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Identification of gene in childhood kidney disease

An international research collaboration led by Mayo Clinic has identified a new gene involved in causing the inherited kidney disorder, Meckel-Gruber syndrome (MKS). Children with MKS have central nervous system deformities as well as abnormal cysts in their kidneys, and usually die shortly after birth.

16 Jan 2006

Drug discovery companies turn to low-cost Asian countries to evade stringent regulations

The Indian and Chinese drug discovery outsourcing market is riding a crest with companies from outside Asia increasingly seeking to outsource drug discovery to these countries for greater cost savings. Other major factors driving this shift to Indian and Chinese companies are the better access to expertise, productivity gains, process improvements, variable costs, avoidance of capital outlays and opportunities for companies to focus on specific niches.

16 Jan 2006

Cut calories, cut portions for a younger healthier heart

According to a new study, which is the first to associate calorie restriction with delaying the onset of aging, cutting down on calories and restricting portions, really does work.

16 Jan 2006

Fabricated cancer study published in the Lancet

In a somewhat shocking revelation it has been disclosed that a Norwegian cancer expert made up fictitious patients for an article about treatment of oral cancer published in a leading medical journal.

16 Jan 2006

Canada gets serious about smoking

Health authorities in Ontario have announced a new study aimed at helping Ontarians quit smoking.

16 Jan 2006

FDA warns diet drugs contain Prozac and Librium

The FDA has issued a warning to consumers that diet pills from Brazil have been found to contain active drug ingredients which are possibly harmful.

16 Jan 2006

The sweet answer to a poor memory

Sweet tooth types out there will be delighted to learn that those sweet and sugary drinks may improve the memory.

16 Jan 2006

Having kids bad for mental well being

A new study in the U.S. says that being a parent may not be as fulfilling an experience as might be expected and in fact parenthood does not appear to offer any mental health benefit for the individuals involved.

16 Jan 2006

Major grant to study institutional care of disabled people in Europe

The Tizard Centre at the University of Kent has been awarded a 350,000 euro grant by the European Commission to find out how many disabled people are still cared for in institutions across Europe and what would be the costs of replacing institutions with services in the community.

11 Jan 2006

DinB DNA polymerase is a key player in DNA repair

A quarter century after they discovered it, researchers have identified the job of one of the most common DNA-damage response proteins. The enzyme has puzzled scientists because it is present in nearly every organism, which suggests that it is crucial to life, and yet, in laboratory experiments, its function has remained a mystery.

11 Jan 2006

St. Jude projects 90 percent cure rate for acute lymphoblastic leukemia

The cure rate for the once almost universally fatal childhood cancer acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) could reach 90 percent in the near future, thanks to improvements in diagnosis and treatment over the past four decades, according to investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

11 Jan 2006

Face perception is mediated by a distributed neural system in the human brain

New research indicates that an area of the brain thought to act in reward circuitry may represent a phase in visual processing during which sexual orientation modulates how we perceive individual faces. The findings are reported by Felicitas Kranz and Alumit Ishai of the University of Zurich.

11 Jan 2006

Molecular mechanism involved with neural tube defects

Environmental and genetic factors lead to neural tube defects in 1 in every 1,000 births and cause 1 in 20 of every spontaneous abortion. One cause of these defects is the failure of cells within the neural tube to migrate to the middle of the developing neural tube.

11 Jan 2006

Inhaled corticosteroids most effective for persistent asthma in children

While both inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) and leukotriene receptor antagonists (LTRA) have been proven to help control mild-to-moderate persistent asthma in school-age children, a new study shows ICS may be the more effective treatment.

11 Jan 2006

Vaccine candidate for hepatitis C

Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan's Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) have developed a vaccine candidate for hepatitis C, leading to hope in the fight against a disease for which no vaccines are yet available.

11 Jan 2006

Study explains complex infection fighting mechanism

Yale School of Medicine researchers report in Nature Immunology how infection fighting mechanisms in the body can distinguish between a virus and the healthy body, shedding new light on auto immune disorders.

11 Jan 2006

Segregation of the brain into gray and white matter

By borrowing mathematical tools from theoretical physics, scientists have recently developed a theory that explains why the brain tissue of humans and other vertebrates is segregated into the familiar "gray matter" and "white matter."

11 Jan 2006

Giant protein titin helps build muscles

Imagine grabbing two snakes by the tail so that they can't wriggle off in opposite directions. Scientists at the Hamburg Outstation of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and collaborators from King's College in London have now discovered that something similar happens to a protein that is crucial in the formation of muscle tissue.

11 Jan 2006

Virgin takes off with cancer insurance

Entrepreneur Richard Branson's Virgin Money Life is now launching a new cancer cover insurance package called The Big V which, it claims, is 45 percent cheaper than standard critical illness cover.

11 Jan 2006

Over 19 million in the U.S. suffer from alcohol effects while at work

According to an American study as many as 15 percent of the U.S. workforce consumes alcohol on the job, has a drink before going to work or is under the influence of alcohol while at work.

11 Jan 2006