NASA's Hubble finds Kuiper Belt duo may be trio

 The puzzle of predicting how three gravitationally bound bodies move in space has challenged mathematicians for centuries, and has most recently been popularized in the novel and television show "3 Body Problem." There's no problem, however, with what a team of researchers say is likely a stable trio of icy space rocks in the solar system's Kuiper Belt, found using data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the ground-based W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii

"The universe is filled with a range of three-body systems, including the closest stars to Earth, the Alpha Centauri star system, and we're finding that the Kuiper Belt may be no exception," said the study's lead author Maia Nelsen, a physics and astronomy graduate of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.

Known since 1992, KBOs are primitive icy remnants from the early solar system found beyond the orbit of Neptune. To date, over 3,000 KBOs have been cataloged, and scientists estimate there could be several hundred thousand more that measure over 10 miles in diameter. The largest KBO is dwarf planet Pluto.

The Hubble finding is crucial support for a KBO formation theory, in which three small rocky bodies would not be the result of collision in a busy Kuiper Belt, but instead form as a trio directly from the gravitational collapse of matter in the disk of material surrounding the newly formed Sun, around 4.5 billion years ago. It's well known that stars form by gravitational collapse of gas, commonly as pairs or triples, but that idea that cosmic objects like those in the Kuiper Belt form in a similar way is still under investigation.

Scientists reverse reproductive clock in mice

Researchers have lifted fertility rates in older female mice with small doses of a metabolic compound that reverses the aging process in eggs, offering hope for some women struggling to conceive.

The University of Queensland study found a non-invasive treatment could maintain or restore the quality and number of eggs and alleviate the biggest barrier to pregnancy for older women.

A team led by UQ's Professor Hayden Homer found the loss of egg quality through aging was due to lower levels of a particular molecule in cells critical for generating energy.

"Quality eggs are essential for pregnancy success because they provide virtually all the building blocks required by an embryo," Professor Homer said.

"We investigated whether the reproductive aging process could be reversed by an oral dose of a 'precursor' compound -- used by cells to create the molecule."

The molecule in question is known as NAD (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) and the 'precursor' as NMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide).

Professor Homer said fertility in mice starts to decline from around one year of age due to defects in egg quality similar to changes observed in human eggs from older women.

"We treated the mice with low doses of NMN in their drinking water over four weeks, and we were able to dramatically restore egg quality and increase live births during a breeding trial," Professor Homer said.

Professor Homer said poor egg quality had become the single biggest challenge facing human fertility in developed countries.

"This is an increasing issue as more women are embarking on pregnancy later in life, and one in four Australian women who undergo IVF treatment are aged 40 or older," he said.

"IVF cannot improve egg quality, so the only alternative for older women at present is to use eggs donated by younger women.

"Our findings suggest there is an opportunity to restore egg quality and in turn female reproductive function using oral administration of NAD-boosting agents -- which would be far less invasive than IVF. It is important to stress, however, that although promising, the potential benefits of these agents remains to be tested in clinical trials."

This study was conducted in collaboration with UNSW and published in the journal Cell Reports.

---

Story Source:

Sciencedaily and provided by University of Queensland.

World Autism Day : let’s allow disability to change our societies for the better

By now, it seems, almost everyone knows a child with autism, has a relative with autism or has seen someone on television like Big Bang Theory who they think have autism.

But many are still confused about autism even though this term became widely used in the 1940s.

Some wonder if vaccines cause it. Can parents make it happen? No and no! Others question whether we as a society can fix autism. But do we want to? Should we want to?

As an associate professor, teacher and behavioural analyst steeped in the field of special education and inclusive education, I am often looking at disability through the lens of what is aptly termed the medical model.

The medical model, focused on individual treatment and outcomes, tends to see disability as a single person’s problem —as an individual impairment.

I don’t think it’s an over-generalization to say that most people see autism this way, as well as disability in general.

In language about disability, a vocabulary has evolved that often suggests something is missing: think attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. I must admit we often teach about disability in a similar way: as something in someone that is lacking.

Yet often when people first begin living with disability, disability is foremost a change — a change in lifestyle and a change in expectations.

The truth, perhaps shocking to contemplate, is that disability can happen at any time, to anyone. The way you are now, or the way I am now, is a precarious and ever-changing reality.

Beyond being a researcher about autism, I’m also the parent of an adult son with autism. Autism is a near-and-dear reality to my work life, my personal life and my family life.

When we make disability the “other,” seeing those who have it as “the other people” —those who are not like us, those who are not “good enough” —we need to remember that there is no immunity against disability.

This journey of life that is full of unexpected twists and turns can result in disability for you or those you love.

The social model of disability

Let’s understand more about the social model of disability, where we realize that disability — including autism — is framed by societal barriers and is a societal responsibility.

After all, disability can appear from illness, from accidents, and even from living a long life. Disability is not always like autism — there from the beginning and persisting throughout the lifespan.

While one in 10 youth in Canada have disabilities, this number increases to 37 per cent in Canada’s seniors.

