Futurity.org » University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

How neurons deploy poison to amputate or kill

Tom Hughes-UNC — Tue, 28 May 2013 17:10:45 +0000

UNC-CHAPEL HILL (US) — Researchers have uncovered a few surprising details about how neurons fix a faulty connection by amputating an axon.

It’s tricky business. The molecular poison the neuron deploys to sever an axon could, if uncontained, kill the entire cell.

Biology can’t run on genes alone

Pat Bailey-UC Davis — Tue, 21 May 2013 17:57:00 +0000

UC DAVIS (US) — Don’t lose the organism in the excitement over its genes, say biologists, who caution against straying too far from the actual plants, animals, and microorganisms.

The team suggests that decades of focus on genes have led the scientific community away from a balanced exploration of the organisms that those genes define.

Chronic pain after trauma may be genetic

Tom Hughes-UNC — Fri, 03 May 2013 13:46:42 +0000

UNC-CHAPEL HILL (US) — Persistent pain after a traumatic event like a car accident or sexual assault may have a neurological basis, new research suggests.

“Our study findings indicate that mechanisms influencing chronic pain development may be related to the stress response, rather than any specific injury caused by the traumatic event,” says Samuel McLean, assistant professor of anesthesiology at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.

Baby’s cells emit hormone to prevent preeclampsia

Tom Hughes-UNC — Wed, 01 May 2013 18:34:47 +0000

UNC-CHAPEL HILL (US) — A new understanding of the hormonal “conversation” between mother and fetus could lead to new ways to detect and prevent preeclampsia.

In a study using mice, researchers found that a hormone, adrenomedullin, plays a crucial role in preventing the pregnancy complication preeclampsia. Surprisingly, this hormone protects women from preeclampsia when emitted by the fetus, not the mother, during the most critical times in pregnancy.

Turn off gene and blood vessels don’t sprout

Tom Hughes-UNC — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:47:36 +0000

UNC-CHAPEL HILL (US) — When researchers removed a gene called CASZ1 in frog embryos, the frogs failed to form branched and functional blood vessels.

When they removed the CASZ1 gene from cultured human cells, scientists saw similar defects: the cells did not sprout or branch correctly due to their inability to maintain proper adhesions with the surrounding extracellular matrix.

How trees contribute to making smog

Thania Benios-UNC — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 19:52:43 +0000

UNC-CHAPEL HILL (US) — Researchers have shown how a molecule produced by trees combines with pollutants to create a potentially hazardous form of air pollution.

It has long been known that trees produce and emit isoprene, an abundant molecule in the air known to protect leaves from oxygen damage and temperature fluctuations.

However, in 2004, researchers, contrary to popular assumptions, revealed that isoprene was likely involved in the production of particulate matter, tiny particles that can get lodged in lungs, lead to lung cancer and asthma, and damage other tissues, not to mention the environment. But exactly how was anybody’s guess.

Doctors make the call about gun permits

Tom Hughes-UNC — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:22:13 +0000

UNC-CHAPEL HILL (US) — New protocols and policies are needed to help physicians assess a patient’s physical or mental competency to carry a concealed weapon, say experts.

In the wake of recent mass shootings, such as the one in Newtown, Conn., physicians are increasingly being called on to pass judgment in the permitting process on whether their patient is physically and mentally competent to safely have and use a concealed weapon.

Lower survival rates for in-hospital heart attacks

Tom Hughes-UNC — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:29:13 +0000

UNC-CHAPEL HILL (US) — Patients who have a heart attack while in the hospital for something else are 10 times more likely to die than someone who has a heart attack while walking down the street.

A new study is the first to systematically examine outcomes among hospital inpatients who suffer a STEMI (ST elevation myocardial infarction) as compared to people who suffer one outside the hospital and then are quickly brought in for treatment.

Clues to why chronic pain can feel icy cold

Leslie Lang-UNC — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 10:23:12 +0000

UNC-CHAPEL HILL (US) — Deleting the nerve circuitry for heat and some kinds of itch enhances sensitivity to cold, report researchers whose findings could have implications for people with types of chronic pain.

The study also has implications for why a promising new class of pain relief drugs known as TRPV1 antagonists (they block a neuron receptor protein) cause many patients to shiver and “feel cold” prior to the onset of hyperthermia, an abnormally elevated body temperature.

Enhanced cold followed by hyperthermia is a major side effect that has limited the use of these drugs in patients with chronic pain associated with multiple sclerosis, cancer, and osteoarthritis.

New path may lead to better HIV vaccine

Karl Bates-Duke — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 17:13:57 +0000

DUKE (US) — For the first time, researchers describe the co-evolution of antibodies and virus in a person with HIV whose immune system mounted a broad attack against the pathogen.

Most vaccines work by inducing this antibody response, but the HIV virus has proved to be a difficult vaccine target. When HIV antibodies are produced, they typically have a limited range, and the virus changes rapidly to escape harm, leading to an arms race that the virus usually wins.

The current research, published in Nature, was aided by new technologies that can detect early infection and track the subsequent immune response and virus evolution. It fills gaps in knowledge that have impeded development of an effective vaccine for a virus that has killed more than 30 million people worldwide.