Chemists find a new method for parallel protein synthesis

Chemists at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have developed a new method for parallel protein analysis. This study shows a capable of identifying thousands of different proteins.

This method could be used to find the presence of viruses and their type in tiny samples. As well as it is very fast and cost-effective. “We see possible applications of this technique in medicine, where it could be used, for example, for the rapid diagnosis of a wide range of diseases. It would be almost as easy to use as a pregnancy test strip,” said Professor Carsten Sonnichsen of the Institute of Physical Chemistry.

The test involves blood, saliva, or other body fluid on a test strip, which is then placed in a device developed at the JGU Institute of Physical Chemistry. This device is able to identify the specific proteins in the fluid and allows us to differentiate between harmless microorganisms and dangerous pathogens.

In order to detect the many different substances present in a small sample, the sensors need to be as tiny as possible, preferably the size of nano-particles. Sonnichsen’s team of scientists has designed a sensor no larger than the head of a pin but capable of performing a hundred different individual tests on a surface that is only of one-tenth of a square millimeter in area.

The ‘test strips’ consist of glass capillary tubes that have gold nano-particles as sensor elements on their internal surfaces. “We first prepare our nano-particles using short DNA strands, each of which binds to a specific type of protein,” explained Janak Prasad, who developed this method.

When a protein docks with one of these special DNA strands, called aptamers, the corresponding nano-particle changes its color. The color changes can be detected with the aid of a spectrometer. For this purpose, the capillary tubes are placed under a microscope and provided with the necessary software by the Mainz-based team of chemists.

 

A research found that DNA repair enzyme will improve Cancer and Alzheimer’s disease

Researchers have discovered an enzyme responsible for repairing single DNA strands damaged through cell division, and hope this will lead to treatments for cancer, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.

As we grow, the number of cells in our body must grow as well.  In order to multiply, a cell’s DNA must divide into two strands, creating two identical templates for the genomes of the “daughter” cells.

Cell division occurs every time, the cell’s genome is exposed, and this very important genetic material is left vulnerable to attacks from reactive oxygen species (ROS) – toxic molecules created through respiration.  If damaged by an ROS, the genetic information carried in a cell may change, and these genetic mutations can lead to disorders associated with DNA damage, such as cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.

Human body has a natural way of repairing DNA through the replication process, and researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston (UTMB), have found that how the process works could lead to cancer treatments and even the reversal of age-related diseases.

“We have so much damage cells so we can use a system of repair before that damage is replicated,” lead author Dr. Sankar Mitra, “If repair doesn’t occur, replication is going to happen with the damaged genome.”

How it works:

The National Academy of Sciences, Mitra and his team describe the work of an enzyme called NEIL1, a molecule that had been previously associated with the replication process.  In order to understand NEIL1’s mechanisms, the researchers suggest comparing DNA strand separation to the opening of a zipper.

As the zipper opens (or the strand divides), the DNA’s nucleo bases are exposed, so that a group of proteins known as the pre-replication complex can bind to the single strands and copy them back into double strands.  The NEIL1 enzyme is part of this protein package.

However, it is during this copying process that the DNA’s bases are most susceptible to ROS damage.

“The most common genome damage is oxygen damage; it is the most chemical damage you’re exposed to,” Mitra said. “You cannot survive without oxygen, but because you’re breathing huge liters of oxygen every day

According to Mitra, ROS damage occurs rather frequently throughout cell division and replication.  Fortunately, as soon as this damage occurs, NEIL1 recognizes the genetic change, and subsequently binds to the damaged site.  Once attached to the changed bases, it halts the replication process in its tracks.

“When they bind to that damage, the NEIL1 enzymes don’t allow replication to proceed,” Mitra explained. “When genome replication stops, the mechanism then is regression of the replication fork. So going backwards, like a zipper, the two strands come back together again.”

Once the strands have joined together, the NEIL1 – still bound to the damaged area – then fixes the genetic mutation before falling off the cell’s DNA.

Mitra and his team discovered NEIL1’s mechanisms through a series of in vitro experiments in their lab. They argue that knowing NEIL1’s function in the replication process could have huge implications for the future of cancer therapies.  For example, blocking or inhibiting the expression of NEIL1 in cancer cells could make them more susceptible to current cancer medications.

