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Gene linked to alcoholism

Alcoholism tends to run in families, suggesting that addiction, at least in part, has an underlying genetic cause. Now, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have discovered a gene linked to alcohol dependency.

1 Jun 2004

Microbes in your gut could be cause of allergies

Allergies making your life miserable? Tired of popping antihistamines like candy? Can't go anywhere without your inhaler? The real problem may not be your stuffed-up head. It could be the microbes in your gut.

1 Jun 2004

Double-punch approach to vaccine design more effective

A study revealing new information about how viral proteins move between cells and alert the immune system suggests that a double-punch approach to vaccine design would make them more effective.

1 Jun 2004

Yo-yo dieting may have a lasting negative impact on immune function

Yo-yo dieting, in which a person repeatedly loses and regains weight, may have a lasting negative impact on immune function, according to new findings by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

1 Jun 2004

Engineered virus could be ideal for targeting cancers with lethal gene therapy

Scientists from Cancer Research UK have taken advantage of the selfish behaviour of cancer cells to target them with a genetically engineered virus.

1 Jun 2004

There are still benefits from hormone therapy after menopause

Despite the highly publicized closing of the Women’s Health Initiative study, the scientific community should not rule out that women may benefit from hormone therapy after menopause, say researchers at UC Davis, Duke and Harvard Universities.

31 May 2004

Innovative technique for rapid tuberculosis detection

NTU develops innovative technique for rapid tuberculosis detection Tuberculosis (TB) detection in the future will become faster, cheaper and easier using an innovative TB detection technique and device developed by Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

30 May 2004

3-D micro-imaging technology licensed to Carl Zeiss Jena by Cornell

Biomedical microscopic imaging deep inside living tissue with unprecedented clarity could become routine and widely available with the signing of technology-transfer and collaborative-research agreements today (May 28, 2004) by Carl Zeiss Jena GmbH, a leading maker of microscopy instrumentation, and by CCTEC, the technology, enterprise and commercialization arm of Cornell University.

30 May 2004

Four critical components of cells' protein-building machine don't do what scientists had long assumed

In the hunt for these details, scientists have focused on four RNA building blocks, or nucleotides, deep within the machine that are identical in every species, from bacteria to humans. Because they sit where the protein chain is actually built, these "universally conserved" nucleotides in the ribosome were thought to help that process.

28 May 2004

Cellular garbage plays a key role in the process of cytokinesis, or cell division

A cellular structure discovered 125 years ago and dismissed by many biologists as "cellular garbage" has been found to play a key role in the process of cytokinesis, or cell division, one of the most ancient and important of all biological phenomena.

27 May 2004

First-of-its-kind wearable low vision aid helps visually impaired

"Even with a cane or a guide dog, low-vision people can have a difficult time identifying obstacles that can be hazardous," said Eric Seibel, research assistant professor in mechanical engineering at the lab, who for the past four years has overseen the student team that developed the device. "This is another set of eyes looking out for them."

27 May 2004

Bird flu vaccine

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded two contracts to support the production and clinical testing of an investigational vaccine based on a strain of avian influenza, H5N1, which might have the potential to cause pandemic influenza.

27 May 2004

The Health Protection Agency starts surveillance programme for human cases of West Nile virus infection

The Health Protection Agency is starting its annual enhanced surveillance programme for possible human cases of West Nile virus infection. The scheme, which has been used for the last three years, operates during the summer, when there is West Nile virus activity in other countries.

27 May 2004

Finding overturns long held ideas about how cells build proteins

Writing in the May 28 issue of Cell, Johns Hopkins researchers report that four critical components of cells' protein-building machine don't do what scientists had long assumed.

27 May 2004

Antibiotics could be the cause of many allergies

27 May 2004

₤16.5 million investment in stem cell research

A ₤16.5 million investment in stem cell research was announced today, 27th May, promising to speed the development of new treatments and cures from the laboratory to the clinic. In total, 57 multidisciplinary research grants have been awarded as part of the new monies allocated via the 2002 Government Spending Review to the UK Research Councils.

27 May 2004

Arrhythmias are more commonly associated with adults, they can affect children as well

Doctors prescribed different medications to control the cardiac arrhythmia, or abnormal heartbeat. But the medications slowed his heart rate too much, at times to as low as 40 beats per minute.

27 May 2004

Link between oral bacterium and premature babies

For years, scientists have noticed a particular oral bacterium can be found in the amniotic fluid of about 20 percent of women with premature babies.

27 May 2004

International adult stem cell 'retraining' project starts in Birmingham

An exciting research project to utilise the body's own stem cells to regenerate areas of tissue damage is uniting scientists in Birmingham, London and Ontario, Canada. The University of Birmingham is leading a three year study with long term aims of helping stroke, Parkinsons and diabetes patients.

27 May 2004

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus re-emerges in Thailand

Thousands of chickens were culled last week after the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus was found at The North Regional Veterinary Research and Development Center by Thailand's Department of Livestock Development.

27 May 2004