BMC International Health and Human Rights announces a call for submissions to a thematic series on health policy and systems in emerging economies. The “emerging economies” are fast growing and changing societies. They are the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) that make up over 40 percent of the world’s population as well as other successful economies including Indonesia, Vietnam, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, Turkey and South Korea. Such countries face important questions about how best to promote equitable and inclusive development – domestically, regionally and globally. The aim of this thematic series is to explore the challenges of creating policies for health in these settings.

We welcome submissions regarding all aspects of health policy and ...

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BMC International Health and Human Rights announces a call for submissions to a thematic series on health policy and systems in emerging economies. The “emerging economies” are fast growing and changing societies. They are the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) that make up over 40 percent of the world’s population as well as other successful economies including Indonesia, Vietnam, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, Turkey and South Korea. Such countries face important questions about how best to promote equitable and inclusive development – domestically, regionally and globally. The aim of this thematic series is to explore the challenges of creating policies for health in these settings.

We welcome submissions regarding all aspects of health policy and systems in emerging economies that illuminate relationships between economic development and health and human rights, including, but not limited to, the following topics:

• social protection floors, universal healthcare and social guarantees
• the ‘new middle classes’ and health policy
• finance capital and commercial activity in healthcare
• environment and health
• preventive health policy
• law and governance challenges
• trade in health services and other transnational mobilities
• health-related aid
• policy innovations offering lessons for health policy in poorer nations and regions

Literature reviews, comparative studies and single case studies are welcomed. We encourage you to submit your original articles by August 31, 2013. To submit your manuscript, please use our online submission system and indicate in your cover letter that you would like the manuscript to be considered for the ‘health policy and systems in emerging economies’ thematic series.

A special 20% discount off the Article Processing Charge (APC) will be granted to all accepted manuscripts submitted by July 31, 2013 (please mention waiver code IHHRTHEM). All manuscripts will undergo peer review according to the journal’s policy.

Please contact the BMC International Health and Human Rights editorial team if you have questions regarding the suitability of your paper for this series.

Susan F. Murray,
Guest Editor

Irene Pala,
Executive Editor

Emily Crow,
Executive Editor

Caravaggio is not an artist traditionally associated with Berlin, but discussion of potential causes of his death–postulated to be due to sepsis– at a recent microbiology conference held in the city–mean that sometime in future  he just may be! Luckily the eventful  life of the famous Italian painter was not emulated by the participants at the 23rd European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID 2013) and we, BMC Infectious Diseases included, instead enjoyed a diverse set of presentations covering the whole spectrum of infectious disease research.

The focus of many of the talks was on prevention, rather than the treatment of diseases, from Linos Vandekerckhove’s review of early initiation of HIV treatment to prevent transmission, ...

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Thomas Wolf/Wikipedia

Caravaggio is not an artist traditionally associated with Berlin, but discussion of potential causes of his death–postulated to be due to sepsis– at a recent microbiology conference held in the city–mean that sometime in future  he just may be! Luckily the eventful  life of the famous Italian painter was not emulated by the participants at the 23^rd European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID 2013) and we, BMC Infectious Diseases included, instead enjoyed a diverse set of presentations covering the whole spectrum of infectious disease research.

The focus of many of the talks was on prevention, rather than the treatment of diseases, from Linos Vandekerckhove’s review of early initiation of HIV treatment to prevent transmission, to the debate between Didier Pittet and Marc J.M. Bonten on the most effective measure to prevent hospital-acquired infections. Even humble bed linen was investigated and found, at times, wanting in a talk by Michelle Balm discussing an outbreak of Bacillus cereuscaused by a combination of construction work and laundry practices.

James Heilman, MD/Wikipedia

The difficulties in performing studies on interventions, such as hand hygiene compliance, and the lack of data on which to test these theories was discussed and several pleas were made to remember that sometimes common sense is just as important as trial data (with reference to this systematic review on parachutes).