“All cancer drugs kill cells by targeting the DNA, because if the genome is damaged and if it’s not repairable, it causes the cancer cell to die.  But most of the time cancer comes back because some resistance occurs, and one mechanism of resistance is repair activity,” Mitra said. “But if you increase susceptibility of cancer cells to genome damage, then they’ll be much more sensitive to the drugs, and they can be killed more easily.”

Mitra also noted an even more incredible byproduct of his research: reversing the damage done by age-related diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.  He said that boosting NEIL1 expression could potentially repair ROS-related genome damage in the elderly population.

“We don’t know how to increase the level of this enzyme, however there are ways to increase its expression,” Mitra said.  “Epigenetically, you can change the level of NEIL1 by changing a particular chromosomal function so that the level of this enzyme goes up.”

But most importantly, a better understanding of the cell replication repair process is crucial to the future of genetic research, according to Mitra.

“Genome damage repair is essential for survival of the human species, and we need to understand the mechanisms,” Mitra said. “If we have a comprehensive picture of how this damage repair occurs in various situations, then we can provide the window to developing new approaches to improving the process.”

 

New research shows excessive calorie in children will affect their weight

A new study published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology shows that how excessive calorie intake affects the weight of children. This will lead to improved weight loss for obese and overweight children.

A team of researchers by Dr Kevin Hall of National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, USA, differentiate between the healthy weight gain that is normal in childhood, and the excessive weight gain that results in overweight and obesity. This model shows how children’s energy balance affects their weight gain.

The previous models underestimated overweight or obese children.  The new model is based on the children’s metabolism, growth and energy expenditure and how they gain weight.

The new model also indicates that some children may be able to ‘outgrow’ obesity during periods of rapid growth, for example between the ages of 11 and 16, without changing their bodyweight.  Obese boys who maintain the same bodyweight over this period will tend to normalize their body fat while continuing to grow taller and adding lean tissue mass. However, this effect is much less pronounced in girls, mainly because they lose less body fat than boys.

The researchers showed that their model provides the most accurate tool to predict the effect of calorie intake.  With roughly a third of children in the UK and US thought to be overweight this model may provide clinicians with a understanding of how weight loss interventions such as calorie-controlled diets and physical activity programs.

According to Dr Hall, “One of the most disconcerting aspects of the global obesity epidemic is the high prevalence of childhood obesity, which carries both health and economic consequences.
“Though the model doesn’t apply perfectly to all children – for instance, those who start adolescence late, or who undergo particularly rapid weight gain – it provides an accurate representation of the average effect of reducing or increasing calorie intake on the weight of children.

“The accuracy of parents’ awareness of children’s portion sizes and reporting of children’s food intake is only moderate,” says Professor Maffeis, adding that, “Reduced awareness of food intake in obese or pre obese children and their parents is an important limiting factor in the modification of nutritional behavior. It will be necessary to increase families’ knowledge and awareness of energy content and composition of children’s’ diets by designing effective and sustainable educational programs about nutrition.”

A molecule in suffocating tumors will be a drug for cancer- a research says

Scientists have found that a new molecule in severe tumors prevents cancer cells from responding and surviving when starved of oxygen and it is the new treatment, according to new research published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society on July 26.

Cancer Research UK scientists at the University of Southampton found that this molecule targets the master switch  HIF-1 that cancer cells use to adapt to low oxygen levels, a common feature in the disease.

The researchers uncovered a way to stop cancer cells using this switch through an approach called ‘synthetic biology’. By testing 3.2 million potential compounds, made by specially engineered bacteria, they were able to find a molecule that stopped HIF-1 from working.

All cells need a blood supply to provide them with the oxygen and nutrients they require to survive. Cancer tumors grow rapidly and as the tumor gets bigger it outstrips the supply of oxygen and nutrients that the surrounding blood vessels can deliver.

But, to cope with this low-oxygen environment, HIF-1 acts as a master switch that turns on hundreds of genes, allowing cancer cells to survive. HIF-1 triggers the formation of new blood vessels around tumors, causing more oxygen and nutrients to be delivered to the starving tumor, which in turn allows it to keep growing.

