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Gene mutation potentially involved in breast cancer initiation

Researchers have found evidence suggesting that a mutation in a gene that normally helps block the formation of breast tumors could play a role in the initiation of a major form of breast cancer.

6 Jun 2006

Vitamin K in the U.S. diet

Much of what is known about the content of vitamin K in the US food supply comes from research conducted in the Vitamin K Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University.

6 Jun 2006

PET imaging of cerebral cannabinoid CB1 receptors with [11C]JHU75528

A team of Johns Hopkins researchers developed a new radiotracer - a radioactive substance that can be traced in the body - to visualize and quantify the brain's cannabinoid receptors by positron emission tomography (PET).

6 Jun 2006

Gardenia fruit compound helps treat the symptoms of type 2 diabetes

A Gardenia fruit extract traditionally used in Chinese medicine to treat the symptoms of type 2 diabetes does indeed contain a chemical that reverses some of the pancreatic dysfunctions that underlie the disease, researchers report in Cell Metabolism.

6 Jun 2006

Nerve signals sent to the pancreas after eating play a critical role in blood sugar control

A critical role for b cell M3 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in regulating insulin release and blood glucose homeostasis in vivo.

6 Jun 2006

Evidence is strong that green tea lowers the risk for a number of chronic diseases

There is a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease and cancer in Asia where people smoke heavily, which may be accounted for by high consumption of tea, particularly green tea, according to a review article published by a Yale School of Medicine researcher.

6 Jun 2006

Activity in the lateral prefrontal cortex reflects multiple steps of future events in action plans

Studies in which monkeys were asked to manipulate computer cursors for fruit juice rewards have revealed that the brain's "executive" center plans behaviors not by specifying movements required for given actions, but rather the events that will result from those actions.

6 Jun 2006

Dietary glycemic index and carbohydrate in relation to early age-related macular degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the leading causes of vision loss in older adults and a person's risk may partly depend upon diet.

6 Jun 2006

Better understanding of DNA damage

Researchers have known for years that damaged DNA can lead to human diseases such as cancer, but how damage occurs - and what causes it - has remained less clear.

6 Jun 2006

Novel research points to promising relief target for chronic pain

By some accounts, chronic pain affects nearly 100 million Americans from such varied causes as arthritis, sciatica, cancer, diabetes. Most forms of pain result from identifiable causes which serve the "good" purpose in warning of a real physical problem that needs attention, or rest.

6 Jun 2006

Researchers increase bone mass by tweaking the shape of a regulatory protein

Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) researchers at Stanford University have found that they can increase bone mass in mice by tweaking the shape of a regulatory protein.

6 Jun 2006

Researchers show that different forms of amyloid beta lead to neural damage in different ways

Researchers at UC Irvine have shown that different forms of amyloid beta lead to neural damage in different ways, leading to an increasingly complex view of amyloid toxicity in the Alzheimer brain.

6 Jun 2006

Researchers discover the presence of the genetic material RNA in the centrosome

Researchers have discovered the presence of the genetic material RNA in the centrosome, the organizing structure inside each cell that assures proper cell division.

6 Jun 2006

New research on brain, hormones and behavior

New clinical and basic science research findings focusing on the interaction between hormones and the brain and its influence on behavior will be presented for the first time at the 6th International Congress of Neuroendocrinology.

6 Jun 2006

Maternal vitamin D levels and infant bone density

Can bones remember? According to new research presented at the IOF World Congress on Osteoporosis in Toronto, Canada they can.

6 Jun 2006

Drug adverts aimed at cancer patients difficult to read

Oncology drug advertisements that ran in patient-focused cancer magazines presented the drugs' benefits differently -- earlier in the advertisement text and in larger type size -- than their side effects or risks, according to an analysis by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

6 Jun 2006

Gene therapy used to accelerate muscle regeneration

Researchers have successfully used gene therapy to accelerate muscle regeneration in experimental animals with muscle damage.

6 Jun 2006

Potential new treatment for diabetic nerve damage

A potentially ground-breaking treatment for nerve damage caused by diabetes has shown promising results in preclinical and early patient trials.

From The University of Manchester 6 Jun 2006

Asthma sufferers reduce need for inhalers by breathing exercises

Scientists in Australia say that people with mild asthma benefit from exercises that focus on shallow breathing through the nose, as well as non-specific upper body exercises, and can reduce the need to use a bronchodilator inhaler by as much as 86 per cent.

6 Jun 2006

Researchers create process to inhibit proteins important in HIV and cancer

Using small molecules containing platinum, Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center researchers have created a process to inhibit a class of proteins important in HIV and cancer.

6 Jun 2006