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Credit: FEFU press office
Scientists from the Pacific Quantum Center of Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) figured out how the AFV3-109 protein with slipknot structure folds and unfolds depending on temperature. The protein is typical for the viruses of the oldest single-celled organisms that can survive in the extreme conditions of underwater volcanic sources - archaea. The research outcome appears in
PLOS ONE.
Using numerical methods and applying quantum field theory that is unique for the study of proteins, the FEFU scientists have probed into the folding topology (scheme) of the AFV3-109 protein featured with a slipknot. The research unfolded in several unexpected and intriguing results.
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IMAGE: Rising incidence of HIV infection in young men who practice sex with men highlights the need for improved preventive measures early on, if China s epidemic is to be brought to. view more
Credit: Chinese Medical Journal
Since the dawn of the 21st century, there has been a rapid rise in the number of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections in China, and today, the epidemic continues to grow. Several populations are victims of this virus, including injection drug users, sex workers, and men who have sex with men (MSM). In the various decades since HIV has gripped China, these groups and others have variously been at the forefront or background of national efforts to tackle the epidemic.
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Scientists have determined the optimal conditions following a stem cell transplant that could control HIV without the need of an everyday pill, according to a study published today in
eLife.
Finding the right balance of stem cell dose, cell type and timing of antiretroviral therapy (ART) could potentially lead to a spontaneous cure of HIV.
There are only two cases of HIV cure to date: the Berlin Patient and the London Patient, who both received stem cell transplants with stem cells from donors that lack a molecule called CCR5, which HIV is attracted to. The major obstacle to HIV eradication is a latent reservoir of long-lived infected cells, and cure strategies aim to eliminate all infected cells or permanently prevent viral reactivation from latency, explains first author E. Fabian Cardozo-Ojeda, Senior Staff Scientist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, US. We wanted to recreate the cures seen in the Ber
Credit: Pexels
Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have uncovered new evidence of the potential health risks of chemicals in tobacco and marijuana smoke.
In a study published online today by
EClinicalMedicine, the researchers report that people who smoked only marijuana had several smoke-related toxic chemicals in their blood and urine, but at lower levels than those who smoked both tobacco and marijuana or tobacco only. Two of those chemicals, acrylonitrile and acrylamide, are known to be toxic at high levels. The investigators also found that exposure to acrolein, a chemical produced by the combustion of a variety of materials, increases with tobacco smoking but not marijuana smoking and contributes to cardiovascular disease in tobacco smokers.
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Human papillomavirus (HPV) can infect the mouth and throat to cause cancers of the oropharynx. A new study published early online in
CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, has found that having more than 10 prior oral sex partners was associated with a 4.3-times greater likelihood of having HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer. The study also shows that having oral sex at a younger age and more partners in a shorter time period (oral sex intensity) were associated with higher likelihoods of having HPV-related cancer of the mouth and throat.
Previous studies have shown that performing oral sex is a strong risk factor for HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer. To examine how behavior related to oral sex may affect risk, Virginia Drake, MD, of Johns Hopkins University, and her colleagues asked 163 individuals with and 345 without HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer to complete a behavioral survey.