We tend to find it so odd when a young child needs to use a walker to get around or if a teenager needs to use oxygen every day. Yet it seems unsurprising when our elderly citizens use exactly the same assistive devices. Illness, disability, and age all intersect and can look very much the same.

Maybe it’s time to find disability unsurprising, so we don’t apologize and sympathize when autism is introduced into the conversation — or the lives around us.

Maybe it’s time to stop excluding and segregating our students with autism and, instead, smooth the pathways to post-secondary success or supportive employment.

Rights and freedoms

In Canada, we worry about the rising numbers of autism: one in every 66 children and youth in Canada is now diagnosed with autism.

We are concerned about painting a national picture of autism, about finding the right funding model, about using evidence-based interventions and about how stereotypes and stigma shape people’s views on autism.

But here’s what we really need: to keep advocating for services specific to autism all across Canada, to provide accessible supports to our northern and rural areas, to provide funding that is consistent and accessible. Our society should provide choice, advocacy, support, rights and freedoms.
If we look at autism internationally and comparatively, we may also see further complexities, such as mothers being obligated to attend school so that their children with autism can be allowed to attend.

This is why we need a World Autism Day. We need go far beyond a conversation about autism to take action.

And besides this, we need to start celebrating the unique views autism brings. Wouldn’t our global societies be kinder and better if we considered what we learn from autism each day of the year? Then World Autism Day wouldn’t be necessary. Autism would simply be part of the everyday, as it should be.

Autism has changed. The diagnosis has changed. But have we? I have an idea — let’s let autism change us.

SOURCE: TheConversation

What's in your DNA? Poll of older adults shows high interest, with a dose of skepticism

Only a small percentage of people in their 50s and early 60s have had their DNA tested—either for medical reasons, to learn their ancestry or out of curiosity—but far more have an interest in getting such tests done, according to a new poll.

One in 10 have taken genetic tests offered directly to consumers, and one in 20 have taken genetic tests ordered by a doctor, according to new findings from the National Poll on Healthy Aging. More than half expressed interest in getting DNA tests to guide medical care, understand health risks or know their ancestry.

Still, the poll finds, that desire to know more about their risk of disease or heritage comes with a grain of salt. Two thirds of those polled said they thought genetic testing could lead them to worry too much about their future health.

The poll of 993 adults between the ages of 50 and 64 was conducted by the University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, and sponsored by AARP and Michigan Medicine, U-M's academic medical center.

It comes at a time when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved several disease-specific tests to be marketed directly to the public, instead of requiring a physician to order them.

The poll also asked respondents their interest in testing to learn their genetic risk for three later-life disorders: Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease or macular degeneration. Around two-thirds had at least some interest in each test.

Scott Roberts, Ph.D., a professor from the U-M School of Public Health who has studied use of genetic testing, including direct-to-consumer testing, worked on the poll's design and analysis. He notes that even those who get direct-to-consumer genetic tests mainly to learn about their ancestral heritage could end up being "blindsided" by findings showing that they have a high risk of diseases such as Alzheimer's.

"Compared to previous findings in the general adult population, this age group appears to be a little more lukewarm about their views of the benefits versus the risks of genetic testing overall," he says. "The majority said they might be interested in knowing their risk for specific conditions, but on other hand they were worried about potential psychological distress from the results."

Roberts points out that the accuracy of any genetic test is not 100 percent. He also notes that testing ordered by physicians often comes with a chance to meet with a genetic counselor—a specially trained clinician who can help patients decide whether to get tested, prepare them for handling the results, and help them understand what the results do and don't mean.

By contrast, direct-to-consumer testing often comes with none of these services, and individuals who buy DNA tests directly may encounter difficulty in interpreting them, or getting access to a genetic counselor after they receive their results. Genetic counselors are already in high demand for clinical cases, and their appointment times are prioritized for those who have a clinical reason for DNA testing, including family history of a serious genetic illness.

"Patients may not think about the downstream effects of direct-to-consumer genetic testing. An unexpected positive result may lead to several additional tests that may or may not be covered by insurance," says Preeti Malani, M.D., director of the poll and a professor of internal medicine at the U-M Medical School who has special training in geriatric medicine.

Experience with testing

The five percent of the poll respondents who had already had a genetic test ordered by their physician said it was done either because the physician suggested it or because they had wanted to find out more about their risk of disease or how best to manage a current condition.

Ten percent had had a direct-to-consumer test. More than 70 percent of them said they were interested in learning more about their ancestry, and just under half said they were just curious about their genetic make-up. Just over one in 10 said they got tested to find out more about their health in general, or their risk of a particular disease.

Combining the two types of genetic testing, 14 percent had had either kind.

"We're living in an era when advances like DNA testing are providing an amazing amount of useful health information," says Alison Bryant, Ph.D., senior vice president of research for AARP. "As genetic testing becomes even more sophisticated and common among older adults, the challenge will be to ensure that people understand the benefits and limitations of these tests."

Future of genetic testing

Roberts, who specializes in genetic testing for Alzheimer's disease, notes that 70 percent of poll respondents had an interest in learning their Alzheimer's risk.