This year also featured more clinical parasitology, with insights into artesunate treatment for severe malaria by Peter Kremsner, and Paul Newton’s fascinating discussion on counterfeit anti-malarials (more detailed information on this can be found here). In addition, the spread of artemisinin drug resistance at the resistance hotspot at Thailand’s borders was also highlighted by François Nosten.

From parasites to viruses with a series of talks on the role, or potential role, of cytomegalovirus in a series of diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease and cancer. At present much of this data is in early stages, but talks from Carlos Lumbreras on the potential link with inflammatory bowel disease, and from Cecilia Soderberg-Naucler, using data from her trials on CMV treatment in patients with glioblastoma, showed that this is an area that will continue to be investigated.

And finally back to paleomicrobiology with a report of a possible mycobacterium infection in La Doncella, a 500 year old Inca mummy found on Llullaillaco in Argentina by Angelique Corthals. Although the challenges we face in tackling infectious diseases in 2013 are different to our ancestors, it’s clear there is a long way still to go. Hopefully ECCMID2014  will continue to point us in the right direction.

Translational research in ophthalmology is a fast growing field, with many centers now having dedicated groups focussing on bench to bedside approaches to research. There have been many recent major advances in the fields of cell biology, biochemistry and elsewhere, for example in stem cell research and nanotechnology based drug delivery systems. This means that multidisciplinary research projects looking to allow these novel technological advances to make a real difference to disease outcomes in a clinical setting is more important than ever.

In order to provide a dedicated home for this exciting translational research BMC Ophthalmology is launching a new article collection entitled Translational Ophthalmology: Looking to the future. The collection particularly encourages submission ...

Read more]]> By Emilie Aimé, Executive Editor BMC Ophthalmology

Translational research in ophthalmology is a fast growing field, with many centers now having dedicated groups focussing on bench to bedside approaches to research. There have been many recent major advances in the fields of cell biology, biochemistry and elsewhere, for example in stem cell research and nanotechnology based drug delivery systems. This means that multidisciplinary research projects looking to allow these novel technological advances to make a real difference to disease outcomes in a clinical setting is more important than ever.

In order to provide a dedicated home for this exciting translational research BMC Ophthalmology is launching a new article collection entitled Translational Ophthalmology: Looking to the future. The collection particularly encourages submission of translational research that focuses on improving disease outcomes.

An interesting and timely review of systemic therapies for inflammatory eye disease by Alastair Denniston and Andrew Dick was recently published in the journal.

Systemic therapies for inflammatory eye disease: Past, Present and Future
Alastair K Denniston, Andrew D Dick
BMC Ophthalmology 2013, 13:18

We welcome research submissions for the article collection to any section of BMC Ophthalmology.

If your organization is a BioMed Central Member, the cost of the article processing charge is covered in full or in part by the Membership.

P.S. Come and meet the journal’s Executive Editor at ARVO 2013 – email emilie.aime@biomedcentral.com to arrange a meeting

One of the most significant accomplishments of the genomics revolution has been an improvement in our understanding of why certain populations have elevated risks for developing specific diseases. ...

Read more]]> It is now well established that different human populations may exhibit very different responses to therapeutic drugs. However, to what extent this may have been influenced by our evolutionary history is less well known. In this guest blog, Ripudaman K Bains from University College London outlines why understanding our past can help inform our future, and describes her recent work published in BMC Genetics with colleagues from Addis Ababa University, Henry Stewart Group and Uppsala University on molecular diversity and population structure at the Cytochrome P450 3A5 gene in Africa.

One of the most significant accomplishments of the genomics revolution has been an improvement in our understanding of why certain populations have elevated risks for developing specific diseases. It has enabled us to examine diversity across multiple and previously uncharacterized human populations and improved our understanding of human genetic diversity across geographic regions, ultimately helping  us to identify the evolutionary processes that have shaped population differences.  There are now well-established ethnic and population differences in the genetic predisposition to certain diseases; for example the higher risk of Tay-Sachs disease in Ashkenazi Jewish populations (1, 2) and the high proportion of blood disorders in populations from malaria endemic regions, such as glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (3) and sickle cell disorder (4, 5).

