Immunology

No more killing the good bacteria along with the bad. An antibiotic "smart bomb" can identify specific strains of bacteria and sever their DNA, eliminating the infection and reducing multi-drug resistant bacteria. The new approach works by taking advantage of a part of an immune system present in many bacteria called the CRISPR-Cas system. The CRISPR-Cas system protects bacteria from invaders such as viruses by creating small strands of RNA called CRISPR RNAs, which match DNA sequences specific to a given invader. When those CRISPR RNAs find a match, they unleash Cas proteins that cut the DNA…

Two of the world's most devastating plagues, the Justinian Plague and the famous Black Death hundreds of years later, were each responsible for killing as many as half the people in Europe. A new study finds that they were caused by distinct strains of the same pathogen - one that faded out on its own, but the other spreading worldwide and then re-emerging in the late 1800s.  A form of that plague still kills thousands every year and these findings suggest a new strain of plague could emerge again in humans in the future. The findings are intriguing because little is known about the…

Around 25.8 million Americans have diabetes and up to 79 million may be at risk for for it. A paper in the European Journal of General Practice  says that a simple blood test reveals an individual's risk of developing type-2 diabetes before they develop either condition — far earlier than previously believed. In healthy people, glucose is absorbed from the blood for use by various tissues. But the cells of people with type-2 diabetes are resistant to insulin, which is produced by the pancreas and is central to regulating carbohydrate and fat metabolism in the body. These individuals…

Everyone with a sense of adventure wants to go to 'the final frontier' and explore strange new worlds. But bring your medication. It might not be good for your immune system. It's so surprise that spaceflight affects immune responses but the new paper clarifies that a bit and says that being born in and growing up on the Space Shuttle weakened a key arm of the immune system in Drosophila flies, while being in a centrifuge under hypergravity conditions improved resistance.  Long-term space travel would likely have a centrifuge anyway,   to keep up bone and muscle mass, and this…

Excess abdominal fat is an indicator for heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer and a person's measure of such belly fat is reflected in the ratio of waist circumference to hip circumference. Some estimate that genetics account for a broad range, 30 to 60 percent, of this waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). Kira Taylor, Ph.D., M.S., assistant professor in the University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences, and colleagues have listed five new genes they say are associated with increased WHR. They did an analysis of more than 57,000 people of European descent and searched…

U.S. President Barack Obama has been explaining the value of spying on the American public throughout history, as a way of deflecting concern about his administration and government overreach. Critics will dismiss his claims along the lines of 'why it was wrong when Bush did what I do but it is right for me to do it now' rationalization, so he should instead leverage the value spying has in public health. Traditional surveillance methods for detecting infectious diseases such Dengue Fever and Influenza take weeks because it relies on doctors reporting cases. Today, people tend to…

Because of the prevalence of sports in popular culture, there is a belief that younger is always better. But coaches know differently. They talk about the value of a 'veteran' presence on the field. And a saying goes, 'if you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen' - it turns out that no one has been taking the heat longer than older firefighters and that adds to the value of veteran presence. They can simply take heat better. Older firefighters who are chronically exposed to heat stress on the job seem to get more heat resilient, finds a paper in the Journal of Occupational and…

http://www.sciencecodex.com/children_allergic_to_eggs_can_benefit_from_e... Allergies have increased a lot in the last generation and it's unclear why.  Some people claim they can taste GMOs and have an allergic reaction to those while some contend there is a special white, American, middle-class gene that has made their children sensitive to wheat. Whether we blame helicopter parenting or nanny government and reactions to scare journalism (see Nocebo Effect - Warnings About Side Effects Of Drugs May Be Making Us Sick) something has to be done to avoid a future where no one can eat…

An analysis of pregnant mothers found that children appear to be less at risk for developing peanut or tree nut allergies if their mothers are not allergic and ate more nuts during pregnancy. In the United States, the prevalence of childhood peanut allergy has more than tripled from 0.4 percent in 1997 to 1.4 percent in 2010. That corresponds with medical recommendations that mothers eat fewer nuts. Study participants included children born to mothers who previously reported their diet during, or shortly before or after, their pregnancy as part of the ongoing Nurses' Health Study II.…

Consumers who buy organic products do not want synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, microbials or antioxidants in their food - they only want natural carcinogens - but that is a recipe for disaster and a key reason why so many foodborne outbreaks are related to organic products. Science can help even those who deny her. A new paper in the Journal of Food Science shows it is possible to prevent listeria in such organic meats using extracts from pecan shells. Of course, the number of pecan shells is finite so the extract would have to be created scientifically for mass usage, but…