Friday, May 30, 2014

5/31/14 Health News; 11 Genes Predicts Alcoholism Risk,♦ New Vaccine Imprisons Malaria Parasite in Blood Cells ♦ E.coli, MRSA Can Linger on Airplane Surfaces for Days

Genes Predicts Alcoholism Risk, A group of 11 genes can successfully predict whether an individual is at increased risk of alcoholism, a research team from the United States and Germany reported. The panel of genes is highly accurate in its differentiation of alcoholics from controls at a population level, but less so at an individual level, likely due to the major and variable role environment plays in the development of the disease in each individual, the authors noted. Nevertheless, such a test could identify people who are at higher or lower risk for the disease. Continue Reading
New Vaccine Approach Imprisons Malaria Parasite in Blood Cells
Scientists seeking a vaccine against malaria, which kills a child every minute in Africa, have developed a promising new approach intended to imprison the disease-causing parasites inside the red blood cells they infect. The researchers said on an experimental vaccine based on this idea protected mice in five trials and will be tested on lab monkeys beginning in the next four to six weeks.Source:Continue Reading
E.coli, MRSA Can Linger on Airplane Surfaces for Days  

In a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, Barbaree and his Auburn University colleague, Kiril Vaglenov, decided to analyze the survival of two common types of bacteria in airplane-like conditions: methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and E. coli O157:H7.  The researchers tested the duration of the two pathogens on six types of materials obtained from an unnamed major airline: an armrest, plastic tray table, metal toilet button, window shade, seat pocket cloth, and leather. They exposed the items to each pathogen, and then left them in an incubator which mimicked typical airplane conditions to see how long the pathogens could survive. Contimue Reading

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