Dr Ali Tavassoli, a Cancer Research UK scientist whose team discovered and developed the compound at the University of Southampton, said: “We’ve found a way to target the steps that cancer cells take to survive and we hope that our research will one day lead to effective drugs that can stop cancers adapting to a low oxygen environment, stopping their growth. The next step is to further develop this molecule to create an effective treatment.”

Dr Julie Sharp, senior science information manager at Cancer Research UK, said: “Finding ways to disrupt the tools that cancer cells use to adapt and grow when starved of oxygen has been a hot topic in cancer research, but finding drugs that do this effectively has proved elusive.

“For the first time our scientists have found a way to block a master switch controlling cells response to low levels of oxygen — an important step towards creating drugs that could halt cancer in its tracks.”

 

 

A compound – genistein found in soybeans inhibits HIV

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A compound found in soybeans may become an effective HIV treatment according to new research by George Mason University researchers.

Genistein, derived from soybeans and other plants, inhibiting the HIV infection, says Yuntao Wu, a professor with the George Mason-based National Center for Bio defense and Infectious Diseases and the Department of Molecular and Microbiology.

“Although genistein is rich in several plants such as soybeans, it is still uncertain whether the amount of genistein we consume from eating soy is sufficient to inhibit HIV,” Wu says.

Genistein is a “tyrosine kinase inhibitor” that works by blocking the communication from a cell’s surface sensors to its interior. Found on a cell’s surface, these sensors tell the cell about its environment and also communicate with other cells. HIV uses some of these surface sensors to trick the cell to send signals inside. These signals change cell structure so that the virus can get inside and spread infection.

But genistein blocks the signal and stops HIV from finding a way inside the cell. It takes a different approach than the standard antiretroviral drug used to inhibit HIV.

“Instead of directly acting on the virus, genistein interferes with the cellular processes that are necessary for the virus to infect cells,” Wu says. “Thus, it makes the virus more difficult to become resistant to the drug. Our study is currently it its early stage. If clinically proven effective, genistein may be used as a complement treatment for HIV infection.”

Wu sees possibilities in this plant-based approach, which may address drug toxicity issues as well. Because genistein is plant-derived, it may be able to sidestep drug toxicity, a common byproduct of the daily and lifelong pharmaceutical regimen faced by patients with HIV to keep the disease at bay, Wu says. Typically, patients take a combination of multiple drugs to inhibit the virus. The frequency can lead to drug toxicity. Plus, HIV mutates and becomes drug-resistant.

Wu and his team are working at finding out how much genistein is needed to inhibit HIV. It’s possible that plants may not have high enough levels, so drugs would need to be developed, Wu says.

 

Tips to get back into post pregnancy shape

After delivering a child, women not only fight against sleepless nights, but also body shape. This makes the women to feel more inferior. To gain back a pre-pregnancy figure, use whatever time you have in hand for workouts, yoga and much more.

“The key is to do what you can in the time that you can, and do it more intense to make for the lack of time,” an online portal quoted celebrity trainer Andrea Orbeck as saying.

She is responsible for helping models Heidi Klum, Kimora Lee Simmons and Adriana Lima quickly getting back into shape.

Orbeck, who has created a Pregnancy Sculpt DVD, recommends starting with cardio exercises and making your child part of your workout.

You can push the stroller or strap the baby on to your chest while you step out for a walk.

“As babies need so much sleep, it`s a great time to get moving during nap time and make the most of your precious time to yourself,” she advised.

Other workout ideas for new moms include sumo squats, alternative reverse lunges, reverse bridges and much more.

Orbeck suggests new moms to stick to food items that are clean, lean, green and rich in protein.

She also advises women to do yoga post-pregnancy.

“I like to build strength in women after pregnancy. Yoga is great for toning, mental health, relaxation and more during stressful times,” she said.

Are you in stress? Walk in woods or look at the green environment

Have a leisurely walk in the woods or look at the green bushes will help you to manage stress levels, lower your BP and help fight heart ailments, a new study has revealed.

The researchers at the University of Essex have made experiments, and discovered that just looking at images of forests helped to reduce strains.

Dr. Valerie Gladwell with a team of scientists carried out experiments on volunteers and measures their stress levels.

The participants in the research were asked to walk in specified “green environments” at lunchtime slept better that night.

