However, not every person with the mutation becomes ill, they said. The American and French groups presented their studies yesterday at a scientific meeting in Atlanta. The complete data will appear in the May 31 issue of the journal Nature, which released the study early. The Nod2 gene encodes a protein associated with the innate immune system. That s the body s primitive first line of defence that recognises invading bacteria and helps to mount a general attack.
Most life forms have an innate immune system.
Scientists are still investigating the potential hazards of mobile phones and possible links to cancer but one thing they agree on is that using a phone while driving is dangerous and increases the risk of an accident. In a new BMA report, which summarises existing knowledge about mobile phones and public health, doctors urged the government to issue new guidelines to the country s 4 million mobile phone users about driving. Shaped like a flat teardrop, the beetle is about the size of a lady bug, with long legs and supersensitive antennae and body hairs to detect other insects, then eat them. Jose Maria Salgado, a biology professor at the University of Leon in northwest Spain, discovered the species in a crevice of a cave in nearby Lugo province in 1997. He was looking for another kind of beetle, smearing soft, fragrant cheese on rocks to draw it out, and ended up hitting the entomology jackpot.