New Rhabdovirus that causes Hemorrhagic Fever

A novel Rhabdovirus (the same family as rabies) has been discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This new virus is associated with acute hemorrhagic fever. Three cases were identified, but only one has been confirmed. The first two cases died within 2-3 days of presenting with symptoms. The third case was a nurse that had cared for the other two. The nurse survived, and the novel virus was identified in their blood. No other potential cases were found at the time. The source (hemorrhagic fever is generally a zoonotic infection) and mode of transmission have not been determined.

http://www.plospathogens.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.ppat.1002924

Should people be paid for research tissue donations?

A piece in Science on July 6 discussed the case of Henrietta Lacks (the patient HeLa cells are derived from) and whether people who donate tissue for research purposes should receive compensation.

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/337/6090/37

This week, several letters were also published in Science that argue for or against a compensation scheme. The main issues are should compensation be given? how much? would royalties be included? would type of tissue matter? would the number of donors decrease? would compensation induce more people to consent?

Human tissue is an invaluable part of research. Those tissues that are collected are "waste" or dangerous (ex tumours). As someone that will soon rely on human tissue samples, I am in favour of whatever will send tissue my way. However, I don't feel comfortable if people aren't really ok with their tissue being used in research but are donating because they are in need of the money.

Fewer women enrol in HIV vaccine trials

More than half of the new HIV infections occur in women in developing countries, but only about 20% of the participants in phase I and II HIV vaccine trials are women. This makes it difficult for researchers to determine if the virus is actually effective in women. It's thought that this may be due to a couple factors - the first that women can not become pregnant during the trial, but most eligible women are usually within the reproductive age; second, women may need to seek consent from their parents or partners to participate in the trial and this may influence their willingness to participate.

http://www.nature.com/news/hiv-vaccine-trials-struggle-to-enrol-women-1.11415

Same article also on SciDev.Net (I'm not sure if access to the articles is different)

http://www.scidev.net/en/health/hiv-aids/news/hiv-vaccine-trials-struggle-to-enrol-women.html

Vaccine trail identifies targets for immune response that could improve future vaccines

Saw this on Twitter today and thought it was really interesting. Will post the link to the full article later.

http://www.nature.com/news/vaccine-trial-reveals-chinks-in-hiv-s-armour-1.11380

New Male Contraceptive?

There was an article published in Cell today about a potential new male contraceptive option, that would be equivalent to the pill. Matzuk et al describe a small molecule inhibitor that can inhibit the production of spermatozoa to the point of infertility in mice. When they stopped giving the mice the compound, fertility returned and the mice and their offspring appeared normal. The offspring were able to breed, and litter size, pup weight and behaviour were similar to pups sired by mice that hadn't been given the compound. The compound had no effect on hormone levels, which means the mice could engage in normal mating behaviours.

This small molecule inhibitor is very promising, and it may provide a more effective means of contraception for couples that can not use some of the current options.

A preview of the article:
http://www.cell.com/abstract/S0092-8674%2812%2900934-8?utm_source=ECE001&utm_campaign=&utm_content=&utm_medium=email&bid=38A4R3F:SKPGM2F

The article:
http://www.cell.com/abstract/S0092-8674%2812%2900929-4?utm_source=ECE001&utm_campaign=&utm_content=&utm_medium=email&bid=38A4R3F:SKPGM2F

Today's Scrabble word: Jeon for 22 points

Zucchini Brownies

I finally had some time to do some baking, and I decided to try a recipe for Zucchini Brownies that I found on Pinterest. I was looking for a healthier option for a dessert, and zucchini is in season now, so this looked promising. The recipe is available here: TheYummyLife.com/Zucchini_Brownies.

I used 3 normal sized zucchinis to get 2 cups. I don't have a blender or food processor, so I cut the zucchini into fairly small pieces then added it little by little with the yogurt into my Magic Bullet. I used vegetable oil and a low sugar regular yogurt. I had regular whole wheat flour, and it is ok, but he texture of the brownies isn't as smooth as using white flour - I guess saying they were a tiny bit gritty would be accurate. Whole wheat pastry flour (as used in the recipe) would solve this problem. You can see or taste the zucchini in the brownies. If I hadn't made them myself, I would have no idea that there was a vegetable hiding in this treat!. The brownies were very moist. I didn't try the frosting recipe from the website - I had some Betty Crocker chocolate frosting leftover from my holiday Cake Pops, so I iced the brownies with them, then added some crushed pecans on top. These brownies were very tasty, and I will definitely make them again.

Today's Scrabble word: CIG for 18 points

Immunology and Obesity

http://www.nature.com/ni/journal/v13/n8/full/ni.2343.html?WT.ec_id=NI-201208

Article from Nature Immunology discussing the effects of obesity on the immune system. Some facts from the article: Obesity induced inflammation contributes to the development of type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, liver disease and some forms of cancer. Diet induced obesity in mice impairs T cell response and causes greater severity of disease and death after infection with influenza. Obesity is associated with aberrant population expansion of cells of the immune system in adipose (fat) tissue. This produces chronic inflammation which can lead to neurodegeneration and type 2 diabetes. Obesity can compromise the efficacy of vaccination against influenza, hepatitis B and tetanus.