During the 39th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental Research, convening at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, lead researcher O.A. Gonzalez (University of Kentucky, Lexington) presented a poster of a study titled "TLR2 and TLR9 Activation by Periodontal Pathogens induce HIV-1 Reactivation." Although oral co-infections (e.g...

 Researchers have discovered a key reason why a form of leukemia progresses from its more-treatable chronic phase to a life-threatening phase called blast crisis. The study, led by cancer researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC-James), indicates that chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) progresses when immature white blood cells lose a molecule called miR-328. Loss of the molecule traps the cells in a rapidly growing, immature state...

 Is a happy life filled with trivial chatter or reflective and profound conversations? Psychological scientists Matthias R. Mehl, Shannon E. Holleran, and C. Shelby Clark from the University of Arizona, along with Simine Vazire of Washington University in St. Louis investigated whether happy and unhappy people differ in the types of conversations they tend to engage in. Volunteers wore an unobtrusive recording device called the Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR) over four days. This device periodically records snippets of sounds as participants go about their lives...

 Imagine a mosquito-borne virus that has already infected millions of people in recent outbreaks in South and Southeast Asia, the islands of the Indian Ocean, Africa and northern Italy. Although seldom fatal, it causes highly painful arthritis-like symptoms that can linger for months or even years. It's capable of adapting to spread through a mosquito species common in much of North America. And no vaccine or treatment exists to protect humans from its effects. The scenario may sound like something dreamed up as a training exercise by public health authorities, but the virus is all too real...

 In a far-reaching dialogue, three researchers -- Nicholas Spitzer, Kwabena Boahen and Hongkun Park -- discuss the synergy between nanoscience and neuroscience, what it means for the future, and how it is driving current research Is it possible to build supercomputers that can replicate the human brain, or to develop nanotechnology that can lead to an implantable chip for interfacing with neurons and other types of cellular networks? Once divergent fields, nanoscience and neuroscience are now advancing each other in ways that could propel extraordinary new research...

 Adding a new link to our understanding of the complex chain of chemistry that keeps living cells alive, a team of researchers from the University of Vermont (UVM), the University of Utah, Vanderbilt University and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has demonstrated for the first time the specific activity of the protein NEIL3, one of a group responsible for maintaining the integrity of DNA in humans and other mammals. Their work reported last week* sheds new light on a potentially important source of harmful DNA mutations...

 Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: LIFE) has announced that it is collaborating with the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and US Oncology to sequence the genomes of 14 patients afflicted with triple negative breast cancer whose tumors have progressed despite multiple other therapies. The goal of this first-of-its-kind research collaboration is to demonstrate whether genomic sequencing of cancer tissue can provide clues for treatment strategies for these individuals...

 Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third leading cause of cancer death among men and women nationwide, yet only half of people who need CRC screening receive it. The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute is working to educate patients about the importance of screening and to encourage everyone age 50 and older to get screened for CRC. Recognizing that those without insurance have limited access to screening, gastroenterologists and physicians throughout the country have established free CRC screening programs for the uninsured...

 Researchers at the South West Liver Unit, based at Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust and supported by the Peninsula Medical School, are working to save more lives and improve the health of Hepatitis C sufferers around the world by developing a vaccine for the disease. In addition to a grant of £95,000 from the Mary Kinross Charitable Trust, the team have recently been awarded a grant from Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust to expand and continue their work. Dr...