Futurity.org » University of California at Davis

‘Spin’ molecules may delay Alzheimer’s

Carole Gan-UC Davis — Wed, 09 May 2012 14:56:22 +0000

UC DAVIS (US) — New compounds have been found that disrupt the formation of amyloid—the clumps of protein in the brain thought to be important in causing the characteristic mental decline associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

The so-called “spin-labeled fluorene compounds” are an important new target for diagnosis and treatment of the disease, researchers say.

Flash-heat breast milk to lower HIV risk

Karen Finney-UC Davis — Tue, 08 May 2012 19:38:21 +0000

UC DAVIS (US) — Mothers in sub-Saharan Africa could successfully follow a protocol for flash-heating breast milk to reduce transmission of HIV to their infants, a new study reports.

Flash-heating breast milk is recommended by the World Health Organization for HIV-infected mothers during times of increased transmission risk. The technique involves expressing breast milk into a glass jar that is placed in a small pot of water and heated until the water boils.

To battle HIV, stem cells step in for fight

Charles Casey-UC Davis — Tue, 08 May 2012 13:45:11 +0000

UC DAVIS (US) — Anti-HIV stem cell transplants may soon be tested in human clinical trails, based on successful results in mice.

In a paper published in the May issue of the Journal of Virology, the University of California, Davis HIV team demonstrated both the safety and efficacy of transplanting anti-HIV stem cells into mice that represent models of infected patients.

The technique, which involves replacing the immune system with stem cells engineered with a triple combination of HIV-resistant genes, proved capable of replicating a normally functioning human immune system by protecting and expanding HIV-resistant immune cells. The cells thrived and self-renewed even when challenged with an HIV viral load.

Survey: Black women lack support after breast cancer

Dorsey Griffith-UC Davis — Thu, 03 May 2012 19:26:08 +0000

UC DAVIS (US) — A recent survey finds nearly one-fourth of African-American breast cancer survivors were not satisfied with the information they received about treatment options from their doctors.

However, a majority (90 percent) of participants reported that they were satisfied with their treatment, according to interviews with 137 African-American women who survived breast cancer. The study, published in Advances in Breast Cancer Research, was conducted by researchers at the University of California, Davis.

Will bin Laden’s tapes reshape his legacy?

Karen Nikos-UC Davis — Thu, 03 May 2012 17:47:51 +0000

UC DAVIS (US) — Audio tapes taken from Osama bin Laden’s residence in 2001 suggest his role as the leader of al-Qaida has been misread, one analyst argues.

Flagg Miller, an associate professor of religious studies at the University of California, Davis, has been listening to bin Laden and his associates since 2003, translating a collection of more than 1,500 tapes acquired by CNN in 2001 from bin Laden’s residence in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Toxic PCBs scramble brain connections

Karen Finney-UC Davis — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:47:00 +0000

UC DAVIS (US) — Neuroscientists have discovered that PCBs—banned in the US in the 1970s—disrupt normal patterns of neuronal connections in the brain.

The findings underscore the developing brain’s vulnerability to environmental exposures and demonstrate how PCBs could add to autism risk.

Genomes of two champion bulls sequenced

Andy Fell-UC Davis — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:44:39 +0000

UC DAVIS (US) — Research on the genomes of two genetically superior bulls—with more than 60,000 descendants in six generations—may provide for faster and less costly methods to breed elite cattle.

The genomes of the bulls, Pawnee Farm Arlinda Chief and his son Walkway Chief Mark, show how portions of their DNA that control important traits such as disease resistance or milk production have spread throughout the contemporary Holstein breed, the world’s highest-producing dairy animal.

Brain site shrinkage adds to Alzheimer’s

Carole Gan-UC Davis — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 19:31:20 +0000

UC DAVIS (US) — New research on hippocampus size and intracranial volume helps to reveal the genetic components of Alzheimer’s and brain development.

The two research studies, co-led by University of California, Davis, neurologist Charles DeCarli, are published in the April 15 edition of the journal Nature Genetics.

The first study, based on a genetic analysis of more than 9,000 people, has found that certain versions of four genes may speed shrinkage of a brain region involved in making new memories. The brain area, known as the hippocampus, normally shrinks with age, but if the process speeds up, it could increase vulnerability to Alzheimer’s disease, the research suggests.

No protocol ready for Deepwater oil spill

Sonia Fernandez-UCSB — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:52:13 +0000

UC SANTA BARBARA / UNC-CHAPEL HILL (US) — Scientists have created the first complete conceptual model for understanding the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and any similar disasters in the future.

On the second anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil platform blowout, a national panel of researchers is providing new insight into what happened in the disaster, as well as a guide for how to deal with such events in the future, and why existing tools were inadequate to predict what lay before them.

The study, produced by the Gulf Oil Spill Ecotox Working Group at University of California, Santa Barbara’s National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS), is published in the May issue of the journal Bioscience.

‘Algebra for all’ may harm many kids

Karen Nikos-UC Davis — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 14:36:16 +0000

UC DAVIS (US) — An education policy in the state of California that requires all eighth graders to take algebra may do more harm than good for the lowest-performing students.

Such a universal policy, first proposed by the California Board of Education, doesn’t take into account the skills and needs of individual students, specifically those who are least likely to be prepared for the course, researchers argue.