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Max-Planck scientists show that people really walk in circles when lost

Scientists in the Multisensory Perception and Action Group at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in T-bingen, led by Jan Souman and Marc Ernst, have now presented the first empirical evidence that people really walk in circles when they do not have reliable cues to their walking direction. Their study, published today in the journal Current Biology, examined the walking trajectories of people who walked for several hours in the Sahara desert (Tunisia) and in the Bienwald forest area (Germany).

21 Aug 2009

Ends of protein templates useful for arresting growth of cancerous cells

The tail ends of cellular protein templates, regions often thought relatively inconsequential, may actually play a role in preventing normal cells from becoming cancerous. The finding from scientists at Whitehead Institute for Biomedical research is reported in the August 20 edition of Cell.

21 Aug 2009

Results of PCF funded study could impact the standard of care for prostate cancer patients

Twice-yearly intravenous infusion with denosumab, a new targeted therapy to stop bone loss, increased bone density and prevented spinal fractures in men receiving androgen-deprivation therapy for prostate cancer. The report from an international research study, the first to document reduced fracture risk in men receiving the hormone-blocking treatment, was published today in the print edition of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). Both fundamental research on rank ligand (RANKL) in prostate cancer bone metastasis and other molecular factors involved in the denosumab study were supported at Massachusetts General Hospital with funding from the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF).

21 Aug 2009

MN Community Measurement's quality measure promises improved depression care

Efforts to improve depression care in Minnesota and surrounding areas will benefit from a first-of-its-kind quality measure introduced this week by MN Community Measurement, a nonprofit organization that provides objective information on the quality of health care through its Web site.

21 Aug 2009

Research suggests that nitrates and nitrites in plants may be beneficial to health

A Michigan State University researcher is challenging health standards that consider nitrates and nitrites in food to be harmful.

21 Aug 2009

Study finds that vaccinations to schoolchildren and to their parents helps to control the spread of the seasonal flu and H1N1

Optimal control of the spread of the seasonal flu and H1N1 is achieved by prioritizing vaccinations for schoolchildren and for adults aged 30 to 39 in the United States. Those are the findings of a new study by Clemson University mathematician Jan Medlock and colleague Alison Galvani of the Yale University School of Medicine.

21 Aug 2009

Research study discovers lethal effects of tetracycline and chloramphenicol against certain bacterial strains

By studying the intricate mechanisms at work in protein production, a Princeton-led team has discovered why certain kinds of antibiotics are so effective. In doing so, they also have discovered how one protein protects against cell death, shedding light on a natural cancer-fighting process.

21 Aug 2009

Chinese scientists present study on oxycholesterol's cholesterol-boosting effects at 238th ACS meeting

Health-conscious people know that high levels of total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol (the so-called "bad" cholesterol) can increase the risk of heart attacks. Now scientists are reporting that another form of cholesterol called oxycholesterol - virtually unknown to the public - may be the most serious cardiovascular health threat of all. Scientists from China presented one of the first studies on the cholesterol-boosting effects of oxycholesterol here today at the 238th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society. The researchers hope their findings raise public awareness about oxycholesterol, including foods with the highest levels of the substance and other foods that can combat oxycholesterol's effects.

21 Aug 2009

New findings to prevent urinary tract infections

Researchers at Duke University Medical Center may have a new way to stop and even prevent the urinary tract infections (UTIs) that plague more than a third of all adults, some of them repeatedly.

21 Aug 2009

Researchers develop new ways for splitting dangerous pair of cancer proteins

A research team led by U of T Mississauga scientists has developed a new way to split up a dangerous pair of cancer proteins, a finding that could ultimately lead to chemotherapy that is more effective and has fewer side effects.

21 Aug 2009

Wheat-free diet reduces the incidence of diabetes

Scientists at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and the University of Ottawa have discovered what may be an important clue to the cause of type 1 diabetes. Dr. Fraser Scott and his team tested 42 people with type 1 diabetes and found that nearly half had an abnormal immune response to wheat proteins. The study is published in the August 2009 issue of the journal Diabetes.