Genetic variability does not only influence disease phenotype and pathology; it can also influence the safety and efficacy of drug treatment. As such, the results of drug therapy can vary within and between populations. Most patients respond well to drug treatment at standardized dosages, however there are individuals who have minimal or no therapeutic response. Additionally, some patients experience severe adverse drug reactions, which are major contributors to global morbidity and mortality. Once a drug is administered, it is absorbed and distributed to the site of action, where it interacts with targets such as receptors or enzymes. Most drugs undergo metabolism before being excreted. Genetic variation may affect absorption, enzyme activity, cellular uptake, and metabolism, resulting in altered drug activity or half-life. Variation in genes encoding drug metabolizing enzymes, such as those in the Cytochrome P450 (CYP450) super-family, can contribute to sub-optimal clinical outcomes.

Tailored therapy

The clinical vision for studies of genes encoding drug metabolizing enzymes is that genetic variation identified within these genes may one day be used to tailor drug therapies based on an individual’s genotype. However, the implementation of genotype-guided medicine for individuals is not currently in widespread clinical use. Physicians are becoming increasingly aware of clinically relevant genetic polymorphisms. However, a 2006 study by the Federal Drug Administration reported that only ~25% of all prescriptions written in the USA contained pharmacogenetics labeling. The paucity of affordable and efficient testing methods, in addition to the continuous identification of clinically important genetic variants, has delayed the translation of human genetic information into clinical practice and healthcare administration. Population-based studies can go some way towards filling this gap. Studying the distribution of pharmacogenetically relevant variants among populations, instead of individuals, has identified common, medically important, variation. However there are many populations, particularly within Africa, that remain under-represented in population pharmacogenetics studies.

The importance of including African populations within evolutionary and clinical research should not be underestimated. The majority of archaeological and genetic data support a recent African origin model of the evolution of anatomically modern humans ~150,000-200,000 years ago. As a result Africa has extensive inter-ethnic genetic diversity, in addition to considerable inter-ethnic cultural, phenotypic and linguistic differences. From a medical perspective, there are marked differences between African populations and European populations in the response to specific treatments that are administered for diseases. However, over 95% of drug development and clinical trials are carried out in European and North American populations, both with predominantly recent European ancestry. Many developing countries, including those in Africa, rely on FDA and European guidelines for safety levels and optimal therapeutic dosages. There are few large-scale studies examining variation in drug metabolizing enzymes across multiple, geographically and ethnically diverse African populations.

In our recent BMC Genetics publication we attempted to address this imbalance. We used a multi-disciplinary approach to characterize and analyze intra-African variation at the gene encoding the drug metabolizing enzyme Cytochrome P450 3A5 (CYP3A5), which is involved in the metabolism of ~50% of all clinically administered drugs. However, CYP3A5 is variably expressed; individuals tend to express the protein at high concentrations or have low to undetectable levels of protein. In addition to being the largest study, to date, of CYP3A5 variation in Africa, our approach differs from previous studies in that we used molecular and evolutionary approaches to understand population-level variation in the CYP3A5 gene. Our study found that CYP3A5 is likely to be one of the most pharmacologically active drug metabolizing enzymes in Africa. Our estimate of the proportion of individuals across Africa who express CYP3A5 (43%) is considerably lower than previous, independent estimates from the continent (55-95%). This is considerably higher than independent estimates for individuals with recent European ancestry (10%), Asian (25%) and South American (30%) populations. Our findings suggest that there are likely to be multiple pharmacogenetics profiles, relating to variable CYP3A5 expression, across different African populations.

