The study of sex differences is relevant to all fields spanning biology and medicine. The sex of cells and tissues can have a large impact on their basic physiology, their susceptibility to certain diseases, and their response to therapeutic drugs. Experimental results can vary considerably depending on the sex of the experimental subjects.
Biology of Sex Differences is an open access journal that aims to publish research on all aspects of the effects of sex on biology and disease. The journal is affiliated with the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences (OSSD), an international membership society of researchers and physicians. With the growth of personalised medicine and therapies adapted to the individual patient, the need to further explore...
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Although it was first reported that cancer cells have altered metabolism almost a century ago, metabolic pathways have only been recognized as potential therapeutic targets for cancer in recent years. This renewed interest has occurred as researchers have demonstrated that signaling pathways affected by genetic mutations have a profound effect on cancer metabolism.
Research into this area is now rapidly accelerating. Earlier this year, a clinical trial demonstrated that exercise-induced changes in estrogen metabolism could reduce breast cancer risk, and results from animal studies suggested that drugs used to treat metabolic diseases such as diabetes may be effective against lung cancer. These and other studies indicate that metabolism could be an important target...Read more
Christmas Dinners All Round – Disease Spill Threats From Agricultural Intensification In The Tropics.
The world’s population is growing in number and in wealth. As standards of living rise in many of the world’s most populace countries, so too does a demand for affordable meat and for habitable land. Partial reconciliation of these conflicting demands has been possible through the development of high density farming methods, most notably of poultry and of pork. Known as industrial livestock production (ILP) or factory farming, these methods do not rely on large amounts of arable land for grazing. For many years now, most in Europe and North America have enjoyed Christmas dinners with affordable centre pieces including Turkey, Ham, Chicken and Sausage derived...
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On the surface it is green, with shining lights and adorable glitter, but on closer examination experts around the world has found it is crawling with ticks, spiders, and mites waiting to eat your favourite pets. In modern culture we name it The Christmas tree.
In Norway, where I live, we have, for generations, enjoyed the beauty and smell of the Christmas tree. However, as science progresses, it has been discovered that under the surface, scary creatures like springtails, bark lice, mites, moths, and occasionally ticks, crawl, scratch, and munch around. Is this a morbid joke made up by lonely entomologists and journalists with chronic hangovers, or is it really true? Here at Bugbitten we have done an exhaustive investigation and
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The recent AORTIC (The African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer) Meeting held in Durban at the ICC (International Conference Center) on 21-24th November has been a relevant scientific event gathering more than 1000 scientists from 66 Countries (including 32 of the 52 countries in Africa).
The well organized meeting has been articulated in plenary and workshop sessions with up to 5 concurrent parallel sessions, spanning from epidemiological analyses to pathogenic mechanisms, biomolecular pathways, clinical data, innovative therapeutic strategies. The Meeting besides focusing on specific African oncologic issues, which needs to be properly addressed, plays a major role in the formation of a young generation of African oncologists. They will need to be ready to...
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Today in Skeletal Muscle we publish novel research on congenital muscular dystrophy Type 1A (MDC1A). Soonsang Yoon and colleagues communicate the potential uses of immortalized, clonal lines of human MDC1A myogenic cells, in studies of the pathogenic mechanisms of MDC1A, and the development of therapeutic approaches for the disease.
The use of primary cultures of human MDC1A myogenic cells uncovers two key issues; donor numbers are low and the cells have limited replicative ability. In this research article, the authors demonstrate that immortalized clonal lines not only are more numerous in availability and retain their replicative ability, but they also display a marked increase in caspase activity – a pathological change that is observed in primary cell...
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Biotechnology for Biofuels is pleased to announce a thematic series from the 20th International Symposium on Alcohol Fuels (ISAF 2013), held from 25 to 27 March 2013 at Stellenbosch, South Africa.
Guest edited by Emile van Zyl (University of Stellenbosch, South Africa), the thematic series brings together findings from ISAF 2013, where the current status of alcohol technologies and their applications were discussed, alongside the role of alcohol fuels in enabling sustainable future development.
In an introductory Editorial, the guest editor presents an interesting report of the conference, providing background and perspective, with a special focus on the issues Africa faces in adopting bioenergy in a sustainable manner.
The thematic series captures recent advances in conversion technologies for a
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To mark the BioMed Central conference Epigenetics & Chromatin: Interactions and processes that took place in Boston earlier this year, the open access journal Epigenetics & Chromatin has published a series of review articles that focus on addressing some of the biggest questions in epigenetics today.
