Microsoft Excel-based algorithm predicts cancer prognosis

Using readily available computer programs, researchers have developed a system to identify genes that will be useful in the classification of breast cancer. The algorithm, described in BioMed Central’s open access Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research will enable researchers to quickly generate valuable gene signatures without specialized software or extensive bioinformatics training.

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Brain exercises may slow cognitive decline initially, but speed up dementia later

ST. PAUL, Minn. – New research shows that mentally stimulating activities such as crossword puzzles, reading and listening to the radio may, at first, slow the decline of thinking skills but speed up dementia later in old age. The research is published in the September 1, 2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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New study strengthens link between everyday stress and obesity using an animal model

Study using animal model shows stress has impact in the short term causing metabolic changes in the longer term that contribute to obesity

Bethesda, MD–Stress can take a daily toll on us that has broad physical and psychological implications. Science has long documented the effect of extreme stress, such as war, injury or traumatic grief on humans. Typically, such situations cause victims to decrease their food intake and body weight. Recent studies, however, tend to suggest that social stress–public speaking, tests, job and relationship pressures–may have the opposite effect–over-eating and weight gain. With the rise of obesity rates, science has increasingly focused on its causes and effects–including stress.

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Study finds commercial organic farms have better fruit and soil, lower environmental impact

Research team compared fields and fruits in heart of nation’s strawberry patch

PULLMAN, Wash.—Side-by-side comparisons of organic and conventional strawberry farms and their fruit found the organic farms produced more flavorful and nutritious berries while leaving the soil healthier and more genetically diverse.

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Protecting nerve cells from death in a model of stroke

A team of researchers, led by Yizheng Wang, at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China, has identified a way to preserve nerve cells in a rat model of stroke.

Stroke is most commonly caused by impaired delivery of oxygen to part of the brain as a result of disruption to the blood supply (a condition known as ischemia). This leads to nerve cell death, although the exact mechanisms underlying ischemic nerve cell death have not been clearly determined. Yang and colleagues, set out to test in rats the idea that disruption to pathways involved in protecting nerve cells from death contributes to nerve cell death in stroke and generated data consistent with this idea. Specifically, they found that degradation of the protein TRPC6 preceded nerve cell death in the rat model of stroke and that suppressing TRPC6 degradation prevented nerve cell death and subsequent brain damage. The authors therefore suggest that preventing TRPC6 degradation could be a way to limit nerve cell death after stroke. Read more

Bacterial charity work thwarts medical treatments

Research reveals bacterial altruism makes populations stronger than individuals

Drug resistant bacteria are a problem in many environments, especially healthcare institutions. While the ways in which these cells become resistant are understood at the cellular level, until now, the bacteria’s survival strategies at the population level remained unclear.

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Revaccination could benefit HIV-infected children

HIV-infected children receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) may require revaccination to maintain immunity against preventable diseases. There remains no standard or official recommendation on revaccination of children receiving HAART, an effective intervention in reducing morbidity and mortality in HIV-infected children. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health reviewed published data to assess these children’s immune responses to vaccines and found that most children treated with HAART remained susceptible to vaccine-preventable diseases, but responded well to revaccination. Their review was published in the September issue of the Lancet Infectious Diseases.

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Scientists identify protein that spurs formation of Alzheimer’s plaques

In Alzheimer’s disease, the problem is beta-amyloid, a protein that accumulates in the brain and causes nerve cells to weaken and die. Drugs designed to eliminate plaques made of beta-amyloid have a fatal problem: they need to enter the brain and remove the plaques without attacking healthy brain cells. New research from the laboratory of Nobel Prize winner Paul Greengard, however, suggests that treatments modeled on the blockbuster cancer drug Gleevec could be the solution. The findings are reported in the Sept. 2 issue of the journal Nature.

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Cranberry juice shows promise blocking Staph infections

New research expands the scope of previous pioneering work by Worcester Polytechnic Institute researchers on the mechanisms of bacterial infection

WORCESTER, Mass. – Expanding their scope of study on the mechanisms of bacterial infection, researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) have reported the surprise finding from a small clinical study that cranberry juice cocktail blocked a strain of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) from beginning the process of infection.

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New evidence that fat cells are not just dormant storage depots for calories

Scientists are reporting new evidence that the fat tissue in those spare tires and lower belly pooches — far from being a dormant storage depot for surplus calories — is an active organ that sends chemical signals to other parts of the body, perhaps increasing the risk of heart attacks, cancer, and other diseases. They are reporting discovery of 20 new hormones and other substances not previously known to be secreted into the blood by human fat cells and verification that fat secretes dozens of hormones and other chemical messengers. Their study appears in ACS’ monthly Journal of Proteome Research.

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