BANGKOK -- March 14, 2013 -- The following statement was issued today by WCS President and CEO Cristian Samper:

 Schizophrenia is thought to have a substantial genetic background which is also, to some extent, population-specific. Genome-wide searches have revealed many numerous genomic variants with weak effects, but the remaining 'missing heritability' is unknown. Scientists hypothesize that it may be partly explained by rare variants with large effect.  

Since the 1960s, biologists have been hunting for substances made by the body that might accumulate in abnormally high levels to produce the symptoms associated with schizophrenia. In particular, there was a search for chemicals that might be related to the hallucinogens phencyclidine (PCP) or lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), which could explain the emergence of psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia.

The administration of therapeutic antibodies via injection is becoming an increasingly popular treatment method for a growing number diseases and indications having broad implications for patient health and well-being. 

The inherent instability of protein drugs has led to a number of challenges as the developers of injectable antibodies attempt to deal with packaging, handling, reconstitution and drug administration issues. These challenges are being compounded by the trend to patient self-medication, as population demographics and efforts by managed care providers to control healthcare costs drive the growth in drug self-administration, particularly for chronic conditions. This trend is introducing a new class of naive users to parenteral drug delivery. 

Transgenic goats' milk modified to produce higher levels of the human antimicrobial protein lysozyme is effective in treating diarrhea in young pigs, proof-of-concept that food products from transgenic animals could also benefit human health.

The researchers say this is the first study showing that goats’ milk carrying elevated levels of lysozyme, a protein found in human breast milk, can successfully treat diarrhea caused by bacterial infection in the gastrointestinal tract. Human diarrheal diseases claim the lives of 1.8 million children around the world and impair the physical and mental development of millions more and these findings offer hope that genetically fortified milk could eventually help prevent such diseases.

Scientists have discovered another rare triple quasar system. 

Quasars are extremely bright and powerful sources of energy that sit in the center of a galaxy, surrounding a black hole. In systems with multiple quasars, the bodies are held together by gravity and are believed to be the product of galaxies colliding.

It is very difficult to observe triplet quasar systems, because of observational limits that prevent researchers from differentiating multiple nearby bodies from one another at astronomical distances. Moreover, such phenomena are presumed to be very rare.

Enriching crops by adding a naturally-occurring soil mineral to fertilizers in Malawi could potentially help to reduce disease and premature death caused by a dietary deficiency of the mineral selenium — which plays a vital role in keeping the immune system healthy and fighting illness. 

An international study has shown that dietary deficiency of selenium is likely to be endemic among the Malawi population and that most Malawi soils cannot supply enough selenium for adequate human nutrition. They call for further investigation into the benefits and costs of using selenium-enriched fertilizers and other strategies to boost levels within the country's food.