University of South Florida
Maternal depression can worsen asthma symptoms in their children, according to research from Johns Hopkins Children's Center published online in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology.
Tampa, FL (September 30, 2009) -- Inhibiting the protein Hsp70 rapidly reduces brain levels of tau, a protein associated with Alzheimer's disease when it builds up abnormally inside nerve cells affecting memory, neuroscientists at the University of South Florida found. The study is reported online today in the Journal of Neuroscience.
Tampa, FL (Aug. 11, 2009) -- A 65-year-old women goes into the hospital for routine hip surgery. Six months later, she develops memory loss and is later diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. Just a coincidence? Researchers at the University of South Florida and Vanderbilt University don't think so.
Where the first Americans came from, when they arrived and how they got here is as lively a debate as ever, only most of the research to date has focused on dry land excavations. But, last summer's pivotal underwater exploration in the Gulf of Mexico led by Mercyhurst College archaeologist Dr.
Tampa, FL (July 1, 2009) -- A human growth factor that stimulates blood stem cells to proliferate in the bone marrow reverses memory impairment in mice genetically altered to develop Alzheimer's disease, researchers at the University of South Florida and James A. Haley Hospital found.
Researchers here have used sediment from the deep ocean bottom to reconstruct a record of ancient climate that dates back more than the last half-million years.
The record, trapped within the top 20 meters (65.6 feet) of a 400-meter (1,312-foot) sediment core drilled in 2005 in the North Atlantic Ocean by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, gives new information about the four glacial cycles
BOSTON--A stem cell transplant (SCT) from a compatible donor early in the course of disease is the best approach for the majority of young and middle-aged adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), according to a new analysis of two dozen clinical studies.
The most extensive study of pollutants in marine mammals' brains reveals that these animals are exposed to a hazardous cocktail of pesticides such as DDTs and PCBs, as well as emerging contaminants such as brominated flame retardants.
Tampa FL (March 13, 2009) -- In Florida, black young adults are hospitalized for stroke at a rate three times higher than their white and Hispanic peers, a new study by University of South Florida researchers reports.
University of South Florida chemist Bill Baker, who spends much of his time diving in the frigid waters of Antarctica retrieving tunicates, blob-like marine animals, has isolated a compound in tunicate biochemistry that may fight melanoma, a type of skin cancer rising at alarming rates. "Tunicates have proven to be an important source of bioactive natural products," said Baker, who experimented with the tunicate Synioicum adareanum, retrieved from the shallow waters around Anvers Island. "We isolated a natural product in the species and sent it to the National Cancer Institute for testing against 60 different cancer cell lines. NCI conclude the compounded inhibited melanoma, a form of skin cancer that is rising in prevalence."
A team of scientists has determined that a coral reef discovered in 1999 is the deepest reef ever found off the continental U.S., the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) announced today. The reef lies in approximately 250 feet of water off the coast of southwest Florida on a submerged barrier-island named Pulley Ridge. It is a significant discovery that may be unique. Besides hosting the reef, Pulley Ridge survived rising sea level and erosion from waves and currents.
Stem cells taken from umbilical cord blood, then given intravenously along with a drug known to temporarily breach the brain's protective barrier, can dramatically reduce stroke size and damage, Medical College of Georgia and University of South Florida researchers say. ''What we found was interesting, phenomenal really,'' says Dr. Cesario V. Borlongan, neuroscientist and lead author of the study published in the October issue of the American Heart Association journal, Stroke.
The compound in marijuana that produces a high, delta-9 tetrahydrocannbinol or THC, may block the spread of several forms of cancer causing herpes viruses. The gamma herpes viruses include Kaposi's Sarcoma Associated Herpes virus, which is associated with an increased risk of cancer that is particularly prevalent in AIDS sufferers. Another is Epstein-Barr virus, which predisposes infected individuals to cancers such as Burkitt's lymphoma and Hodgkin's disease.
Werewolves notwithstanding, the full moon does not influence the frequency of epileptic seizures, reports a University of South Florida study. ''Contrary to the myth, epileptic seizures are not more common during a full moon,'' said Selim Benbadis, MD, associate professor of neurology and neurosurgery at the USF College of Medicine. ''In fact, we found the number of epileptic seizures was lowest during the full moon and highest in the moon's last quarter.''
Bone marrow stromal cells release a blood vessel-dilating hormone found in the brain -- a finding that suggests the hormone may be tapped to help with recovery from stroke or other neurological injuries disrupting blood flow to the central nervous system, researchers report. The hormone is known as brain natriuretic peptide.
