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| News Around World |
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| Researchers from the University of Maryland, College Park have been able to develop a vaccine that may one day immunize humans against the avian influenza virus H5N1 and SARS. A vector called Newcastle Disease virus was utilized for its properties of being able to replicate across species but in populations insufficient to cause disease. Using a technique called Reverse Genetics, it was possible to make infectious Newcastle Disease Virus from cloned DNA which was then inserted with genes that induce immunity to pathogens.
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| Previous thoughts on the physiological reaction in the event of poison in the body like snake bites and bee stings have been overthrown as a new study has implied that the body‘s immune system actually helps break down the venom. Mast cells in the immune system were previously thought to be activated by venom to release proteins and other chemicals that potentially harm tissue. The revelation has allowed researchers to observe an array of proteins that may one day help medicate such poison attacks.
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Scientists have yet again increased their edge in the battle against congenital blindness as researchers from the Singapore Eye Research Institute has been successful in identifying the gene causing a rare congenital blindness among children. The discovery may help medical personnel identify and treat the disease early on, and even tweak the gene among the elderly to prevent blindness.
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| Sequencing The Genome Of A New Kind Of Methane Producer |
| Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Terrestrial Microbiology and the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Genetics have fully sequenced the genome for an RC-I archaeon from a methane-producing microbial mixed culture. The sequencing of the genome offers the basis of monitoring the activity of RC-I Archaea which is a major producer of methane in rice plants. |
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