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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 3, 2015 at 8:52am

Most recently, studies point to a direct role for soil bacteria in shielding crops from drought; improving their growth and ability to absorb nutrients; and enhancing their tolerance of flooding, high temperatures, low temperatures and many other challenges of a changing global climate.
''Turning to Bacteria to Fight the Effects of Climate Change''
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2015/04/30/turning-t...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 3, 2015 at 8:45am

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 3, 2015 at 8:32am

More than 200 scientists outline potential health concerns from fluorinated chemicals, urge replacements and tightened regulations

Chemicals used to make products waterproof and stain resistant are persistent, pervasive, potentially harmful to humans, and should be regulated and largely replaced, according a statement signed by more than 200 scientists.

The “Madrid Statement” was authored by 14 scientists and signed by 208 more from 38 countries around the world representing a variety of scientific disciplines. The statement was issued amid growing concern that exposure to highly fluorinated chemicals — found everywhere, including in people — is linked to certain cancers, hormone disruption, brain and liver problems and lower birth weights.

“We call on the international community to cooperate in limiting the production and use of PFASs [poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances] and in developing safer non-fluorinated alternatives,” says the statement published in today’s Environmental Health Perspectives journal.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/2015/may/fluorinate...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 1, 2015 at 9:51am

Babies born with drug withdrawal symptoms on the rise in US
The number of infants born in the United States with drug withdrawal symptoms, also known as neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), nearly doubled in a four-year period. By 2012, one infant was born every 25 minutes in the U.S. with the syndrome, accounting for $1.5 billion in annual health care charges, according to a new Vanderbilt study published in the Journal of Perinatology.

Neonatal abstinence syndrome has been linked to both illicit drug use as well as use of prescription opioids -- narcotic pain relievers such as hydrocodone -- by pregnant women. Infants born with NAS are more likely to have respiratory complications, feeding difficulty, seizures and low birth-weight.

The study found that from 2009-2012, the incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome rose in the United States from 3.4 births per 1,000 to 5.8 births per 1,000. Broken down by geographic area, the east south central division (Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi and Alabama) had the highest rates of the syndrome, occurring in 16.2 hospital births per 1,000.

"The rise in neonatal abstinence syndrome mirrors the rise we have seen in opioid pain reliever use across the nation. Our study finds that communities hardest hit by opioid use and their complications, like overdose death, have the highest rates of the NAS," said study lead author Stephen Patrick, M.D., MPH, MS, assistant professor of Pediatrics and Health Policy in the Division of Neonatology with the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.
Source: Vanderbilt University

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 1, 2015 at 9:49am

Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes have difficulty regulating their glucose – or blood sugar – levels, particularly after meals. Now, University of Missouri researchers have found that Type 2 diabetics can eat more protein at breakfast to help reduce glucose spikes at both breakfast and lunch.

“People often assume that their glucose response at one meal will be identical to their responses at other meals, but that really isn’t the case,” said Jill Kanaley, professor and associate chair in the MU Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology. “For instance, we know that what you eat and when you eat make a difference, and that if people skip breakfast, their glucose response at lunch will be huge. In our study, we found those who ate breakfast experienced appropriate glucose responses after lunch.”

Kanaley and her colleagues monitored Type 2 diabetics’ levels of glucose, insulin and several gut hormones – which help regulate the insulin response – after breakfast and lunch. The participants ate either high-protein or high-carbohydrate breakfasts, and the lunch included a standard amount of protein and carbohydrates.

The researchers found eating more protein at breakfast lowered individuals’ post-meal glucose levels. Insulin levels were slightly elevated after the lunch meal, which demonstrated that individuals’ bodies were working appropriately to regulate blood-sugar levels, Kanaley said.

“The first meal of the day is critical in maintaining glycemic control at later meals, so it really primes people for the rest of the day,” Kanaley said. “Eating breakfast prompts cells to increase concentrations of insulin at the second meal, which is good because it shows that the body is acting appropriately by trying to regulate glucose levels. However, it is important for Type 2 diabetics to understand that different foods will affect them differently, and to really understand how they respond to meals, they need to consistently track their glucose. Trigger foods may change depending on how much physical activity people have gotten that day or how long they have waited between meals.”