Evolutionary medicine

We also examined population differences in the frequencies of functional variation at the CYP3A5 gene in an evolutionary context. CYP450 genes are largely studied for their role in drug and hormone metabolism. However, the ability of these enzymes to metabolize drugs is a by-product of what is believed to be their “native” role, since CYP450 paralogues exist in multiple prokaryotic and eukaryotic species, and the genes are thought to have existed on the planet for over 2 billion years. It is thought that the ability of CYP450 enzymes to metabolize exogenous compounds evolved 400-500 million years ago to enable animals to digest certain toxic chemicals found in plants, creating water-soluble compounds which are easier to excrete. Their role as drug metabolizing enzymes has arrived very late in human evolutionary history.

The application of evolutionary principles to medical research – the emerging field of “evolutionary medicine” – attempts to understand how environmental and genetic factors have shaped our vulnerabilities and responses to diseases and therapies throughout human evolutionary history. We attempted to identify environmental factors which may predict CYP3A5 expression patterns across global regions, and infer evolutionary factors which may have shaped the observed correlations. CYP3A5 is involved in the metabolism of renal cortisol to 6-β-hydroxycortisol, a key regulator of renal sodium transport. From an evolutionary perspective, salt and water retention are vital traits in populations that frequently experience water shortages. A previous study reported that equatorial populations, which are most vulnerable to water shortages, were much more likely to express CYP3A5 at high concentrations. Within these regions, rapid salt and water retention should provide an evolutionary advantage.

We examined this further by testing for correlations between CYP3A5 expression phenotypes and ecological data relating to aridity for the present day, the Holocene (the last ~10,000 years) and the Late Pleistocene (~50,000 to ~10,000 years ago) periods. We found significant gene-environment interactions, which show that individuals living in dry and arid environments are more likely to express CYP3A5. Interestingly, we found significant correlations between high CYP3A5 expression phenotypes and aridity data from the Holocene and Late Pleistocene. This was also seen for temperature data for each time period. Our findings provide further support for a hypothesis that the CYP3A5 enzyme may have been involved in salt retention and heat adaptation, which explains some of the differences in CYP3A5 expression patterns that we observed across Africa.

There remains a need for focused studies to establish the relationship between environmental variables, patterns of genetic variation, and clinical outcomes within Africa. This is not limited to studies of CYP450 genes; detailed studies of additional drug metabolizing genes, and genetic markers important in predicting clinical outcomes, will become increasingly necessary as we move towards the era of personalized genomics.

1.    Myerowitz R; The search for the genetic lesion in Ashkenazi Jews with Classic Tay-Sachs disease. Adv Genet 2001;44:137-43.
2.    Frisch A, Colombo R, Michaelovsky E, et al.; Origin and spread of the 1278insTATC mutation causing Tay-Sachs disease in Ashkenazi Jews: genetic drift as a robust and parsimonious hypothesis. Hum Genet 2004;114(4):366-76. doi: 10.1007/s00439-003-1072-8.
3.    Tishkoff SA, Varkonyi R, Cahinhinan N, et al.; Haplotype diversity and linkage disequilibrium at human G6PD: recent origin of alleles that confer malarial resistance. Science 2001;293(5529):455-62. doi: 10.1126/science.1061573
4.    Mabayoje JO; Sickle-cell anaemia; a major disease in West Africa. Br Med J 1956;1(4960):194-6.
5.    Trowell HC, Raper AB, Welbourn HF; The natural history of homozygous sickle-cell anaemia in Central Africa. Q J Med 1957;26(104):401-22.

Explore more on developments in evolutionary medicine in this article collection from BMC Medicine: Evolutionary Medicine : clinical medicine from an evolutionary perspective

BMC Ophthalmology is excited to be going to this year’s ARVO meeting. 2013 sees the annual ARVO conference stopping in Seattle, home of grunge, that famous high street coffee chain and for one week only BMC Ophthalmology. We are looking forward to a diverse range of talks and would be happy to meet you there. If you are attending and would like to discuss anything please contact Executive Editor Emilie Aimé

Vienna, Austria. 15-16 July 2011.
Edited by Iddo Friedberg and Predrag Radivojac

The Critical Annotation of protein Function Prediction (CAFA) is a new community-wide experiment to assess the performance of protein function prediction methods. Thirty research groups participated in the first CAFA meeting , presenting a total of 54 methods. The results are published in an article in Nature Methods co-authored by all the attending groups.

