ScienceDaily Health Headlines
for Friday, October 8, 2010
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Novel protein critical for cellular proliferation discovered (October 8, 2010) -- Researchers have identified a novel protein that is highly conserved in higher eukaryotes. They have shown that in human cells, this protein binds to heterochromatic structures, and plays an essential role in DNA replication. ... > full story
Study disproves link between genetic variant, risk of coronary artery disease (October 8, 2010) -- A genetic marker touted as a predictor of coronary artery disease is no such thing, according to a new study. The study analyzed the data from more than 17,000 patients with cardiovascular disease and 40,000 others to assess whether carrying a particular variant of the KIF6 gene indicated a greater risk for coronary artery disease -- a disease characterized by a buildup of cholesterol plaque in the walls of the arteries of the heart. ... > full story
Self-injury behavior not recognized in many youths with eating disorders (October 8, 2010) -- An alarming number of adolescents already battling eating disorders are also intentionally cutting themselves, and health-care providers may be failing to diagnose many instances of such self-injury, according to a new study. ... > full story
How immune system B-cells react to very different substances (October 8, 2010) -- In order to track down pathogens and render them harmless, the immune system must be able to recognize myriad different foreign substances and react to them. Scientists have discovered how the immune system's B-cells can be activated by numerous substances from our environment. The receptor molecules on the surface of the B-cells are only activated when the receptor subunits separate following the binding of foreign substances. These findings turn the previous understanding of how B-cell receptors are activated on its head and may contribute to the development of new vaccination strategies and treatments for B-cell tumors. ... > full story
New tool in the fight against tuberculosis: Algorithm enables cell-scale simulations (October 8, 2010) -- Researchers have developed a way to harness prodigious quantities of genomic and metabolic data by developing an algorithm that automatically integrates both data sets. The model, called probabilistic regulation of metabolism, enables researchers to perturb a regulatory gene or metabolic process and see how that affects the entire network. Although the researchers studied tuberculosis, the method holds promise for reconstructing network models for any organism with appropriate genomic data. ... > full story
Novel reference material to standardize gene therapy applications (October 8, 2010) -- The introduction of a new, fully characterized viral vector for use as reference material to help standardize gene therapy protocols in research applications and human clinical trials is described in a new article. ... > full story
Consistent evidence: Speed cameras do reduce injuries and deaths, Australian study finds (October 8, 2010) -- Placing speed cameras on roads reduces the number of road traffic injuries and deaths, concludes a team of researchers from Australia. ... > full story
Large waist size linked to higher diabetes rates among Americans compared to English (October 7, 2010) -- Providing more evidence about the risks of having a fat midsection, an international research team has found that a higher rate of diabetes seen among adult Americans when compared to peers in England is explained primarily by a larger waist size rather than conventional risk factors such as obesity. ... > full story
Real price of each pack of cigarettes is nearly 0, Spanish study finds (October 7, 2010) -- Researchers in Spain estimate that each pack of cigarettes really costs €107 (9) for men and €75 (5) for women, when premature death is taken into account. These figures confirm previous studies, and are of key importance in the cost-benefit analysis of smoking-prevention policies. ... > full story
Osteoporosis drug may help women with kidney disease, researchers find (October 7, 2010) -- The osteoporosis drug raloxifene may be useful in treating kidney disease in women, suggests a new study. ... > full story
Childhood adversity may lead to unhealthy stress response in adult life (October 7, 2010) -- A study has detected a correlation between childhood adversity and exaggerated inflammatory response to stress among seemingly healthy people. It may shed light on risk for depression, other illnesses later in life. ... > full story
Bacteria to blame in asthma attacks in children, research suggests (October 7, 2010) -- Doctors have long known that viral infections can bring about asthma attacks and the shortness of breath, coughing, and wheezing associated with them. But while viral infections cannot be treated, scientists have discovered that treatable bacterial infections can also cause asthma attacks. The discovery could revolutionize treatment. ... > full story
Surprise: Two wheels safer than four in off-road riding and racing, study finds (October 7, 2010) -- In research that may surprise off-road riding enthusiasts and safety experts, researchers have found that crashes involving ATVs -- four-wheeled all-terrain vehicles -- are significantly more dangerous than crashes involving two-wheeled off-road motorcycles, such as those used in extreme sports like Motocross. ... > full story
Research identifies the herbal supplements that are effective in treating anxiety (October 7, 2010) -- A systematic review of research into the use of nutritional supplements for the treatment of anxiety disorders has found strong evidence for the use of extracts of passionflower or kava and combinations of L-lysine and L-arginine. Researcherspooled the results of 24 studies involving a total of more than 2000 participants, showing that some nutritional and herbal supplements can be effective, without the risk of serious side effects. ... > full story
Neural responses indicate our willingness to help (October 7, 2010) -- Witnessing a person from our own group or an outsider suffer pain causes neural responses in two very different regions of the brain. And, the specific region activated reveals whether or not we will help the person in need. Researchers studied the brain responses of soccer fans and now have neurobiological evidence for why we are most willing to help members of our own group. ... > full story
