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Mouse model shows potential efficacy of HIV prevention strategy

A new kind of laboratory mouse can be used to test the efficacy of much-needed methods to prevent transmission of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, according to research by J. Victor Garcia and colleagues at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

15 Jan 2008

Molecular evolution of limb length

In the January 15th issue of G&D, a research team led by Dr. Richard Behringer at MD Anderson Cancer Center reports that they have successfully switched the mouse Prx1 gene regulatory element with the Prx1 gene regulatory region from a bat - and although these two species are separated by millions of years of evolution - the resulting transgenic mice displayed abnormally long forelimbs.

15 Jan 2008

Supplements of lipoic acid could reduce atherosclerosis, weight gain

A new study done with mice has discovered that supplements of lipoic acid can inhibit formation of arterial lesions, lower triglycerides, and reduce blood vessel inflammation and weight gain - all key issues for addressing cardiovascular disease.

15 Jan 2008

New auditory cortex research may bring better hearing aids and more effective speech recognition systems

Recognising people, objects or animals by the sound they make is an important survival skill and something most of us take for granted.

15 Jan 2008

A modified carrot for increased calcium absorption

A specially developed carrot has been produced to help people absorb more calcium.

15 Jan 2008

Genetic differences may help explain response to multiple sclerosis treatment

By comparing the DNA of patients with multiple sclerosis whose symptoms are reduced by interferon beta therapy to the DNA of those who continue to experience relapses, researchers may have identified important genetic differences between the two, according to an article posted online that will appear in the March 2008 print issue of Archives of Neurology.

15 Jan 2008

Fish oil supplements may help some cardiac patients while harming others

Fish oil supplements may help some cardiac patients while harming others, suggests a new review of evidence compiled by St. Michael's Hospital and University of Toronto researchers.

15 Jan 2008

FDA extends review of Genasense NDA appeal in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Genta Incorporated has announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended its review of Genta's appeal of the non- approvable decision for a New Drug Application (NDA) that proposed the use of Genasense (oblimersen sodium injection) plus chemotherapy in patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

15 Jan 2008

Anti-retrovirals given daily before and after exposure to HIV prevent vaginal transmission AIDS virus

Prescription drugs now used to treat human immunodeficiency virus infection in adults may prevent the vaginal transmission of HIV, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

15 Jan 2008

Bystander CPR - new efforts to improve quality

Benjamin S. Abella, MD, MPhil, Clinical Research Director of Penn's Center for Resuscitation Science and Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, says bystanders can play a critical role in saving lives by performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation during the 150,000 cardiac arrests that occur each year outside of hospitals in the United States.

15 Jan 2008

Brain processes aggression as a reward

New research from Vanderbilt University shows for the first time that the brain processes aggression as a reward - much like sex, food and drugs - offering insights into our propensity to fight and our fascination with violent sports like boxing and football.

15 Jan 2008

Improving informed consent

New ways to make sure people are adequately informed about the risks and benefits of taking part in a clinical trial can be field-tested for effectiveness as vigorously as new medical treatments themselves, a study led by a Johns Hopkins bioethicist suggests.

15 Jan 2008

Type 2 diabetes explosion in Australia predicted

Health loss caused by type 2 diabetes will more than double in Australia by 2023, as health loss from most other major causes falls, according to new research by The University of Queensland's (UQ) School of Population Health.

15 Jan 2008

Uncovering the Achilles' heel of the HIV-1 envelope

New structural details illustrate how a promising class of antibodies may block human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 infection and reveal valuable clues for design of an effective HIV-1 vaccine.

15 Jan 2008

University of Minnesota researchers have created a beating heart in the laboratory

By using a process called whole organ decellularization, scientists from the University of Minnesota Center for Cardiovascular Repair grew functioning heart tissue by taking dead rat and pig hearts and reseeding them with a mixture of live cells. The research will be published online in the January 13 issue of Nature Medicine.

15 Jan 2008

Discovery of seven new genes that influence blood cholesterol levels

An international study of 20,000 people found seven new genes that influence blood cholesterol levels, a major factor in heart disease, and confirmed 11 other genes previously thought to influence cholesterol.

15 Jan 2008

Stem cells make bone marrow cancer resistant to treatment

Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center say they have evidence that cancer stem cells for multiple myeloma share many properties with normal stem cells and have multiple ways of resisting chemotherapy and other treatments.

15 Jan 2008

Why we sleep - roundworm C. elegans unlocks sleep mysteries

The roundworm C. elegans, a staple of laboratory research, may be key in unlocking one of the central biological mysteries: why we sleep.

15 Jan 2008

Researchers associate six new genetic variants with heart disease risk factor

Using new techniques for rapidly scanning the human genome, researchers have associated levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, two fats in the blood, to 18 genetic variants, six of which represent new DNA regions never before associated with the traits.

15 Jan 2008

Study finds most psychiatric patients have more than one diagnosis

A new study by Rhode Island Hospital researchers reports that the majority of 2,300 psychiatry outpatients had more than one disorder when seeking treatment, and more than one-third had at least three disorders.

15 Jan 2008