UPI NewsTrack Health and Science News

New laser system measures carbon-14

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., July 7 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they've developed an ultra-sensitive laser-assisted ratio analyzer -- LARA -- that can measure slight changes in carbon-14.

Carbon offsets increasingly are becoming a major component in the effort to reduce global warming, the Rutgers University researchers said. And as more organizations and businesses start trading in carbon offsets, the need for accurate measurements of carbon emissions is becoming critically important.

Now scientists led by Professor Daniel Murnick, researcher Ozgur Dogru and graduate student Erhan Ilkmen say their newly developed analyzer can measure small changes in C-14 to better determine how much carbon dioxide is being released into the atmosphere from fossil fuel burning.

Additionally, they said the technology opens the possibility of using non-therapeutic microdoses in drug research processes, along with expanding carbon-dating capabilities.

Rutgers has applied for a patent for the LARA technology.

The research is reported in the journal Analytical Chemistry.

Rat study finds new therapy for hemorrhage

SEATTLE, July 7 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they've found a tiny amount of inhaled or intravenous hydrogen sulfide greatly improves the survival of rats with extreme blood loss.

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center researchers said they used hydrogen sulfide to induce a state of reversible metabolic hibernation as a way to reduce death from insufficient blood supply to organs and tissues in a rat model of lethal hemorrhage.

The study determined 75 percent of rats given inhaled hydrogen sulfide and 67 percent of rats given intravenous hydrogen sulfide survived at least two weeks -- the duration of the monitoring period -- after losing more than half of their blood for an extended period. Long-term survival rates for the untreated rats in the two control groups were 23 percent and 14 percent, in that order.

"Our goal is to develop life-saving treatment for critically ill people suffering from acute, sustained blood loss, such as in a car accident or on the battlefield," said biologist Mark Roth.

The study, conducted in collaboration with Dr. Robert Winn and colleagues at the University of Washington's Harborview Medical Center, is to appear in the July 10 issue of the Journal of Trauma Injury, Infection and Critical Care.

Scientists urge more fungi research

WASHINGTON, July 7 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists, noting fungi cause many outbreaks of disease, are calling for studies of fungi that impact human health and agriculture.

Although fungi cause a number of life-threatening diseases, a report from the American Academy of Microbiology says research has been seriously neglected -- "a situation with grave negative repercussions for human health, agriculture, and the environment."

The report is the product of a colloquium, during which experts in mycology, medicine, plant pathogens and ecology discussed the state of research in mycology.

"The average person is at risk for several fungal diseases, from toenail infections to athlete's foot to life threatening systemic infections," said Dr. Arturo Casadevall of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. "Fungi may also predispose people to asthma and allergic diseases,"

He said fungi also cause more than half of all plant diseases.

Dr. Joseph Heitman of the Duke University Medical Center, added: "Fungi are workhorses for research and biotechnology. "Both the hepatitis B vaccine and Gardasil (the vaccine for papilloma virus) are produced in yeast."

The researchers said the importance of fungi demands better research to gain a better understanding of the organisms.

Robot imager evaluates tiny tissue slices

HEIDELBERG, Germany, July 7 (UPI) -- German scientists say a new high-tech imaging center can reproduce and evaluate high resolution images of cells and tissue only micromillimeters thick.

The Hamamatsu Tissue Imaging and Analysis Center, or TIGA, at the University of Heidelberg is a cooperative effort between the university and the Japanese company Hamamatsu Photonics.

At TIGA's core is an imaging robot called "NanoZoomer" that makes it possible for the first time to automatically reproduce and evaluate tissue slices in ultra high resolution and in various planes, the researchers said, noting the achievement is an important aid for scientists in understanding cancer or in following in detail the effect of treatment on cells and tissue.

"Technically, this has brought the fully automatic evaluation of tissue changes and approaches for new therapy within our grasp," said Professor Peter Schirmacher, director of the Institute for Pathology at Heidelberg University Hospital. "This would represent a new milestone in pathology."

In the future, the robot is expected to be able to determine changes in cells and tissue fully automatically.

"The NanoZoomer represents a quantum leap in tissue research," said Niels Grabe of the Institute for Medical Biometry and Informatics and research director at the TIGA Center.