The supplement is free to access, and is a companion to the Nature Methods article. The 15 articles describe some of the participating methods in depth.

CAFA is organized by Predrag Radivojac from Indiana ...

Read more]]> BMC Bioinformatics has published proceedings from the Automated Function Prediction Meeting 2011 featuring the CAFA Challenge: Critical Assessment of Function Annotations.

Vienna, Austria. 15-16 July 2011.
Edited by Iddo Friedberg and Predrag Radivojac

The Critical Annotation of protein Function Prediction (CAFA) is a new community-wide experiment to assess the performance of protein function prediction methods. Thirty research groups participated in the first CAFA meeting , presenting a total of 54 methods. The results are published in an article in Nature Methods co-authored by all the attending groups.

The supplement is free to access, and is a companion to the Nature Methods article. The 15 articles describe some of the participating methods in depth.

CAFA is organized by Predrag Radivojac from Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana USA; Sean Mooney of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, California, USA; and by Iddo Friedberg of Miami University, Ohio USA.

The Automated Function Prediction meeting at ISMB 2011 was supported by a US National Institutes of Health grant R13 HG006079-01A1 awarded to PR and a US Department of Energy, Office of Science grant DE-SC0006807TDD awarded to IF.

The meeting organizers gratefully acknowledge the ongoing support of the International Society for Computational Biology to the Automated Function Prediction Special Interest Group.

Here in London, BMC Urology were unable to attend this year’s Annual European Association of Urology (EAU) Congress in Milan. However, Dr Gianmarco Isgro’, an Associate Editor for BMC Urology, and his colleague, Dr Giovanni Battista Di Pierro, were in attendance and spoke to us about how the EAU Congress is an important and invaluable experience for the young urologist.

The Annual EAU Congress is a platform for the international urological community to share the latest and the most relevant knowledge with medical experts practising across the board.  The use ...

Read more]]> Urology, like fashion, evolves at a fast pace with every season, bringing with it new trends in medical knowledge, in addition to unveiling exciting and innovative advances in surgical technology.

Here in London, BMC Urology were unable to attend this year’s Annual European Association of Urology (EAU) Congress in Milan. However, Dr Gianmarco Isgro’, an Associate Editor for BMC Urology, and his colleague, Dr Giovanni Battista Di Pierro, were in attendance and spoke to us about how the EAU Congress is an important and invaluable experience for the young urologist.

The Annual EAU Congress is a platform for the international urological community to share the latest and the most relevant knowledge with medical experts practising across the board.  The use of social media also helped to impart such knowledge in an accessible manner to all attending delegates – television screens, placed on the congress walls projected live tweets and updates from congress participants. Dr Isgro’ commented that “this innovative idea made the congress even more interactive and lively“.

Another interesting point raised by Dr Isgro’ was that compared to other European based urology meetings,  this year’s EUA Congress witnessed a marked increase in the number of delegates from all over Europe and beyond.  This highlighted the continuing expansion and success of the EAU Society, bringing together ideas and opinions in urological medicine from all over the globe.

As always, the meeting schedule was dense with topical plenary sessions from key opinion leaders, lively poster and video sessions and high-quality courses run by the European School of Urology (ESU).  For Dr Isgro’ and Dr Battista Di Pierro, one of the attractions of the EAU Congress is that it helps to engage young urologists by encouraging them to learn and develop their skills further by hosting various sessions.  Dr Isgro’ reported that the opportunity was available to assist in sessions covering several topics, including surgical complication and limits of minimally invasive surgery across the four day conference.

