Predicting which viral species are most likely to jump from animals to humans

Main Category: Flu / Cold / SARS
Also Included In: Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses;  Respiratory / Asthma
Article Date: 14 Aug 2013 - 1:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Predicting which viral species are most likely to jump from animals to humans

Outbreaks such as the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS) have afflicted people around the world, yet many people think these trends are on the decline.

Quite the opposite is true.

The efforts to combat this epidemic are being spearheaded by a team of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists. Led by Monica Borucki of LLNL's Biosciences and Biotechnology Division, the Lab researchers have made promising new discoveries that provide insight into the emergence of inter-species transmittable viruses.

They discovered that the genetic diversity of a viral population within a host animal could allow a virus to adapt to certain conditions, which could help it reach a human host. This discovery advances the scientific understanding of how new viruses produced from animal reservoirs can infect people. An animal reservoir is an animal species that harbors an infectious agent, which then goes on to potentially infect humans or other species. Borucki's team is investigating viruses related to SARS and MERS, but not the actual viruses themselves.

"The team's findings are the first steps in developing methods for predicting which viral species are most likely to jump from animals to humans and potentially cause outbreaks of diseases," Borucki said.

Borucki's LLNL multidisciplinary research team includes Jonathan Allen, Tom Slezak, Clinton Torres and Adam Zemla from the Computation Directorate; Haiyin Chen from the Engineering Directorate; and Pam Hullinger, Gilda Vanier and Shalini Mabery from the Physical and Life Sciences Directorate.

Coronaviruses are one of the groups of viruses that most commonly jump to new host species as evidenced by SARS and MERS, according to Borucki. These viruses appear to have jumped from animals to humans and are capable of causing severe diseases in humans.

"Our discoveries indicate that the next generation of genetic sequencing technology, combined with advance computational analysis, can be used to characterize the dynamics of certain viral populations," she said.

The team's work on coronaviruses received funding from LLNL's Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA).

In June, a research paper published in the Journal of General Virology by other scientists cited the Borucki team's findings as pioneering, and it recommended their methodology for studying viral evolution.

Borucki said her team's research findings eventually could be used to influence how vaccines and antivirals are designed and tested.

"Deep Illumina sequencing (a type of genetic sequencing that involves sequencing reads in parallel) is already being used extensively to understand HIV and hepatitis C resistance to antivirals," she said. "We plan to follow up our findings by examining how animal host traits such as nutritional status (being malnourished or obese) influence how viruses evolve."

This latest discovery is part of a string of achievements for Borucki's team.

In 2010, they secured a three-year, $1.4 million contract from DTRA to fund a research project to study how to better determine the origins of a virus.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
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Researchers map a new metabolic pathway that controls mTORC1 activation which is involved in cell growth

Main Category: Biology / Biochemistry
Also Included In: Cancer / Oncology;  Diabetes
Article Date: 05 Aug 2013 - 1:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Researchers map a new metabolic pathway that controls mTORC1 activation which is involved in cell growth

Deciphering the body's complex molecular pathways that lead to disease when they malfunction is highly challenging. Researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute now have a more complete picture of one particular pathway that can lead to cancer and diabetes. In the study published by Molecular Cell, the scientists uncovered how a protein called p62 has a cascade affect in regulating cell growth in response to the presence of nutrients such as amino acids and glucose. Disrupting this chain may offer a new approach to treating disease.

The protein p62 interacts with another protein called TRAF6 to activate a protein complex called mTORC1. In fact, researchers have found that mTORC1, also known as mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1, is highly activated in cancer cells. The pathway that controls mTORC1 activation is also important for metabolic homeostasis (i.e., stability). When the pathway malfunctions, metabolic disorders such as diabetes can result and tumors can progress.

About a year ago, Maria Diaz-Meco, Ph.D., Jorge Moscat, Ph.D., and their colleagues had identified that p62 is an important player in this complex pathway. But they didn't know how. Their new study shows that p62 activates mTORC1 through TRAF6.

