Harvard University

About: Harvard University is a education organization based out in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Cancer. The organization has 208150 authors who have published 530388 publications receiving 38152182 citations. The organization is also known as: Harvard & University of Harvard.

FlyBase at 25: looking to the future

Abstract: Since 1992, FlyBase (flybaseorg) has been an essential online resource for the Drosophila research community Concentrating on the most extensively studied species, Drosophila melanogaster, FlyBase includes information on genes (molecular and genetic), transgenic constructs, phenotypes, genetic and physical interactions, and reagents such as stocks and cDNAs Access to data is provided through a number of tools, reports, and bulk-data downloads Looking to the future, FlyBase is expanding its focus to serve a broader scientific community In this update, we describe new features, datasets, reagent collections, and data presentations that address this goal, including enhanced orthology data, Human Disease Model Reports, protein domain search and visualization, concise gene summaries, a portal for external resources, video tutorials and the FlyBase Community Advisory Group

Modern-Day Clinical Course of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus After 30 Years’ Duration: The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial/Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications and Pittsburgh Epidemiology of Diabetes Complications Experience (1983-2005)

Abstract: Background: Clinical treatment goals of type 1 diabetesmellitus(T1DM)havechangedsincetheDiabetesControl and Complications Trial (DCCT) demonstrated reduced long-term complications with intensive diabetes therapy. There have been few longitudinal studies to describe the clinical course of T1DM in the age of intensive therapy. Our objective was to describe the currentday clinical course of T1DM. Methods: An analysis of the cumulative incidence of long-term complications was performed. The DCCT (1983-1993) assigned patients to conventional or intensive therapy. Since 1993, the DCCT has been observational, and intensive therapy was recommended for all patients.ThePittsburghEpidemiologyofDiabetesComplications (EDC) study is an observational study of patients with T1DM from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The study population comprised the DCCT T1DM cohort(N=1441)andasubsetoftheEDCcohort(n=161) selected to match DCCT entry criteria. In the DCCT, intensive therapy aimed for a near-normal glycemic level with3ormoredailyinsulininjectionsoraninsulinpump. Conventional therapy, with 1 to 2 daily insulin injections, was not designed to achieve specific glycemic targets. Main outcome measures included the incidences of proliferative retinopathy, nephropathy (albumin excretion rate 300 mg/24 h, creatinine level 2 mg/dL [to convert to micromoles per liter, multiply by 88.4], or renal replacement), and cardiovascular disease. Results: After 30 years of diabetes, the cumulative incidences of proliferative retinopathy, nephropathy, and cardiovascular disease were 50%, 25%, and 14%, respectively, in the DCCT conventional treatment group, and 47%,17%,and14%,respectively,intheEDCcohort.The DCCT intensive therapy group had substantially lower cumulativeincidences(21%,9%,and9%)andfewerthan 1% became blind, required kidney replacement, or had an amputation because of diabetes during that time. Conclusion: The frequencies of serious complications in patients with T1DM, especially when treated intensively, are lower than that reported historically. Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifiers: NCT00360815 and NCT00360893

Human occupation of northern Australia by 65,000 years ago

Abstract: The time of arrival of people in Australia is an unresolved question. It is relevant to debates about when modern humans first dispersed out of Africa and when their descendants incorporated genetic material from Neanderthals, Denisovans and possibly other hominins. Humans have also been implicated in the extinction of Australia’s megafauna. Here we report the results of new excavations conducted at Madjedbebe, a rock shelter in northern Australia. Artefacts in primary depositional context are concentrated in three dense bands, with the stratigraphic integrity of the deposit demonstrated by artefact refits and by optical dating and other analyses of the sediments. Human occupation began around 65,000 years ago, with a distinctive stone tool assemblage including grinding stones, ground ochres, reflective additives and ground-edge hatchet heads. This evidence sets a new minimum age for the arrival of humans in Australia, the dispersal of modern humans out of Africa, and the subsequent interactions of modern humans with Neanderthals and Denisovans. Optical dating of sediments containing stone artefacts newly excavated at Madjedbebe, Australia, indicate that human occupation began around 65,000 years ago, thereby setting a new minimum age for the arrival of people in Australia. When did humans first colonize Australia? The date of the initial landing on the continent that is now associated with cold lager and 'Waltzing Matilda' has been highly controversial. Dates from a site called Madjedbebe in northern Australia had put the presence of modern humans in Australia at between 60,000 and 50,000 years ago, but these results have since been hotly contested. Here, the results from a comprehensive program of dating of new excavations at the site confirm that people first arrived there around 65,000 years ago. The results show that humans reached Australia well before the extinction of the Australian megafauna and the disappearance of Homo floresiensis in neighbouring Indonesia.

Protein typing of circulating microvesicles allows real-time monitoring of glioblastoma therapy

Abstract: Glioblastomas shed large quantities of small, membrane-bound microvesicles into the circulation. Although these hold promise as potential biomarkers of therapeutic response, their identification and quantification remain challenging. Here, we describe a highly sensitive and rapid analytical technique for profiling circulating microvesicles directly from blood samples of patients with glioblastoma. Microvesicles, introduced onto a dedicated microfluidic chip, are labeled with target-specific magnetic nanoparticles and detected by a miniaturized nuclear magnetic resonance system. Compared with current methods, this integrated system has a much higher detection sensitivity and can differentiate glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) microvesicles from nontumor host cell-derived microvesicles. We also show that circulating GBM microvesicles can be used to analyze primary tumor mutations and as a predictive metric of treatment-induced changes. This platform could provide both an early indicator of drug efficacy and a potential molecular stratifier for human clinical trials.