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Chernobyl: The True Scale of the Accident

A total of up to four thousand people could eventually die of radiation exposure from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (NPP) accident nearly 20 years ago, an international team of more than 100 scientists has concluded.

5 Sep 2005

Vitamin B may do more harm than good in heart attack patients

Researchers from Norway have found that treating patients who have had a heart attack with high doses of B vitamins does not lower the risk of getting another heart attack or stroke. Contrary to expectations, B vitamins may do more harm than good.

5 Sep 2005

Heart failure patients are "a country" in Europe, there are so many

The number of hospitalizations for heart failure is about the same as for acute myocardial infarction. Our knowledge over acute heart failure patients treated at hospitals for heart failure is based on surveys. In Europe the information is still scarce but emerging especially through the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Euroheart survey program.

5 Sep 2005

Parasite could help prevent asthma

Asthma in Britain has reached epidemic proportions and the country now has one of the highest numbers of sufferers of the allergy in the world; in Ireland alone it is reported that as many as 30% of all schoolchildren have symptoms of the disease.

5 Sep 2005

Human embryonic stem cell lines accumulate changes in their genetic material over time

The findings do not limit the utility of the cells for some types of research or for some future clinical applications, the researchers say, but draw attention to the need to closely monitor stem cell lines for genetic changes and to study how these alterations affect the cells' behavior.

5 Sep 2005

Researchers discover one of the reasons why melanoma is so ruthless

About 60,000 Americans will be diagnosed with melanoma this year, says the American Cancer Society, and 10,000 of those cases will be fatal. If not caught in the early stages, melanoma can be a particularly virulent form of cancer, spreading through the body with an efficiency that few tumors possess.

5 Sep 2005

World's largest study on acute coronary syndromes

A Canadian-led study involving researchers from 41 countries has demonstrated in the world's largest study of acute coronary syndromes (ACS) that a new anti-thrombotic therapy is safer and as effective as the traditional therapy used in preventing heart attacks, death and ischemia in people with serious heart conditions.

5 Sep 2005

Significant advance in the study of small ribonucleic acids

Scientists from the University of Delaware have made a significant advance in the study of small ribonucleic acids (RNAs), discovering 10 times more small RNAs in the plant Arabidopsis than previously had been identified. The advance is reported in the Sept. 2 issue of Science magazine.

5 Sep 2005

New findings suggest balancing Chk1 activity will produce less toxic cancer drugs

A study published by The Burnham Institute in the September edition of Molecular Cell reports that a cell-cycle checkpoint protein, known to be activated by an important class of anticancer drugs, may play crucial roles in both the hampering of therapeutic actions and aiding cancer cells to "recover" and start dividing again after treatment with these drugs.

5 Sep 2005

UK fertility specialist and broadcaster says embryonic stem cell research promises are hyped up

According to a well known fertility specialist and broadcaster in the UK, the promise of embryonic stem cell research has been oversold by scientists.

5 Sep 2005

New understanding of how our genome works to produce a complex organism like a human being

A series of discoveries by an international consortium of scientists, including a team from The University of Queensland's Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB), will transform our understanding of how our genome works to produce a complex organism like a human being.

4 Sep 2005

Researchers to test whether cannabinoids can help chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients

Researchers from Imperial College London are looking for volunteers to test whether cannabinoids, the active ingredient of cannabis, can be used to alleviate the sensation of breathlessness caused by illnesses such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

4 Sep 2005

Rett Syndrome gene discovery

Adrian Bird of the University of Edinburgh and colleagues report in the online issue of Molecular Cell that the "Rett Syndrome protein", MeCP2, only binds to genes with a specific sequence of nucleotide bases. This knowledge will aid in the identification of the genes that are regulated by the gene MECP2

4 Sep 2005

Recent evidence suggests caution in prescribing hormone therapy for breast cancer

One of the most effective new treatments for breast cancer is a hormone therapy. Aromatase inhibitors work by powerfully blocking the conversion of androgen precursors into estrogens, which lowers estradiol levels in the bloodstream and estrogen levels in peripheral tissues.

4 Sep 2005

New key evidence supports claims that some types of cancer originate with defects in stem cells

Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg and the Institute of Biomedical Research of the Parc Científic de Barcelona (IRB-PCB) have now added key evidence to claims that some types of cancer originate with defects in stem cells.

4 Sep 2005

BMA warns of medical academic crisis in Scotland

The BMA this week called on the Scottish Executive to tackle the medical academic recruitment crisis that threatens to jeopardise plans to increase the number of medical students being educated in Scotland.

4 Sep 2005

Medication before angiograph significantly reduces risk of heart attack

According to new research if patients are given the a drug which reduces platelet activity in the blood risk of heart attack and cardiovascular death before and after angioplasty is reduced.

4 Sep 2005

Release of the neurotransmitter GABA halts stem cell production in the brain

Release of the neurotransmitter GABA by adult neuronal precursor cells that develop into neurons limits stem cell proliferation, according to a study at Yale School of Medicine in the September issue of Nature Neuroscience.

1 Sep 2005

Molecular switch that turns on the production of myelin

Scientists at New York University School of Medicine report in a new study that they have identified the molecular switch that turns on the production of myelin, the fatty insulation around nerve cells that ensures swift and efficient communication in the nervous system.

1 Sep 2005

Potential new way to fight HIV

Researchers have confirmed for the first time the benefit of an innate defense system present in the few patients who remain healthy after years of infection with HIV despite receiving no treatment, according to an article published in the September edition of the Journal of Virology.

1 Sep 2005