Human movement is a key factor of dengue virus inflow in Rio de Janeiro, according to results from researchers based at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) in Brazil. The results, based on data from a severe epidemic in 2007-2008, contribute to new understanding on the dynamics of dengue fever in the second largest city in Brazil. Details are published November 10 in the open-access journal PLoS...

Researchers report that a single-stranded DNA-binding protein (SSB), once thought to be a static player among the many molecules that interact with DNA, actually moves back and forth along single-stranded DNA, gradually allowing other proteins to repair, recombine or replicate the strands. Their study, of SSB in the bacterium Escherichia coli, appears today in the journal Nature. Whenever the doub...

Critical illness from 2009 influenza A(H1N1) in Mexico occurred among young patients, was associated with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome and shock, and had a fatality rate of about 40 percent, according to a new study. Novel 2009 influenza A(H1N1) was first reported in the southwestern United States and Mexico in March 2009. Between March 18 and June 1, 2009, 5,029 cases and 97 documen...

It was nine years ago that University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers discovered that a mysterious human protein called zonulin played a critical role in celiac disease and other autoimmune disorders, such as multiple sclerosis and diabetes. Now, scientists have solved the mystery of zonulin`s identity, putting a face to the name, in a sense. Scientists led by Alessio Fasano, M.D., have...

Google`s algorithm for ranking web-pages can be used to determine which species are critical for sustaining ecosystems. Drs. Stefano Allesina and Mercedes Pascual find that "PageRank" can be applied to the study of food webs, the complex networks describing who eats whom in an ecosystem. The researchers, based at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis at the University...

In laying down the neural circuitry of the developing brain, billions of neurons must first migrate to their correct destinations and then form complex synaptic connections with their new neighbors. When the process goes awry, neurodevelopmental disorders such as mental retardation, dyslexia or autism may result. Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine hav...

Discovery of a deafness-causing gene defect in mice has helped identify a new protein that protects sensory cells in the ear, according to a study led by University of Iowa researchers. The findings, which also involved Kansas State University, appear in the Aug. 21 issue of the open-access journal PLoS Genetics. In humans, hereditary deafness is one of the most common birth defects, yet most gene...

Every year as many as seven million adults in the United States experience delirium during hospitalization. In a systematic review of the scientific literature on delirium prevention and treatment, investigators from Indiana University School of Medicine, the Regenstrief Institute and Wishard Health Services found that despite the significant health and financial burdens of delirium for hospitaliz...

A Monash University study has proven a critical link between obesity and the onset of Type 2 diabetes, a discovery which could lead to the design of a drug to prevent the disease. The findings were published July 8 in the journal Cell Metabolism. The team, led by Associate Professor Matthew Watt, discovered that fat cells release a novel protein called PEDF (pigment epithelium-derived factor), whi...

A test that measures oxygen levels in newborns can detect “critical” congenital heart disease, but there are variables involved with the test that require more study before it is adopted for universal newborn screening, according to a new joint statement from the American Heart Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics. The scientific statement is published online July 6 in Ci...