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Brain cells called astrocytes, not neurons, lull the brain to sleep

Brain cells called astrocytes help to cause the urge to sleep that comes with prolonged wakefulness, according to a study in mice, funded by the National Institutes of Health.

2 Feb 2009

Inflammation may be the link between extreme sleep durations and poor health

A study in the Feb. 1 issue of the journal SLEEP shows that sleep duration is associated with changes in the levels of specific cytokines that are important in regulating inflammation.

2 Feb 2009

Study confirms persistence of diversity problems in academic medicine

A survey study believed to be one of the first efforts to put hard numbers around long-held beliefs about diversity in medical school faculties has affirmed that awareness and sensitivity to racial and ethnic diversity are believed by most faculty to be poor and even poorer among faculty who are members of underrepresented minorities.

2 Feb 2009

Stress may speed growth of melanoma tumors

For patients with a particularly aggressive form of skin cancer - malignant melanoma - stress, including that which comes from simply hearing that diagnosis, might amplify the progression of their disease.

2 Feb 2009

Scientists discover protein critical for the growth of pancreatic cancer

Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a protein critical for the growth of pancreatic cancer.

2 Feb 2009

Single gene lets bacteria jump from host to host

All life - plants, animals, people - depends on peaceful coexistence with a swarm of microbial life that performs vital services from helping to convert food to energy to protection from disease.

2 Feb 2009

Shift workers' body clocks studied to prevent certain cancers

Does shift work predispose you to cancer by altering the body's response to hormones?

2 Feb 2009

Researchers identify protein that may explain 'healthy' obesity

Mice whose fat cells were allowed to grow larger than fat cells in normal mice developed "healthy" obesity when fed a high-fat diet, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center found in a new study.

2 Feb 2009

Researchers disrupt biochemical system involved in cancer, degenerative disease

Screening a chemical library of 200,000 compounds, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified two new classes that can be used to study and possibly manipulate a cellular pathway involved in many types of cancer and degenerative diseases.

2 Feb 2009

Scientists develop sophisticated model to help researchers apply physics and mathematics concepts to cancer

Biology exists in a physical world. That's a fact cancer researchers are beginning to recognize as they look to include concepts of physics and mathematics in their efforts to understand how cancer develops -- and how to stop it.

2 Feb 2009

Physical therapists test mechanical arm to help patients recover from stroke, traumatic brain injury

Physical therapists at UT Southwestern Medical Center are evaluating a new mechanical arm that allows people recovering from neurological injuries such as strokes and traumatic brain injury to enter a virtual world where they can repeatedly practice movements needed to regain arm strength and movement.

2 Feb 2009

Link found between Parkinson's disease genes and manganese poisoning

A connection between genetic and environmental causes of Parkinson's disease has been discovered by a research team led by Aaron D. Gitler, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

2 Feb 2009

New CDC study assesses impact of genetic testing on health outcomes

Some genomic tests developed to personalize medical decisions about cancer care are beneficial, while for others the evidence is uncertain and reliance on the test might even lead to poorer medical management of cancer in some cases, according new recommendation statements from an expert panel.

2 Feb 2009

Personal intervention reduces drinking among risky college drinkers

Brief but personal intervention reduces drinking among risky college drinkers, according to a research study at The University of Texas School of Public Health.

2 Feb 2009

Internet program helps reduce depressive symptoms in teens

An Internet program helps to reduce depressive symptoms and prevent episodes of clinical depression in adolescent patients at risk, reports a study in the February issue of the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics.

2 Feb 2009

New compound shows potential as tuberculosis drug

Rajesh Gokhale has created a compound in his lab in India that stops tuberculosis in its tracks.

2 Feb 2009

Government services for young people at risk of drugs and alcohol misuse may be doing more harm than good

Current government programmes aimed at reducing drug and alcohol use among young people may be ineffective and may even be doing more harm than good, according to a paper published today in Public Policy Research, the quarterly journal published today by the Institute for Public Policy Research.

2 Feb 2009

Discovery could lead to a new animal model for hepatitis C

During its career, the potentially fatal hepatitis C virus has banked its success on a rather unusual strategy: its limitations.

2 Feb 2009

Bipolar disorders linked to increased risk of early death from medical illness

Bipolar disorders appear to increase the risk of early death from a medical illness, according to a literature review study published as the lead article this week in the journal Psychiatric Services.

2 Feb 2009

You are what your parents ate!

According to Australian scientists we are what our parents ate - scientists at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute say that very specific molecular events occur after the consumption of food high in glucose, causing chemical changes to our genetic controls.

2 Feb 2009