Furthermore, attendees were also able to trial a vast array of new medical devices and innovations in urological medical technology in the large exposition hall.

“As a young urologist, I enjoyed the ESU courses… also, hands on training courses were very interesting, especially for younger residents” (Dr Gianmarco Isgro’)

One session that Dr Isgro’ found particularly informative discussed how to reduce warm ischemia in partial nephrectomy.  In this session, several techniques were presented in order to reduce, or avoid, reperfusion injury during nephron-sparing surgery for kidney tumours. Historical cut-off for warm ischemia time has been confirmed to be around 25 minutes, but the trend is towards its reduction. The extreme reduction leaned towards “zero ischemia” technique.  The speakers demonstrated that clampless, early unclamping and super-selective clamping techniques represent effective methods of limiting warm ischemia time.  Specifically, renal vasculature model by 3D reconstruction and near-infrared fluorescence may help in the assessment of vascular and tumor anatomy.  Dr Isgro’ reported back that with regard to clamp technique, as in open partial nephrectomy, the use of cold ischemia during robotic procedures may help reduce ischemic injury and expand indications of partial nephrectomy.  However, in selected patients, it appears that avoiding clamping is not the only crucial factor to get satisfactory functional outcomes, with similar results being obtained either when performing clampless technique or clamp technique within 25 minutes of warm ischemia time.

Dr Isgro’ confirmed that all lectures at the EAU Congress attracted a lot of attention, each raising lively discussion and debate.  In particular, the 15 minute laparoscopic right radical nephrectomy, performed by Dr Lutfi Tunc, was not only interesting, but resulted in delegates debating about his technique long after the presentation had finished.

Once again, the general opinion of the EAU was that this year’s Congress exceeded their previously set standards, with many delegates asking how they will surpass this years conference.

AUA Congress 2013

With the success of the 2013 EAU Congress, BMC Urology have arrived unfashionably early in sunny San Diego for this years American Urological Association (AUA) Congress, starting on the 4th May.

Now in its 108th year, the AUA Annual Meeting is the largest gathering of urologists in the world, providing access to groundbreaking research, new guidelines and the latest advances in urological medicine. Having read through this year’s action packed schedule, we are overwhelmed with choice, with more than 2,000 presentations in urological medicine and more than 100 courses for urologists to get hands on experience on the latests advances in the field.

BMC Urology is excited to be reporting from this years AUA Congress and will be keeping you up to date via live tweets with the current trends on the urological catwalk.

If you would like to meet the Executive Editor for BMC Urology, please get in touch via the email address below.  We look forward to seeing you there.

Dr Hayley Henderson (hayley.henderson@biomedcentral.com)

With special thanks to:

Dr Gianmarco Isgro’, Dept of Urology, Polilinico di Modena and University of Modena and Reggio Emila, Italy

and
Dr Giovanni Battista Di Pierro, Dept of Urology, Policlinico Umberto Primo, Italy and La Sapienza University, Italy

Biodiversity: a grand plan for understanding life on Earth

Understanding what drives the huge diversity of life on earth is perhaps the grand challenge of ecological research. Alex Hardisty and Dave Roberts bring us a little closer to realising this dream by outlining a grand vision for the future of biodiversity research that puts technological innovation and data sharing at its heart, following a huge community consultation effort with the Biodiversity Informatics Community. Our blog explains how ...

Read more]]> A grand plan for understanding life on Earth • (re)moving the mark of modification • Never say nematode again • Profiling the immune responses of deer mice • Looking forward, looking back • Heavy metal affects brain function • Lending a helping ligand

Biodiversity: a grand plan for understanding life on Earth

Understanding what drives the huge diversity of life on earth is perhaps the grand challenge of ecological research. Alex Hardisty and Dave Roberts bring us a little closer to realising this dream by outlining a grand vision for the future of biodiversity research that puts technological innovation and data sharing at its heart, following a huge community consultation effort with the Biodiversity Informatics Community. Our blog explains how your smartphone might just save the natural world.

