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New Electron Microscopy Images Reveal The Assembly Of HIV
Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the University Clinic Heidelberg, Germany, have produced a three-dimensional reconstruction of HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), which shows the structure of the immature form of the virus at unprecedented detail. Immature HIV is a precursor of the infectious virus, which can cause AIDS. The study, published in the 22-26 June online edition of PNAS, describes how the protein coat that packages the virus" genetic material assembles in human cells. Drugs that block this assembly process and prevent the virus from maturing into its infectious form are considered a promising therapeutic approach.
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Overwhelming Medicare Plan Choices Spell Confusion
In a sign of the challenges facing seniors on Medicare, a new study finds that older Americans are more likely to make poor choices when faced with a wide array of drug-coverage plans. Making matters worse, many are confident they made the right decisions.
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Chicago Public Schools To Launch Education, Treatment Program To Curb Chlamydia, Gonorrhea
The Chicago Public Schools system this year will launch a pilot program to provide students in grades 11 and 12 with voluntary education, testing and treatment for chlamydia and gonorrhea, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The Chicago Department of Public Health will administer the program at six Cook County, Ill., schools at no cost to the school system.According to the Sun-Times, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data from 2007 -- the most recent year available -- showed that Cook County had the second-highest number of reported chlamydia cases in the U.S. at 583 cases per 100,000 people, or 30,881 total cases. In addition, the county rated first in the nation for reported gonorrhea cases at 233 per 100,000 people, or 12,338 total cases.Christopher Brown, assistant commissioner of the health department, said, "It"s a very large problem with teens and adolescents in Chicago, and it"s very, very important that they get the information about these sexually transmitted infections." He added, "Our goal is to get the information out to teens -- about how they"re transmitted in particular -- and also that there"s treatment available."The six schools have yet to be selected, and they may opt not to participate if chosen, the Sun-Times reports. To qualify, schools must have their own health centers. Monique Bond, a spokesperson for CPS, said that the health centers will administer the testing and provide treatment to students with the STIs (Ihejirika, Chicago Sun-Times, 6/26).
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Chain Reaction Of The Immune System Frozen

A team of scientists led by chemist and NWO Pioneer laureate Piet Gros and medical microbiologist Jos van Strijp from Utrecht University have succeeded in freezing a chain reaction of the immune system. This achievement marks a breakthrough in the field of immunology. The researchers from Utrecht University, University Medical Centre Utrecht and the University of Pennsylvania, published their findings on 7 June with two simultaneous articles in Nature Immunology. One of the oldest defence mechanisms of our body is the complement system. Unlike white blood cells, which must learn to recognise pathogens, the complement system works from birth onwards. The system consists of proteins that initiate a chain reaction to kill bacteria and damaged cells. However the system is not perfect; it can run wild and attack our own healthy cells. The chain reaction needs to be studied in detail in order to understand how it proceeds and how it can be stopped. Yet there is only one brief moment in the chain reaction during which the protein complex indicates whether cells are harmful. The complex then adjusts the surface of a pathogen so that the pathogen can be engulfed by white blood cells. Enemy becomes an ally The researchers made smart use of the tricks that bacteria have developed over the years. They stopped the chain reaction using the protein SCIN (Staphylococcal complement inhibitor) from the pathogenic bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. The SCIN protein brings the chain reaction to a halt and consequently the message that a bacteria has entered does not reach the white blood cells. By freezing the protein complex at this point in time, the researchers could study its structure. They could see how the central protein was activated to indicate the presence of harmful cells and how the protein complex initiated the chain reaction. Moreover, they could analyse how SCIN brought the chain reaction to a halt. Natural defence In a parallel study, a second team of researchers investigated how our own cells defend themselves against possible attacks from the complement system. Factor H (FH) is the most important inhibitor of attacks on healthy cells. The researchers analysed how FH worked at the moment it came into contact with the proteins from the complement system. They compared the structure of FH at this point in time with the structure of the protein complex if it comes into contact with SCIN. The research revealed that defence proteins on the cells ensure that the chain reaction is not activated and that the protein complex is broken down. Jin Wu and Suzan Rooijakkers carried out most of the research. Suzan Rooijakkers received an NWO Veni grant in 2006. Both studies were supervised by Vici winner Piet Gros. Jos van Strijp received a TOP subsidy from the Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw). Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research


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