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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 9, 2014 at 7:32am

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 5, 2014 at 9:02am

The secret to baby girls’ enhanced ability to survive to birth could lie in a risk-averse strategy, according to a study of placental gene expression.

Integrative transcriptome meta-analysis reveals widespread sex-biased gene expression at the human fetal–maternal interface

Abstract

As males and females share highly similar genomes, the regulation of many sexually dimorphic traits is constrained to occur through sex-biased gene regulation. There is strong evidence that human males and females differ in terms of growth and development in utero and that these divergent growth strategies appear to place males at increased risk when in sub-optimal conditions. Since the placenta is the interface of maternal–fetal exchange throughout pregnancy, these developmental differences are most likely orchestrated by differential placental function. To date, progress in this field has been hampered by a lack of genome-wide information on sex differences in placental gene expression. Therefore, our motivation in this study was to characterize sex-biased gene expression in the human placenta. We obtained gene expression data for >300 non-pathological placenta samples from 11 microarray datasets and applied mapping-based array probe re-annotation and inverse-variance meta-analysis methods which showed that >140 genes (false discovery rate (FDR) <0.05) are differentially expressed between male and female placentae. A majority of these genes (>60%) are autosomal, many of which are involved in high-level regulatory processes such as gene transcription, cell growth and proliferation and hormonal function. Of particular interest, we detected higher female expression from all seven genes in the LHB-CGB cluster, which includes genes involved in placental development, the maintenance of pregnancy and maternal immune tolerance of the conceptus. These results demonstrate that sex-biased gene expression in the normal human placenta occurs across the genome and includes genes that are central to growth, development and the maintenance of pregnancy

http://molehr.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2014/05/20/molehr.ga...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 5, 2014 at 8:29am

Spiders could be the key to saving bees from harmful toxins after researchers found a bio-pesticide created using spider venom and a plant protein is highly toxic to a number of insect pests – but safe for honeybees.
Common neonicotinoid pesticides are believed to be behind the catastrophic decline in honeybees and this decline could have a serious impact on food production.

A team at Newcastle University tested a combination of a natural toxin from the venom of an Australian funnel web spider and snowdrop lectin called Hv1a/GNA fusion protein bio-pesticide.

The researchers found this new pesticide allows honeybees to forage without harm, even when they received unusually high doses of it. Honeybees perform sophisticated behaviours while foraging that require them to learn and remember floral traits associated with food.
The team’s findings have been published this week in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 5, 2014 at 8:13am

Scientists prove bees make mental maps
Previous theory indicated that bees oriented themselves only by noting their relative position to the Sun. New research shows that bees produce cognitive maps of the area they inhabit much like mammals do. The research was conducted led by James F. Cheeseman from the University of Auckland in New Zealand and colleagues from New Zealand, Germany, and the United States. The study was presented in the June 2, 2014, edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 5, 2014 at 8:10am

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh found people who spoke two or more languages had significantly better cognitive skills later in life
(Wow! I speak five languages! - K)
Learning a second language slows the speed at which brains age, a study has found, even if it learned in adulthood.
Researchers from the University of Edinburgh found people who spoke two or more languages had significantly better cognitive skills later in life compared with what would be predicted from their IQ results in childhood.

The team, led by Dr Thomas Bak, from the Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh, looked at data taken from intelligence tests on 262 English people at 11-years-old who could all speak at least two languages.

The tests were then repeated when they were in their seventies.

From that group, 195 learned a second language before turning 18 and 65 had acquired a second language after that age.

Researchers found that reading, verbal fluency and intelligence were better than what was expected from their test in childhood, particularly with reading and intelligence.

This was the case even if the second language was acquired in adulthood.
The study was published in the journal Annals of Neurology

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 4, 2014 at 6:04am

Indian frogs kick up their heels
Some new species impress a potential mate with a dance
Some frogs use a little fancy footwork to get attention during mating season. A 12-year search of a 1,600-kilometer-long mountain range on India’s west coast has turned up 14 new frog species, including at least four “dancing frogs,” Indian researchers report May 8 in the Ceylon Journal of Science (Biological Sciences). This finding more than doubles the number of species in the genus Micrixalus, a group of frogs known for their dance moves. The amphibian boogie starts off with Micrixalus males calling to females, showing off their bright white throats. Then males tap their feet and finish off by stretching out a hind leg and whipping it around behind them. Called foot-flagging, this pretty maneuver isn’t just for show. Should a rival male intrude on the display, he may get kicked.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/indian-frogs-kick-their-heels

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 3, 2014 at 9:26am

How genomics can tackle antimicrobial resistance
By decoding the genomes of a large number of bacteria, scientists will be able to understand how common pathogens respond to antibiotics and what genetic changes drive them to become resistant. They can therefore predict how resistance will develop and design strategies that could save millions of people, particularly in vulnerable areas such as developing countries, where healthcare infrastructure is more basic.
http://www.scidev.net/global/genomics/multimedia/genomics-antimicro...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 3, 2014 at 9:25am

How to report on foreign aid for science

Journalists should go beyond aid announcements and follow up results

Ask who is involved, not just who benefits — science aid should build capacity

Aid is important and complex: your job is to keep asking the tough questions
http://www.scidev.net/global/journalism/practical-guide/how-to-repo...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 3, 2014 at 9:14am

Media Coverage of Medical Journals: Do the Best Articles Make the News?

Newspapers were more likely to cover observational studies and less likely to cover RCTs than high impact journals. Additionally, when the media does cover observational studies, they select articles of inferior quality. Newspapers preferentially cover medical research with weaker methodology.
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Newspapers were more likely to cover observational studies and less likely to cover randomized trials than high impact journals. Additionally, when the media does cover observational studies, they select articles of inferior quality. We present evidence that newspapers preferentially cover medical research with weaker methodology. Our findings add to the understanding of how journalists and medical researchers weight studies. Ultimately such understanding may facilitate communication between researchers and the media and promote coverage that is in the greatest interest of the public health.
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone....

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 3, 2014 at 9:05am

Anti-science politics in the US:

Democrats Have a Problem With Science, Too

We shouldn't let them off the hook just because Republicans are worse.

Take anti-GMO sentiment, for example. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) notes in its statement on the issue that “25 years of research involving more than 500 independent research groups” has found genetically modified foods to be no riskier than foods resulting from conventional breeding. Eating a GM tomato is just as safe as eating a non-GM tomato. The AAAS therefore opposes GMO labeling because it could “mislead and falsely alarm customers.” Though some polling has shown GMO labeling support to be about equal among Republicans, Democrats and Independents, looking at GMO-related legislation tells another story

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/democrats-have-a-pro...

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