Biotechnology: (re)moving the mark of modification

Selectable marker genes are used to identify successful transfection of cells with genetic material, such as herbicide resistance in genetically modified plants. However, removing this material in plants destined for the foodchain can be problematic. Yuan-Yeu Yau and C Neal Stewart review existing strategies to remove these genes from transgenic plants, and explore emerging technologies for increased precision genome modification.

Plant Biology: never say nematode again

Soybeans are a crop of huge economic importance, but which also come under attack by a number of species of parasitic nematode worms. To help combat this pest, researchers have deployed the help of genes from a different plant species that usually confers resistance to bacteria. They found that expression of the Arabidopsis PAD4 gene in soybeans roots confers resistance to two different genera of nematodes, identifying a potential future strategy for combating these pests.

Immunology: profiling the immune responses of deer mice

Deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) are susceptible to Andes virus (ANDV) which causes the majority of hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome cases in South America, but the mice clear the infection by 56 days post infection without signs of disease. In an article published this month in BMC Immunology, Tony Schountz and colleagues developed a rapid method for designing real-time PCR arrays that can be used to study the host immune response to viral infections. They concluded that lymph node T cells from deer mice infected with ANDV express mostly genes of the Th2 phenotype but fewer genes of Th1 and Treg phenotypes.

Image of the month:

Overview of the musculature of an advanced Phoronopsis harmeri larva. From “Development, organization, and remodeling of phoronid muscles from embryo to metamorphosis (Lophotrochozoa: Phoronida)“. Elena N Temereva and Eugeni B Tsitrin, BMC Developmental Biology 2013, 13:14

Ophthalmology: looking forward, looking back

In the 18th Century, inflammatory eye disease was treated with a mixture of mercury oxide and hog’s lard, in a preparation known as ‘Golden Eye Ointment’. This, amongst other things, are reviewed by Alastair Denniston and Andrew Dick as they take a look back at past remedies, current treatments what the future might hold for the field of inflammatory eye disease research – particularly in the light of current progress in pathogenesis, disease classification, methodology and collaborative trial design.

Toxicology: heavy metal affects brain function

Astrocytes are the most abundant cells in the human brain, and are key regulators in brain function. The failure of astrocytes to support essential neuronal metabolic requirements plays a fundamental role in the pathogenesis of brain injury and the ensuing neuronal death. In a review published in BMC Pharmacology and Toxicology this month, Marta Sidoryk-Wegrzynowicz and Michael Aschner discuss recent advances in support of the important roles for astrocytes in normal as well as neuropathological conditions, primarily those caused by exposure to heavy metals like Manganese.

Structural Biology: lending a helping ligand

Predicting the function of a protein from its sequence is challenging, particularly when sequences fall into the “twilight zone” of low sequence identity. A new systematic approach for functional inference that groups protein structures based upon the type and conformation of the molecule –or ligand—they bind to reveals some unexpected findings and extends the existing structural classification of proteins that bind to the methyl group donor molecule S-adenosyl-L-13 methionine (SAM)

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We would be particularly interested in discussing any research pertaining to ...

Read more]]> BMC Biochemistry will be attending Experimental Biology 2013, which is being held at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center from the 20^th-24^th of April. In addition to taking advantage of the wide range of talks on offer, our Executive Editor Tom Rowles is very interested in meeting with researchers to discuss their work and interests. If you would like to arrange a meeting with Tom at the conference then please do get in contact.  BioMed Central will also have a booth in the exhibition hall (Booth 515), so please feel free to drop by there to say hello, or to arrange a convenient time to talk.

We would be particularly interested in discussing any research pertaining to our upcoming thematic series on the “Biochemistry and  biophysics of bionanomaterials”, which we are running in conjunction with BMC Biophysics. We have recently changed the scope of our Protein and Enzyme section in order to better accommodate this exciting and growing area of research.

We look forward to seeing you in Boston.