"The mTORC1 pathway is a major complex important not only for cancer but also for metabolic homeostasis," said Diaz-Meco. "For that reason, it's very important to unravel the mechanism that controls how mTORC1 responds to the different signals."

"mTORC1 responds to many growth signals," she added, "but the specific mechanisms that channel the activation of mTORC1 by nutrients such as amino acids and glucose are still not completely understood. Our goal was to discern the specific mechanisms that regulate this important pathway."

The researchers found that TRAF6 plays a role in activating mTORC1 by molecularly modifying it in a process called ubiquitination. TRAF6, meanwhile, itself becomes activated in the presence of amino acids. "When you have a diet high in meat, the concentration of amino acids in your blood increases, and that's a way to activate this pathway," Moscat said. This can have tremendous implications not only for diabetes, but also for cancer-cell proliferation, which needs a constant supply of nutrients to grow.

More work is needed to fully understand the pathway, but the researchers next plan is to find ways to disrupt the interaction between p62 and TRAF6, with the ultimate goal of inactivating mTORC1 and therefore controlling cancer progression. "Because mTORC1 is a highly important protein that regulates growth, therapies aimed at blocking mTORC1 activation may offer a new approach to treating disease," Diaz-Meco said.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our biology / biochemistry section for the latest news on this subject.

This work was supported by grants from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (grants R01CA132847, R01AI072581, R01DK088107, R01CA134530M).

Juan F. Linares, Sanford-Burnham; Angeles Duran, Sanford-Burnham; Tomoko Yajima, Sanford-Burnham; Manolis Pasparakis, Institute for Genetics, University of Cologne (Germany); Jorge Moscat, Sanford-Burnham; and Maria T. Diaz-Meco, Sanford-Burnham.

Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute

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Researchers map a new metabolic pathway that controls mTORC1 activation which is involved in cell growth

Main Category: Biology / Biochemistry
Also Included In: Cancer / Oncology;  Diabetes
Article Date: 05 Aug 2013 - 1:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Researchers map a new metabolic pathway that controls mTORC1 activation which is involved in cell growth

Deciphering the body's complex molecular pathways that lead to disease when they malfunction is highly challenging. Researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute now have a more complete picture of one particular pathway that can lead to cancer and diabetes. In the study published by Molecular Cell, the scientists uncovered how a protein called p62 has a cascade affect in regulating cell growth in response to the presence of nutrients such as amino acids and glucose. Disrupting this chain may offer a new approach to treating disease.

The protein p62 interacts with another protein called TRAF6 to activate a protein complex called mTORC1. In fact, researchers have found that mTORC1, also known as mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1, is highly activated in cancer cells. The pathway that controls mTORC1 activation is also important for metabolic homeostasis (i.e., stability). When the pathway malfunctions, metabolic disorders such as diabetes can result and tumors can progress.

About a year ago, Maria Diaz-Meco, Ph.D., Jorge Moscat, Ph.D., and their colleagues had identified that p62 is an important player in this complex pathway. But they didn't know how. Their new study shows that p62 activates mTORC1 through TRAF6.

"The mTORC1 pathway is a major complex important not only for cancer but also for metabolic homeostasis," said Diaz-Meco. "For that reason, it's very important to unravel the mechanism that controls how mTORC1 responds to the different signals."

"mTORC1 responds to many growth signals," she added, "but the specific mechanisms that channel the activation of mTORC1 by nutrients such as amino acids and glucose are still not completely understood. Our goal was to discern the specific mechanisms that regulate this important pathway."

The researchers found that TRAF6 plays a role in activating mTORC1 by molecularly modifying it in a process called ubiquitination. TRAF6, meanwhile, itself becomes activated in the presence of amino acids. "When you have a diet high in meat, the concentration of amino acids in your blood increases, and that's a way to activate this pathway," Moscat said. This can have tremendous implications not only for diabetes, but also for cancer-cell proliferation, which needs a constant supply of nutrients to grow.

