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New targets in cancer mutation puzzle

University of Rochester scientists, while investigating the two most frequent types of mutations in cancer, discovered a possible new route to treatment that would take advantage of the mutations instead of trying to repair them.

18 Feb 2007

Everyday plastics and pesticides may influence obesity

Obesity is generally discussed in terms of caloric intake (how much a person eats) and energy output (how much a person exercises).

18 Feb 2007

Insulin-like growth factor receptor implicated in development of Graves' disease

Investigators at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LA BioMed) have found evidence that continues to implicate insulin-like growth factor receptor (IGF-1R) in the development of Graves' disease.

18 Feb 2007

Novel spray method for delivering tuberculosis vaccine

Bioengineers and public health researchers at Harvard University have developed a novel spraying method for delivering the most common tuberculosis (TB) vaccine, providing a new low-cost and scaleable technique that offers needle-free delivery and greater stability at room temperature than existing methods.

18 Feb 2007

New drugs trials could slash treatment times

The current incidence and prevalence of tuberculosis are severely straining the capacity of some National Tuberculosis Control Programmes to successfully administer the WHO recommended standard six-month regimen.

18 Feb 2007

New research into human vision

Researchers from the Psychology departments of Queen's University Belfast, University College London and Saint Andrew's University have made an important finding which will inform research aimed at the development of intelligent robots capable of seeing in a similar way to humans.

18 Feb 2007

Tea tree oil can lead to antibiotic resistance

Repeated exposure to low doses of Tea Tree Oil - a common ingredient in many beauty products - can increase the chances of suffering from "superbug" infections, University of Ulster scientists have revealed.

18 Feb 2007

$204M effort to unite and conquer brain disorders

Australia's largest united effort to combat brain disorders - the Florey Neuroscience Institutes (FNI) and the Australian Centre for Neuroscience and Mental Health Research - will be officially launched by the Governor of Victoria, Prof David de Kretser AC at a Government House reception at 6:00pm on 22 February 2007.

18 Feb 2007

For the greater good of mankind - Major project will examine factors which cause common diseases

Researchers at the Kaiser Permanente research division are about to embark on one of the largest research projects in the United States.

18 Feb 2007

HIV protein TAT used to pull protein Bim into cancer cells - helps kill cancer cells

Cancer cells are sick, but they keep growing because they don't react to internal signals urging them to die. Now researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found an efficient way to get a messenger into cancer cells that forces them to respond to death signals. And they did it using one of the most sinister pathogens around - HIV.

15 Feb 2007

Sugar substitute Xylitol reduces risk of cavities

The sugar substitute xylitol affects the bacterial composition of the oral cavity even in low doses. On the other hand, a relatively high intake is needed to counteract the production of acid between the teeth, according to Pernilla Lif Holgerson in the dissertation she will defend at Umea University in Sweden on February 23.

15 Feb 2007

Slow-release morphine helps chronic persistent cough

Slow-release morphine helped a group of patients with long-term, treatment-resistant chronic cough reduce their daily cough score levels by 40 percent.

15 Feb 2007

New Kaiser Permanente research aims to reveal genetic and environmental causes behind deadly and disabling diseases

The Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research is launching one of the largest research projects in the United States to examine the genetic and environmental factors that influence common diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, Alzheimer's disease, asthma and many others.

15 Feb 2007

Primary targets of HIV-1 infection in human vagina identified

The primary targets of HIV-1 infection in the human vagina have been definitively identified in a new study published in the February 2007 issue of the journal Immunity. The findings are likely to guide development of new strategies that will prevent HIV-1 transmission.

15 Feb 2007

Shortening chromosomes cause for earlier cancer onset in families with Li-Fraumeni syndrome

In families with a high incidence of Li-Fraumeni syndrome, the ends of individuals' chromosomes act somewhat like a lit fuse, according to researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Their findings detail how telomeres, the ends of the chromosomes, shorten with every successive generation, leading to more severe cancers at an earlier age.

15 Feb 2007

Mechanism driving iron overload in thalassemia identified

Led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, an international group of scientists has pinpointed a specific genetic relationship as the cause of dangerous iron overload in persons with a form of the inherited blood disease, beta-thalassemia.

14 Feb 2007

Dipeptidyl peptidase I critical for early growth of abdominal aortic aneurysms

Surgery is the only treatment for an abdominal aortic aneurysm, a weak spot in the body's main artery that dilates dangerously over time.

13 Feb 2007

People from lower socioeconomic backgrounds worse off following heart attack

People from lower socioeconomic backgrounds who suffer a heart attack come to the emergency department more often, are less likely to be treated aggressively and have higher mortality rates a year after the attack, says new University of Alberta research that has important implications for access to cardiac care.

13 Feb 2007

Wearing sunscreen at all times could starve the body of vitamins

Professor Mary Norval and a team from the University of Edinburgh Medical School have studied recent research into effects of the UV light on human health - and the positive and negative implications of ozone depletion.

13 Feb 2007

Cravings for chocolate increased by dieting

Those planning to break New Year's dieting resolutions with a feast of chocolate on Valentine's Day, should think again, according to researchers at the University of Hertfordshire.

13 Feb 2007