Kanaley said that although it would be helpful for individuals with high blood sugar to eat more protein, they do not need to consume extreme amounts of protein to reap the benefits.

“We suggest consuming 25 to 30 grams of protein at breakfast, which is within the range of the FDA recommendations,” Kanaley said.
http://jn.nutrition.org/content/145/3/452

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on April 30, 2015 at 9:49am

HIV-positive men dramatically reduce virus spreading after circumcision but not while wound healing
The World Health Organization recommends male circumcision (the surgical removal of foreskin from the penis) which reduces HIV acquisition by 50-60% for teh control of HIV. However, scientists report that a new study of HIV-infected men in Uganda has identified a temporary, but potentially troublesome unintended consequence of the procedure: a possible increased risk of infecting female sexual partners while circumcision wounds heal.

In a study by researchers from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and Rakai Health Sciences Program, 223 HIV-positive Ugandan men were medically circumcised. Health workers poured 5 milliliters (about a teaspoon) of saline solution over the circumcision site near the neck of the penis and collected the solution for testing just before surgery, during the operation, and once a week for 12 weeks.

Data showed that among the 183 men not taking anti-retroviral drugs, less than 10 percent were shedding HIV before circumcision, but nearly 30 percent were shedding the virus two weeks after surgery. The percentages dropped sharply as the men's wounds healed, to less than three percent at six weeks and less than two percent at 12 weeks.

Circumcision reduced the number of HIV-positive men who were shedding the virus more than five-fold over the long term, but it had the opposite effect in the weeks right after the surgery.
""HIV Shedding from Male Circumcision Wounds in HIV-Infected Men: A Prospective Cohort Study""
http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pm...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on April 30, 2015 at 8:33am

Scientists Launch Investigation into Climate Data “Adjustments”

http://www.thenewamerican.com/tech/environment/item/20762-scientist...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on April 29, 2015 at 9:49am

Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology have developed a new technique that extends the time that donor organs last and can also resuscitate organs obtained after cardiac arrest. The work published in Scientific Reports details a procedure that cools organs down to 22°C (71.6°F) and slows down organ function while still supplying oxygen, resulting in more successful transplants than the current standard methods. Team leader Professor Tsuji Takashi notes that this system should quickly increase the pool of available donor organs and could even be used to grow whole 3D organs in the future.
"Hypothermic temperature effects on organ survival and restoration"
http://www.nature.com/srep/2015/150422/srep09563/full/srep09563.html

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on April 29, 2015 at 9:47am

How orchid petals get their shape:
Model for perianth formation in orchids

Orchid flowers are well-known for their unique shape and the beautiful patterns on their petals. A team of researchers from Taiwan have discovered that an orchid flower's unique perianth (shape) is the result of competition between two groups of proteins. In a study published in the journal Nature Plants, Professor Yang Chang-Hsien and colleagues from the National Chung Hsing University in Taiwan showed that the shape of orchids is determined by a competition between two protein complexes, a phenomenon they named the perianth (P) code.

study published in the journal Nature Plants
Unlike most flowers with star-shaped (actinomorphic) symmetry, orchid flowers typically have mirror-image (zygomorphic) symmetry with a striking well-differentiated lip that acts as the main pollinator attractant by employing visual, fragrance and tactile cues. These lips attract insects and enable the orchids to be pollinated. The researchers found that two competing protein complexes serve different functions in perianth formation. The higher-order heterotetrameric SP (sepal/petal) complex specifies sepal/petal formation, whereas the L (lip) complex is exclusively required for lip formation. The authors also found that orchid species from many subfamilies with different types of lips and petals all obey this perianth code. They were also able to convert lips into petals in two orchid species by reducing the activity of the L complex using gene silencing. This study adds to the current knowledge of how orchid petals develop and the evolutionary changes that orchids have undergone to ensure pollination.

http://www.nature.com/articles/nplants201546

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on April 28, 2015 at 6:52am

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