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Pineapple stems that show anti-tumour activity

Scientists at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) have discovered two molecules from pineapple stems that show anti-tumour activity in laboratory studies. One molecule called CCS blocks a protein called Ras, which is defective in approximately 30% of all cancers. The other molecule called CCZ, stimulates the body's own immune system to target and kill cancer cells.

19 Jul 2005

Two regions of the human genome that appear to explain variation in IQ

It may be that IQ tests are not the only way to measure human intelligence. Scientists at The Queensland Institute of Medical Science (QIMR) have identified two regions of the human genome that appear to explain variation in IQ. Their work was published this week in the American Journal of Human Genetics and has drawn world-wide interest.

19 Jul 2005

Cancer patients are being forced to bear the massive financial burden of changes in NHS treatment

The side effects of cancer treatment mean patients often have to give up work, and may have to live on a low income; forcing many patients to make a choice between finding the money for travel to hospital and basic necessities such as food, children's clothes and household bills.

19 Jul 2005

Important find will help design appropriate screening and therapy for women carrying fetuses impaired in their growth

In her research, Dr. Andree Gruslin encountered many pregnant women who could not carry their fetuses to term because the placenta, and in turn the fetus, were too small. In once case, she followed a woman who had had eight consecutive miscarriages due to this condition. Thanks to this latest discovery, she now understands why.

19 Jul 2005

Decline in physical activity plays key role in weight gain among girls

Girls who were inactive during adolescence gained an average of 10 to 15 pounds more than active girls, according to results of a 10-year observational study of obesity. Total calorie intake increased only slightly and was not associated with the weight gains.

19 Jul 2005

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) rates in women skyrocket

The death rate for one of the most lethal diseases in North America has skyrocketed for women in the last 20 years, and a team of researchers from the University of British Columbia and the B.C. Centre of Excellence for Women's Health wants to find out why.

19 Jul 2005

U.S. stockpile of anti-flu drugs is "totally inadequate"

The United States does not have nearly enough antiviral drugs on hand to fight a coming influenza pandemic, according to the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).

19 Jul 2005

Results demonstrate the safety and tolerability of ABthrax treatment for Anthrax infection

Human Genome Sciences has announced that results published in the current issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases demonstrate that the first investigational agent against anthrax infection to be evaluated in a clinical study since the 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States, is safe, well tolerated and achieves the blood levels predicted by relevant animal models as necessary to afford significant protection from the lethal effects of the anthrax toxin

19 Jul 2005

New way to fight antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus infections

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital and Health Center, San Diego have discovered that "Staph" bacteria use a protective golden armor to ward off the immune system, a finding with the potential to lead to new treatments for serious infections now increasingly resistant to standard antibiotics.

19 Jul 2005

People who drink alcohol have a lower risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

People who drink alcohol have a lower risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) than non-drinkers, researchers at Yale’s Department of Epidemiology and Public Health (EPH) wrote recently in an article published in Lancet Oncology.

19 Jul 2005

1 in 166 children under age 10 are affected by autism

New statistics surrounding autism make it the number one growing developmental disability in the country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates as many as one in 166 children under age 10 are affected by the disorder. Nearly two million people in the U.S. are living with autism.

19 Jul 2005

Use of antibiotics increases risk of developing antibiotic resistance

A new study has shown that a prescription of antibiotics taken within the previous two months doubles the chances of patients carrying antibiotic resistant bacteria. The same effect was not seen in patients who had had antibiotics prescribed within the previous 12 months.

19 Jul 2005

Australian discovery of adult stem cells in the uterus

Monash Institute of Medical Research (MIMR) senior scientist Dr Caroline Gargett's discovery of adult stem cells in the uterus that can be grown into bone, muscle, fat and cartilage, has been hailed as a major medical and scientific development by international reproduction experts.

19 Jul 2005

Sigma-Aldrich licenses RNAi patent estate from Alnylam

Sigma-Aldrich Corporation and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals announced today that Alnylam has granted Sigma-Aldrich a non-exclusive license to provide research products and services in RNA interference (RNAi) under the Kreutzer-Limmer patent family.

19 Jul 2005

'Big Gun' government official needed to oversee U.S. animal disease programs

A National Academy of Sciences panel has said this week that one high ranking government official may be the best way to consolidate U.S. animal disease oversights in order to protect consumers from mad cow disease, bird flu and other serious animal ailments that can jump species.

19 Jul 2005

Ducks possibly the culprit in spreading bird flu

An international team, which included experts from China, Indonesia, Thailand, the US and Vietnam, say that domestic ducks possibly pose a major threat of spreading avian flu to animals and humans, as not only do they carry the virus with few visible signs, the virus is able to mutate in them, which means they could trigger a human pandemic.

19 Jul 2005

Quit smoking to heal that gum disease and live longer!

According to a new study, smokers are at least 6 times more likely to develop gum disease than non-smokers.

19 Jul 2005

Better tracking system needed to check the safety of new medical devices

A recently released report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) says that a better system is needed by U.S. health officials for tracking the safety of medical devices after they are approved for sale, especially ones used to treat children.

19 Jul 2005

News we always wanted to hear - Chocolate does you good!

In the best news yet for chocolate lovers, a new study has apparently shown that dark chocolate can lower blood pressure.

19 Jul 2005

Gene defect linked to heart disease

Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, have found by studying DNA from 11 members of one family, who suffered from aortic heart disease, a genetic mutation that causes a common birth defect and contributes to heart disease in adults.

19 Jul 2005