FRUIT PROTECTION

Drugs based on fruit substances could prevent long-term damage after heart attacks and strokes. The heart and brain damage results from accumulated succinate, a chemical formed naturally when sugar and fat are broken down to release energy. However, scientists at Cambridge University and two Medical Research Council units found succinate levels can be limited by malonate esters, acid chemicals available in fruits including apples and strawberries, though not in therapeutic amounts. They hope to develop an injectable drug containing malonate esters to minimise damage.

MINI-MENDERS

An international team has developed nanoneedles up to 1,000 times finer than human hair to repair tissue. The researchers hope the nanoneedles, made from biodegradable silicon, will help damaged organs and nerves to self-repair and transplants to survive by delivering nucleic acids, the basic components that express genetic messages. Blood vessels increased six-fold in seven days and continued forming for another week when the treatment was applied to muscles in mice. The team, from a research institute in Houston, Texas, and Imperial College London, predict the technique could generate blood vessels connecting grafted organs to the rest of the body and healing severely burnt skin without scarring. Dr Ennio Tasciotti in Houston called the technique “a quantum leap”. HOW

SANDFLIES HELP

Studies of sandflies carrying Leishmania parasites, which are transmitted through bites, killing up to 50,000 people worldwide annually, have shown the infection actually protects the insects from certain bacteria and often prolongs their life – information that could help against the spread of Leishmania in humans. The parasite acts “as a kind of probiotic”, said Dr Rod Dillon, of Lancaster University, one of the study team. Professor George Dimopoulos at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health thought Leishmania and other parasites activated the sandflies’ immune system against various micro-organisms. The teams working at Lancaster and in Brazil say the discovery could offer clues to bacteria-based biological controls against Leishmania carriers.

THE WELCOME VENOM

Crude scorpion venoms may be used against hepatitis C (HCV). Researchers at universities in Assiut, Egypt, and Kobe, Japan, believe Egyptian scorpion venom is “a good natural source” for developing novel anti-HCV agents. They say: “To our knowledge, this is the first report describing anti-viral activities of [the] venoms against HCV, and may open a new approach towards discovering anti-viral compounds derived from scorpion venoms.”

IODINE FOR BABY

Women intending to become pregnant have been recommended to take iodine. Researchers at the Medical University of Vienna warn that even mild iodine deficiency can impair a child’s intellectual development. The most serious effect is cretinism, involving metabolic changes, skeleton deformities and thyroid underactivity. Their report advises 250 micrograms daily until breast-feeding stops, but emphasises that supplementation must start before pregnancy.

MALIGNANT MUTATIONS

Genetic mutations with a role in mesothelioma are being sought in a three-year project funded with £200,000 from the British Lung Foundation. The eventual aim is new drugs for the disease that is usually associated with asbestos exposure. The researchers will report this year.