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Kidney disease patients with poor health literacy are less likely to receive kidney transplants

Kidney disease patients' ability to understand basic health information may have a significant impact on whether or not they will receive an organ transplant, according to a study appearing in the January 2009 issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology.

3 Dec 2008

New standard of care for treating advanced ovarian cancer

Results of a phase III, international randomized clinical trial demonstrate a new standard of care for treating advanced ovarian cancer that significantly reduces side-effects and post-operative deaths compared to the previously established treatment course.

3 Dec 2008

Genetic breakdown in Fanconi anemia may have link to HPV-associated cancer

A genetic malfunction that causes DNA instability in people with the blood disorder Fanconi anemia may put them at high risk for squamous cell carcinomas linked to human papillomavirus (HPV), according to a study posted online ahead of print by Oncogene.

3 Dec 2008

Gene therapy used to alleviate sickle cell disease pathology

Using a harmless virus to insert a corrective gene into mouse blood cells, scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have alleviated sickle cell disease pathology.

3 Dec 2008

Discovery of gene variants that impact the placebo effect

It is a well-known fact in drug trials that individuals can respond just as well to placebos, sugar pills, as to the active drug.

3 Dec 2008

Brains of low-income children function differently from brains of high-income kids

University of California, Berkeley, researchers have shown for the first time that the brains of low-income children function differently from the brains of high-income kids.

3 Dec 2008

New insights into cellular senescence

Scientists have identified a molecular cause behind the ravages of old age and in doing so have also shown how a natural process for fighting cancer in younger persons can actually promote cancer in older individuals.

3 Dec 2008

Researchers study newborns' umbilical cord blood to better understand fetal health risks from smoking mothers

Despite the well-known dangers of first- and secondhand smoke, an estimated ten percent of pregnant women in the U.S. are smokers.

3 Dec 2008

Broccoli compound, indole-3-carbinol targets key enzyme in late-stage cancer

An anti-cancer compound found in broccoli and cabbage works by lowering the activity of an enzyme associated with rapidly advancing breast cancer, according to a University of California, Berkeley, study appearing this week in the online early edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

3 Dec 2008

Researchers develop human embryonic stem cell-based system for modeling ALS

Long thought of as mere bystanders, astrocytes are crucial for the survival and well-being of motor neurons, which control voluntary muscle movements.

3 Dec 2008

Alpha-catenin protein provokes healthy cell bonding

In human relationships, a certain "spark" often governs whether we prefer one person more than another, and critical first impressions can occur within seconds. A team lead by Johns Hopkins researchers has found that cell-to-cell "friendships" operate in much the same way and that dysfunctional bonding is linked to the spread of cancer.

3 Dec 2008

Study to look at nutrition, ageing and health in Bangladeshi women

The Bangladeshi population is one of the fastest growing ethnic groups within the UK, and are amongst the most socially disadvantaged. A grant of over £500,000 hopes to reduce existing health inequalities and promote healthy, active ageing among Bangladeshi women.

3 Dec 2008

Interferon needed for cells to 'remember' how to defeat a virus

Scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center have determined that the immune-system protein interferon plays a key role in "teaching" the immune system how to fight off repeated infections of the same virus.

3 Dec 2008

New vaccine theory aimed at ticks and mosquitoes to prevent disease transmission

Most successful vaccines and drugs rely on protecting humans or animals by blocking certain bacteria from growing in their systems.

3 Dec 2008

Use of rapid response team in hospital not linked with reduction in cardio arrests or deaths

Although there is an effort to implement rapid response teams in hospitals throughout the country, new research suggests that they do not result in a reduced rate of cardiopulmonary arrests or deaths, according to a study in the December 3 issue of JAMA.

3 Dec 2008

Thrombosis patients face greater risks than previously believed

Deep venous thrombosis (DVT), the formation of blood clots in the lower limbs, is the third-most common vascular disease in North America after heart attack and stroke, and is a frequent complication in hospitalized patients.

3 Dec 2008

Prototype blood scanner detects even faint indicators of cancer

A team led by Stanford researchers has developed a prototype blood scanner that can find cancer markers in the bloodstream in early stages of the disease, potentially allowing for earlier treatment and dramatically improved chances of survival.

3 Dec 2008

Ship-in-a-bottle kit on a microchip

Sometimes physicists resort to tried and trusted model-making tricks. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Metals Research, the University of Stuttgart and the Colorado School of Mines have constructed micromachines using the same trick that model makers use to get ships into a bottle where the masts and rigging of the sailing ship are not erected until it is in the bottle.

3 Dec 2008

Adropin protein produced by the liver sends signal that fat is on the way in response to high-fat foods

After you eat a burger and fries or other fat-filled meal, a protein produced by the liver may send a signal that fat is on the way, suggests a report in the December issue of the journal Cell Metabolism , a Cell Press publication.

3 Dec 2008

Young researcher identifies binocular vision gene

Dr Catherine Leamey from the School of Medical Sciences at the University of Sydney has been awarded the 2008 Sir Zelman Cowen Universities Fund Prize for Medical Research for her work in identifying the gene that enables binocular vision.

3 Dec 2008