The final review of the series, by Anton Wutz (ETH Zurich, Switzerland), has been published today, discussing how haploid genomes illustrate epigenetic constraints and gene dosage effects in mammals. In this review the authors, who have significantly advanced our understanding of haploidy in mammals, provide an insightful summary of systems available to study haploid genomes.
Other reviews in the series include a description of the role of the...
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Written by Dr Steven G. Gray, St James’s Hospital/Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
The first inhibitor of DNA methyltransferases (5- azacytidine) was initially synthesized in 1964 [1], and their potential as an anti-cancer agent was recognised very early on [2]. The original studies of these agents in the clinic in the 1980s used decitabine as a classical anticancer drug, with dosing at its maximum clinically tolerated dose, 1500 to 2500 mg/m(2) per course with limited success [3]. It was only when lower dosages (those that are not cytotoxic, yet cause the reactivation of epigenetically silenced silenced genes) that any significant progress was made, and after nearly 40 years 5-azacytidine (Vidaza) finally achieved FDA approval in 2004/2005 specifically for the treatment of myelodysplastic
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Tropical diseases–illnesses that are prevalent in tropical or subtropical regions–are most commonly spread by insect vectors that carry infectious parasites, bacteria or viruses. The majority of tropical diseases affect the poorest people living in remote areas, and these poverty-promoting chronic infectious diseases have been termed “neglected tropical diseases” (NTDs). It is thought that the incidence of NTDs has increased in recent years due to the exploration of rainforests and increased tourism in tropical areas. Experts are becoming increasingly concerned about the global spread of dengue, a febrile NTD spread by mosquitoes, with the recent emergence of the virus in several parts of the US. This week, warnings have also been issued about the increased...
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Origins of avian vision • A mating strategy to ruffle some feathers • Boomerang birds? • Microbes in space • A battery of neuropsychological tasks • Bulimia and body image • A need for better definition • Filling in the details on tooth decay risk
Evolution: Origins of avian vision
Male bowerbirds are famed for building elaborate structures from colourful found objects, in order to woo their mates. Because of this, they’ve become something of a model organism for studying the evolution of vision in birds. A new study now analyses the sequences of light-sensitive proteins called opsins to confirm that UV sensitivity in the visual system of the Great Bowerbird has re-evolved from violet-sensitive ancestors several times –representing an
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This blog was jointly written by Ben Johnson, Associate Publisher of Flavour Journal here at BioMed Central, and Amye Kenall, our data guru, who spearheads open data initiatives and advocacy. Take time to enjoy this morsel of open data goodness.
Earlier this week, at a research press conference involving a Champagne tasting for our journal Flavour, I spoke to authors Vanessa Harrar, Barry Smith, Ophelia Deroy, and Charles Spence about their latest article ‘Grape expectations: how the proportion of white grape in Champagne affects the ratings of experts and social drinkers in a blind tasting‘, published last week in the journal.
The study, as do most studies, had collected far more
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Guest blog post by Monaca Noble, Marine Invasions lab, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
How do you control an invasive species? This is the question we are asking you to ponder through our thought experiment. For this experiment we have provided information about the invasive tunicate, the impacted area, and the results from a recent research project that tested various control methods and are asking you to use this information to generate ideas for control. Sure, we can come up with ideas on our own, but it is much more fun and interesting to hear what ideas others have. As an incentive, we will be taking the best ideas submitted by December 16th and posting them on our website in January.
In
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There is a major interest in the role of the cerebellum in behavioural and cognitive tasks, and the field of cerebellar ataxias is now evolving as a clinical discipline internationally.
As an exciting development – in keeping with the direction of the field – Cerebellum & Ataxias, a new open access journal from BioMed Central, is now accepting submissions.
Led by Editor-in-Chief Mario Manto, FNRS, Belgium, the journal hopes to mirror the success of its older, sister journal The Cerebellum, and complement its focus on the fundamental neurosciences of the cerebellum in providing a platform for more clinical cases and scientific reports of the numerous forms of ataxias.
Cerebellum & Ataxias welcomes both research and clinical...
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The launch last month of PubMed Commons, which makes it possible to post comments on PubMed for any indexed article, could mark a significant change in scientific communication.
BioMed Central, like many other publishers, has long encouraged readers to comment on published journal articles, but has found that uptake of this functionality has been limited. PubMed’s exceptional breadth of content, combined with its huge traffic, could change that.
For now, PubMed Commons remains in pilot phase. Comments are invisible to most PubMed users, but anyone who is listed as an author on an article which has been indexed by PubMed can participate in the pilot by logging in with a suitably authorized NCBI account, which enables the reading and
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