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Grapes may aid a bunch of heart risk factors

Could eating grapes help fight high blood pressure related to a salty diet? And could grapes calm other factors that are also related to heart diseases such as heart failure? A new University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center study suggests so.

29 Oct 2008

Researchers find new chemical key that could unlock hundreds of new antibiotics

Chemistry researchers at The University of Warwick and the John Innes Centre, have found a novel signalling molecule that could be a key that will open up hundreds of new antibiotics unlocking them from the DNA of the Streptomyces family of bacteria.

29 Oct 2008

Professor reveals the 'Jennifer Aniston neuron'

According to a top scientist parts of the brain are wired up to be devoted to celebrities.

29 Oct 2008

Protein in urine could be a predictor of heart disease

Scientists at the George Institute for International Health say urine tests should be incorporated into analysing heart disease risk.

29 Oct 2008

Researchers discover new way to attack some forms of leukemia

Each year, some 29,000 adults and 2,000 children are diagnosed with leukemia, a form of cancer that is caused by the abnormal production of white blood cells in the bone marrow. Current treatments rely primarily on killing the cancer cells, which also destroys normal cells. But what if a way could be found to reprogram cancerous cells back into normal cells? A team of Syracuse University researchers believes it may have found a way to do just that.

28 Oct 2008

Researchers discover how Sonic hedgehog gene controls brain development

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine researchers have discovered how the expression of the Sonic hedgehog gene is regulated during brain development and how mutations that alter this process cause brain malformations. The results appear online this month in Nature Genetics.

28 Oct 2008

Malaria medication hydroxychloroquine prevents diabetes in arthritis patients

The use of an antimalarial medication may prevent the onset of diabetes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, new Geisinger research shows.

28 Oct 2008

Tiny hearts may have big problems with complementary medicine

Giving supplement such as herbs, vitamins, and other natural health products to children taking Warfarin for congenital heart defects could increase their risk of clots, bleeding, and other complications, nurse practitioner Mary Bauman and Dr. Patti Massicotte told the 2008 Canadian Cardiovascular Congress, co-hosted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society.

28 Oct 2008

Blood stored for 29 days or more linked to infection

Blood stored for 29 days or more, nearly 2 weeks less than the current standard for blood storage, is associated with a higher infection rate in patients who received transfusions with the blood.

28 Oct 2008

High-fat diet could promote the development of Alzheimer's

A team of Université Laval researchers has shown that the main neurological markers for Alzheimer's disease are exacerbated in the brains of mice fed a diet rich in animal fat and poor in omega-3s. Details of the study-which suggests that diets typical of most industrialized countries promote the development of Alzheimer's-are outlined in the latest online edition of Neurobiology of Aging.

28 Oct 2008

Brain's 'hate circuit' identified

People who view pictures of someone they hate display activity in distinct areas of the brain that, together, may be thought of as a 'hate circuit', according to new research by scientists at UCL (University College London).

28 Oct 2008

Systems biology and glycomics used to study human inflammatory diseases

An innovative systems biology approach to understanding the carbohydrate structures in cells is leading to new ways to understand how inflammatory illnesses and cardiovascular disease develop in humans. The work was described in two recent publications by University at Buffalo chemical engineers.

28 Oct 2008

Gene against bacterial attack unravelled

Dutch researcher Joost Wiersinga from AMC Medical Centre in Amsterdam has unravelled a genetic defence mechanism against the lethal bacteria Burkholderia pseudomallei. The research is the next step towards a vaccine against this bacterium suitable for bioweapons.

28 Oct 2008

Review of health benefits of grape polyphenols

A growing body of research data suggests that consuming foods rich in polyphenols from grapes - including red wine - helps reduce the risk of heart disease, according to a review article in the November issue of Nutrition Research.

28 Oct 2008

'Meth' abuse and underage sex, smoking and drinking go hand in hand

Canadian scientists have found a link between methamphetamine abuse and underage sex, smoking and drinking - they say children and adolescents who abuse alcohol or are sexually active are more likely to take methamphetamines.

28 Oct 2008

Novel cell division mechanism discovered

A novel cell division mechanism has been discovered in a microorganism that thrives in hot acid. The finding may also result in insights into key processes in human cells, and in a better understanding of the main evolutionary lineages of life on Earth. The study is published today in the online version of the journal of the American National Academy of Sciences, PNAS.

28 Oct 2008