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White blood cell called a neutrophil appears to be crucial to abdominal aortic aneurysm formation

Each year, 200,000 Americans find out that the largest blood vessel in their body, the aorta, may burst open at any time. About 20,000 die suddenly from such a rupture. And another 36,000 have surgery to repair or replace the swelling section of aorta before time runs out.

13 Jul 2005

Scientists reveal the important role of early experience in shaping neuronal development

Scientists at New York University School of Medicine reveal the important role of early experience in shaping neuronal development and brain plasticity in a new study published in the July 14 issue of the journal Nature.

13 Jul 2005

New method may accelerate the way cancer-causing genes are found

Researchers at the University of Minnesota Cancer Center and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) have discovered a new method that could accelerate the way cancer-causing genes are found and could lead to a more accurate identification of the genes, according to two studies in the July 14, 2005, issue of Nature.

13 Jul 2005

Biologists determine structure of a common-cold virus

Biologists at Purdue University have determined the combined structure of a common-cold virus attached to a molecule that enables the virus to infect its host, information that ultimately may help researchers develop methods for treating certain viral infections.

13 Jul 2005

Research looks at social blunders when we are under strain or fatigued

Some of us can hold our tongues better than others but even the best of us will blurt out the truth when we're tired, stressed or distracted, according to a new research report.

13 Jul 2005

Researchers identify six genes associated with lymphocytic bronchitis - could mean new test, treatments

Researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC) and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have identified six genes associated with lymphocytic bronchitis, which is thought to lead to obliterative bronchitis (OB), the most common cause of long-term failure of transplanted lungs.

13 Jul 2005

A new study shows that the number of Americans who had weight-loss surgery quadrupled between 1998 and 2002

A new study shows that the number of Americans who had weight-loss surgery quadrupled between 1998 and 2002.

13 Jul 2005

Expert says newborn health screening inconsistent throughout the U.S.

According to the March of Dimes, although every state requires newborn babies to receive health checks, requirements vary widely among the individual states.

13 Jul 2005

Targeted program drastically reduced hepatitis A in U.S.

According to a newly released study, the number of cases of hepatitis A have fallen by 76 percent in the United States since a vaccination campaign targeted children in communities with the highest rates of the disease.

13 Jul 2005

Sisters hurt in London blast return to the U.S. for surgery

According to one of the surgeons involved in their treatment, Emily and Katie Benton, two Tennessee sisters who were injured in Thursday's terrorist attacks in London, underwent reconstructive surgery on Monday at Duke University's North Carolina Hospital.

13 Jul 2005

Researchers find genetically controlled brain mechanism responsible for social behavior in humans

Researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) have discovered a genetically controlled brain mechanism responsible for social behavior in humans--one of the most important but least understood aspects of human nature.

13 Jul 2005

Novadaq receives U.S. patent for intra-operative imaging procedure

Novadaq Technologies today announced that it has been granted a patent by the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the SPY(TM) Intra-operative Imaging System (SPY System).

13 Jul 2005

Stressgen granted U.S. patent providing coverage for the manufacture of HspE7

Stressgen Biotechnologies announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted US Patent Number 6,900,035, covering methods of manufacturing HspE7, the Company's lead product candidate for human papillomavirus (HPV)- related diseases and cancer.

13 Jul 2005

ID Biomedical's flu vaccine granted fast track status

ID Biomedical Corporation announced today it has been advised by the United States Food and Drug Administration's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) that the Company's Influenza Virus Vaccine (Fluviral) has been granted a Fast Track designation.

13 Jul 2005

Blood testing links common foods and irritable bowel syndrome

Researchers using comparison trials determined that irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients have elevated food-specific IgG4 antibodies to common foods such as wheat, beef, pork, lamb, and soya bean. These findings are published in the July issue of The American Journal of Gastroenterology.

13 Jul 2005

Australian product promotes healing in venous stasis ulcers

Novogen has announced the results of a Phase II clinical trial of its investigational wound healing compound, Glucoprime, in venous stasis ulcers.

13 Jul 2005

Hospice referral rates increase with intervention

A simple information and communication intervention between a patient and physician can increase hospice referral rates among nursing home residents, increase their families' ratings of end-of-life care, and may decrease use of acute care resources, according to an article in the July 13 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

13 Jul 2005

Abnormal heart rate variability is partially responsible for depression's effects in heart patients

Scientists have known for years that depression increases the risk of dying in the months after a heart attack, but they haven't understood how depression raises that risk.

13 Jul 2005

Research shows key difference between the eye's light-detecting system and the nose's odor-detecting system

Johns Hopkins scientists have uncovered new details of how smelly things create signals in the nose that eventually go to the brain. The findings raise issues about how the process involved has been described for many years in biology textbooks.

13 Jul 2005

Our thirst for novelty begins in the eye itself

Researchers at Harvard University have found evidence that the retina actively seeks novel features in the visual environment, dynamically adjusting its processing in order to seek the unusual while ignoring the commonplace. The scientists report in this week's issue of the journal Nature on their finding that this principle of novelty-detection operates in many visual environments.

13 Jul 2005