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New drug shows promise in fighting Tuberculosis (TB)

Scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, have determined how a promising drug candidate attacks the bacterium that causes tuberculosis (TB). Published online this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the finding may help scientists optimize the drug candidate, PA-824, which targets Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb).

28 Dec 2005

Childhood infections stunt growth and reduce life expectancy

Records from four European countries show that, on average, survivors of generations with rampant childhood infection - measured by cohort mortality rates at young ages - were shorter and died sooner than counterparts from generations with less childhood disease.

28 Dec 2005

Misdosing anti-clotting drugs leads to heart attack symptoms

Because of inaccuracies in prescribing, 42 percent of patients rushed to emergency rooms with symptoms of a heart attack received doses of powerful drugs intended stop clotting in coronary arteries outside of the recommended range, a new analysis by Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI) cardiologists has found.

28 Dec 2005

Blacks more likely to die of curable lung cancer than whites

Even when they have equal access to specialized care, blacks with potentially curable lung cancer are about half as likely as whites to undergo surgery that could save their lives, according to a study by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers.

28 Dec 2005

China's new bird flu vaccine ready to go

According to the state media, China is about to begin mass-production of a new bird flu vaccine for poultry by the end of the month.

28 Dec 2005

Diet rich in antioxidants protects against Age-Related Macular Degeneration

New research has shown that a diet high in beta carotene, vitamins C and E, and zinc is associated with a substantially reduced risk of age-related macular degeneration in elderly people.

28 Dec 2005

Daily dose of Vitamin D cuts cancer risk

According to cancer prevention specialists, taking vitamin D3 daily appears to lower the risk of cancer by up to as much 50 percent.

28 Dec 2005

Bigger brain = more intellectual capacity

Brain size matters for intellectual ability and bigger is better, McMaster University researchers have found.

22 Dec 2005

Plant stem cell breakthrough made

Totipotent stem cells allow plants to build new organs throughout their whole life. But it has been unclear how hormones and genetic factors work together to prevent plants from having growth that is either stunted, or uncontrolled and tumor-like. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology have now uncovered a feedback mechanism, involving a growth-enhancing hormone and a regulatory protein, which controls the number of stem cells the plant produces.

22 Dec 2005

Study to look for links between the nervous system and fatal heart rhythm

Finding out why seemingly healthy people experience ventricular fibrillation, a fatal irregular heart rhythm, could eventually lead to better methods of early detection, according to a Medical College of Georgia researcher.

22 Dec 2005

Women suffering lupus OK to take oral contraceptives

Major study of women with either inactive or stable systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus) – a disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks and damages healthy tissues of the skin, joints and internal organs – were able to take oral contraceptives without increased risk of flares, or periods of increased disease activity, that characterize the disease.

22 Dec 2005

Chromosome link found between alcohol addiction and smoking

Scientists have found in a study of tobacco users that their drinking behavior is linked to some of the same chromosome regions associated with alcohol addiction.

22 Dec 2005

Passengers face DVT danger in cars, trains and buses too

A report commissioned by the Department for Transport to determine the risk of deep vein thrombosis in relation to air travel, has found that as previously suspected, the longer the period of air travel, the greater the risk.

22 Dec 2005

Even lower blood sugar levels advocated to avoid heart disease

According to a researcher and diabetes expert, doctors with diabetic patients should be aiming for much lower levels of blood glucose than is currently suggested by the guidelines.

22 Dec 2005

Tamiflu may not be as effective as hoped against bird flu

The stockpiles of bird flu drug Tamiflu, accumulated by governments around the world as the first line of defense against a flu pandemic, may prove to be useless.

22 Dec 2005

Micro-gyroscopes could detect, monitor and provide therapy guidance on cancer

A vibrating disc no bigger than a speck of dust could help to diagnose and monitor common types of cancer and provide specialists with information about the most appropriate therapy.

22 Dec 2005

Second-hand smoke increases the risk of eye disease

According to a British study, smoking cigarettes, or living with someone who does, increases a person's risk of developing a progressively degenerative eye disease known as age-related macular degeneration or AMD.

22 Dec 2005

Discovery reveals how malaria infects humans

Researchers at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) in India and a unit of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in France have made a key discovery about a molecule that helps the malaria parasite infect human cells.

22 Dec 2005

Brain cell activity influences formation of brain plaque ingredient

Increased communication between brain cells increases levels of amyloid beta, the key ingredient in Alzheimer's brain plaques, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found.

22 Dec 2005

New techniques are able to detect and monitor Alzheimer's disease

The search for new measures, or "biomarkers," to detect Alzheimer's disease (AD) before signs of memory loss appear has advanced an important step in a study by researchers at Washington University in St. Louis, MO, and the University of Pittsburgh.

22 Dec 2005