Researchers may have identified one of the body's earliest responses to a group of parasites that causes illness in developing nations and is infecting soldiers on patrol in Iraq and Afghanistan.
It is widely accepted that Upper Paleolithic early modern humans spread westward across Europe about 42,000 years ago, variably displacing and absorbing Neandertal populations in the process. However, Middle Paleolithic, presumably Neandertal, assemblages persisted for another 8,000 years in Iberia. It has been unclear whether these late Middle Paleolithic Iberian assemblages were made by Neandertals, and what the nature of those humans might have been. New research, published Dec. 8 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is now shedding some light on what were probably the last Neandertals.
As President-elect Barack Obama continues to fill key cabinet positions from the ranks of Washington, D.C.-based public policy think tanks, a new book by longtime policy adviser Murray Weidenbaum examines how the nation's top think tanks came to play such critical roles in U.S. politics.
Now, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report they have developed a model of gene expression in yeast that predicts with a high degree of accuracy whether a gene will be switched on or off. Different genes operate in each cell type at different times, and this careful orchestration is what ultimately distinguishes a brain cell from a liver or skin cell.
Pear-shaped people who carry weight in the thighs and backside have been told for years they are at lower risk for high blood pressure and heart disease than apple-shaped people who carry fat in the abdomen. But in two studies, School of Medicine researchers report that body shape isn't the only marker of risk. Excess liver fat appears to be the key to insulin resistance, cholesterol abnormalities and other problems that contribute to diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Current estimates for head and neck cancer survival are largely inaccurate because they widely disregard many of the most common diseases such patients have in addition to their primary cancer, says Jay Piccirillo, M.D., a head and neck specialist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Historically, scientists have regarded itching as a less intense version of the body's response to pain, but researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have determined that pain and itch actually are regulated by different molecular mechanisms.
New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests cooling the brain may prevent the death of nerve cells that has been observed in infant mice exposed to anesthesia. The effects of anesthesia on human infants and young children have been debated among neuroscientists, but growing evidence suggests exposure to anesthetic drugs during brain development may contribute to behavioral and developmental delays.
A class of drugs that are used in premature infants to treat chronic lung damage can cause damage in the brain. New research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests the drugs may cause cognitive and motor-control problems even when they are given before birth.
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report they have validated the use of gene chip technology to rapidly and accurately detect pneumonia associated with ventilator use in hospitalized patients.
Scientists have shown for the first time that neuroprosthetic brain implants may be able to help stroke patients with partial paralysis.
A test that reveals brain changes believed to be at the heart of Alzheimer's disease has bolstered the theory that education can delay the onset of the dementia and cognitive decline that are characteristic of the disorder.
A simple decision-making task does not involve the frontal lobes, where many of the higher aspects of human cognition, including self-awareness, are thought to originate. Instead, the regions that decide are the same that receive stimuli relevant to the decision and control the body's response to it.
"The increasing number of veterans with PTSD raises the risk of domestic violence and its consequences on families and children in communities across the United States," says Monica Matthieu, Ph.D., an expert on veteran mental health and an assistant professor of social work at Washington University in St. Louis.
For the first time, scientists have decoded the complete DNA of a cancer patient and traced her disease - acute myelogenous leukemia - to its genetic roots. A research team at Washington University in St. Louis sequenced the genome of the patient - a woman in her 50s who ultimately died of her disease - and the genome of her leukemia cells, to identify genetic changes unique to her cancer. The study is reported Nov. 6 in Nature.
The tonsils and lymphoid tissues in the intestinal tract that help protect the body from pathogens are the home base of a rare immune cell newly identified by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The immune cells could have a therapeutic role in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
Interested in keeping the pounds off this holiday season? A nutrition expert at Washington University in St. Louis has some very simple tips for remembering accurate portion sizes, which may be even more important than the food choices you make.
Want to begin to be more environmentally friendly in 2009 but can't afford a hybrid car? Don't worry "” there are plenty of ways to lessen your impact on the environment that don't come with such a daunting price tag, says Matt Malten, assistant vice chancellor for campus sustainability at Washington University in St. Louis. And they likely will even save you some money without cramping your carbon-creating lifestyle "” much.
Many parents around the country will purchase toys for their children this coming holiday season. While choosing toys that will further a child's education development is important, it's also a great idea for parents to remember to play with their children and engage with them in their new gifts. R. Keith Sawyer, Ph.D., associate professor of education in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, offers advice to parents worried about making the right toy choice for their children.
So it will soon be 2009 "” the year you decided is the one to start or finish that degree you've always intended to earn. But if it's been awhile since you've stepped foot inside a classroom "” or at least one that wasn't your kids' "” here are some suggestions to help you follow through on your New Year's resolution.
As Americans are stuggling to make ends meet with rising gas and food costs, they are grappling more than ever with what's appropriate when it comes to rewarding service providers with tips, gifts and other token gratuities, suggests Leonard Green, Ph.D., a psychology professor in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis who studies tipping behavior.
For college students, the winter break can be a welcome time off. Classes are over, finals are finished and it's a time to spend with family and friends. But, says a practicing psychologist at Washington University in St. Louis, the break between semesters can also be a very stressful time for students.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) results when the body's own defense system attacks nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord. Now scientists led by John Russell, Ph.D., at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown that interferon-gamma plays a deciding role in whether immune cells attack and injure the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) in mice.
Drugs widely used to treat type 2 diabetes may be more likely to keep working if they are used in moderation, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found.