Newer clinical trials of drugs that aim to prevent, delay or slow progression of memory loss and other cognitive problems are actually looking to enroll people who have a higher-than-usual genetic risk of Alzheimer's. So those who elect to buy such a test, or whose doctors order one for them because of family history, may now have an action they can take based on their results.

"Before, there wasn't much we could recommend, but now there are more research opportunities to take part in, and we know more about health behaviors earlier in life that can affect the risk of Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia later in life," he says.

Poll respondents seemed to understand how genetic testing provides a potential window into the future, both for their own health risks (90 percent agreed with this idea) or for those of their children and grandchildren (86 percent). But 41 percent said that a genetic test wasn't necessary if they already know what disease risks run in their family.

The poll results are based on answers from a nationally representative sample of 993 people ages 50 to 64. The poll respondents answered a wide range of questions online. Questions were written, and data interpreted and compiled, by the IHPI team. Laptops and Internet access were provided to poll respondents who did not already have it.

SOURCE:

MedicalXpress and Provided by: University of Michigan 

Eye discovery to pave way for more successful corneal transplants

A team of eye specialists at The University of Nottingham has made another novel discovery that could help to improve the success of corneal transplants for patients whose sight has been affected by disease.

The research, published in the October edition of the American Journal of Ophthalmology, has shed light on a characteristic of a thin membrane called the Descemets membrane which can cause difficulties for surgeons performing the intricate Descemets membrane transplant procedure.

The study was led by Harminder Dua, Professor of Ophthalmology, and colleagues in the University's Division of Clinical Neuroscience—the same team which was the first to discover a new layer of the cornea Pre-Descemets layer, also known as the Dua's layer.

Professor Dua said: "This work has demonstrated a clear structural uniqueness of the pre-Descemets layer (Dua's layer) and has also answered a puzzling surgical question on the reason why the Descemets membrane rolls in one direction, when peeled off the donor eye. This understanding will pave the way to develop strategies to unroll it during transplantation, with minimal damage to the cells it supports."

The Descemet membrane, named after the French doctor who discovered it in the late 18th century, is found between the pre-Descemets layer (Dua's layer) and the endothelial layer in the back of the cornea, which is responsible for pumping out excess fluid and keeping the cornea dehydrated enough to maintain clear vision.

In some diseases such as Fuchs Dystrophy or following cataract surgery, the endothelial cells and Descemet membrane are damaged, causing the cornea to become waterlogged and the vision to become clouded. Over time, the vision deteriorates and, if left untreated, can lead to loss of sight.

To cure this problem, patients may be offered one of several types of corneal transplant in which all or different parts of the damaged cornea are removed and replaced with healthy tissue from a donor.

In Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK), the damaged Descemet membrane is scraped away and replaced with a donated Descemet membrane. When the membrane is separated from other layers of the cornea to prepare it for transplant it curls into a cigar-shaped roll which makes it easier to insert into the cornea via a small incision but once in place is extremely tricky to unfurl. During the manipulation of the rolled tissue, sensitive endothelial cells which coat the outside of the membrane may become damaged, reducing the success of the transplant.

In Pre-Descemet endothelial keratoplasty (PDEK), the Descemet membrane is transplanted while attached to another layer, the pre-Descemet layer—also known as Dua's layer after it was discovered by Professor Harminder Dua in 2013 and recently endorsed as the Dua-Fine layer by the American Association of Ocular Oncologists and Pathologists. It has been found that while there is still a roll, it is not as pronounced because the pre-Descemets or Dua's layer stabilises the Descemet layer acting as a kind of splint.

Ophthalmologists have long observed that the Descemet membrane will only roll in one direction, leaving the endothelial cells on the outside of the curl, but have been puzzled about why this occurs.

The Nottingham research has revealed for the first time that the direction of the roll is governed by the content and distribution of elastin—elastic-like fibres within the membrane.

Using 31 corneal discs earmarked for research purposes through the National Health Service's Manchester Eye Bank, they measured the elastin content the Descemet membrane, the pre-Descemet membrane, the stroma and other sites of the cornea.

They also looked at whether treating the Descemet membrane with an enzyme that digests elastin had any effect on the rolling up of the tissue and whether removing endothelial cells had any impact on this behaviour.

The found that the pre-Descemet layer had the highest elastin content of all the tissues studied but that the elastin was evenly distributed across the tissue.

However, when they came to study the Descemet membrane they found that the elastin was concentrated in a band across its front which was causing the membrane to roll up.

The study also found that the removal of the endothelial cells from the membrane made no difference to the direction of rolling proving that it was the elastin and not the cells that were responsible for the characteristic unidirectional rolling.

Treating the Descemet membrane with the enzyme reversed the rolling effect and was associated with the degradation or disappearance of elastin in the membrane.

The results are significant as it shows that enzymes could potentially be used to weaken the rolling of the tissue, making it much easier for surgeons to successfully implant it into the cornea while reducing the potential damage to the endothelial cells which are so important in helping to regulate the fluid content of the cornea.

SOURCE:

MedicalXpress and Provided by University of Nottingham