Mechanism for changing adult cells into stem-like cells discovered (October 7, 2010) -- Scientists have discovered that so-called "grim-reaper" caspase genes are the gatekeepers that can open the door to allow differentiated adult cells to regress to undifferentiated iPSCs. ... > full story
Americans' life expectancy gains continues to fall behind -- but don't blame obesity, smoking, traffic fatalities, and homicide (October 7, 2010) -- The United States continues to lag behind other nations when it comes to gains in life expectancy, and commonly cited causes for our poor performance -- obesity, smoking, traffic fatalities, and homicide -- are not to blame, according to a new report. ... > full story
Air pollution linked to breast cancer, study suggests (October 7, 2010) -- Air pollution has already been linked to a range of health problems. Now, a ground-breaking new study suggests pollution from traffic may put women at risk for another deadly disease. The study links the risk of breast cancer -- the second leading cause of death from cancer in women -- to traffic-related air pollution. ... > full story
Number of synapses shown to vary between night and day, zebrafish study finds (October 7, 2010) -- With the help of tiny, see-through fish, researchers are homing in on what happens in the brain while you sleep. In a new study, they show how the circadian clock and sleep affect the scope of neuron-to-neuron connections in a particular region of the brain, and they identified a gene that appears to regulate the number of these connections, called synapses. ... > full story
Light drinking during pregnancy: Harmful to child's behavioral or intellectual development? (October 7, 2010) -- Light drinking during pregnancy does not harm a young child's behavioral or intellectual development, a new study in the UK suggests. In fact, researchers found that children born to light drinkers (consuming 1 to 2 drinks per week) were 30 percent less likely to have behavioral problems than children whose mothers did not drink during pregnancy. ... > full story
T cell discovery shows promise for Type 1 diabetes treatment (October 7, 2010) -- Scientists have identified the role of a type of T cell in type 1 diabetes that may lead to new treatment options for young patients. ... > full story
Surgeons expand the use of scar-free surgical technique to more patients (October 7, 2010) -- A team of surgeons who have pioneered scar-free gallbladder removal are offering the procedure to all suitable patients and extending this new type of surgical procedure to other operations in the abdomen. ... > full story
Nature’s sights and sounds -- but not cityscapes and noise -- ease spinal pain during bone marrow extractions (October 7, 2010) -- As the song says, a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, and now researchers have found that the sights and sounds of chirping birds, ribbiting frogs and water trickling downstream can ease the substantial pain of bone marrow extraction in one of five people who must endure it. ... > full story
New findings pull back curtain on relationship between iron and Alzheimer's disease (October 7, 2010) -- Researchers say they have determined how iron contributes to the production of brain-destroying plaques found in Alzheimer's patients. ... > full story
Immune system linked with accumulation of toxic tau protein (October 7, 2010) -- Cells that help to protect the central nervous system may also contribute to pathological changes in the brain. New research provides mechanistic insight into a link between the immune system and neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's disease that are associated with abnormal accumulation of tau protein. ... > full story
Drug that helps adults addicted to opioid drugs also relieves withdrawal symptoms in newborns (October 7, 2010) -- Researchers have tested a semi-synthetic opioid they say has the potential to improve the treatment of these newborns, which could save hundreds of millions in health care costs annually if future tests continue to show benefit. ... > full story
Neuroscience research may help patients recover from brain injury (October 7, 2010) -- New neuroscience research may hold the potential of helping people who have lost their ability to remember due to brain injury or disease. By examining how we learn and store memories, scientists have shown that the way the brain first captures and encodes a situation or event is quite different from how it processes subsequent similar events. ... > full story
Blood pressure breakthrough holds real hope for treatment of pre-eclampsia (October 7, 2010) -- Scientists have discovered a mechanism which raises blood pressure in pre-eclampsia, a potentially deadly condition which occurs during pregnancy. ... > full story
Vitamin D deficiency rampant in patients undergoing orthopedic surgery, damaging patient recovery (October 7, 2010) -- Almost 50 percent of patients undergoing orthopedic surgery have vitamin D deficiency that should be corrected before surgery to improve patient outcomes, according to a new study. ... > full story
New computer modelling system predicts responses to HIV and AIDS treatments (October 7, 2010) -- HIV-TRePS is a new system that predicts how an HIV patient will respond to different drug regimens, with an accuracy of around 80%. It is free to use, accessed over the Internet, and helps physicians choose the optimum combination of drugs for each patient. ... > full story
Stressed-out mums may worsen their child's asthma (October 7, 2010) -- Mums who are often angry or irritated and those who suppress their emotional expressions can worsen the severity of their children's asthma symptoms, especially when the children are younger. Researchers studied 223 mothers for a year, investigating how their stress levels, coping styles and parenting styles were associated with their 2- to 12-year-old children's disease status. ... > full story
First clinical trial of gene therapy for muscular dystrophy lends insight into the disease (October 7, 2010) -- A clinical trial designed to replace the genetic defect causing the most common form of muscular dystrophy has uncovered an unexpected aspect of the disease. The trial showed that some patients mount an immune response to the dystrophin protein even before they have received the gene therapy. ... > full story
