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Cochlear implant restores hearing to patient with von Hippel-Lindau disease

Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have, for the first time, used a bionic ear to restore hearing in a patient with von Hippel-Lindau disease.

8 Jun 2007

Diet influenced by genetics

The relative amount of protein, carbohydrate, and fat that people choose to eat may be influenced by genetics, according to new research.

8 Jun 2007

Ethically universal stem cell lines

Human embryonic stem cells (hESC), those very young cells that are a biological blank slate, have the potential to become more specialized, contributing to the workings of a wide variety of organs and tissues.

8 Jun 2007

New target for the Fragile X mental retardation protein

Researchers in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences at Yale School of Medicine have identified a new regulatory target for the Fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP), laying the groundwork for possible new treatments for Fragile X syndrome(FXS), the leading inherited form of mental retardation.

8 Jun 2007

Blocking the action of beta1-integrin to treat cancer

Targeting the function of a protein known as beta1-integrin might represent a novel approach to cancer treatment, according to a paper published online in the EMBO Journal.

8 Jun 2007

Reprogrammed fibroblasts resemble embryonic stem cells

Stem cell biology takes another exciting leap forward as scientists report that normal tissue cells can be reprogrammed to exhibit many of the properties that are characteristic of embryonic stem cells, including the ability to give rise to multiple cell types and contribute to the germline.

8 Jun 2007

Aging stem cells in mice may hold answers to diseases of the aged

As stem cells in the blood grow older, genetic mutations accumulate that could be at the root of blood diseases that strike people as they age, according to work done in mice by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

8 Jun 2007

Researchers find stem cells in colorectal tumors

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have identified the cancer stem cells that propagate tumors in colon and rectal cancer, a discovery that could lead to improved treatment of this deadly cancer.

5 Jun 2007

What the brain does while idle

Indiana University neuroscientists Olaf Sporns and Christopher Honey find the 98 percent of brain activity that other researchers consider just background noise to be fascinating and important.

5 Jun 2007

Researchers track human stem cells transplanted into rat brain

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have illuminated the path taken by human neural stem cells that were transplanted into the brains of rats and mice, and found that the cells successfully navigate toward areas damaged by stroke.

5 Jun 2007

Blocking stress protein decreases Alzheimer's peptide

Scientists revealed in November 2006 that stress increases production in mice of a brain peptide critical to Alzheimer's disease.

5 Jun 2007

breakthrough in the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary haemosiderosis

Researchers at Queen Mary University London and the University of Leicester and have announced a potential breakthrough in the treatment of a rare but devastating medical condition that can affect children and young people.

5 Jun 2007

Time-of-flight positron emission tomography provides benefits for cancer patients

Moving from computer simulation to patient images, researchers are now demonstrating the benefits that time-of-flight (TOF)/PET (positron emission tomography) imaging can provide for cancer patients.

5 Jun 2007

What causes Alzheimer's disease?

Researchers tied the accumulation of the toxic brain protein beta-amyloid to Alzheimer's disease, according to a study reported at the 54th Annual Meeting of SNM, the world's largest society for molecular imaging and nuclear medicine professionals.

5 Jun 2007

How and why weight-reducing surgery sometimes cures diabetes

95% of morbidly obese people – those with a Body Mass Index of over 40 – have Type 2 diabetes, sometimes known as maturity-onset diabetes.

5 Jun 2007

Tumor cell activity may provide clues for treating breast cancer in young women

When women under 50 develop breast cancer the disease tends to be more aggressive and less responsive to treatment than when it occurs in older women.

5 Jun 2007

TB test offers patients quicker and easier diagnosis

A new test for diagnosing TB offers a quick and simple alternative to existing three-day methods, according to research published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

5 Jun 2007

New precise method for studying the DNA binding of small molecules

Northeastern University professor Mark C. Williams and colleague Ioana Vladescu have discovered a novel method for studying the DNA binding of small molecules with unprecedented accuracy.

5 Jun 2007

Link between khat use and mental illness

Researchers investigating the evidence for a potential causal link between khat use and mental illness - in the first ever systematic review of the topic - have called for improved research on the stimulant plant, and its possible association with psychiatric disorders.

5 Jun 2007

Exposure to pesticides and traumatic head injury are associated with Parkinson's disease

The work, which is published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, was carried out under the Fifth Framework Programme (FP5) Geoparkinson project, which aimed to investigate how genetic and environmental factors interact to cause Parkinson's disease and related conditions.

5 Jun 2007