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Liposuction surgery reduces risk of ultraviolet-light induced skin cancer

Is it possible that liposuction or other fat removal procedures are beneficial for treating obesity and reducing the risk of cancer? When it comes to humans, scientists can't answer that question. They know that obesity increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer. But there have not been clinical studies to determine if the surgical removal of fat tissue would decrease cancer risk in humans.

22 May 2012

HSF-1 protein likely source of chemotherapy-related heart damage in mice

Blocking a protein in the heart that is produced under stressful conditions could be a strategy to prevent cardiac damage that results from chemotherapy, a new study suggests.

22 May 2012

New strategy can reactivate genes that cause cancer tumors to shrink and die

A team of scientists has developed a promising new strategy for "reactivating" genes that cause cancer tumors to shrink and die. The researchers hope that their discovery will aid in the development of an innovative anti-cancer drug that effectively targets unhealthy, cancerous tissue without damaging healthy, non-cancerous tissue and vital organs.

22 May 2012

Some patients appear to be more predisposed for recurrent infection from C. diff

University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers have found that some patients appear to be more predisposed for recurrent infection from the bacterium Clostridium difficile, or C. diff, and that it may advance to a more serious inflammatory condition in those individuals.

22 May 2012

VEN occurs also in the insula of macaque monkeys

The anterior insular cortex is a small brain region that plays a crucial role in human self-awareness and in related neuropsychiatric disorders. A unique cell type - the von Economo neuron (VEN) - is located there. For a long time, the VEN was assumed to be unique to humans, great apes, whales and elephants.

22 May 2012

First insight into links between microbes and developing infant

A new multi-university study reports that differences in bacterial colonization of the infant gut in formula-fed and breast-fed babies lead to changes in the expression of genes involved in the infant's immune system.

22 May 2012

Study finds large amounts of melanopsin in the human brain

A new study by Oulu University found large amounts of a light-sensitive OPN4-protein, melanopsin, in the human brain.

22 May 2012

Human cytomegalovirus associated with neovascular AMD

A team of researchers, including a scientist from the Viral Immunology Center at Georgia State University, have found that a type of herpesvirus infection of the eye is associated with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a disease that causes blindness in the elderly.

22 May 2012

Scientists unravel action mechanism of castor oil

Castor oil is known primarily as an effective laxative; however, it was also used in ancient times with pregnant women to induce labour. Only now have scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research succeeded in unravelling the mysteries of the action mechanism. A receptor by the name of EP3 on the cells of the intestine and uterus is apparently responsible. This is activated by an ingredient in the oil.

22 May 2012

T cell imbalance may put certain people at increased risk of C. difficile infection

University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers have found that an imbalance in the regulation of certain T cells-the cells in the body that fight off infection or attack the system in certain autoimmune diseases-may put certain people at a higher risk of having recurrent cases of Clostridium difficile, or C. Diff, infection.

22 May 2012

CHDI, Lundbeck enter collaboration to investigate targeted therapy for Huntington's disease

CHDI Foundation, Inc. and Lundbeck today announced a research collaboration to investigate a targeted therapy for Huntington's disease (HD). Currently, no treatment exists to slow or halt the progression of HD, a challenging hereditary neurodegenerative disease characterized by a triad of behavioral, cognitive, and motor symptoms.

21 May 2012

Large neurological problems could be addressed through changing Botch activity

Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered a protein that appears to play an important regulatory role in deciding whether stem cells differentiate into the cells that make up the brain, as well as countless other tissues.

21 May 2012

Neurogenesis may encourage excessive weight gain and fat storage

New nerve cells formed in a select part of the brain could hold considerable sway over how much you eat and consequently weigh, new animal research by Johns Hopkins scientists suggests in a study published in the May issue of Nature Neuroscience.

21 May 2012

New optical microscope sees individual blood cells as they flow inside the body

Blood tests convey vital medical information, but the sight of a needle often causes anxiety and results take time. A new device developed by a team of researchers in Israel, however, can reveal much the same information as traditional blood test in real-time, simply by shining a light through the skin.

21 May 2012

Scientists decipher structure of bacterial injection needles at atomic resolution

The plague, bacterial dysentery, and cholera have one thing in common: These dangerous diseases are caused by bacteria which infect their host using a sophisticated injection apparatus. Through needle-like structures, they release molecular agents into their host cell, thereby evading the immune response.

21 May 2012

Deletion of 'lunatic fringe' promotes tumor formation of basal-like breast cancers

Multiple research projects - including a 2006 study conducted at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - have used DNA microarray analysis to identify several breast cancer subtypes, including luminal A, luminal B, basal-like and HER2-enriched.

21 May 2012

Regenerative medicine researchers explore innovative ways to treat childhood conditions

About 3 percent of the babies born in the United States have a birth defect. Children without a birth defect are also susceptible to injury or disease. At The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), regenerative medicine researchers are exploring innovative ways to treat these conditions.

21 May 2012