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Mitochondrial DNA mutations play significant role in prostate cancer

Mutations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) playan important role in the development of prostate cancer, according toresearch by scientists at Emory University School of Medicine and theUniversity of California, Irvine. The findings are published onlinethis week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences(PNAS). Mitochondrial DNA, which is separate from nuclear DNA, is foundin the hun...

A slight difference and significant similarities

There is little difference between the composition of the genetically produced potatoes known as fructan potatoes and that of conventionally bred varieties. They only differ in the new substances intentionally incorporated with gene technology. This conclusion has been reached by scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology and their colleagues from the University of Wales...

Sleeping beauty plays a significant role in identifying cancer genes

Researchers at the University of Minnesota Cancer Center and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, have discovered a new method that could accelerate the way cancer-causing genes are found and could lead to a more accurate identification of the genes, according to two studies in the July 14, 2005, issue of Nature. The gene identification method was...

Progress on HIV/AIDS significant but insufficient

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan shared his hope with a gathering of senior world officials at Headquarters that the 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS would have heralded a response that matched the epidemic's scale, yet progress had been "significant but insufficient". Citing achievements in the core areas of political leadership, funding, the intensity and reach of pr...

Delaware scientists make significant advance in study of small RNAs

Scientists from the University of Delaware have made a significant advance in the study of small ribonucleic acids (RNAs), discovering 10 times more small RNAs in the plant Arabidopsis than previously had been identified. The advance is reported in the Sept. 2 issue of Science magazine. The research was conducted over the course of the last year and a half by teams from the laboratories he...

Study suggests that publicly available genome data may contain small but significant errors

Since the genome sequence of the bacterial pathogen Haemophilus influenzae was published in 1995, the genetic code of many other large, complex, medically, and commercially significant organisms including humans has also been elucidated. However, the techniques used to derive these genetic sequences are imperfect, and many researchers may be unaware of potential errors lurking within the p...

Biofuels can replace about 30 percent of fuel needs with significant research and policy effort

With world oil demand growing, supplies dwindling and the potential for weather- and conflict-related supply interruptions, other types of fuels and technologies are needed to help pick up the slack. A group of experts in science, engineering and public policy from the Georgia Institute of Technology, the Imperial College London and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory recommend a comprehensi...

COX-2 inhibitors significantly reduce risk of cancer

Results from a new, five-year study show that regular use of popular prescription pain relievers may reduce the risk of breast cancer by up to 71 percent and may offer similar benefit in the prevention of prostate, colon and lung cancers. "We believe th...

Walking not enough for significant exercise benefits

Walking is a popular form of exercise, but may not be enough to experience significant health benefits, a University of Alberta study shows. "Generally, low-intensity activity such as walking alone is not likely going to give anybody marked health benefits compared to programs that occasionally elevate the intensity," said Dr. Vicki Harber, lead author on the Health First study, which was...

High HPV concentrations combined with smoking significantly raise risks of cervical cancer

Cigarette smoking and concurrent infection with high levels of the virus associated with cervical cancer can increase cancer risk by as much as 27 times, according to a study published in the November 2006 issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. Anthony Gunnell, a medical biostatistician and epidemiologist and colleagues at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm reviewe...

Ethanol vehicles pose a significant risk to human health, study finds

Ethanol is widely touted as an eco-friendly, clean-burning fuel. But if every vehicle in the United States ran on fuel made primarily from ethanol instead of pure gasoline, the number of respiratory-related deaths and hospitalizations would likely increase, according to a new study by Stanford University atmospheric scientist Mark Z. Jacobson. His findings are published in the April 18 online edi...

20-year study shows significant rise in childhood obesity, especially among girls

Four-year-old girls are six times more likely to have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of more than 30 than they were 20 years ago and ten-year-olds are five times more likely, according to research published in the April issue of Acta Paediactrica. Swedish researchers who studied BMI figures for more than a thousand children over two decades discovered that obesity levels had risen significantly a...

Gene therapy study shows safety and statistically significant improvement in Parkinson's disease

The open label Phase 1 study, conducted in 12 patients with adv...

Human genetic 'deserts' are teeming with significant life

Most known human genes in the genome map are still incompletely annotated, says Professor Alexandre Reymond, from the Centre for Integrative Genomics, University...