After eight weeks, the researchers observed that the volunteers had lower blood pressure and perceived stress.

Gladwell said that her team`s research has shown that “green environments” can be an effective stress-buster.

She asserted that if they can encourage more people to enjoy the great outdoors it may help increase their levels of physical activity and, therefore, could also be a powerful tool to help fight cardiovascular disease.

Outpatient treatment for mental disorders: is now working

People, who have severe mental illness, will have a cycle of hospitalization, skipped medication, and re hospitalization. As a result they have psychiatric disorders, refuse treatment and threatening to themselves or others.

Now, a study has found that these patients can be regulated if they are not hospitalized and proven this had positive results. By using this outpatient treatment is progressed well, Cost and Medical aid for caring these patients is dropped by half or more.

This study was run by New York State, known as Kendra’s Law because it was started after Kendra Webdale was pushed to her death on the New York City subway tracks with untreated schizophrenia in 1999. Other states also follow this, but New York’s is most developed and have resources into paying for it.

Researchers at Duke University suggest the program can be helpful for patients who constitute a small number of the people with mental illness

Dr. Paul S. Appelbaum, director of the Division of Law, Ethics and Psychiatry at Columbia University’s medical school, has not been involved in any of the research asks whether this law is working.  He said, “These programs will help a group of patients often called as revolving-door patients.”

North Carolina’s program is also developed; the program says that New York’s experience will persuade other states to invest.

Some call these programs as outpatient commitment or assisted outpatient treatment, who have not been involuntarily committed to hospitals. Others worry that intensively monitoring patients in the community could increase costs or shift services away from other people with mental illness

The Duke study examined costs for 634 people in the year before the court orders, the year after and two years after. Jeffrey Swanson, a psychiatry professor at Duke and lead author of the study, said the results suggested that “if you pour some money into assisted outpatient treatment, if you target it correctly, there are some significant savings.”

A co-author, Dr. Marvin Swartz, head of Duke’s social and community psychiatry division, said a study in 2010 by the team found that patients “were less likely to return to the hospital, if they went to the hospital they had shorter lengths of stay, they were more likely to be adherent to medication, and generally they functioned better in the community.”

 

Heart disease has emerged as the number one killer among Indians

 

A new study found and published that most of the Indians are dead by the emerging heart disease and this rate will increase by 2015.

According to a recent study by the Registrar General of India (RGI) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), about 25 percent of deaths in the age group of 25- 69 years occur because of heart diseases. If all age groups are included, heart diseases account for about 19 percent of all deaths.

It is the main cause of death in both males as well as females and in all regions of India, the study found.

India, with more than 1.2 billion people, is estimated to account for 60 percent of heart disease patients worldwide.

According to the World Health Organization, heart related disorders will kill almost 20 million people by 2015, and they are exceptionally prevalent in the Indian sub-continent.

Half of all heart attacks occur under the age of 50 years and 25 percent under the age of 40.

It is estimated that India will have over 1.6 million strokes per year by 2015, resulting in disabilities on one third of them. The need is urgent.

It is in this context that the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) has launched educational “Networks” of renowned thought leaders in the areas of Cardiology, Diabetes, and Stroke to foster high quality medical education of physicians of Asian Indian origin in the US

Healthy Eating and sleeping makes kids to perform better in schools

Researchers found that eating healthy food and adequate sleep will help children to perform better in school.

Krista Casazza assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition Sciences explained that when kids go to school without eating their breakfast, their cognitive function can be affected. Casazza suggested that kids should start the day with fruits, proteins and whole grains and should avoid sugary cereals. If the kids do need to eat healthy at dinner then parents should offer healthy choices like yogurt, fruits and veggies or baked chips. Also children should drink water instead of soda as it lacks nutritional value.
Kristin Avis, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics Division of Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine said that children need a good night`s sleep for their overall school performance.

“Lack of sleep can lead to problems with attention and memory in the classroom, affect impulse control and mood regulation lead to anxiety and even depression,” Avis said.

Avis said kids ages 6-12 should get nine hours sleep nightly as should adolescents ages 13-18, but typically they average little more than seven hours per night.

Avis said that catching up on lost sleep on the weekend can make matters worse and recommended a consistent bedtime seven days a week