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Discovery of molecular signal that helps muscle regenerate and protects it from atrophy

It does not take much to injure a muscle. Sometimes one sudden, inconsiderate movement does the job.

20 Dec 2007

A genetic influence on alcohol addiction found - lack of endorphin

The research reveals that a subject's brain with low beta-endorphin levels becomes accustomed to the presence of an exogenous surplus, diminishing its own supply and triggering dependence on an external source--in this case, alcohol.

19 Dec 2007

20,000 deaths each day from cancer

According to the results of a new report by the American Cancer Society, worldwide in 2007 there were more than 12 million new cancer cases diagnosed.

19 Dec 2007

Surprising findings related to myotonic muscular dystrophy and heart protein

New research from the University of Virginia Health System shows that, in cases of Type 1 myotonic muscular dystrophy (DM1), a well known heart protein does several surprising things.

18 Dec 2007

Researchers initiate gene therapy trial in patients with advanced skin cancer

Researchers at the Ireland Cancer Center of University Hospitals Case Medical Center are the first in the region to have joined a nationwide clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a gene therapy in patients with advanced melanoma which is aimed to help a patient ' s own immune system fight their cancer.

18 Dec 2007

Discovery of new ALS gene

The ALS research team at Umea University in Sweden, working with Dutch and Belgian colleagues, has found new connections between mutations in gene DPP6 and contracting the non-hereditary form of ALS. The findings are being published december 16 in Nature Genetics on the Web.

18 Dec 2007

Overexcited neurons not good for cell health

Neurotransmitters have consequences. They initiate events that are critical to a healthy life, giving us the ability to move, to talk, to breathe, to think. But that's if the neurotransmitters are getting it right and sending proper signals downstream to muscle cells, neurons or other cells.

18 Dec 2007

What makes us shiver?

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University's Neurological Sciences Institute have uncovered the system that tells the body when to perform one of its most basic defenses against the cold: shivering.

18 Dec 2007

Research provides new information about the body's immune system

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University have uncovered new information about the body's immune system in a study that suggests new strategies may be in order for protecting the country's aging population against disease.

18 Dec 2007

New understanding on alcohol's role in developing alcoholic chronic pancreatitis

Chronic, excessive alcohol consumption is a major risk factor for developing chronic pancreatitis (pancreatic inflammation).

18 Dec 2007

New mechanical insights into wound healing and scar tissue formation

New research published today in the Journal of Cell Biology illuminates the mechanical factors that play a critical role in the differentiation and function of fibroblasts, connective tissue cells that play a role in wound healing and scar tissue formation.

18 Dec 2007

Discovery reveals how fat is stored in cells

In discovering the genes responsible for storing fat in cells, scientists at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have answered one of biology's most fundamental questions.

18 Dec 2007

Agent orange chemical, dioxin, attacks the mitochondria to cause cancer

Researchers with the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine have demonstrated the process by which the cancer-causing chemical dioxin attacks the cellular machinery, disrupts normal cellular function and ultimately promotes tumor progression.

18 Dec 2007

Bowel cancer genes that triple risk discovered

Cancer Research UK funded scientists have identified two common genetic variants that could triple a person's risk of getting bowel cancer. Their findings are published in Nature Genetics (Sunday).

17 Dec 2007

Four-fold increase in UK soldiers testing positive for cocaine

The British Army is losing the equivalent of one battalion a year as a result of illegal drug-use, more than the number of fatalities and serious casualties in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

17 Dec 2007

Brain malfunction explains dehydration in elderly

As Australia faces another hot, dry summer, scientists from Melbourne's Howard Florey Institute have warned that elderly people are at risk of becoming dehydrated because their brains underestimate how much water they need to drink to rehydrate.

17 Dec 2007

Psychosocial treatments reduce tics and Tourette syndrome

At a time when doctors reach for drugs as a first line of treatment for psychological disorders ranging from attention hyperactivity/deficit disorder (ADHD) to bipolar disorder, a review of the reported research indicates that behavioral programs and procedures can effectively reduce the symptoms of tic disorders.

17 Dec 2007

Direct link between obesity and colorectal cancer

A clear, direct link between obesity and colorectal cancer, the second most common form of cancer in Australia with more than 12,000 new cases each year, has been shown in a new analysis by The George Institute for International Health in Sydney, Australia.

17 Dec 2007

12 million cancer deaths worldwide in 2007

A new American Cancer Society report estimates that there will be over 12 million new cancer cases and 7.6 million cancer deaths (about 20,000 cancer deaths a day) worldwide in 2007.

17 Dec 2007