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Protein found in the saliva of deer ticks prevents the HIV-1 virus from attaching to the surface of T cells

The HIV-1 virus cripples the human immune system by targeting white blood cells called T cells that form the body's first line of defense in fighting infections.

17 Feb 2008

Epidemic of pain addressed by leading physicians

The public health problem that needs to be addressed next is the epidemic of pain, according to pain medicine physicians who have come together to discuss the latest in pain research and treatment at the 24th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM), February 12-16 at the Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee (Orlando), Florida.

17 Feb 2008

Yale procedure creates new bone tissue

A new technique that combines bone marrow removal and injection of a hormone helps promote rapid formation of new bone at targeted locations in the body, it was reported by Yale School of Medicine this month in Tissue Engineering.

17 Feb 2008

Personalized medicine can cut breast cancer risk

The time has come for breast cancer risk assessment, counseling and genetic testing to move from cancer specialists to the realm of primary care, according to a presentation at the AAAS annual meeting, held this year in Boston.

17 Feb 2008

Scorpion venom may hold key to controlling cystic fibrosis

Researchers have discovered a peptide in scorpion venom that may hold the key to understanding and controlling cystic fibrosis and other secretory diseases.

17 Feb 2008

Intervention program boosts education of kids at high risk of failure

An eight-week-long intervention program aimed at parents from low socioeconomic backgrounds reaped significant educational benefits in their preschool-aged children, a University of Oregon research fellow reported today at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

17 Feb 2008

Oncoproteins double-team and destroy vital tumor-suppressor

Two previously unconnected cancer-promoting proteins team up to ambush a critical tumor suppressor by evicting it from the cell's nucleus and then marking it for death by a protein-shredding mechanism, a team led by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports in the Feb. 10 issue of Nature Cell Biology.

17 Feb 2008

Cholesterol-lowering drug used to block staph infections in mince

An international team of researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has blocked staph infections in mice using a drug previously tested in clinical trials as a cholesterol-lowering agent.

17 Feb 2008

NIH and EPA announce new chemical toxicity testing agreement

Testing the safety of chemicals ranging from pesticides to household cleaners will benefit from new technologies and a plan for collaboration, according to federal scientists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), who today announced a new toxicity testing agreement.

17 Feb 2008

Discovery of new cataract gene

The international team of researchers was able to identify the location and defect in the coding region of the gene through analysis of genetic material (DNA) from members of a large Swiss family, the majority of whom suffered from autosomal dominant juvenile cataract.

17 Feb 2008

Over 30% of pregnant American women have C-sections

The proportion of American women having their babies delivered by C-section jumped to nearly one in three in 2005, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

17 Feb 2008

Understanding how the brain works from computers, and vice versa

Some projects were aimed at understanding how the brain works, using complex computational models. Others were aimed at improving the abilities of computers to perform tasks that our brains do with ease, such as making sense of complex visual images.

17 Feb 2008

Metabolic syndrome linked to climate

Researchers from the University of Chicago have discovered that many of the genetic variations that have enabled human populations to tolerate colder climates may also affect their susceptibility to metabolic syndrome, a cluster of related abnormalities such as obesity, elevated cholesterol levels, heart disease, and diabetes.

17 Feb 2008

Mesothelin appears to play important role in promoting pancreatic cancer growth - clues to new treatments

New understanding of a protein that spurs the growth of pancreatic cancer could lead to a new vaccine against the deadly disease, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston in a report appearing in the current edition of the journal Molecular Cancer Therapeutics.

17 Feb 2008

Mathematical approach to tackle dual-resistant hospital infections

A mathematical model that looks at different strategies for curbing hospital-acquired infections suggests that antimicrobial cycling and patient isolation may be effective approaches when patients are harboring dual-resistant bacteria.

17 Feb 2008

Nabilone marijuana-based drug reduces fibromyalgia pain

Patients with fibromyalgia treated with a synthetic form of marijuana, nabilone, showed significant reductions in pain and anxiety in a first-of-its-kind study, published in The Journal of Pain.

17 Feb 2008

Insurance status linked to advanced stage in multiple cancers

A new American Cancer Society study of twelve types of cancer among more than 3.5 million cancer patients finds uninsured patients were significantly more likely to present with advanced stage cancer compared to patients with private insurance.

17 Feb 2008

Fighting the global obesity epidemic

According to Rena Wing, professor of psychiatry and human behavior at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and director of the Weight Control & Diabetes Research Center at The Miriam Hospital, people who are most successful in preventing weight gain, and dieters who lose weight and keep the pounds off, have made major changes in their in diet and exercise routines.

17 Feb 2008

Infertility is a growing problem

Infertility will become more prevalent in generations to come, but interpreting these trends is complicated, say researchers in this week's BMJ.

17 Feb 2008

Identical twins are not genetically identical

This surprising finding is presented by American, Swedish, and Dutch scientists in a study being published today in the prestigious journal American Journal of Human Genetics.

17 Feb 2008