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Link found between bisphenol A and heart disease

British scientists have revealed a possible link between the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) and disease in adults.

13 Oct 2008

Methamphetamine enters brain quickly and lingers

Using positron emission tomography (PET) to track tracer doses of methamphetamine in humans' brains, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory find that the addictive and long-lasting effects of this increasingly prevalent drug can be explained in part by its pharmacokinetics - the rate at which it enters and clears the brain, and its distribution.

13 Oct 2008

Pump up the volume - but risk permanent hearing damage

Scientists are warning that listening to music through earphones, at high volumes, can cause permanent hearing damage - they say noise-induced hearing damage above 80-85 decibels is a known phenomenon and such damage can be prevented to a large extent by reducing the noise exposure levels and duration.

13 Oct 2008

Link found between mitochondria and tumor formation in stem cells

Researchers report on a previously unknown relationship between stem cell potency and the metabolic rate of their mitochondria -a cell's energy makers. Stem cells with more active mitochondria also have a greater capacity to differentiate and are more likely to form tumors.

12 Oct 2008

New discovery on how fruits and vegetables protect from cancer

Scientists have found a new possible explanation for why people who eat more fruit and vegetables may gain protection against the spread of cancers.

12 Oct 2008

Funding boost for Alzheimer's research in Bristol

Researchers at the University of Bristol are about to start work on new projects investigating the causes of Alzheimer's disease.

12 Oct 2008

Landmark study unlocks stem cell, DNA secrets to speed therapies

In a groundbreaking study led by an eminent molecular biologist at Florida State University, researchers have discovered that as embryonic stem cells turn into different cell types, there are dramatic corresponding changes to the order in which DNA is replicated and reorganized.

12 Oct 2008

Bisphenol A linked to diabetes and heart disease in adults

A research team from the Peninsula Medical School, the University of Exeter, the University of Plymouth and the University of Iowa, have found evidence linking Bisphenol A (BPA) to diabetes and heart disease in adults.

12 Oct 2008

Study reveals that signs of heart disease are attributed to stress more frequently in women than men

Research presented at the 20th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium, sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), found that coronary heart disease (CHD) symptoms presented in the context of a stressful life event were identified as psychogenic in origin when presented by women and organic in origin when presented by men. The study could help explain why there is often a delay in the assessment of women with heart disease.

12 Oct 2008

Body's built-in weapon against HIV explained

Humans have a built-in weapon against HIV, but until recently no one knew how to unlock its potential.

12 Oct 2008

Inherited disorders and copy number changes in human alpha-globin genes

A researcher from the University of Leicester has shed new light on the way genetic material is exchanged between chromosomes, the effect this 'aberrant exchange' has had on inherited disorders like thalassaemia (a form of anaemia), and its link with malaria.

12 Oct 2008

Research explores potential link between surname and Y chromosome type

Scientists at the world-leading Department of Genetics at the University of Leicester - where the revolutionary technique of genetic fingerprinting was invented by Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys- are developing techniques which may one day allow police to work out someone's surname from the DNA alone.

12 Oct 2008

Reason for body's response to borrelia discovered

Inside a cell it is so crowded that a certain protein from borrelia winds up being crunched. From having been like an oblong rugby football, it gets bent and then collapses into a lump. At this point a previously hidden part appears, known to trigger the formation of antibodies. This explains how Borrelia can be diagnosed, a process that was previously unknown.

12 Oct 2008

On the trail of a targeted therapy for blood cancer

Investigators from the Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research at the Indiana University School of Medicine are focusing on a family of blood proteins that they hope holds a key to decreasing the toxic effects of chemotherapy in children and adults.

12 Oct 2008