ScienceDaily (Mar. 7, 2012) Children with autism look away from faces when thinking, especially about challenging material, according to new research from Northumbria University. Although generally encouraged to maintain eye contact as a means of enhancing their social skills, researchers found autistic children follow the same patterns as other children when processing complex information or difficult tasks. Typically developing children and adults look away when asked difficult questions and gaze aversion has been proven in the past to improve the accuracy of responses. Prof Gwyneth Doherty-Sneddon, Associate Dean for Research in the School of Life Sciences at Northumbria University, will present her findings in next month's Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. In the first study of its kind, researchers asked 20 children with autism -- characterised by reduced sociability -- and 18 with William's Syndrome -- associated with hypersociability -- to carry out mental arithmetic tests. Both groups engaged in gaze aversion while thinking and increased their gaze aversion as question difficulty increased. Prof Doherty-Sneddon said: "Previous research found that children and adults tend to avert their gaze when thinking something through and this principle can now be applied to children with autism too. "Although social skills training is … Continue reading →

Despite the evolutionary split with gorillas around 10 million years ago, we still share a remarkable number of genes with the great ape. Photo: AFP HUMANS and gorillas last shared a common ancestor 10 million years ago, according to an analysis of the first full sequence of the gorilla genome. The gorilla is the last of the living great apes - humans, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans - to have its complete genetic code catalogued. Scientists, led by researchers from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute near Cambridge, England, and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, also found that 15 per cent of the gorilla's genetic code is closer between humans and gorillas than it is between humans and chimpanzees, our closest animal relative. The genomes of all three species are, in any case, highly similar: humans and chimpanzees share more than 98 per cent of their genes, while humans and gorillas share more than 96 per cent. The genetic sequence was taken from a female western lowland gorilla named Kamilah and published in the science journal Nature. Advertisement: Story continues below ''Gorillas are an interesting animal in their right but the main reason they are of particular interest is because … Continue reading →

Featured Article Academic Journal Main Category: Cancer / Oncology Also Included In: Genetics;Urology / Nephrology Article Date: 08 Mar 2012 - 2:00 PST email to a friend printer friendly opinions Current Article Ratings: 3 (1 votes) Professor Peter Johnson, chief clinician at Cancer Research UK said in a statement that the study highlights "important differences that exist within tumours and suggest a way to improve the success rate of personalised cancer medicines". The lead author of the study is Professor Charles Swanton, who works at Cancer Research UK's London Research Institute and the UCL Cancer Institute. He and his colleagues analyzed the genetic variation among different regions of the same cancer tumor, using samples donated by patients with advanced kidney cancer. This is the first time genome-wide analysis has been used for this. Swanton told the press that scientists have known for a while that a tumor is a "patchwork" of faults, but this is the first time, thanks to cutting edge genomic sequencing technology, scientists have been able to map the genetic landscape of a tumor in such "exquisite detail". For the study, he and his colleagues compared the genetic variations in samples taken from different regions of four … Continue reading →

SILVER SPRING, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Nuvilex, Inc. (OTCQB:NVLX), an emerging biotechnology provider of cell and gene therapy solutions, today discussed the potential use of the companys cell encapsulation technology with modified stem cells to treat late stage cancers. Stem cell therapy is not new to physicians dealing with blood and bone cancers, with stem cell transplants being an important treatment for growing new bone marrow since the 1970s. Recent studies have indicated the potential for using stem cells across a much broader range of cancers is becoming a reality, mostly a result of advances in cell and molecular biology techniques. Traditional chemotherapy works by targeting the fast-growing cells common to cancer tumors. Unfortunately, chemotherapeutics dont differentiate between healthy and cancerous cells. Patients suffering from metastatic cancers, where tumors have spread to multiple areas of the body, often have substantial difficulties with the chemotherapy needed to treat their disease. In one case, researchers at City of Hope and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital may have found a way to treat cancers that have spread throughout the body more effectively. They used genetically modified stem cells to activate chemotherapeutic drugs at the tumor sites, so that normal tissue surrounding the tumor and throughout … Continue reading →