More work is needed to fully understand the pathway, but the researchers next plan is to find ways to disrupt the interaction between p62 and TRAF6, with the ultimate goal of inactivating mTORC1 and therefore controlling cancer progression. "Because mTORC1 is a highly important protein that regulates growth, therapies aimed at blocking mTORC1 activation may offer a new approach to treating disease," Diaz-Meco said.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our biology / biochemistry section for the latest news on this subject.

This work was supported by grants from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (grants R01CA132847, R01AI072581, R01DK088107, R01CA134530M).

Juan F. Linares, Sanford-Burnham; Angeles Duran, Sanford-Burnham; Tomoko Yajima, Sanford-Burnham; Manolis Pasparakis, Institute for Genetics, University of Cologne (Germany); Jorge Moscat, Sanford-Burnham; and Maria T. Diaz-Meco, Sanford-Burnham.

Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute

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Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute. (2013, August 5). "Researchers map a new metabolic pathway that controls mTORC1 activation which is involved in cell growth." Medical News Today. Retrieved from
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Studying the emotions which cause opinions to change

Main Category: Psychology / Psychiatry
Article Date: 02 Aug 2013 - 1:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Studying the emotions which cause opinions to change

Social phenomena fascinate with their complexity, but are not easily understood. Pawel Sobkowicz, an independent researcher based in Warsaw, Poland, has developed a model to study the dynamics of normal people, called 'agents', and their response to a given piece of information, depending on their emotional state. In a study about to be published in EPJ B, the author shows that opinion dynamics differ depending on whether the agent is agitated or not.

Key social questions of interest have been the object of previous studies using physics tools. The field of magnetic interactions has previously been used to compare opinions to a degree of freedom associated with atoms, called spin. Global average opinion is associated with overall magnetisation of the material, whereas sudden opinion shifts compare to magnetic materials phase transitions.

However, describing opinion change is not as simple as a spin flip of an atom. Therefore, unlike previous work, this study attempts to combine, on the single agent level, the complex interactions between information and emotions, albeit representing an approach still far from the actual complexity of the human psyche. Nevertheless, it allows modelling of opinion change or freezing of opinion, should the agent be subjected to an emotional response.

The premise for this study was to consider that a given agent opinion about a particular issue is determined by both its information about the issue and its subsequent emotional response. The author assumes the possibility of the same information leading to different opinions when agents are agitated. This results in individual opinion dynamics.

The author's findings, relevant to a simplified social environment, are directly comparable with social observations. These include the stability of minority groups surrounded by enemies and the fact that so many elections have results close to the 50/50 ratio.

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Which? launches new hearing aid guide with UK hearing loss charity

Main Category: Hearing / Deafness
Article Date: 05 Aug 2013 - 1:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Which? launches new hearing aid guide with UK hearing loss charity

Action on Hearing Loss has joined forces with consumer champion Which? to launch a comprehensive guide to hearing aids. This will give people with hearing loss the help they need to ensure they get the hearing aid that is right for them.

How to get the best hearing aid provides in-depth advice for anyone who is unsure about the steps they need to take in order to improve their hearing. The advice covers everything from getting a hearing assessment from an Audiologist, to choosing a hearing aid and what they should do if there are any problems once it has been fitted.

Action on Hearing Loss Senior Audiologist Gemma Twitchen says: "It's fantastic to work in partnership with Which? to help around four million people in the UK who could benefit from hearing aids but have not tried them, making it clear the options that they have available to them. The guide also assists people who have tried hearing aids to get the best from them as it takes time to adapt to using them - getting used to new sounds as well as managing the aids themselves.

"Having hearing aids that work and are comfortable makes a big difference to the everyday lives of people with a hearing loss. Whether someone decides to obtain hearing aids for free on the NHS or buy privately, the audiologist will ensure your hearing and needs are fully assessed before helping you find the hearing aid that's right for you."

