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COUP-TFII plays pivotal role in obesity, metabolic syndrome

A protein known to play a role in development and the formation of organs is also an important factor in the control of obesity and diabetes, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in a report that appears in the current issue of the journal Cell Metabolism.

6 Jan 2009

Apolipoprotein D protects against Alzheimer's

Do Carmo and her collaborators have successfully demonstrated the protective and reparative role of apolipoprotein D, or ApoD, in neurodegenerative diseases. Their discovery suggests interesting avenues for preventing and slowing the progression of this type of illness.

6 Jan 2009

Recovery coaches reduce the number of babies exposed to drugs

Of the 4 million babies born in the United States each year around 11% have been exposed to alcohol or illicit drugs in the womb.

6 Jan 2009

Cancer cells pull off 'Houdini' escape to evade chemotherapy

Scientists have revealed for the first time that cancer cells can reverse a process which irrevocably commits normal cells to die, in a study published in the British Journal of Cancer.

6 Jan 2009

Scientists find new way to 'track' response to cancer drugs

Scientists have found a new way of accurately measuring the success of experimental cancer drugs, according to a study published in Cancer Research.

6 Jan 2009

Research initiative looks at helpful bacteria found on the skin

The study of ancient microbes may not seem consequential, but such pioneering research at the University of Oklahoma has implications for the state of modern human health.

5 Jan 2009

Stem cells from human testes can change into other body tissues

Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine and at UC-San Francisco have succeeded in isolating stem cells from human testes.

5 Jan 2009

The impact of substance use disorders on medical expenditures for Medicaid beneficiaries with behavioral health disorders

People with substance abuse disorders cost Medicaid hundreds of millions of dollars annually in medical care, suggesting that early interventions for substance abuse could not only improve outcomes but also save substantial amounts of money, according to a comprehensive study that examined records of nearly 150,000 people in six states.

5 Jan 2009

Females of all ages are less active than their male peers

Two studies, presented (Tuesday 6 January) at a major academic conference, reveal the gender difference in activity levels among school children and the over 70s. Both studies show males to be more physically active than females.

5 Jan 2009

Scientists now able to differentiate between normal stem cells and cancer stem cells in humans

One of the current handicaps of cancer treatments is the difficulty of aiming these treatments at destroying malignant cells without killing healthy cells in the process.

5 Jan 2009

Researchers gain new insight into cancer metastasis

Few things are as tiresome as house hunting and moving. Unfortunately, metastatic cancer cells have the relocation process down pat. Tripping nimbly from one abode to another, these migrating cancer cells often prove far more deadly than the original tumor.

5 Jan 2009

Prolonged nevirapine in breast-fed babies prevents HIV infection but leads to drug-resistant HIV

Babies born to HIV-positive mothers and given the antiretroviral drug nevirapine through the first six weeks of life to prevent infection via breast-feeding are at high risk for developing drug-resistant HIV if they get infected anyway, a team of researchers report.

5 Jan 2009

Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccines do not appear to protect against pneumonia

Commonly used pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccines do not appear to be effective for preventing pneumonia, found a study by a team of researchers from Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

5 Jan 2009

New insight into critical molecular mechanisms involved in aggressive childhood cancer

A new study reveals critical molecular mechanisms associated with the development and progression of human neuroblastoma, the most common cancer in young children.

5 Jan 2009

Why stopping smoking is hard

Just seeing someone smoke can trigger smokers to abandon their nascent efforts to kick the habit, according to new research conducted at Duke University Medical Center.

5 Jan 2009

New methods for studying DNA repair and protein modification

This month's issue of Cold Spring Harbor Protocols features two articles detailing experimental methods for the analysis of molecular processes involved in DNA repair and post-translational modification of proteins.

5 Jan 2009

Many teens discuss health risk behaviors on social networking websites

In a pair of related studies released by Seattle Children's Research Institute and published in the January 2009 issue of Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine , researchers found that 54 percent of adolescents frequently discuss high-risk activities including sexual behavior, substance abuse or violence using MySpace, the popular social networking Web site (SNS).

5 Jan 2009

Metadherin gene plays dual role in breast cancers with poor prognosis

A new study reveals that the metadherin gene (MTDH) plays a role in both cancer metastasis and resistance to chemotherapy.

5 Jan 2009

Collagen VI protects brain cells against amyloid-beta proteins

Scientists from the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease (GIND), UCSF, and Stanford have discovered that a certain type of collagen, collagen VI, protects brain cells against amyloid-beta proteins, which are widely thought to cause Alzheimer's disease (AD).

5 Jan 2009

Discovery of new tumor suppressor for lung cancer

Cancer and cell biology experts at the University of Cincinnati (UC) have identified a new tumor suppressor that may help scientists develop more targeted drug therapies to combat lung cancer.

5 Jan 2009