ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Common gene variant associated with aortic dissection: Study reveals risk factor that doubles chance of developing silent killer
• Critical similarity found between two types of do-it-all stem cells
• Sea levels much less stable than earlier believed, new coral dating method suggests
• Squeezed laser will bring gravitational waves to the light of day
• Genome-wide hunts reveal new regulators of blood pressure; Genetic variants linked to increased risk of hypertension, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases
• A guiding light for new directions in energy production: Optofluidics could help solve the energy challenge
• Researchers team with glowing cats against AIDS, other diseases; New technique gives cats protection genes
• Research points to potential therapy for tumor-associated epilepsy
• Discovery of blood pressure genes could help prevent cardiovascular disease
• International study identifies new gene targets for hypertension treatment

Common gene variant associated with aortic dissection: Study reveals risk factor that doubles chance of developing silent killer Posted: 11 Sep 2011 11:52 AM PDT Richard Holbrooke, John Ritter, Lucille Ball, Jonathan Larson and Great Britain's King George II were all taken by the same silent killer: an acute aortic dissection. Now, scientists have found an association with a common genetic variant in the population that predisposes people to acute dissections and can approximately double a person's chances of having the disease.

Critical similarity found between two types of do-it-all stem cells Posted: 11 Sep 2011 11:52 AM PDT Scientists report the first full measurement of the proteins made by both types of stem cells. In a study that looked at four embryonic stem cells and four IPS cells, the proteins turned out to be 99 percent similar, say researchers.

Sea levels much less stable than earlier believed, new coral dating method suggests Posted: 11 Sep 2011 11:52 AM PDT New evidence of sea-level oscillations during a warm period that started about 125,000 years ago raises the possibility of a similar scenario if the planet continues its more recent warming trend, says a research team.

Squeezed laser will bring gravitational waves to the light of day Posted: 11 Sep 2011 11:52 AM PDT Measuring at the limits of the laws of nature -- this is the challenge which researchers repeatedly take up in their search for gravitational waves. The interferometers they use here measure with such sensitivity that a particular quantum phenomenon of light -- shot noise -- limits the measuring accuracy. With the "squeezed light" method, scientists in Germany likewise use quantum physics in a countermove in order to remove the interfering effect. The new type of laser light improves the measuring accuracy of the gravitational wave detector GEO600 by around 50 percent and thus increases its effective sensitivity. This is the first time this technology has been used outside of a test laboratory anywhere in the world.

Genome-wide hunts reveal new regulators of blood pressure; Genetic variants linked to increased risk of hypertension, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases Posted: 11 Sep 2011 11:52 AM PDT A study involving more than 200,000 people worldwide has identified 29 DNA sequence variations in locations across the human genome that influence blood pressure. These genes, whose sequence changes are associated with alterations in blood pressure and are linked to heart disease and stroke, were found with the help of decades' worth of population data that were pooled and analyzed by a large international consortium.

A guiding light for new directions in energy production: Optofluidics could help solve the energy challenge Posted: 11 Sep 2011 11:52 AM PDT Optofluidics is the study of microfluidics -- the microscopic delivery of fluids through extremely small channels or tubes -- combined with optics. In a new review, researchers argue that optofluidics is poised to take on one of this century's most important challenges: energy.

Researchers team with glowing cats against AIDS, other diseases; New technique gives cats protection genes Posted: 11 Sep 2011 11:52 AM PDT Researchers have developed a genome-based immunization strategy to fight feline AIDS and illuminate ways to combat human HIV/AIDS and other diseases.

Research points to potential therapy for tumor-associated epilepsy Posted: 11 Sep 2011 11:51 AM PDT Brain tumors called gliomas are often associated with seizures, but why the seizures occur and how to effectively treat them have been elusive. A research team has found that human gliomas implanted in mice release excess levels of the brain chemical glutamate, overstimulating neurons near the tumor and triggering seizures. Sulfasalazine, a drug on the market for treating certain inflammatory disorders, reduced seizures in the mice.

Discovery of blood pressure genes could help prevent cardiovascular disease Posted: 11 Sep 2011 11:51 AM PDT Findings, published today in Nature and Nature Genetics by the International Consortium for Blood Pressure Genome-Wide Association Studies represent a major advance in our understanding of the inherited influences on blood pressure and offer new potential therapeutic targets for prevention of heart disease and stroke -- the biggest cause of death worldwide.

International study identifies new gene targets for hypertension treatment Posted: 11 Sep 2011 11:51 AM PDT A new report from scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital and colleagues in centers around the world finds that common variants in 28 regions of DNA -- 16 previously unsuspected -- are associated with blood pressure in human patients. They also identified for the first time the involvement of an important physiologic pathway in blood pressure control, potentially leading to a totally new class of hypertension drugs.

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