Children, males and blacks are at increased risk for food allergies, study finds (October 7, 2010) -- A new study estimates that 2.5 percent of the United States population, or about 7.6 million Americans, have food allergies. Food allergy rates were found to be higher for children, non-Hispanic blacks, and males, according to the researchers. The odds of male black children having food allergies were 4.4 times higher than others in the general population. ... > full story
Researchers calculate societal costs of five major crimes; Finds murder at .25 million (October 7, 2010) -- A study of 654 convicted and incarcerated murderers calculated the costs to society of five crimes -- murder, rape, armed robbery, aggravated assault and burglary. They estimated murder to cost .25 million. ... > full story
Author who revealed unethical Guatemala syphilis study writes for Bioethics Forum (October 7, 2010) -- The researcher whose revelations about unethical US studies on syphilis in Guatemala in the 1940s lead to apologies from the Obama administration last week has written a commentary for Bioethics Forum, the Hastings Center's online publication. She calls for the need to learn from history to better protect human subjects in the developing world. ... > full story
Greater priority should be given to stroke prevention in developing countries, academic urges (October 7, 2010) -- Increased global attention and research needs to be given to stroke prevention and the social and economic effects of the condition in developing countries, according to a UK academic. ... > full story
From eye to brain: Researchers map functional connections between retinal neurons at single-cell resolution (October 6, 2010) -- By comparing a clearly defined visual input with the electrical output of the retina, researchers were able to trace for the first time the neuronal circuitry that connects individual photoreceptors with retinal ganglion cells, the neurons that carry visuals signals from the eye to the brain. ... > full story
Breakthrough test rapidly identifies river blindness (October 6, 2010) -- Scientists have developed the first screening method that rapidly identifies individuals with active river blindness, a parasitic disease that afflicts an estimated 37 million people. The test could change the current strategy of mass treatment in areas where river blindness, also known as onchocerciasis, is suspected. ... > full story
New role for master regulator in cell metabolism, response to stress: Clinical implications for obesity, diabetes and cancer research (October 6, 2010) -- Biologists have been studying how AMPK works for several decades and know that once it is activated, AMPK turns on a large number of genes by passing the "make more energy" message through numerous signaling cascades in the cell. What was not known, until now, was that AMPK also works via an epigenetic mechanism to slow down or stop cell growth. ... > full story
Vitamin D supplements do not increase bone density in healthy children, review finds (October 6, 2010) -- Giving vitamin D supplements to healthy children with normal vitamin D levels does not improve bone density at the hip, lumbar spine, forearm or in the body as a whole, according to a new review. ... > full story
MRI may predict continued decline in patients with mild cognitive impairment (October 6, 2010) -- Using advanced MRI and an artificial intelligence technique, researchers in Geneva, Switzerland, have identified a method that may help identify which individuals with mild cognitive impairment will continue to decline, according to a new study. ... > full story
Nano drugs: Insoluble medicines can be made orally available if in nano crystal form (October 6, 2010) -- Researchers in India have demonstrated that producing nanoscopic crystals of a pharmaceutical product can allow the medication to be absorbed by the gut even if the drug is not soluble in water. ... > full story
Maggot art used to educate youngsters (October 6, 2010) -- Typically, most people don't warm up to the idea of handling blow fly larvae, known better as maggots. But for one biologist and entomologist, the wiggling insect larvae are tools that are an integral part of crime scene investigation and, for children, a basic introduction into the life cycle of insects and the valuable role they play in nature. ... > full story
Air pollution alters immune function, worsens asthma symptoms, study finds (October 6, 2010) -- Exposure to dirty air is linked to decreased function of a gene that appears to increase the severity of asthma in children, according to a new study. While air pollution is known to be a source of immediate inflammation, this new study provides one of the first pieces of direct evidence that explains how some ambient air pollutants could have long-term effects. ... > full story
Land on your toes, save your knees (October 6, 2010) -- Anterior cruciate ligament injuries are a common and debilitating problem, especially for female athletes. ... > full story
New class of objects encoded within the genome: Non-coding RNA molecules function similar to gene enhancer elements (October 6, 2010) -- Researchers have discovered the ability of long non-coding RNA (ncRNA), encoded within our genome, to promote gene expression. The researchers believe these long ncRNA molecules may represent so-called gene enhancer elements -- short regions of DNA that can increase gene transcription. While scientists have known about gene enhancers for decades, there has been no consensus about how these enhancers work. ... > full story
Sociologist ties childhood bullying traits to adult anti-social behavior (October 6, 2010) -- Is an adult with a history of childhood bullying more likely to be homeless, a compulsive liar, or someone who scams another person out of money? According to a new study, the numbers indicate just that. ... > full story
Fattening pollutants? Chemicals in mother’s blood contribute to child’s obesity, study suggests (October 6, 2010) -- Babies whose mothers had relatively high levels of the chemical DDE in their blood were more likely to both grow rapidly during their first 6 months and to have a high body mass index (BMI) by 14 months, according to scientists. DDE, an endocrine disruptor, is a by-product of the pesticide DDT. ... > full story
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