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Low Vitamin D Levels In Blacks Could Contribute To Higher Rates Of Cancer, Other Diseases, Researcher Says
Low vitamin D levels in blacks could contribute to health gaps between white and black U.S. residents, Michael Holick, a professor at Boston University and a vitamin D researcher, said recently, the GNS/Chicago Sun-Times reports. According to Holick, blacks have lower levels of vitamin D than whites in part because the higher amount of pigment in their skin makes it harder for their body to absorb the nutrient, which is produced in response to sun exposure. Although scientists are debating optimum vitamin D levels, some scientists have said that vitamin D can reduce the risk of cancer, diabetes, heart disease and other illnesses. Holick added that some scientists believe blacks are more likely to have prostate cancer, breast cancer and colon cancer and have more aggressive forms of the cancer because they have lower levels of vitamin D. John Flack, principal investigator at the Center for Urban and African American Health at Wayne State University, said lower vitamin D levels among blacks is "potentially a very important explanation for some of the differences, from hypertension to cancer to heart failure," adding, "The actual proof is not there, but it"s plausible." Flack added that many factors -- including decreased access to health care and differences in income and education -- contribute to the overall poorer health among blacks. The Institute of Medicine next year is expected to release new guidelines on recommended daily intake for vitamin D. "All Americans, but particularly people with darker skin, should pay attention" to the new guidelines, according to Adit Ginde, a researcher at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine who led a recent study that found vitamin D levels are decreasing in all racial groups and are particularly low in blacks (Painter, GNS/Chicago Sun-Times, 5/28).
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Researchers Describe History Of Swine Flu And Warn About Using Extinct Viruses
In a leading medical journal this week US researchers describe the 90-year history of swine flu and warn about working with "freezer" viruses,
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Indirect Transmission Can Trigger Influenza Outbreaks In Birds
New data on the persistence of avian influenza viruses in the environment has allowed a team of University of Georgia researchers to create the first model that takes into account both direct and indirect transmission of the viruses among birds. The model, which is detailed in the early online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has the potential to shed new light on how outbreaks begin in wild bird populations.
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Combating Blood Flukes By Using Gene Map

The first microsatellite-based genetic linkage map has been published for Schistosoma mansoni, a blood fluke that is known to infect over 90 million people in Africa, the Middle East and the New World. Researchers writing in BioMed Central"s open access journal Genome Biology hope the map will stimulate research and open doors to new advances in combating this neglected human pathogen. S. mansoni, a blood fluke, is one of the major causes of schistosomiasis, a chronic disease, with varying symptoms depending on the organs affected. Individuals with intestinal infections develop an apparent "potbelly". Acute, hepatic and intestinal schistosomiasis are all commonly seen. The World Health Organization estimates that more than 200,000 deaths per year are due to schistosomiasis in sub-Saharan Africa alone, and points out that the chronic nature of the condition has a long-term disabling effect. Charles Criscione, from Texas A&M University, College Station, USA, and a team of researchers that included Philip LoVerde from the University of Texas Health Science Center and Timothy Anderson from the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research in San Antonio, USA, used two adult flukes to breed 88 S. mansoni flukes. By comparing the genetic information of the offspring to the parents, the researchers are able to generate a genetic map of the chromosomes of this pathogen. According to Criscione, "Linkage mapping has been very successful for mapping the genes underlying outward traits in a number of parasitic organisms. In malaria parasites, the linkage map has resulted in the identification of major genes underlying drug resistance and host specificity. Similarly, linkage maps of the parasitic protozoans, Toxoplasma and Eimeria have resulted in mapping of factors underlying acute virulence". The researchers hope that their map will help overcome the current lack of tools available to study S. mansoni"s molecular, quantitative and population genetics, and provide a fundamental framework for tackling both applied and basic questions about S. mansoni. Criscione said, "The map has multiple applications for developmental and evolutionary biology. It will facilitate high resolution population genetic studies of S. mansoni, which will improve our understanding of transmission patterns in affected areas. The map presented expands the genetic toolkit for S. mansoni providing opportunities to understand fundamental features of blood fluke biology, and opening doors to new advances in combating this neglected human pathogen". This research was supported by the NIH. Notes: Genomic linkage map of the human blood fluke Schistosoma mansoni Charles D Criscione, Claudia LL Valentim, Hirohisa Hirai, Philip T LoVerde and Timothy JC Anderson Genome Biology (in press) http://genomebiology.com/ Graeme Baldwin BioMed Central


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