Drugs widely used to treat type 2 diabetes may be more likely to keep working if they are used in moderation, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found in a study using an animal model.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Joseph Biden is telling the Catholics in his audiences that St. Thomas Aquinas had a different teaching on abortion than the current pope and his immediate predecessors. Many Catholics are saying, "He simply cannot be right." Well, the short answer is: Biden is right, says Frank K. Flinn, Ph.D., adjunct professor of religious studies at Washington University in St. Louis.
"No evidence exists of any serious threat of voter fraud, at present or in any recent election cycle," says Greg Magarian, J.D., election law expert and professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. "Filing false registration forms does not constitute voter fraud," he says. "Voter fraud requires voting by a person who is not legally entitled to vote. That is a difficult trick to pull off, and simply turning in a registration form for 'Captain Crunch' does almost nothing to enable it."
Many animals live longer when raised on low calorie diets. But now researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown that they can extend the life spans of roundworms even when the worms are well fed "” it just takes a chemical that blocks their sense of smell.
Clubfoot, one of the most common birth defects, has long been thought to have a genetic component. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report they have found the first gene linked to clubfoot in humans.
Working as part of a multi-institutional collaboration, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have assembled the most complete catalog to date of the genetic changes underlying the most common form of lung cancer.
Self-induced breaks in the DNA of immune cells known as lymphocytes activate genes that cause the cells to travel from where they're made to where they help the body fight invaders. The finding is the first to link such serious DNA damage to genes not directly involved in responding to the damage.
Scientists have used a technique originally developed for economic study to become the first to overcome a significant challenge in brain research: determining the flow of information from one part of the brain to another.
Scientists report online this week in Nature that they have linked the health of specialized gut immune cells to a gene associated with Crohn's disease, an often debilitating and increasingly prevalent inflammatory bowel disorder.
Neuroscientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have taken one of the first direct looks at one of the human brain's most fundamental "foundations": a brain signal that never switches off and may support many cognitive functions.
A protein that helps keep immune cells quiet is more abundant in the spinal fluid of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), further boosting suspicion that the protein, TREM-2, may be an important contributor to the disease.
Calorie restriction, a diet that is low in calories and high in nutrition, may not be as effective at extending life in people as it is in rodents, according to scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
"It is troubling that weighty bailout decisions are being made on an ad hoc basis behind closed doors," says Cheryl Block, leading federal budget expert and professor of law. "These decisions potentially involve not only substantial amounts of taxpayer money, but they also involve employment decisions regarding management of major business enterprises."
Cancer death rates in the United States are highest among African Americans, but a new report shows that in Missouri the disparity in cancer incidence and death between African Americans and whites is declining. As a result, cancer incidence (the rate of newly diagnosed cases) between the races is equal, although the death rate will probably remain higher for African Americans for some time.
The genome of a humble worm that dines on the microbial organisms covering the carcasses of dead beetles may provide clues to the evolution of parasitic worms, including those that infect humans, say scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Max-Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Germany.
A new predictive measurement, called a PEPI score, could bring good news to many women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer "” a low PEPI (preoperative endocrine prognostic index) score could show that they have little risk of relapse and can safely avoid chemotherapy after surgery.
Floodwaters can bring health problems. H. James Wedner, M.D., at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, says after the water recedes, damp homes and businesses are fertile grounds for mold growth, which can cause allergic reactions and asthmatic symptoms in sensitive people.
Futuristic nanotechnology has been teamed with a decades-old drug to beat atherosclerotic plaques in research conducted at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The scientists have found that drug-laced nanoparticles plus a statin could stop the growth of tiny blood vessels that feed arterial plaques and potentially shrink or stabilize the plaques.
A $10 million, government-funded, multicenter clinical trial of an aggressive treatment for blood clots in the leg known as deep vein thrombosis (DVT) will be led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Radhakrishnan Gopalan, Ph.D., assistant professor of finance at Washington University in St. Louis, comments on the mortgage giants' federal bailout and the impact on taxpayers, shareholders, the mortgage market and the confidence of the American people.
A narrow region on chromosome 15 contains genetic variations strongly associated with familial lung cancer, says a study conducted by scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and other institutions. The researchers found a more than five times higher risk of lung cancer for people who have both a family history of the disease and these genetic variations.
For the first time, researchers have described hour-by-hour changes in the amount of amyloid beta, a protein that is believed to play a key role in Alzheimer's disease, in the human brain. The researchers report their results this week in Science.
"We are headed into a time when a confluence of changes are going to lead to a perfect storm, making us finally realize that our health care system needs a major overhaul," says Timothy D. McBride, Ph.D., leading health economist and professor of social work at Washington University in St. Louis. "As the elderly population doubles between now and about 2030, projections are that we will see at least a doubling of the costs of the federal and state health and retirement programs," he says. "That will likely be when the perfect storm hits."
"Minor political parties' inability to gain traction in the United States does not reflect natural facets of our national character," says Gregory P. Magarian, J.D., election law expert and professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis, home of the 2008 vice presidential debate. "The legal entrenchment of the two major parties has solidified a centrist political order." Magarian is available to discuss general election law and electoral system issues.
Despite popular theories to the contrary, early humans evolved not as aggressive hunters, but as prey of many predators. "Humans are no more born to be hunters than to be gardeners," argues Robert W. Sussman, Ph.D., professor of anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis, in the newly-updated version of the controversial book "Man the Hunted: Primates, Predators and Human Evolution."
Silver-coated endotracheal tubes are giving critically ill patients another reason to value the lustrous metal. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the NASCENT Investigation Group report that the silver-coated tubes led to a 36 percent reduction of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP).
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