Futurity.org » Emory University

Technique reads hidden details in DNA

Steve Koppes-Chicago — Thu, 17 May 2012 17:59:46 +0000

U. CHICAGO / EMORY (US) — Scientists have developed and tested a new way to precisely read the DNA alphabet, letter by letter.

Imagine reading an entire book, but then realizing your glasses did not allow you to distinguish “g” from “q”. Geneticists faced a similar problem with the recent discovery of a “sixth nucleotide” in the DNA alphabet.

Mail mix-up may change eye disease treatment

Steve Chaplin-Indiana — Mon, 07 May 2012 18:27:39 +0000

INDIANA U. (US) — Sloppy shipping of a donated human retina has inadvertently helped researchers uncover a previously undetected mechanism causing a type of macular degeneration.

The discovery has led researchers to urge review of how millions of dollars are spent investigating the cause of a type of age-related macular degeneration called choroidal neovascularization.

Working at Indiana University’s Biocomplexity Institute, postdoctoral researcher Abbas Shirinifard had hit a brick wall trying to develop detailed computer simulations of the behaviors and interactions of the cells and membranes composing the rear of the retina and its supporting vasculature.

Scans reveal what your dog is thinking

Carol Clark-Emory — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:10:42 +0000

EMORY (US) — Researchers use MRI scans to explore the brain activity of alert dogs, and reveal how the minds of the oldest domesticated species respond to their owners’ hand signals.

Many dog lovers speculate about how their pets feel about them, but no one has captured images of actual canine thought processes, until now.

‘Blue’ compound stops brain tumor spread

Abby Vogel Robinson-Georgia Tech — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 17:05:40 +0000

GEORGIA TECH / EMORY (US) — A new treatment approach appears to halt the spread of cancer cells into normal brain tissue in animal models.

Researchers treated animals possessing an invasive tumor with a vesicle carrying a molecule called imipramine blue, followed by conventional doxorubicin chemotherapy.

Wedded bliss is good for the heart

Carol Clark-Emory — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 13:20:09 +0000

EMORY (US) — Married adults who undergo heart surgery are more than three times more likely to survive the next three months than single people who have the same surgery.

While the most striking difference in outcomes occurred during the first three months, the study shows the strong protective effect of marriage continues for up to five years following coronary artery bypass surgery.

Did depression evolve to fight infection?

Quinn Eastmann-Emory — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 19:24:31 +0000

EMORY (US) — A new study proposes that the genetic variations that produce depression evolved to help our ancestors fight infection.

Depression is common enough—afflicting one in ten adults in the United States—that it seems the possibility of depression must be “hard-wired” into our brains. This has led biologists to propose several theories to account for how depression, or behaviors linked to it, can somehow offer an evolutionary advantage.

To find mutations, read the whole exome

Holly Korschun-Emory — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 20:08:36 +0000

EMORY (US) — Geneticists are even closer to sequencing a patient’s entire genome to discover the source of his or her disease.

A case report, published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, shows how researchers can combine a simple blood test with an “executive summary” scan of the genome to diagnose a type of severe metabolic disease.

Sick fruit flies self-medicate with alcohol

Carol Clark-Emory — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 17:21:51 +0000

EMORY (US) — Fruit flies infected with a blood-borne parasite consume alcohol to self-medicate, a behavior that greatly increases their survival rate.

“We believe our results are the first to show that alcohol consumption can have a protective effect against infectious disease, and in particular against blood-borne parasites,” says Todd Schlenke, an evolutionary geneticist at Emory University who led the research.

Exercise may protect against erectile dysfunction

Kerry Ludlam-Emory — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:12:38 +0000

EMORY — Increased physical activity is associated with better sexual function in men under 40, according to a new study.

The study, published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, assessed the association between physical activity and erectile function in young, healthy men ages 18 to 40. Previous studies have suggested that erectile dysfunction in men under 40 is correlated with increased cardiovascular risks.

When the brain refuses to take the cash

Carol Clark-Emory — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:23:15 +0000

EMORY (US) — Brain images show personal values that people refuse to disavow—even when offered cash to do so—are processed differently than values that are willingly sold.

“Our experiment found that the realm of the sacred—whether it’s a strong religious belief, a national identity or a code of ethics—is a distinct cognitive process,” says Gregory Berns, director of the Center for Neuropolicy at Emory University and lead author of the study published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.