Archive for January, 2009
January 23rd, 2009 -- Posted in Super Antioxidant |
In a list that covers everything from an anti-malaria gene to bulletproof paper, Discover magazine has compiled its top 100 stories of 2008. Included in the list is an article about findings published with the help of the University of Delaware’s George Luther and UD alumnus Timothy Waite.
“Seaweed creates its own sunscreen,” which came in at No. 94, details research that determined why brown kelp (Laminaria) produces iodine. When the seaweed is stressed, it flushes large quantities of iodide as a powerful antioxidant out of its cells. The iodide combines with highly reactive oxygen in the water and air to produce molecular iodine, which humans often use as an antiseptic.
The findings reveal the element iodine’s biological role as an inorganic antioxidant — the first to be described in a living system.
The research, published May 2008 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the scientific journal of the National Academy of Sciences in the U.S., was led by Frithjof Kupper from the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS). Luther, the Maxwell P. and Mildred H. Harrington Professor of Oceanography, and Waite were part of the research team.
Luther’s lab conducted a series of chemical analyses, including one confirming that iodide was actually being released into the water, in his lab at the UD College of Marine and Earth Studies in Lewes.
With Luther’s help, the scientists determined that brown kelp passively takes in iodide from seawater and releases it when needed to protect itself from exposure to threats like ozone when the tide is low. It’s that simplicity that Luther said likely helped influence the story’s pick as one of the year’s best.
“Here’s an organism that takes the iodide in and dumps it when it needs it,” he said. “It’s such a simple way to do business.”
This research was partially funded by the National Science Foundation and Sea Grant, which is administered through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Other agencies from the United States and around the world that helped fund the project included the Natural Environment Research Council; the National Institutes of Health; the Center for Environmental Bioinorganic Chemistry; the National Science Foundation Environmental Molecular Science Institute; the SAMS Core Strategic Program; the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft; and the French national program Toxicologie Nucleaire Environnementale.
Source: http://www.udel.edu/udaily/2009/jan/discover012109.html
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January 16th, 2009 -- Posted in Life Extension |
Bing Ren, Ph.D., associate professor of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and head of the Laboratory of Gene Regulation at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, was recently selected as one of four grant recipients in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Roadmap’s Epigenomics Program, an initiative developed to study stable genetic modifications that affect and alter the behavior of genes across the human genome.
The five-year, $16.6 million grant will support The San Diego Epigenome Center at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research at UC San Diego, one of four centers in the country called Reference Epigenome Mapping Centers (REMC) as part of an overall five-year, $190 million NIH program. Ren’s grant will support interdisciplinary work to comprehensively map elements of the human epigenome, which Ren describes as “like an added dimension to the DNA string.”
“The human epigenome is the next frontier of genomic research,” said Ren. “Just as the Human Genome Project provided a picture of the sequence of genomes, our work will help create a map of the processes that impact gene regulation – what turns genes on and off – in order to improve our understanding of what drives human development and disease.”
The epigenome plays a pivotal role in cellular differentiation, tissue formation and aging by regulating the transcriptional potential of the genome, specifying when and where genes are activated or expressed. Epigenetic processes, such as modifications to DNA-associated proteins called histones, control genetic activity by changing the three-dimensional structure of chromosomes. Diet and exposure to environmental chemicals throughout all stages of human development, among other factors, can cause such epigenetic changes that may turn on or turn off certain genes.
Source: UCSD Health http://health.ucsd.edu/news/2009/1-13-epigenome-grant.htm
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January 3rd, 2009 -- Posted in Stress Management |
How do you manage your stress? Dealing with work demands and family-related or personal issues can cause an immense amount of stress on an individual. In response to stressors, our bodies naturally go into “fight-or-flight” mode¬¬¬¬—our muscles tense up for action, our nerves fire rapidly and become over-stimulated, and our adrenal glands pump out increased amounts of hormones. While this can be beneficial during immediate emergency situations, prolonged stress events can gradually drain the body of its resources, causing it to break down and fail to carry out normal cellular processes. Recent studies show that ongoing long-term stress has a direct negative impact on weakening the body’s immune system. Everyday stress may lead to many serious psychological and physical health problems like anxiety, depression, exhaustion, high blood pressure and heart disease.
While maintaining a healthy diet and engaging in regular exercise can relieve some work-inflicted or personal stress, there also are many herbs for stress that can help your body cope with external pressures and reduce their negative effects on your body. Lack of sleep, inability to concentrate, body aches, and poor digestion are all symptoms that can be easily alleviated by taking herbs for stress. There are a variety of herbal remedies for stress available in all forms. For example, chamomile is a calming agent found in teas or lotions, which reduces insomnia and boosts immunity to resist infection during periods of stress. Valerian root is an herb for stress usually in capsule form, which has been found to promote relaxation and induce restful sleep. Valerian root also eliminates headaches caused by nervous tension and alleviates muscle tension, especially during premenstrual cycles.
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