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Gene found that increases risk for Alzheimer's disease

A study comparing more genetic markers in the DNA of people with and without Alzheimer's disease than ever before has enabled researchers to identify a common gene that appears to increase a person's risk for developing Alzheimer's disease.

8 Jun 2007

Embryonic stem cells can be created without eggs

Embryonic stem cells are unique because they can develop into virtually any kind of tissue type, an attribute called pluripotency.

8 Jun 2007

Pesticides elevate risk of brain tumours

Agricultural workers exposed to high levels of pesticides and people who use them on houseplants appear to have a greater risk of developing brain tumours, suggests a study published online ahead of print in Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

8 Jun 2007

Low levels of testosterone may increase the long-term risk of death in men over 50 years old

"The new study is only the second report linking deficiency of this sex hormone with increased death from all causes, over time, and the first to do so in relatively healthy men who are living in the community," said Gail Laughlin, Ph.D., assistant professor and study author.

8 Jun 2007

NIAID to tackle drug resistant TB

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has released its NIAID Research Agenda for Multidrug-Resistant (MDR) and Extensively Drug-Resistant (XDR) Tuberculosis (TB).

8 Jun 2007

Discovery of new survival mechanism in common bacteria

Researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a component of the National Institutes of Health, have discovered a survival mechanism in a common type of bacteria that can cause illness.

8 Jun 2007

New bacterium discovered, Bartonella rochalimae

A close cousin of the bacterium that debilitated thousands of World War I soldiers has been isolated at UCSF from a patient who had been on an international vacation.

8 Jun 2007

Secrets of working memory revealed

A newly discovered interplay of cells in one of the brain's memory centers sheds light on how you recall your grocery list, where you laid your keys, and a host of important but fleeting daily tasks.

8 Jun 2007

Underuse of pancreatectomy in the United States

More than half of eligible patients with operable, early-stage pancreatic cancer don't undergo potentially life-extending surgery, suggests a study published online in the Annals of Surgery, published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

8 Jun 2007

Angiogenesis gene polymorphisms predict tumor recurrence in stage II and III colon cancer

Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) have identified specific molecular markers that may help to predict tumor recurrence in stage II and III colon cancer patients.

8 Jun 2007

Metabolic syndrome may be associated with compromised heart structure and function

Typified by high blood pressure, weight gain around the waist and problems regulating blood sugar, metabolic syndrome may also be associated with compromised heart structure and function, according to a paper published in the online open access journal BMC Cardiovascular Disorders.

8 Jun 2007

Low potassium levels linked to increased mortality in heart failure patients

New research from University of Alabama at Birmingham indicates that patients with heart failure who have low to low-normal serum potassium levels are at increased risk of death.

8 Jun 2007

Deleting gene important in embryo development leads to premature aging in mice

Researchers at the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute of the University of Pennsylvania have found that deleting a gene important in embryo development leads to premature aging and loss of stem cell reservoirs in adult mice.

8 Jun 2007

Largest ever genetics study of common diseases

The Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium, the largest ever study of the genetics behind common diseases such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and coronary heart disease, publishes its results in the journals Nature and Nature Genetics.

8 Jun 2007

New understanding of anti-malarial drug resistance

Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center say they are moving closer to understanding why the most lethal form of human malaria has become resistant to drug treatment in the past three decades.

8 Jun 2007

Lack of sun, low vitamin D and the elderly

It's not yet clear why overweight elderly adults have low levels of vitamin D in their blood.

8 Jun 2007

Obese women can lose weight and it won't hurt the baby

Most women who are obese can safely exercise and diet to lose weight during pregnancy, according to a small pilot study conducted by Saint Louis University researchers.

8 Jun 2007

In mice, drug protects against diabetes and atherosclerosis

Blocking a single protein with an experimental drug prevented and treated both type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis in laboratory mice that had been fed unhealthy diets and were genetically predisposed to these common killers, according to an article published online in Nature.

8 Jun 2007

HIV uses pathways to infect cells

Like hobos on a train, HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, uses a pre-existing transport system to leave one infected cell and infect new ones, Hopkins scientists have discovered.

8 Jun 2007

Pramlintide treatment curbs fast food consumption and tendency to binge eat

The synthetic form of a hormone previously found to produce a feeling of fullness when eating and reduce body weight, also may help curb binge eating and the desire to eat high-fat foods and sweets.

8 Jun 2007