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Diabetes, blood pressure increase risk of eye disease among blacks

People of African ancestry who have high blood pressure and high blood plasma glucose levels are at increased risk for diabetic retinopathy, and those with diabetes and high blood pressure are at increased risk for elevated intraocular pressure. These are the conclusions of two studies appearing in the May issue of Ophthalmology, the clinical journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the Eye M.D. Association.

Researchers achieve germline transmission of ‘gene knockdown’ in mice

RNA interference (RNAi) has emerged as an extremely versatile and powerful tool in biomedical research. A new study published in the February issue of Nature Structural Biology reports the creation of transgenic mice in which inherited RNAi lowers or silences the expression of a target gene, producing a stable “gene knockdown.” This finding extends the power of RNAi to genetic studies in live animals, and has far-reaching implications for the study and treatment of many human diseases.