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Liposuction-like procedure may harm body's immune system

A liposuction-like procedure called lipectomy results in a loss of humoral immune protection in two commonly studied rodent models, the prairie vole and the Siberian hamster, scientists have found. The report by a team of researchers at Indiana University, Ohio State University and Johns Hopkins University was made available online this week by The Royal Society. Their study is the first to show that even a moderate loss of fat leads to decreased amounts of infection-fighting IgG antibodies.

Virtual observatory prototype produces surprise discovery

A new approach to finding undiscovered objects buried in immense astronomical databases has produced an early and unexpected payoff: a new instance of a hard-to-find type of star known as a brown dwarf. Scientists working to create the National Virtual Observatory (NVO), an online portal for astronomical research unifying dozens of large astronomical databases, confirmed discovery of the new brown dwarf recently. The star emerged from a computerized search of information on millions of astronomical objects in two separate astronomical databases. Thanks to an NVO prototype, that search, formerly an endeavor requiring weeks or months of human attention, took approximately two minutes.

Short thighs linked to greater likelihood of diabetes

People with short upper legs are more likely to have glucose intolerance or diabetes, researchers reported today at the American Heart Association’s 43rd Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention. The study seems to support the hypothesis that factors influencing growth in the womb and during childhood may contribute to the development of impaired glucose tolerance and diabetes, says Keiko Asao, M.D., M.P.H., and a Ph.D. candidate at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md. Impaired glucose tolerance is also called insulin resistance. It’s a metabolic disorder in which the body cannot efficiently turn blood sugar (glucose) into energy.

Short thighs linked to greater likelihood of diabetes

People with short upper legs are more likely to have glucose intolerance or diabetes, researchers reported today at the American Heart Association’s 43rd Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention. The study seems to support the hypothesis that factors influencing growth in the womb and during childhood may contribute to the development of impaired glucose tolerance and diabetes, says Keiko Asao, M.D., M.P.H., and a Ph.D. candidate at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md. Impaired glucose tolerance is also called insulin resistance. It’s a metabolic disorder in which the body cannot efficiently turn blood sugar (glucose) into energy.

Wind's energy transfer to ocean quantified for first time

Scientists have finally been able to field-test theories about how wind transfers energy to ocean waves, a topic of debate since the 19th century that had previously proved impossible to settle experimentally. The new results may help lead the way to the resolution of a longstanding problem in scientists’ understanding of how energy and momentum are exchanged between the atmosphere and the oceans.

NASA spots monster gas cloud around Jupiter moon

Using a sensitive new imaging instrument on NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, researchers have discovered a large and surprisingly dense gas cloud sharing an orbit with Jupiter’s icy moon Europa. Stretching millions of miles around Jupiter, the donut-shaped cloud, known as a “torus,” is believed to result from the uncommonly severe bombardment of ion radiation that Jupiter sends toward Europa. That radiation damages Europa’s surface, kicking up and pulling apart water-ice molecules and dispersing them along Europa’s orbit into a neutral-gas torus with a mass of about 60,000 tons.

Possible colorectal cancer gene identified

Researchers have found that a recently discovered gene plays an essential role in mediating apoptosis, or cell death, in colorectal cancer cells. The gene, PUMA, or p53 up-regulated modulator of apoptosis, is controlled by p53 ? a tumor-suppressing gene that prevents normal cells from turning into life-threatening tumor cells. Previous research has determined that damage to p53 is fundamental to the development of a vast majority of cancers, and inactivation of the growth-controlling function of p53 is critical to the growth and spread of most cancers.

A bed of microneedles: Scientists’ gadget measures muscle cell force

Using the same technology that creates tiny, precisely organized computer chips, a research team has developed beds of thousands of independently moveable silicone “microneedles” to reveal the force exerted by smooth muscle cells. Each needle tip in the gadget, whose development and testing is reported this week in the advance online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, can be painted with proteins cells tend to grab onto. By measuring how far a contracting muscle cell moves each needle, the scientists can calculate the force generated by the cell.

Food fortification spurred by military purchases

Food fortification with vitamins and minerals is one of the most effective methods to improve health and prevent nutritional deficiencies. It is greatly responsible for the virtual eradication of disease such as goiter, rickets, beriberi, and pellagra in the United States. New research from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health suggests that developing nations could implement successful food fortification programs by requiring fortified foods for their military personnel. The conclusions are based on a detailed review of the history of food fortification programs in the U.S., which is published in the January 22, 2003, edition of the journal Economic Development and Cultural Change.

Protein gene linked to unexplored light detection system in eye

Researchers have discovered that melanopsin, a recently identified protein, plays a key role in a completely new light detection system in the eye. Professor Russell Foster, from Imperial College London at the Charing Cross Hospital comments: “It had long been assumed that the rod and cone cells of the retina are responsible for all light detection. However, over the last few years research from our group has led us to the inescapable conclusion that there is a third light detection system that has lain undiscovered over more than 100 years of intensive research on the eye. Although we have known of their existence for several years, it has proved difficult to discover much more about these new receptors”.

Too Fat to Fight: Obesity Becomes National Security Issue

If the U.S. military needed to recruit substantial numbers of young men and women into their forces quickly, they would face a vexing obstacle: the chubby American. Moreover, military weight limits for women are stricter than for men in all of the forces, making it harder for women to get into the military and if they get in, to stay within weight limits without jeopardizing their health. At least 13 percent of young men and 17 percent of young women of prime recruitment age would fail the weight requirements of all four services, researchers at the University at Buffalo and The Johns Hopkins University have found. “This study shows that obesity is not just a public health issue, it’s a national security concern as well,” said Carlos Crespo, Dr. PH, study co-author and associate professor of social and preventive medicine at the University at Buffalo. “We’re not physically fit to defend ourselves.”

Little Yellow Molecule Comes Up Big

Bilirubin has been a mystery of a molecule, associated with better health if there’s just a little more than normal, but best known for being at the root of the yellow color in jaundice and, at high levels, for causing brain damage in newborns. In the current online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a research team from Johns Hopkins reports that bilirubin and the enzyme that makes it appear to be the body’s most potent protection against oxidative damage.