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Examining genetic material of egg cells may inform about embryos health

Fertility procedures such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) require a couple and the doctor to place the risky bet that the multiple eggs they choose to fertilize will produce an embryo that will thrive in the uterus. Researchers cannot biopsy eggs directly because that would destroy them, but a new discovery by professors at Brown University and Women & Infants Hospital could lead to new insights about how eggs develop and ultimately inform judgments about how the embryos they produce will fare. The idea is to examine the genetic material the egg cells discarded when they were first forming, to see which genes they were expressing.

26 Oct 2010

Smokers with anxiety disorders less likely to quit smoking

Researchers may have pinpointed a reason many smokers struggle to quit. According to new research published in the journal Addiction, smokers with a history of anxiety disorders are less likely to quit smoking. The study, conducted by the University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention (UW-CTRI), offered free coaching and medications to smokers in Madison and Milwaukee.

26 Oct 2010

Study reveals two enzymes help immune cells deploy pathogen-killing traps

A new study reveals that two enzymes help immune cells deploy pathogen-killing traps by unraveling and using the chromatin (DNA and its associated proteins) contained in the cells' nuclei to form defensive webs. The study appears online on October 25 in The Journal of Cell Biology.

26 Oct 2010

Lead exposure may reverse blindness: Research

Some unexpected effects of lead exposure that may one day help prevent and reverse blindness have been uncovered by a University of Houston (UH) professor and his team.

26 Oct 2010

Alzheimer’s risk raised 157% with smoking: Study

A Kaiser Permanente study reported this Monday that heavy smoking in midlife more than doubles the odds of developing Alzheimer's disease. This study is one of the first of its kind to examine the long-term consequences of heavy smoking on Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia explained the study's principal investigator, Rachel Whitmer, a research scientist with Kaiser Permanente in Oakland. The research is published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

25 Oct 2010

Childhood allergies and asthma linked to development in the womb

A child's chances of developing allergies or wheezing is related to how he or she grew at vital stages in the womb, according to scientists from the University of Southampton.

25 Oct 2010

Diabetics living in adverse neighborhood conditions more likely to develop lower body functional limitations

A study published earlier this year in the peer reviewed online journal BMC Public Health has found that residing in a neighborhood with adverse living conditions such as low air quality, loud traffic or industrial noise, or poorly maintained streets, sidewalks and yards, makes mobility problems much more likely in late middle-aged African Americans with diabetes.

25 Oct 2010

Researchers identify chain reaction of brain activity that controls sequential actions

As anyone who as ever picked up a guitar or a tennis racket knows, precise timing is often an essential part of performing complex tasks. Now, by studying the brain circuits that control bird song, MIT researchers have identified a "chain reaction" of brain activity that appears to control the timing of song.

25 Oct 2010

O2h to provide ADME services to Sentinel Oncology under new extended contract

Executives from Sentinel Oncology Limited (Cambridge,UK) signed an agreement with O2h (Ahmedabad, India) to extend the number of FTEs working for Sentinel Oncology. Under this new contract, O2h will also provide ADME services to Sentinel Oncology.

25 Oct 2010

NIH awards $3.9M for Fanconi anemia research

The National Institutes of Health has awarded a three-year, $3.9 million grant to Children's Hospital Boston researchers and their colleagues to develop a therapy to treat Fanconi anemia, a fatal genetic blood disease.

25 Oct 2010

H70 study provides data on cognitive symptoms that predict dementia

Today´s 70-year-olds do far better in intelligence tests than their predecessors. It has also become more difficult to detect dementia in its early stages, though forgetfulness is still an early symptom, reveals new research from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, based on the H70 study.

25 Oct 2010

Aortic stiffness seen in obese children

The blood vessels of obese children have stiffness normally seen in much older adults with cardiovascular disease, Dr. Kevin Harris today told the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2010, co-hosted by the Canadian Cardiovascular Society and the Heart and Stroke Foundation. The clock is ticking and the shape of the 13 year-old-heart is changing - for the worse.

25 Oct 2010

Scientists find two proteins that regulates water retention in salt-sensitive hypertension

Research conducted by scientists at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans has found that two proteins in the brain act as valves to turn the hormone that regulates water retention in the body on and off. Their findings may lead to advances in treatment for diseases like high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, and cirrhosis of the liver. The research is published in the November 1, 2010 issue of Endocrinology.

25 Oct 2010

Research on worms may help develop ways to maintain fertility in humans

Princeton scientists have identified genes responsible for controlling reproductive life span in worms and found they may control genes regulating similar functions in humans. The work suggests that someday researchers may be able to develop ways to maintain fertility in humans, allowing women who want to delay having children to preserve that capacity and extend their reproduction, and to prevent maternal age-related birth defects.

25 Oct 2010

New research shows flu virus with D222G mutation can cause pneumonia

A variant of last year's pandemic influenza linked to fatal cases carried a mutation that enabled it to infect a different subset of cells lining the airway, according to new research. The study, due to be published next week in the Journal of Virology, suggests that the mutant virus could have impaired the lungs' ability to clear out germs.

25 Oct 2010

Intestinal microbiota can increase broccoli’s cancer-preventive power: Research

A University of Illinois study has shown for the first time that sulforaphane, the powerful cancer-fighting agent in broccoli, can be released from its parent compound by bacteria in the lower gut and absorbed into the body.

22 Oct 2010

Researchers use fruit fly for cancer research

SMALL and with a life cycle of just two weeks, fruit flies are seen by many as pests and a problem all year round. However, for nearly a century, the humble insect, officially known as Drosophila melanogaster, which measures no more than 3mm, has performed a vital role in genetics and developmental biology.Fruit flies are genetically diverse and easy to use in research, helping scientists in a variety of studies, from how the brain functions to how cancer develops.

22 Oct 2010

Researchers find gene mutation mechanism that cause mitochondrial diseases

Scientists have discovered a new cause of spastic ataxia, and believe this cause is also a trigger for other mitochondrial diseases neurological disorders that can lead to serious coordination, growth, visual, speech, and muscle defects.

22 Oct 2010

Scorpion’s toxins can reduce heart bypass failures: Research

A toxin found in the venom of the Central American bark scorpion (Centruroides margaritatus) could hold the key to reducing heart bypass failures, according to research from the University of Leeds.

22 Oct 2010

LifeGen Technologies awarded Phase I Small Business Innovative Research grant

LifeGen Technologies, LLC has been awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovative Research grant from the United States National Institute on Aging. The project is focused on identifying a robust panel of genes in adipose tissue (fat) that are regulated by a calorie restricted diet. According to Dr. Jamie Barger, Director of Operations at LifeGen, the technology developed under the NIH grant will allow LifeGen to screen for compounds that have beneficial effects on adipose tissue in a manner similar to that of a calorie restricted diet.

22 Oct 2010