UPI NewsTrack Health and Science News

Dog gene for OCD could aid humans

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Discovery of a gene linked to compulsive behavior in dogs could lead to better understanding of the disorder in humans, scientists in Massachusetts said.

Scientists at the Broad Institute in Cambridge studied the DNA of 92 Doberman pinschers that displayed compulsive behavior and found a common link in a gene called Cadherin 2, The Boston Globe reported Monday, noting Cadherin 2 recently was linked to autism in humans.

The dog findings will be used to study the Cadherin 2 gene in more than 300 people with obsessive-compulsive disorder, OCD, and about 400 of their relatives, said Dr. Dennis Murphy, a researcher at the National Institute of Mental Health.

"Identifying a specific gene that could be a candidate gene for a complex disorder like OCD is a gift to have,'' Murphy said. "This might be a quick route in to a meaningful gene that just could be involved in the human disorder, as well.''

Dogs with OCD obsessively chase their tails, lick their legs and pace and circle in behavior similar to that of people with OCD, who obsessively wash their hands, count numbers or repeatedly check objects. Murphy said.

Images suggest Mars once had lakes

LONDON, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Three billion years ago, Mars was warm enough to sustain lakes that were as wide as 12 miles, scientists at Britain's Imperial College said.

Satellite images suggest Mars had a warm and wet history during the Hesperian Epoch and then lost most of its atmosphere and became cold and dry, the researchers wrote in a recent issue of the journal Geology.

Images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter suggest Mars once had lakes as wide as 12 miles along parts of its equator.

Volcanic activity, meteorite impacts or shifts in Mars' orbit might have warmed the planet's atmosphere enough to melt ice into lakes. That would have created gases that temporarily thickened the atmosphere, trapping more sunlight and warmth, Imperial College researcher Nicholas Warner said.

"Scientists had largely overlooked the Hesperian Epoch as it was thought that Mars was then a frozen wasteland," Warner said. "Excitingly, our study now shows that this middle period in Mars' history was much more dynamic than we previously thought."

Mosquitoes whine to attract mates

MEDWAY, England, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Mosquitoes whine to attract a mate of the correct species, said scientists in Britain who study the maddening sound made by the insects.

Scientists at the University of Greenwich, Medway, England, found male and female mosquitoes depend on "singing" in harmony to find each other, researcher Gabriella Gibson wrote in a recent issue of the journal Current Biology.

The tones are produced, and varied, based on the frequency of their wings beating in flight.

Mosquito species have a complex range of genetic diversity that enables them to adapt to myriad habitats, she said. For example, the Anopheles gambiae mosquito in Burkino Faso has seven species and several chromosomal forms, Gibson said.

By varying their tones to attract the correct mate, mosquitoes are able to reproductively isolate themselves and maintain their genetic diversity while traveling in swarms that may contain several species, Gibson said.

St. John's wort not for irritable bowel

ROCHESTER, Minn., Jan. 4 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers say St. John's wort is not an effective treatment for irritable bowel syndrome.

Researchers from the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minn., say their randomized placebo-controlled trial, published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology, found irritable bowel syndrome patients in the placebo group had a better response than the patients taking the herbal supplement, St. John's wort.

"Several of the chemical neurotransmitters that are in the brain are also in the colon, therefore, it's been thought that antidepressants may affect sensation in the colon in a similar way to how they affect sensation in the brain" lead scientist Dr. Yuri Saito says in a statement. "Unfortunately, our study showed that St. John's wort was not successful in helping irritable bowel syndrome patients."

Saito and colleagues had half of the 70 irritable bowel syndrome patients receive St. John's wort and the other half receive a placebo. Symptoms of the common colon disorder -- such as stomach pain, diarrhea, constipation and bloating -- were observed for three months.

In all, 86 percent of the participants were women, and the median age was 42 years.

St. John's wort is an herbal supplement derived from the St. John's wort plant that has been used to treat medical conditions.