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New research points to possible treatment for Lou Gehrig's disease

There are many ways to die, but amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease must be one of the worst.

10 Dec 2008

Scientists create first functional stem-cell niche model

Like it or not, your living room probably says a lot about you. Given a few uninterrupted moments to poke around, a stranger could probably get a pretty good idea of your likes and dislikes, and maybe even your future plans.

10 Dec 2008

Researchers explore neural mechanisms behind responsibility and punishment

A new study reveals that humans use different neural mechanisms for determining criminal responsibility and assigning an appropriate punishment.

10 Dec 2008

Decreased levels of binding gene affect memory and behavior

Reducing the activity of a gene called FKBP12 in the brains of mice affected neuron-to-neuron communication (synapse) and increased both fearful memory and obsessive behavior, indicating the gene could provide a target for drugs to treat diseases such as autism spectrum disorder, obsessive-compulsive disease and others, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston in a report in the current issue of the journal Neuron.

10 Dec 2008

Researchers map changing epigenetic modifications that enable transposons to run amok

Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. – Much like cancer cells, plant cells grown for a long time outside of their normal milieu, in culture dishes, have highly unstable genomes.

10 Dec 2008

Cellular 'brakes' may slow memory process in aging brains

University of Florida researchers may have discovered why some brain cells necessary for healthy memory can survive old age or disease, while similar cells hardly a hairsbreadth away die.

10 Dec 2008

Brain deletion of FK506-binding protein enhances repetitive behaviors in mice

A new study reveals a link between dysregulation of a common signaling pathway and repetitive behaviors similar to those associated with multiple neurological and neurodegenerative disorders including, autism spectrum disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, and Huntington's disease.

10 Dec 2008

Research looks at neighborhoods and obesity in later life

Living in an affluent neighborhood with a higher educated population and higher valued homes may play a protective role against obesity for older men and women, according to UMDNJ researchers.

10 Dec 2008

Panic attacks linked to higher risk of heart attacks and heart disease, especially in younger people

People who have been diagnosed with panic attacks or panic disorder have a greater risk of subsequently developing heart disease or suffering a heart attack than the normal population, with higher rates occurring in younger people, according to research published in Europe's leading cardiology journal, the European Heart Journal.

10 Dec 2008

NSW's biggest ever trial to prevent type 2 diabetes

Sydney University researchers are behind a new $5 million trial to address the growing problem of type 2 diabetes among the NSW adult population.

10 Dec 2008

UK kidney cancer patients face toxic, out-dated treatments with little hope of change

Leading oncologist Professor Tim Eisen has expressed concerns that patients with advanced kidney cancer could be condemned to toxic, barely effective, 20 year-old treatments because the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is likely to rule out using all four of the new treatments it has assessed.

10 Dec 2008

Study reveals effects of unconscious exposure to advertisements

Fads have been a staple of American pop culture for decades, from spandex in the 1980s to skinny jeans today.

10 Dec 2008

Siblings of mentally disabled face own lifelong challenges

People who have a sibling with a mental illness are more likely to suffer episodes of depression at some point in their lives, say researchers who analyzed four decades of data.

10 Dec 2008

New clues to the roots of epilepsy, autism, schizophrenia

Rice University researchers have found a potential clue to the roots of epilepsy, autism, schizophrenia and other neurological disorders.

10 Dec 2008

Mould toxins in buildings more prevalent and hazardous than thought

Mould toxins in buildings damaged by moisture are considerably more prevalent than was previously thought, according to new international research.

10 Dec 2008

Intense chemo wards off recurrence in half of mantle cell lymphoma patients after seven years

More than half of younger mantle cell lymphoma patients who received an intensive regimen of chemotherapy as frontline treatment remain in remission seven years later, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report today at the 50th annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology.

10 Dec 2008

Antioxidants in honey adds health benefits to salad dressings

Antioxidant-rich honey is a healthy alternative to chemical additives and refined sweeteners in commercial salad dressings, said a new University of Illinois study.

10 Dec 2008

Hep C treatment pegylated interferon reduces the virus but liver damage continues

Treating patients who have chronic hepatitis C and advanced liver disease with long-term pegylated interferon significantly decreased their liver enzymes, viral levels and liver inflammation, but the treatment did not slow or prevent the progression of serious liver disease, a study finds.

10 Dec 2008

New discovery on cell division could improve chemotherapies for cancer

Researchers from the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a key step required for cell division in a study that could help improve therapies to treat cancer.

10 Dec 2008

Researchers visualize three-dimensional structure of protein, Mcm10

For the first time, structural biologists have managed to obtain the detailed three-dimensional structure of one of the proteins that form the core of the complex molecular machine, called the replisome, that plant and animal cells assemble to copy their DNA as the first step in cell reproduction.

10 Dec 2008