Medical Research News

RSS

Defects in critical DNA repair genes may predict pancreatic cancer risk

Abnormalities in genes that repair mistakes in DNA replication may help identify people who are at high risk of developing pancreatic cancer, a research team from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports in the Jan. 15 issue of Clinical Cancer Research .

19 Jan 2009

New approach to treat advanced melanoma

Skin cancer patient Debra Gardocki receives an injection from oncologist Dr. Sanjiv Agarwala as part of a study exploring a new approach to treat advanced melanoma -- an often fatal form of cancer for which there are limited effective treatment options.

19 Jan 2009

Nanotubes sniff out cancer agents in living cells

A multidisciplinary team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed carbon nanotubes that can be used as sensors for cancer drugs and other DNA-damaging agents inside living cells. The sensors, made of carbon nanotubes wrapped in DNA, can detect chemotherapy drugs such as cisplatin as well as environmental toxins and free radicals that damage DNA.

18 Jan 2009

Too much coffee can lead to hallucinations

According to a study by researchers at Durham University people with a higher caffeine intake, from coffee, tea and caffeinated energy drinks, are more likely to experience hallucinatory experiences such as hearing voices and seeing things that are not there.

18 Jan 2009

Telephone support after traffic accidents reduces problems and improves quality of life

People who were injured in road accidents had fewer problems and a much higher quality of life if they received a simple follow-up call from a nurse three weeks after being discharged from hospital, according to research in the January issue of the Journal of Clinical Nursing.

15 Jan 2009

Bone marrow stem cells used to regenerate skin

A new study suggests that adult bone marrow stem cells can be used in the construction of artificial skin.

15 Jan 2009

Study shows surgery provides good long-term outcomes for patients with gastrointestinal cancers

New research published in the January issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows that laparoscopic removal of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) is safe and effective, with a disease-free survival rate of nearly 80 percent after an average follow-up time of three and a-half years.

15 Jan 2009

Study shows how defective DNA repair triggers 2 neurological diseases

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have teased apart the biological details distinguishing two related neurological diseases-ataxia telangiectasia-like disease (ATLD) and Nijmegen breakage syndrome (NBS).

15 Jan 2009

Odors can alter gene expression in an olfactory neuron

New research from University of California, Davis, shows why a species of tiny worm can learn to ignore an odor – information that could have implications for how human memories are formed.

15 Jan 2009

Study examines live birth rates following IVF

Thirty years ago last summer, the world's first "test-tube" baby was born, and since then more than 1 million infants have been successfully conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF), the technique in which a woman's eggs and man's sperm are fertilized in a laboratory and then implanted in the mother's womb.

15 Jan 2009

Stem cells could be used for personalized cancer treatment

Using cancer cells from an ovarian cancer patient and human embryonic stem cells, Israeli researchers have created a cancerous tumor in a mouse that mimics the way the tumor would develop in the patient's body.

15 Jan 2009

Domain duplication, divergence, and loss events in vertebrate Msx paralogs reveal phylogenomically informed disease markers

The work of Forsyth scientist Peter Jezewski, DDS, Ph.D., has revealed that duplication and diversification of protein regions ('modules') within ancient master control genes is key to the understanding of certain birth disorders.

15 Jan 2009

Discovery of protein that amplifies cell death

Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have identified a small intracellular protein that helps cells commit suicide.

15 Jan 2009

Repressive protein plays unexpected role in odor adaptation

New research provides valuable insight into the molecular mechanisms that allow experience to influence behavior.

15 Jan 2009

Even small amounts of exercise good for people with serious mental illnesses

A new study from Indiana University suggests that even meager levels of physical activity can improve the mood of people with serious mental illnesses (SMI) such as bipolar disorder, major depression and schizophrenia.

15 Jan 2009

You may not be what your mother eats

Researchers S. Stanley Young, Ph.D., Assistant Director of the National Institute of Statistical Sciences, Heejung Bang, Ph.D., of Cornell University and Kutluk Oktay. MD, FACOG, Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Director, Division of Reproductive Medicine & Infertility Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology from New York Medical College, wrote a paper, "Cereal-Induced Gender Selection? Most Likely a Multiple Testing False Positive," which has been published in the January 14, 2009 online issue of the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

15 Jan 2009