Jenni Allen, Head of Public Services at Which? said: "We're delighted to partner with Action on Hearing Loss to create this guide. Many people have contacted us because they struggle to know where to go and who to trust when they find they need hearing aids. The new guide will give clear information and advice to help people ask the right questions, and help them feel empowered to make an informed choice - whether they get their aids privately or from the NHS."

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The point at which the capacity to differentiate between living and non-living beings and environmental awareness develop

Main Category: Psychology / Psychiatry
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 31 Jul 2013 - 1:00 PDT Current ratings for:
The point at which the capacity to differentiate between living and non-living beings and environmental awareness develop

José Domingo Villarroel, a researcher at the Teacher Training College in Bilbao (UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country) has studied the capacity to differentiate between living and non-living beings and how this relates to environmental awareness.

118 girls and boys between the ages of 4 and 7 from public primary schools in Plentzia, Urduliz and Sopelana participated in the research and were interviewed by Villarroel himself. He himself says that the work was very laborious, "but enjoyable and what is more, the results were very striking."

Each interview consisted of two parts. The aim of the first was to analyse the capacity of the children to differentiate between living beings and inanimate objects. The children were shown eight photos, of which four were close-ups of living beings (a dog, a bird, a tree and a flower); the other four depicted inanimate objects: the sun, clouds, a car and a motorbike. "When each of the photos was shown to them, they were asked what they could see: a living being or an inanimate object."

The images used in the second part of the interview depicted inappropriate behaviour types and they had all been selected from children's books. These examples of bad behaviour could be classified into three groups: the ones that exert a negative effect on the wellbeing of someone else (taking away someone else's possessions or using violence against one's friends); the ones that do not fit in with social rules (picking one's nose or eating in a messy way); and the ones that harm plants (treading on a flower or carving drawings on a tree trunk using a knife).

Villarroel explains that "in the interview the children were presented with a dilemma; in other words, they were shown two examples of bad behaviour, and they had to choose which of the two was worse. They were presented with two kinds of dilemmas: in one they had to choose between breaking social rules or influencing the wellbeing of others; in the other, to break social rules or harm plants".

Moral thinking and the world of emotions

The researcher felt that the results of the work were interesting. "In the first part the responses were the expected ones. In fact, many children, especially young ones, are not capable of differentiating between living beings and non-living ones; for example, they find it very difficult to understand that a tree is a living being, yet they tend to believe that cars and motorbikes are alive," explains Villarroel. Children appear to relate the fact of being alive with movement.

In the second part, he found the results more striking, because he spotted a 'paradox'. Apparently, children believe that hurting another child or plants is more reprehensible that breaking social rules, "also in the cases in which they think that plants are not living beings." In other words, they are not absolutely sure whether the flower is a living thing; but they think it is much worse to tread on a flower than to slurp your soup or stick your fingers up your nose."

According to Villarroel, that paradox suggests that the awareness towards others is developed at an early age and that the development of moral thought is linked to the affective world, in other words, with what they receive from their parents and educators, and not so much through logic or rationality. "In fact, there are two main approaches that seek to explain the development of moral thought: some believe that it has to do with logical capacity; whereas others link it to the emotions and the affective world. The results I got reinforce the second approach," says Villarroel.

The research has been published in the scientific journal SpringerPlus, under the title "Environmental judgment in early childhood and its relationship with the understanding of the concept of living beings". And Villarroel has announced that he will be pursuing his research in the same direction: "Firstly I am very interested in finding out how children develop environmental awareness through their parents. And secondly, I would like to conduct the same research in other contexts, and also by comparing children from large and small populations, for example." He is also planning to publish another article on the same line of research in the specialised journal Journal of Biological Education.

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José Domingo Villarroel (Barakaldo, Basque Country, 1967) is a PhD holder in Biology. For several years he was a teacher of science and mathematics in Statutory Secondary Education. He currently lectures and researches at the Teacher Training College in Bilbao (UPV/EHU), in the Department of the Didactics of Mathematics and Experimental Sciences. He has had various scientific papers and books published; most of them deal with the comprehension and learning processes of basic scientific concepts.

Elhuyar Fundazioa

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