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Health Highlights: Jan. 7, 2008
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"When spinal cord damage blocked direct signals from the brain, under certain conditions the messages were able to make detours around the injury. The message would follow a series of shorter connections to deliver the brain's command to move the legs," Sofroniew told theTelegraph.
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Study Reveals How Bird Flu Viruses Infect People
New information about how influenza viruses carried by birds can infect people has been discovered by U.S. scientists. The finding may aid in the development of a vaccine to protect against the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus and other types of influenza,Agence France-Pressereported.
The study, led by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Professor Ram Sasisekharan, found that the shape of sugar receptors in human lung cells play a major role in the ability of flu viruses in birds to infect people. In humans, these receptors come in two shapes -- umbrella and cone. Flu viruses must attach to the umbrella-shaped receptors in order to infect humans.
The study, funded by the National Institute for General Medical Sciences, appears in the journalNature.
"This work enables researchers to look at flu viruses in an entirely new way," said institute director Jeremy Berg. The finding will enable rapid identification of influenza strains that may develop the ability to infect humans,AFPreported.
"Now that we know what we are looking for, this could help us not only monitor the bird flu virus, but it can aid in the development of potentially improved therapeutic interventions for both avian and seasonal flu," Sasisekharan said.
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Male Circumcision Doesn't Lessen Sexual Satisfaction: Study
Male circumcision does not lessen sexual satisfaction or performance and there should be no reservations about using male circumcision as a way of fighting HIV, says a U.S. study in the journalBJU International.
Some studies suggest that male circumcision can reduce HIV infection rates by as much as 50 percent,BBC Newsreported. HIV is the virus that causes AIDS.
