EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging DiseasesThe premier online source for science news since 1996. A service of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.NIAID creates HIV vaccine discovery branch- June 25, 2008 (NIHNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) To accelerate the translation of basic discoveries about HIV into advances in vaccine design and evaluation, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, has formed a new Vaccine Discovery Branch within the Vaccine Research Program in the Division of AIDS.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-06/nioa-nch062508.php Disclosure of organ transplant risks: A question of when, not if- June 25, 2008 (University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine) University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine physicians and bioethicists are calling for a new, more standardized way for patients in need of organ transplants to be informed of the risks they face. If adopted, their policy recommendations -- outlined in the June 26 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine -- could promote greater equity in how organs are allocated while restricting patients' abilities to "cherry-pick" the best organs.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-06/uops-doo062008.php 'Neglected infections of poverty' in US disable hundreds of thousands of Americans annually- June 24, 2008 (Public Library of Science) An analysis published June 25 in the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases highlights that diseases very similar to those plaguing Africa, Asia and Latin America are also occurring frequently among the poorest people in the United States, especially women and children. These diseases -- the "neglected infections of poverty" -- are caused by chronic and debilitating parasitic, bacterial and congenital infections.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-06/plos-io061908.php Overcrowding and understaffing in hospitals increases levels of MRSA infections- June 24, 2008 (Research Australia) A review article authored by a University of Queensland academic has found overcrowding and understaffing in hospitals are two key factors in the transmission of MRSA infections worldwide.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-06/ra-oau062408.php Educational video in clinic waiting rooms reduces new sexually transmitted infections- June 23, 2008 (Public Library of Science) A video-based waiting room intervention, Safe in the City, lowers STD incidence among STD clinic patients, new CDC data find. In a controlled trial, the Safe in the City research group found that patients who were exposed to a 23-minute HIVSTD prevention video had nearly a 10 percent reduction in new infections compared with those who were not exposed to the video.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-06/plos-evi061908.php Nasal spray using body's immune system provides hope of cure for common cold- June 23, 2008 (Society of Chemical Industry) A nasal spray that mimics our own natural defense system may be the answer to beating the common cold, according to a report in the latest issue of the Society of Chemical Industry's magazine, Chemistry & Industry, published today.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-06/soci-nsu062308.php Crucial factors in lymphoma development and survival discovered- June 23, 2008 (National Jewish Medical and Research Center) Researchers at National Jewish Medical and Research Center have discovered an important factor in the development of B-cell lymphomas, one of the fastest growing forms of cancer. The B-cell receptor on the surface of B cells can cooperate with the MYC oncogene to accelerate the development of lymphomas. The research team, led by Yosef Refaeli, Ph.D., at National Jewish Medical and Research Center, also showed that disruption of signals from the...http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-06/njma-cfi061908.php First-ever symposium brings together military and civilian medical experts- June 23, 2008 (Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine) The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences are holding the first-ever USU-HJF Symposium -- a meeting for leading military researchers and clinicians to discuss current and future advances in military medical research.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-06/hmjf-fsb061708.php Could new discovery about a shape-shifting protein lead to a mighty 'morpheein' bacteria fighter- June 20, 2008 (Fox Chase Cancer Center) A small molecule that locks an essential enzyme in an inactive form could one day form the basis of a new class of unbeatable, species-specific drugs, including antibiotics. PBGS, an enzyme used by nearly all cellular life, is a morpheein -- a molecule that spontaneously "shape-shifts," -- turning from an active octamer (eight part) protein to a hexamer (six part). Morphlock stabilizes the hexamer, thereby turning off the enzyme.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-06/fccc-cnd061708.php JCI table of contents: June 20, 2008- June 20, 2008 (Journal of Clinical Investigation) This release contains summaries, links to PDFs, and contact information for the following newsworthy papers to be published June 20, 2008, in the JCI: Smoking out the mediators of airway damage caused by pollutants; Battle of the bulge: low leptin levels undermine successful weight loss; Overcoming resistance to a cancer drug; How an anticancer drug dampens the immune system; and A prickly problem: hedgehog signaling in the blood vessels of the heart; others.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-06/joci-jto061808.php |