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Chemical mediator in blood found to also control breakdown of bone

A new study demonstrates that a chemical mediator in the blood that influences immune cell migration also plays a key role in maintaining the balance between the build-up and breakdown of bones in the body.

8 Feb 2009

Kidney damage causes high blood pressure

Doctors have long believed that high blood pressure directly caused kidney damage.

8 Feb 2009

Advances in vivo biological imaging

The Springer journal Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry (ABC) has chosen the chemist Wei Sun (26) as the recipient of its Best Paper Award 2008.

8 Feb 2009

New genes involved in acute lymphoblastic leukemia play fundamental role in prognosis of the disease

The inactivity or "silence" of certain genes plays a fundamental role in the prognosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia as well as in response to treatment, according to the results of research involving a team made up of specialists from the University Hospital of Navarra and the Center for Applied Medical Research at the same University of Navarra, as well as the Reina Sofía Hospital in Cordoba, Andalusia.

8 Feb 2009

Long-sought protein structure may help reveal how 'gene switch' works

The bacterium behind one of mankind's deadliest scourges, tuberculosis, is helping researchers at the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) move closer to answering the decades-old question of what controls the switching on and off of genes that carry out all of life's functions.

8 Feb 2009

Missing gene plays role in autism

It is estimated that three to six out of every 1,000 children in the United States have autism - and the number of diagnosed cases is rising.

8 Feb 2009

Study identifies gene variants associated with early-onset myocardial infarction

The largest study ever completed of genetic factors associated with heart attacks has identified nine genetic regions - three not previously described - that appear to increase the risk for early-onset myocardial infarction.

8 Feb 2009

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor protects key brain cells in Alzheimer's models

Memory loss, cognitive impairment, brain cell degeneration and cell death were prevented or reversed in several animal models after treatment with a naturally occurring protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF).

8 Feb 2009

Heart failure linked to memory problems

Nearly half of patients with heart failure (HF) have problems with memory and other aspects of cognitive functioning, reports a new study published by Elsevier, in the February issue of Journal of Cardiac Failure.

8 Feb 2009

Growth factor protects key brain cells in Alzheimer's models

8 Feb 2009

Discovery of direct link between vitamin D and MS susceptibility 'gene'

Researchers have found evidence that a direct interaction between vitamin D and a common genetic variant alters the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS).

8 Feb 2009

Emphysema linked to accelerated aging protein

A University of Iowa study is apparently the first to make a connection between a rare, hereditary premature aging disease and cell damage that comes from smoking.

8 Feb 2009

Breakthrough in thyroid cancer may enable more targeted risk assessment and earlier intervention

Scientists at deCODE genetics presented the discovery of two single letter variations in the sequence of the human genome (SNPs) conferring substantial increased risk of thyroid cancer.

8 Feb 2009

Cognitive training can alter the biochemistry of the brain

Researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have shown for the first time that the active training of the working memory brings about visible changes in the number of dopamine receptors in the human brain.

8 Feb 2009

Aspirin cuts stomach cancer risk

Aspirin users could be 36 per cent less likely to get a type of stomach cancer, according to a study published in the British Journal of Cancer.

8 Feb 2009

Researchers 'tighten' body's protective coating

A net with large holes won't catch small fish. Likewise, the microscopic fibers in the protective mucus coatings of the eyes, lungs, stomach or reproductive system naturally bundle together and allow the tiniest disease-causing bugs, allergens or pollutants to slip by.

8 Feb 2009

Research to explore why lupus therapies work for some, not others

The results should shed light not only on the mechanisms behind the disease, but more broadly on the workings of our immune system, especially how our bodies churn out and "train" key combat-ready immune cells, called B-cells.

8 Feb 2009

Extra copies of LIS1 gene carry extra risk

Is more of a good thing better? A gene known as LIS1 is crucial for ensuring the proper placement of neurons in the developing brain.

5 Feb 2009

Xenophobia, for men only

Very few people fear dandelions. Or even dangerous things - like Hummers. We may object to outsized automobiles on principle, but the mere sight of them doesn't make us tremble and sweat and run away. On the other hand, even toddlers show an automatic and powerful fear of snakes, including harmless ones.

5 Feb 2009