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Scientists unearth the roots of human genetic variation

A new study at the University of Leicester is using advanced single molecule methods to explore processes that lie at the very core of DNA variation in humans.

23 Jun 2009

Children in Afghanistan suffering from post traumatic stress

Children who live in Afghanistan are particularly affected every day by a multitude of war time stressors which increase the likelihood of developing PTSD: trauma, child labor, and family and military violence. On a daily basis they are first-hand witnesses to the bombings, abuse, and the general upheaval of their home life and society as a result of war, including the effects of long-term poverty and familial turmoil.

23 Jun 2009

How teenage girls manage stress

Greater influence over everyday life, emotional support, and cultural and recreational activities help to enable teenage girls to withstand stress. Those were the results of a dissertation from the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

23 Jun 2009

Diet and exercise to alleviate treatments for prostate cancer

A DVD, developed by academics at the University of Hertfordshire, which illustrates the positive effects of diet and exercise in the treatment of prostate cancer, will be launched tomorrow.

23 Jun 2009

Microbial and maternal influences on allergic sensitization during childhood

When infected, the body has two types of immune defence to deploy - innate immunity and acquired immunity. In her dissertation, Shanie Saghafian Hedengren studies monocytes, a type of white blood corpuscles that are part of the innate immune system.

23 Jun 2009

A new take on growth factor signaling in tamoxifen resistance

Differences in growth factor (GF) signaling may cause the poor prognosis in some breast cancer cases. A new study, published in the open access journal BMC Medical Genomics, suggests that some estrogen receptor-positive breast cancers respond poorly to tamoxifen because of increased GF signaling.

23 Jun 2009

Migraines with aura in middle age associated with late-life brain lesions

Women who suffer from migraine headaches in middle age accompanied by neurological aura (visual disturbances, dizziness or numbness that can precede migraines) are more likely to have damage to brain tissue in the cerebellum later in life, according to a study by researchers at the National Institute on Aging (NIA) of the National Institutes of Health, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and the Icelandic Heart Association in Reykjavik.

23 Jun 2009

Urologist reports success using robot-assisted surgery for rare condition

Robot-assisted surgery can be used to successfully repair abnormal openings between the uterus and the bladder, according to a report by Ashok K. Hemal, M.D., a Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center urologist who is the world's most experienced surgeon in the procedure.

23 Jun 2009

Scientists develop microfabricated device to measure cellular forces during tissue development

A University of Pennsylvania-led collaboration of bioengineers studying the physical forces generated by individual cells has created a tiny micron-sized device that allows researchers to measure and manipulate cellular forces as assemblies of living cells reorganize themselves into tissues.

23 Jun 2009

New therapy found to prevent heart failure

A landmark study has successfully demonstrated a 29 percent reduction in heart failure or death in patients with heart disease who received an implanted cardiac resynchronization therapy device with defibrillator (CRT-D) versus patients who received only an implanted cardiac defibrillator (ICD-only).

23 Jun 2009

Backtracking and proofreading in DNA transcription

Accuracy is essential for life, so in converting the information stored in DNA into a form in which it can be used, a high level of precision is required. Dr Tanniemola Liverpool from the University of Bristol Department of Mathematics, working with colleagues from the University of Leeds, has developed a mathematical model for how the required accuracy is achieved.

23 Jun 2009

The emotional cost of nursing

What are the costs of caring? A new project in the School of Psychology explores nurses' experience of distress and aims to determine if empathy with patients is associated with traumatic experience in nurses.

23 Jun 2009

Jigsaw puzzle therapy for Alzheimer’s sufferers

A Kingston University design student has turned his coursework into a budding business venture, launching a jigsaw puzzle ideal for people living with dementia.

23 Jun 2009

Alterations in brain's white matter key to schizophrenia

Schizophrenia, a chronic and debilitating disorder marked in part by auditory hallucinations and paranoia, can strike in late adolescence or early adulthood at a time when people are ready to stand on their own two feet as fully independent adults.

23 Jun 2009

Discovery of potent metastasis inhibitor

Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston have isolated a potent inhibitor of tumor metastasis made by tumor cells, one that could potentially be harnessed as a cancer treatment.

23 Jun 2009

Music therapy for heart and stroke patients

Blood flow and respiratory rates can synch with music, indicating that music could one day be a therapeutic tool for blood pressure control and rehabilitation, according to a study by Italian researchers published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

23 Jun 2009

Coronary artery bypass surgery provides long-term benefits for children with Kawasaki disease

Coronary artery bypass surgery provides long-term benefits for children whose hearts and blood vessels are damaged by Kawasaki disease, Japanese researchers report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

23 Jun 2009

Direct link found between smoking and brain damage

New research which suggests a direct link between smoking and brain damage will be published in the July issue of the Journal of Neurochemistry. Researchers, led by Debapriya Ghosh and Dr Anirban Basu from the Indian National Brain Research Center (NBRC), have found that a compound in tobacco provokes white blood cells in the central nervous system to attack healthy cells, leading to severe neurological damage.

23 Jun 2009

New tuberculosis drug targets

A fundamental question about how sugar units are strung together into long carbohydrate chains has also pinpointed a promising way to target new medicines against tuberculosis.

23 Jun 2009

Search for prostate cancer biomarkers continues

Collaboration in prostate cancer translational research in Europe is not only vital to sustain the progress achieved in recent years but also to streamline current efforts between researchers and clinicians and avoid duplication or overlaps. This was amongst the goals of the two-day Prostate Cancer Translational Research in Europe (PCTRE) Meeting which opened today in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

23 Jun 2009