10 new uses for olive oil!

1. Shine stainless steel. Many cleaning standbys, such as ammonia, can dull and even corrode chrome or stainless steel. Olive oil, however, is a safe and effective shining agent.
2. Dust wooden furniture. Apply a bit of oil to a cloth, and wipe.
3. Prevent wax from sticking to a candle holder. Rub a thin coat on the base of the holder before inserting the candle. Dripped wax should peel away easily.
4. Silence squeaky doors. Lubricate hinges by applying a small amount to a cloth, then wiping the top of the hinges so that the oil runs down the sides.
5. Moisturize cuticles. Apply a small amount of olive oil to your nail beds.
6. Remove eye makeup. Dab a little under the eyes, and rinse off with a washcloth.
7. Condition your hair. Warm 1/2 cup olive oil, and liberally apply it to your hair. Cover your hair with a plastic grocery bag, then wrap it in a towel. Let it set for 45 minutes, then shampoo and thoroughly rinse.
8. Shave. Olive oil not only makes it easier for the blade to glide over your face or legs, but it moisturizes your skin as well.
9. Unstick a zipper. Using a cotton swab, apply a drop to lubricate the teeth. (Avoid touching the fabric.) The zipper should move up and down freely.
10. Recondition an old baseball glove. Just work the oil into the dry areas of your mitt with a soft cloth, let it set for 30 minutes, then wipe off any excess.

October 18, 2007
Protein Transforms Sperm into Battering Rams

For sperm to penetrate an egg, they must first compress into a tight ball before springing into action. Researchers have now discovered a protein that can affect how DNA is packaged inside sperm so that they can scrunch up tightly enough to pierce the outer layer of the egg during fertilization.

The new studies in mice show that if this key protein is missing, DNA in sperm cannot be tightly packaged and the sperm will not be able to penetrate the egg. The researchers speculate that deficiencies in the protein may underlie some forms of male infertility.

“A small molecule that enhances the enzyme’s activity could be a useful fertility drug in cases where compromised function of the gene has caused infertility.”
Yi Zhang

The research team, which was led by Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Yi Zhang, published its findings online in Nature on October 18, 2007. Zhang and colleagues at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill collaborated on the studies with researchers in the Laboratory of Reproductive and Developmental Toxicology at the National Institutes of Health.

In their experiments, Zhang and his colleagues explored the function of the enzyme Jhdm2a, which is a histone demethylase. Histone demethylase enzymes activate genes by snipping molecules called methyl groups from histones. Histone proteins make up the “smart stuffing” in chromosomes—the core of proteins around which DNA winds so that it is packaged compactly.

Chemical modification of histones — such as the addition or subtraction of methyl groups - is an important mechanism for controlling the activation or repression of genes. This kind of epigenetic control mechanism is separate from other mechanisms that control gene expression, such as regulatory DNA elements that are embedded in the sequences of the genes themselves. Zhang's research group is one of the leaders in establishing the role of demethylases in regulating gene activity.

The researchers focused on the function of Jhdm2a because their earlier studies had indicated that the gene for the protein is highly active in the testis. The protein also interested Zhang and his colleagues because Jhdm2a protein levels are highest during sperm maturation.

When the researchers knocked out the Jhdm2a gene in mice, they found that the animals' sperm did not mature properly. On closer examination, they found that the genetic material, called chromatin, in the immature sperm of the knockout mice did not condense normally. Sperm chromatin must condense into a compact form in order for fertilization to be successful.

“In order for sperm to be able to enter the egg, the sperm chromatin has to be tightly packaged,” said Zhang. “It must become like a dense ball, so that when it hits the egg, it can penetrate. And in order for this DNA to be tightly packaged, the histone proteins must be replaced by other basic proteins.” The basic proteins include transition nuclear protein 1 (Tnp1) and protamine 1 (Prm1), said Zhang.

The researchers' experiments established that the Jhdm2a demethylase specifically activates the Tnp1 and Prm1 genes. It does so by binding to the promoter region of the genes, which removes the methyl group that had been keeping the genes silent. Once the methyl group is removed, the Tnp1 and Prm1 genes are activated.

Zhang said that although their study was done in mice, it might well have implications for understanding some forms of human infertility. “It has been shown that there are many genes in mice that cause infertility when knocked out. But so far few of those genes has been found to be linked to human cases of infertility,” he said. “However, no one has paid much attention to these demethylase proteins. And since they play such a fundamental role in gene regulation in both mice and humans, there is a possibility that Jhdm2a plays a role in some types of human infertility.”

