Understanding beginnings of embryonic stem cells helps predict the future

Understanding the beginnings of embryonic stem cells helps predict the future – Ordinarily, embryonic stem cells exist only a day or two as they begin the formation of the embryo itself. Then they are gone. In the laboratory dish, however, they act more like perpetual stem cells ? renewing themselves and exhibiting the ability to form cells of almost any type, a status called totipotency.

Turning bad fat into good – A future treatment for obesity

Turning ‘bad’ fat into ‘good’: A future treatment for obesity? — Johns Hopkins researchers transform inert white fat into brown fat to burn off calories and weight – By knocking down the expression of a protein in rat brains known to stimulate eating, Johns Hopkins researchers say they not only reduced the animals’ calorie intake and weight, but also transformed their fat into a type that burns off more energy. The finding could lead to better obesity treatments for humans, the scientists report.

Preventing future bird flu epidemics – GM chickens

GM chickens that don’t transmit bird flu developed – Breakthrough could prevent future bird flu epidemics – Chickens genetically modified to prevent them spreading bird flu have been produced by researchers at the Universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh. They developed a new gene coding that controls bird flu virus progress.

Universal influenza vaccine possible in future

Mount Sinai researchers move closer to a universal influenza vaccine – Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have developed a new influenza vaccine that brings science one step closer to a universal influenza vaccine that would eliminate the need for seasonal flu shots.

HbA1c accurately predicts future diabetes

Hemoglobin A1c outperforms fasting glucose for risk prediction – Measurements of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) more accurately identify persons at risk for clinical outcomes than the commonly used measurement of fasting glucose, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Obese kids show early warning signs for future heart disease

UNC study: Obese 3-year-olds show early warning signs for future heart disease – Obese children as young as 3 years old have elevated levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation that in adults is considered an early warning sign for possible future heart disease, revealed by researchers.

Macular degeneration cases would rise in near future

Existing medical treatments could reduce the expected number of cases of visual impairment and blindness attributable to age-related macular degeneration by as much as 35 percent. – Health care providers can expect a significant increase in age-related macular degeneration as the baby boom generation reaches retirement age, according to a new study by researchers at RTI International and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Effects of a first miscarriage on future pregnancies

New research to be published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology examines the effects of a miscarriage on subsequent pregnancies. – Miscarriage (or spontaneous pregnancy loss) is defined as pregnancy loss before 24 completed weeks of gestation. There is a 20% (one in five) risk of pregnancies ending in a miscarriage in the first three months and one in 100 women have recurrent miscarriages (three or more successive miscarriages).

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