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New findings may help better understand how harmless viruses can cause severe disease among patients with weakened immune systems

When a major branch of the mouse immune system is disabled, a normally harmless virus can rapidly mutate into a lethal one, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

17 Jun 2004

£11.5m for new structural proteomics research

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) has announced that two new research projects will together receive nearly £11.5m under the Structural Proteomics of Rational Targets Initiative (SPORT).

17 Jun 2004

Low back pain research using surface electromyography (SEMG) technology

Low back pain research using surface electromyography (SEMG) technology may lead to the development of a valid and reliable tool to prevent the condition, it was announced today.

17 Jun 2004

Australian researchers awarded funding for new HIV vaccines

Australian researchers at Monash University have been awarded $488,125 in development grants by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) for projects exploring new vaccines for HIV, the development of medical diagnostic devices and the development of drugs to treat metastatic cancers.

17 Jun 2004

Virtual reality helps people with stroke regain use of their upper limbs

Researchers from the University of Ulster and the Royal Hospitals have developed revolutionary techniques to help people with stroke regain use of their upper limbs, with the help of virtual reality.

17 Jun 2004

Fragranced candles can have valuable and effective bactericidal properties

In recent years the consumer market for candles has grown dramatically, as candles of all shapes, sizes, colours and fragrances have been used increasingly in homes and restaurants to create atmosphere and enhance mood.

17 Jun 2004

Emergence of MRSA bacteria that are increasingly resistant to vancomycin

Researchers had previously thought that such bacteria were emerging from only one sort of the MRSA superbug, but the new study has shown that they have evolved in all major types.

17 Jun 2004

$2 million to advance medical research in Australia

Fourteen leading medical research teams across Australia have been granted $2 million by the Commonwealth Government to advance their medical research projects.

17 Jun 2004

New clues into the mystery of the brain’s ultra-complicated cells known as neurons

Researchers from USC and the Technion Medical School in Israel have uncovered new clues into the mystery of the brain’s ultra-complicated cells known as neurons.

16 Jun 2004

Statement on the legislation to double the funding for Alzheimer’s research

Sheldon Goldberg, president and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association issued the following statement today on the legislation to double the funding for Alzheimer’s research at the National Institutes of Health

16 Jun 2004

Potential new strategy for blocking tumor growth

Targeting a master molecule that helps cancer cells survive when blood oxygen levels are low may offer a potentially powerful strategy for blocking tumor growth, say researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

16 Jun 2004

74 percent of Americans support call for the Bush White House to lift restrictions on stem cell research

By a decisive margin of 74-21 percent, Americans support former First Lady Nancy Reagan’s call for the Bush White House to lift restrictions on stem cell research in order to look for possible treatments for the Alzheimer’s disease that afflicted former President Ronald Reagan prior to his recent death

16 Jun 2004

SUVs pose greater injury risk to pedestrians

Although pedestrian injuries have decreased in recent years, they still remain a significant health problem, accounting for 13 percent of traffic fatalities in the U.S. The growing popularity of light trucks, a category that includes sport utility vehicles (SUVs), has presented a new challenge for pedestrians and raises an important question: Do light trucks increase the risk of severe injury and death for pedestrians?

15 Jun 2004

Drug combination reduces cocaine use

Researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center are the first to demonstrate that a combination of drug therapies targeting the region of the brain that controls drug abuse and addiction significantly reduces cocaine use in nonhuman primates.

15 Jun 2004

Nordic networks to explore Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, stroke, migraine, epilepsy, cancer and autoimmune and metabolic disorders

Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, stroke, migraine, epilepsy, cancer and autoimmune and metabolic disorders – these are examples of diseases that will be explored by the three Nordic networks that have been granted financial support from the joint Nordic venture ”Nordic Centre of Excellence Programme in Molecular Medicine”.

15 Jun 2004

Link between adult leg length and coronary heart disease in women

Researchers at Bristol University have found a link between adult leg length – an indicator of diet and living conditions during childhood – and coronary heart disease in women.

15 Jun 2004

Significant vaccine advance for Parkinson’s disease therapy

Scientists at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha and Columbia University Medical Center in New York have discovered a new vaccine approach that successfully prevents the death of brain cells in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease.

15 Jun 2004

New target for control of early-stage asthma

A new target for control of early-stage asthma has been identified by McGill University professor Qutayba Hamid, working as part of a team whose landmark study appears in the latest issue of the journal Science.

14 Jun 2004

Being bilingual helps keep the brain sharper with age

Most will agree that two heads are better than one in solving problems. The same logic may be true for language and retaining cognitive processes as we age. Being fluent in two languages seems to prevent some of the cognitive decline seen in same-age monolingual speaking persons, according to the findings of a study appearing in this month’s journal of Psychology and Aging.

14 Jun 2004

Researchers have recreated the ability of mammalian cells to self-organize

For the first time, UCLA researchers have recreated the ability of mammalian cells to self-organize, forming evenly spaced patterns in a test tube. Published in the June 22, 2004 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the findings may help improve methods for regenerating tissue, controlling birth defects and developing new treatments for specific diseases.

14 Jun 2004