Zhang said that drugs that affect the Jhdm2a enzyme might have clinical use. “A small molecule that enhances the enzyme's activity could be a useful fertility drug in cases where compromised function of the gene has caused infertility,” he said. “On the other hand, a small molecule that inhibits the enzyme's activity could be a potential birth control drug.”

Brief meditation boosts attention, curbs stress

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Recent studies have suggested that months to years of intensive meditation can improve attention and lower stress. Researchers now believe that in less than one week of meditation practice with the integrative body-mind meditation training method can produce noteworthy improvement in attention and ones' state of mind.

The study of 40 Chinese undergraduates found that participation in 20-minute integrative meditation sessions over 5 days showed greater improvement in attention and overall mood, and lower levels of anxiety, depression, anger and fatigue, compared with students in a control group who participated in relaxation training.

Dr. Yi-Yuan Tang from University of Oregon in Eugene and colleagues report their research in today's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Integrative meditation, they explain, "incorporates several key components body and mind techniques including body relaxation, breathing adjustment, mental imagery, and mindfulness training, which have shown broad positive effects in attention, emotions, and social behaviors in previous studies. This combination may amplify the training effect over the use of only one of these components."

As mentioned, after just 5 days, students in the integrative meditation group showed significantly greater improvement on tests of attention and mood than did the relaxation control group. Their reaction to a mental stressor was also significantly improved, as evidenced by a significant decrease in stress-related cortisol levels.

These outcomes after only 5 days of training "open a door" for simple and effective studies looking at the benefits of meditation.

The findings in this study highlight the potential value of integrative meditation for stress management, body-mind health, and improvement in cognitive performance and self-regulation," Tang's team notes.

"Our study is consistent with the idea that attention, affective processes and the quality of moment-to-moment awareness are flexible skills that can be trained," they add.

SOURCE: PNAS Early Edition 2007.

Clinic eyes neurological approach to coronary ills

By Debra Sherman

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - The Cleveland Clinic, the renowned heart center, is advancing a neurological approach to treat diseased coronary arteries -- research that could potentially replace drug-coated stents.

Whereas drug-coated stents -- tiny wire mesh tubular scaffolds that prop open diseased arteries and delivery drugs to the site to prevent reclogging -- take a biological approach keeping vessels clear, Dr. Ali Rezai, director of Cleveland Clinic's Neurological Restoration department, is experimenting with electricity.

Rezai said electrodes could supplant drugs embedded on the devices and improve the safety profile. Delivering electricity to the site directly from the device can activate or shut down nerves surrounding the vessel and, in turn, regulate the function of the vessel.

"We're really starting to marry the fields of neuromodulation, cardiology and cardiovascular medicine," Rezai said in an interview from his office, as medical and business luminaries convene at the clinic to discuss the safety and efficacy of stents and the future of other heart treatments.

The current generation of drug-coated heart stents were introduced in the United States in 2003. The highly profitable devices were enthusiastically embraced by physicians, driving the market -- dominated by Johnson & Johnson and Boston Scientific Corp -- to over $5 billion.

But a year ago, doctors began to highlight the small, but deadly risk of blood clots, or late stent thrombosis, a year or more after the device was implanted. It is still unclear whether the drug or the plastic polymer that secretes the drug is to blame.

Use of drug-coated stents versus the traditional bare metal versions has dropped to about 65 percent of all stenting procedures from its peak of about 88 percent.

Medtronic Inc. and Abbott Laboratories Inc. are poised to launch their versions of drug-coated stents, also known as drug-eluting stents, in 2008. Both companies claim their products are safer.

John Capek, head of Abbott's medical device business, said new devices that use smaller doses of different drugs will be safer and more widely used.

But experts contend the safety issue will not go away until doctors see evidence from a very large long-term controlled clinical trial.

Rezai said his approach circumvents those concerns by using electricity instead of drugs.

"Electrodes may prevent the clotting and it may affect the nerves overlying the blood vessels and make it more resistant to clotting," he said.

Rezai said the idea of placing electrodes on a stent was born in the hospital's cafeteria while he was having lunch with a interventional cardiologist.

"I just drew a picture on a napkin," Rezai said, adding that this approach can be used not just on heart vessels, but also on the vessels that carry blood to the brain and those that carry blood through the legs.

"We've already demonstrated in animals that the nerves surrounding the vessels can be affected. Human studies are about two years out," he said, adding that a product could potentially be on the market within five years.

Rezai noted that using electricity to affect nerve function can be applied to treat many diseases.

"Every single organ has input from the nervous system. The more we can understand how the nerves affect the organ function, the more we can use the technology to regulate the nerves."