21 Aug 2009

New portable dialysis machine that provides continuous dialysis is under development

Researchers are developing a Wearable Artificial Kidney for dialysis patients, reports an upcoming paper in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN). "Our vision of a technological breakthrough has materialized in the form of a Wearable Artificial Kidney, which provides continuous dialysis 24 hours a day, seven days a week," comments Victor Gura, MD (David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA).

21 Aug 2009

Research reveals brain activity networks of Alzheimer's disease affected patients become more random and unstructured

Different types of dementia show dissimilar changes in brain activity. A network mapping technique described in the open access journal BMC Neuroscience has been applied to EEG data obtained from patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD, a less common type of dementia with more prominent behavioral symptoms).

21 Aug 2009

The Gerontologist discusses perceptions of different groups about cognitive health

A new special issue of The Gerontologist has identified for the first time how ethnically, culturally, linguistically, and geographically diverse groups think about aging and brain health.

21 Aug 2009

Research attributes accumulation of belly fat to change in hormone balance during menopause transition

In middle-aged women, visceral fat, more commonly called belly fat, is known to be a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease, but what causes visceral fat to accumulate?

21 Aug 2009

Hospitals treating more black cancer patients experience worse survival rates

Hospitals that treat more black cancer patients have worse survival rates on average for patients with breast and colon cancer, regardless of race, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

21 Aug 2009

More evidence that genes increase a smokers' risk of lung cancer

Cancer Research UK funded scientists have confirmed that inherited changes in certain regions of the genome can increase a smokers' risk of developing lung cancer lung cancer, and determine the type of lung cancer that develops. Their results were published in this week's edition of the journal Cancer Research*.

21 Aug 2009

Cognitive behavioural therapy effective when delivered in online by a therapist

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) seems to be effective when delivered online in real time by a therapist, with benefits maintained over 8 months. This method of delivery could broaden access to CBT in primary care. These are the conclusions of an article in this week's Global Mental Health special edition of The Lancet, written by Dr David Kessler, NIHR National School for Primary Care Research, University of Bristol and colleagues.

21 Aug 2009

Duke University Medical Center highlights importance of the appendix in human body

The lowly appendix, long-regarded as a useless evolutionary artifact, won newfound respect two years ago when researchers at Duke University Medical Center proposed that it actually serves a critical function. The appendix, they said, is a safe haven where good bacteria could hang out until they were needed to repopulate the gut after a nasty case of diarrhea, for example.

21 Aug 2009

Role of HPRT genes detected in Lesch Nyan X-linked inherited disorders

A study from the Center for Molecular Genetics at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine shows that a gene called HPRT plays an important role in setting the program by which primitive or precursor cells decide to become normal nerve cells in the human brain. This unconventional view of metabolic genes known as "housekeeping" genes is now online at the journal Molecular Therapy.

21 Aug 2009

Medical Research News

Max-Planck scientists show that people really walk in circles when lost

Ends of protein templates useful for arresting growth of cancerous cells

Results of PCF funded study could impact the standard of care for prostate cancer patients

MN Community Measurement's quality measure promises improved depression care

Research suggests that nitrates and nitrites in plants may be beneficial to health

Study finds that vaccinations to schoolchildren and to their parents helps to control the spread of the seasonal flu and H1N1

Research study discovers lethal effects of tetracycline and chloramphenicol against certain bacterial strains

Chinese scientists present study on oxycholesterol's cholesterol-boosting effects at 238th ACS meeting

New findings to prevent urinary tract infections

Researchers develop new ways for splitting dangerous pair of cancer proteins

Wheat-free diet reduces the incidence of diabetes

New portable dialysis machine that provides continuous dialysis is under development

Research reveals brain activity networks of Alzheimer's disease affected patients become more random and unstructured

The Gerontologist discusses perceptions of different groups about cognitive health

Research attributes accumulation of belly fat to change in hormone balance during menopause transition

Hospitals treating more black cancer patients experience worse survival rates

More evidence that genes increase a smokers' risk of lung cancer

Cognitive behavioural therapy effective when delivered in online by a therapist

Duke University Medical Center highlights importance of the appendix in human body

Role of HPRT genes detected in Lesch Nyan X-linked inherited disorders

Clue's CEO Rhiannon White on the Future of Femtech and PCOS

Freezing Point Osmometry in Life Science Applications

Precision in every drop: Inside Hamilton’s syringe technology

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