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Australian naturopaths in favour of regulation

Naturopaths are strongly in favour of regulation of their industry, a University of Queensland researcher has found.

10 Jul 2008

Advances in RNA research

RNA, the transporter of genetic information within the cell, has emerged from the shadow of DNA to become one of the hottest research areas of molecular biology, with implications for many diseases as well as understanding of evolution. But the field is complex, requiring access to the latest equipment and techniques of imaging, gene expression analysis and bioinformatics, as well as cross-pollination between multiple scientific disciplines.

10 Jul 2008

Researchers measure movements smaller than one-billionth of a meter in ion channels

Each thought or action sends a million electrical signals pulsing through your body. At the heart of the process of generating these electrical impulses is the ion channel.

10 Jul 2008

UGA discovery could lead to new ways to attack cancers by blocking their ability to grow

Human cancer cells divide and conquer. Unless physicians can control that division with surgery, chemotherapy or radiation, the wildly dividing cells will eventually destroy a person's life.

10 Jul 2008

Novel approach shows potential to become an emergency treatment for heart attack patients

Researchers at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia have manipulated cell activity that occurs during the interruption of blood flow to strongly protect heart tissue in animal studies. The finding has the potential to become an emergency treatment for heart attack patients, particularly since already existing drugs might be pressed into service to produce the protective effects.

10 Jul 2008

More research needed into effects of flavonoids and flavonoid-rich food sources on heart disease

More research is needed into food compounds which could reduce the risk of heart disease, according to a systematic review of trials carried out so far.

10 Jul 2008

Heat waves when in hospital

Deaths due to high temperatures occur so quickly that patients do not have time to be admitted to hospital. This is why prevention campaigns are necessary to try and reduce the negative effects of the heat on health. This is pointed out in new research undertaken at the Hospital Universitario Gregorio Maranon, Madrid.

10 Jul 2008

Researchers crack final part of the immune system code

A group of researchers at the Technical University of Denmark and the University of Copenhagen have developed models of neural networks that make it possible to simulate how the body protects itself from disease and predict the immune system's access codes.

10 Jul 2008

Researcher develops method for early detection of leukemia relapse

Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have developed a method that allows for the early detection of a common mechanism of resistance on drug treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia.

10 Jul 2008

Neuron to publish Prana's PBT2 preclinical research on Alzheimer's disease

Prana Biotechnology Ltd. has announced the publication of key research findings with its lead Alzheimer's Disease drug, PBT2.

10 Jul 2008

New system pinpoints potential "biomarkers" of early forms of the disease

In order to provide the most effective treatments for cancer patients, it is essential to develop methods of sensitive and specific early detection of the disease. A team of scientists from the NIBRT Dublin-Oxford Glycobiology Laboratory at UCD has developed a system which aims to pinpoint potential "biomarkers" of early forms of the disease.

10 Jul 2008

Enzyme may explain how hepatitis C infection causes fatty liver

A key enzyme may explain how hepatitis C infection causes fatty liver - a buildup of excess fat in the liver, which can lead to life-threatening diseases such as cirrhosis and liver cancer, report University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and School of Medicine researchers.

10 Jul 2008

Scientists reveal potential new target for anti-malarial drugs

Scientists funded by the Wellcome Trust have identified a key mechanism that enables malaria-infected red blood cells to stick to the walls of blood vessels and avoid being destroyed by the body's immune system. The research, published today in the journal Cell, highlights an important potential new target for anti-malarial drugs.

10 Jul 2008

Circulating tumor cells can reveal genetic signature of dangerous lung cancers

Using a miniature laboratory-on-a-chip device, a team of investigators at the Massachusetts General Hospital, led by Daniel Haber, M.D., Ph.D., and Mehmet Toner, Ph.D., both members of the MIT-Harvard Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence (CCNE), has developed a method that detects and analyzes the genetic signature of rare tumor cells in the bloodstream.

9 Jul 2008

Genetic change in dopamine transporter supports a role for dopamine signaling in ADHD

A genetic change in the dopamine transporter - one of the brain's dopamine-handling proteins - makes it behave as if amphetamine is present and "run backward," Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators report this week in The Journal of Neuroscience.

9 Jul 2008

New tool identifies genes affecting health

A new tool which makes it possible to extract information about an individual's health from genotypes in a fraction of a second, has been developed by an academic at the University of Southampton.

9 Jul 2008

Smaller mouthfulls and eating slowly reduces calorie intake

According to new research from the U.S., eating smaller bites and eating slowly encourages people to eat less.

9 Jul 2008

Protein found in immune cells may be a reliable marker for schizophrenia risk

Schizophrenia is a severe and complex psychiatric illness that affects about 1% of the population. Diagnosis currently relies on subjective clinical interviews and the assessment of ambiguous symptoms, which frequently leads to delayed diagnosis and treatment. As such, biomarkers that would indicate schizophrenia risk or onset would be extremely useful.

8 Jul 2008

Normal-looking sperm may have serious damage; scientists urge more care in selection

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), where a single sperm is injected into an egg to fertilise it, is increasingly used to help infertile men father children. Although the sperm chosen for the procedure may appear quite normal, researchers in the US have found that many of them in fact have DNA damage, which can decrease the chances of pregnancy.

8 Jul 2008

Transgenic tomatoes as edible vaccine carriers for Alzheimer's disease

The humble tomato could be a suitable carrier for an oral vaccine against Alzheimer's disease, according to HyunSoon Kim from the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB) in Korea and colleagues from Digital Biotech Inc. and the Department of Biological Science at Wonkwang University.

8 Jul 2008