclaims International Day of Yoga

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International day of Yoga will be on June 21, proclaimed the United Nations on Thursday, following a proposal from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution inviting governments worldwide to seize the opportunity of that day to "raise awareness about the benefits of practicing yoga." Modi, a vegetarian who practices yoga daily, made the proposal during his maiden address to the United Nations in September and last ...

New Ebola Mission Chief for UN Appointed

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A Mauritanian national, Ban Ki-moon, has been appointed on Thursday to head the UN Ebola mission, set up two months ago by the UN to combat the world's worst outbreak of the virus. Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, who currently serves as number two at the UN mission in Libya, will succeed American Anthony Banbury as head of the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER). Ould Cheikh Ahmed takes over the mission as the number of infections continues to ...

Rebuilding Ebola-Hit Health Systems is a Long, Costly Battle

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The Ebola outbreak in west Africa has exposed weaknesses of the healthcare systems of the countries and will require millions of dollars to rectify if they are to withstand future shocks, health chiefs said on Thursday. Even as Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia continue to battle the virus that has killed almost 6,400 people, focus is turning to how to rebuild shattered health services in the worst affected countries. After talks with donors and NGOs ...

Herpes Virus Rearranges Telomeres to Improve Viral Replication: Study

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A team of scientists, led by researchers at The Wistar Institute, has found that an infection with herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) causes rearrangements in telomeres, small stretches of DNA that serve as protective ends to chromosomes. The findings, which will be published in the Dec. 24 edition of the journal emCell Reports/em, show that this manipulation of telomeres may explain how viruses like herpes are able to successfully replicate while also revealing ...

Interruption to Ebola Vaccine Trial 'Not a Setback': WHO

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Trials of an experimental Ebola vaccine in Switzerland were suspended over unexpected side-effects. But this is not a setback in the fight against the deadly virus, the World Health Organization insisted on Thursday. The Geneva University Hospital (HUG) announced Thursday it was suspending trials of one of two experimental vaccines being tested on humans in several countries, after several volunteers experienced unexpected joint pains. But WHO assistant ...

Hotspots in Deaths from HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C in Massachusetts

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Identifying communities with the greatest public health need in Massachusettes for resources relating to HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C is possible with a new study from epidemiologists at Tufts University School of Medicine. The study, published today in iPLOS ONE/i, used geospatial techniques to identify hotspots for deaths related to HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C. The findings show large disparities in death rates exist across race and ethnicity in Massachusetts. The ...

Gene Interaction That Drives Aggressive Brain Cancer Defined

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Targeted therapies are the groundbreaking field in cancer care. In this, drugs or other substances are designed to interfere with genes or molecules that control the growth and survival of cancer cells. Now, scientists at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center and VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine (VIMM) have identified a novel interaction between a microRNA and a gene that could lead to new therapies for the most common and deadly form of brain tumor, malignant ...

Reasons for Drug Resistance of Malaria Discovered

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The exact manner in which the malaria parasite is developing resistance towards the most important front-line drugs used to treat the disease has been discovered by scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU). Malaria is a mosquito-borne parasite which affects over 60 million people worldwide and in serious cases, can be fatal. There is currently no viable vaccine for malaria while antimalarial drugs and prophylaxis are losing its efficacy with increasing ...

Ebola Vigilance Required Before Christmas: Red Cross

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Vigilance against a possible spread of the Ebola virus was urged by the Red Cross on Thursday, as holiday travel picks up for the Christmas season in west Africa. "There may be a risk of waves of infection if not all the measures are taken," Elhadj As Sy, head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), told reporters in London. "It is a combination of (a) festive season where we have a high mobility of people and ...

Pediatric Stroke Triggered by Roller Coaster Rides

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An unusual stroke in a 4-year-old boy could have been triggered by riding a couple of roller coasters at an amusement park, suggests a report in the journal iPediatric Neurology/i. The sudden acceleration, deceleration and rotational forces on the head and neck likely caused a tear in the boy's carotid artery. This tear, called a dissection, led to formation of a blood clot that triggered the stroke, Loyola University Medical Center neurologist Jose Biller, ...

Head Fracture to be Predicted With a Biomarker in Blood

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Measuring markers of bone injury in the blood can help predict the likelihood of a cranial lesion and determine the need for head computed tomography, in cases of traumatic brain injury. The results of a new study comparing the usefulness of two biomarkers released into the blood following a TBI are presented in iJournal of Neurotrauma/i, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article "GFAP Out-Performs S100a in Detecting Traumatic ...

Energy Efficient Homes Increase the Risk Asthma

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Adults living in energy efficient homes may have an increased risk of asthma and the presence of mould doubled this risk, according to new research by a team at the University of Exeter Medical School who worked with leading UK social housing provider, Coastline Housing. The research has found that a failure by residents to heat and ventilate retrofitted properties could lead to more people developing the respiratory condition. The United Kingdom has one of the leading ...

Coating Nanoparticles With Complement Proteins can Help Treat Cancers and Degenerative Diseases

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Scientists at Brunel University London have found a way of targeting hard-to-reach cancers and degenerative diseases using nanoparticles without causing the damaging side effects the treatment normally brings. The research helped discover proteins in the blood that disguise nanoparticles so they are absorbed into cells without causing inflammation and destroying healthy cells. Two studies found that carbon nanotubes (CNTs) triggered a chain reaction in the complement ...

Parkinson's Disease Sufferers Have Different Gut Microbiota

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Parkinson's disease patients have a different microbiota in their intestines than healthy individuals, according to a study conducted at the University of Helsinki and the Helsinki University Central Hospital (HUCH). They have much less bacteria from the 'Prevotellaceae' family; unlike their healthy counterparts who had a large quantity of bacteria from this family. Researchers also found that the amount of bacteria from the 'Enterobacteriaceae' family in the intestine ...

Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization Will Purchase Millions of Ebola Vaccine

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The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) plans to purchase millions of Ebola vaccine doses as soon as the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a safe and effective vaccine against the virus. GAVI helps make vaccines available to developing countries. GAVI said it planned to spend up to 300 million dollars to procure the vaccines, which would be used to immunize at-risk populations in affected countries; and 90 million dollars to support countries ...

Non-adherence to Treatment Regime Linked to Adverse Clinical Outcomes in Liver Transplant Recipients

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New research reports that liver transplant recipients' less understanding of treatment regime and non-adherence to medications is linked to adverse clinical outcomes, such as organ rejection or graft loss. Immunosuppressive drug therapies help improve survival rates for those undergoing solid organ transplantation. However, their effectiveness may be hindered by multidrug regimens that require strict adherence overtime, with non-adherence responsible for close to 50% of late ...

Less Government Healthcare Spending Increases Maternal Mortality Rates Across the EU

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Reductions in government healthcare spending (GHS) are associated with increased maternal mortality rates across the European Union (EU). However, the association disappears if skilled birth attendants are in place, thus highlighting the potential importance of maternal care, suggests the research. GHS is the total expenditure on health care by the government measured as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP). Maternal mortality is defined as the death of a woman ...

Smoking Accounts for 8.7 Percent of Annual Healthcare Spending in the U.S.

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The costs on society due to smoking have increased with smoking accounting for 8.7 percent of annual healthcare spending in the U.S. Cigarette smoking generates as much as 170 billion dollars in annual health care spending in the United States. Taxpayers bear 60 percent of the cost of smoking-attributable diseases through publicly funded programs such as Medicare (45 billion dollars spending per year), Medicaid (39 billion dollars spending per year) or other government-sponsored ...