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Change in Temperature Uncovers Genetic Cross Talk in Plant Immunity

By Guest PostNovember 17, 2010Nature, Sciencearabidopsis thaliana, avrrps4, bacterial infection, bacterial invaders, bacterial pathogen, cell, cross talk, disease, effector proteins, immune system, mechanism, pathogen, plant proteins, plants, proteins, pseudomonas syringae, resistance proteins, saikat bhattacharjee, sang hee kim, srfr1, walter gassmann

*University of Missouri investigators’ discovery sheds light on how plants fight off bacterial infections*

Columbia, MO — Like us, plants rely on an immune system to fight off disease. Proteins that scout out malicious bacterial invaders in the cell and communicate their presence to the nucleus are important weapons in the plant’s disease resistance strategy. Researchers at the University of Missouri recently “tapped” into two proteins’ communications with the nucleus and discovered a previously unknown level of cross talk. The discovery adds important new information about how plant proteins mediate resistance to bacteria that cause disease and may ultimately lead to novel strategies for boosting a plant’s immune system.

Special proteins in the plant, called resistance proteins, can recognize highly specific features of proteins from pathogen, called effector proteins. When a pathogen is detected, a resistance protein triggers an “alarm” that communicates the danger to the cell’s nucleus. The communication between the resistance protein and nucleus occurs through a mechanism called a signaling pathway. (more…)

Researchers Find Cancer News May Contribute to Confusion About Cancer

By Guest PostNovember 11, 2010Culture, Health, Mediaamericans, behavior, cancer, CNN, dale brashers, disease, google news, health information, kami kosenko, msnbc, north carolina state university, online, people, ryan hurley, uncertain terms, yahoo news

New research from North Carolina State University shows that most online news stories about cancer contain language that likely contributes to public uncertainty about the disease – a significant finding, given that at least one-third of Americans seek health information online.

“Previous studies show that more than 100 million Americans seek health information online, and that their findings affect their health decisions,” says Dr. Kami Kosenko, an assistant professor of communication at NC State and co-author of a paper describing the study. “But, while people facing uncertainty about cancer issues are likely to seek out additional information, we’ve found that there are features of the information they’re seeking that may actually exacerbate the uncertainty.” (more…)

Nicotine May Play Key Role in Promising Alzheimer’s Therapy

By Guest PostOctober 13, 2010Health, Sciencea-beta, alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, alpha7 receptor, alzheimer, angela lee, bace-1 knockouts, bace1, brain nicotine receptors, calcium uptake, disease, enzyme, fiona laird, hey kyoung lee, hui wang, lihua song, neurological disorder, neurons, neuroscientists, neurotransmitters, nicotine, normal brain function, peptide, philip c wong, schizophrenia, sixth-leading cause of death, united states, university of maryland

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — A team of neuroscientists has discovered important new information in the search for an effective treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, the debilitating neurological disorder that afflicts more than 5.3 million Americans and is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. Hey-Kyoung Lee , associate professor in the University of Maryland Department of Biology, and her research team have shown that they may be able to eliminate debilitating side effects caused by a promising Alzheimer’s drug by stimulating the brain’s nicotine receptors. (more…)

Spread of Malaria Still a Looming Problem

By Guest PostJuly 28, 20101 commentHealthanti-malarial drugs, anti-mosquito coils, disease, environmental factors, epidemiology, infection, jose siri, Kenya, kisumu, malaria, mark Wilson, mosquito nets, traveling

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—There are hundreds of millions of new cases of malaria annually, but much of what scientists believe about preventing the spread of malaria in urban settings is mistaken, a new University of Michigan study suggests.

(more…)

Fast Food!!… What’s the consequence?

By ShamsDecember 25, 20081 commentHealthalzheimar, disease, fast food, junk food, Karolinska Institute, mcdonald

Junk food, (in fact) fast food that is rich in sugar, fat and cholesterol can be a serious factor for developing Alzheimer’s. That’s what Swedish researcher from the Karolinska Institute suspects. Reuter’s reported about the findings a month earlier in November.