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Neurons in primate cortex associate numerical meaning with visual signs

Humans share with animals a language-independent system for representing numerical quantity, but number symbols have to be acquired throughout childhood.

31 Oct 2007

Somalia experiencing huge increase in cases of visceral leishmaniasis

The international humanitarian organization Medecins Sans Frontières has witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of patients with the parasitic disease visceral leishmaniasis ("kala azar") admitted to its treatment center in Somalia.

31 Oct 2007

Light beams used as tweezers to manipulate cells

In a feat that seems like something out of a microscopic version of Star Trek, MIT researchers have found a way to use a "tractor beam" of light to pick up, hold, and move around individual cells and other objects on the surface of a microchip.

31 Oct 2007

Myths and misunderstandings about bipolar disorder

Portrayals of bipolar disorder seem to be cropping up everywhere -- in the news, in movies, and on television.

31 Oct 2007

Novel approach to discovering drugs for Chagas disease

Mexican researchers highlight a novel approach to discovering drugs for Chagas disease in a laboratory study reported in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

31 Oct 2007

Men, don't skip your prostate cancer treatment appointments!

Men with “low risk” prostate cancer who miss more than two radiation treatments in an eight week treatment face an increased chance of their cancer recurring.

31 Oct 2007

How tumors respond to EGFR inhibitors

Three papers published this month in the open access general medical journal PLoS Medicine investigate how tumors respond to a an important class of drugs used in cancer chemotherapy, known as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors.

31 Oct 2007

Sensitivity to smells explained

Some people are oblivious to the odor in the locker room after a game, while others wrinkle their noses at the slightest whiff of sweat.

31 Oct 2007

Mass drug treatment for elephantiasis is affordable compared with other public health programs

Once-yearly administration of two anti-parasitic drugs to control lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis) costs just $0.06 to $2.23 per person treated, making it comparatively inexpensive, according to a major new international study of treatment costs.

31 Oct 2007

Key findings for all veterans seen in depression and suicide study

The largest and most up-to-date study of suicides among depressed veterans provides important new data that may help guide screening and treatment for all veterans.

31 Oct 2007

Stereotactic radiation is effective as surgery against nerve tumor

Specifically aimed, "stereotactic" radiation may be as good as surgery - and in some cases, even better - in treating benign but potentially devastating brain tumors called non-acoustic schwannomas, according to a study by rradiation oncologists at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia.

31 Oct 2007

Alzheimer's may progress more rapidly in people with high blood pressure or atrial fibrillation

While current medications for Alzheimer's disease are effective for some patients in slowing the rate of AD progression, many patients do not benefit from the treatments or cannot tolerate them, says lead researcher Michelle M. Mielke, Ph.D., of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

31 Oct 2007

Fibromyalgia pain caused by neuron mismatch

The unexplained pain experienced by patients with fibromyalgia is the result of a mismatch between sensory and motor systems, new research suggests.

31 Oct 2007

How can some people live at high altitudes and thrive while others struggle?

The answer for Tibetans who live at altitudes around 14,000 feet is increased nitric oxide (NO) levels. High levels of NO circulate in various forms in the blood and produce the physiological mechanisms that cause the increased blood flow that maintains oxygen delivery despite hypoxia - low levels of oxygen in the ambient air and the bloodstream.

31 Oct 2007