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Potential new approach for treating obesity, type 2 diabetes

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health have uncovered a pathway in mice that allows white fat - a contributor to obesity and type 2 diabetes - to burn calories in a way that's normally found in brown fat and muscle. The findings are in the July 6 edition of Cell Metabolism.

6 Jul 2011

Alpha-tocotrienol protects brain cells after stroke in three ways

A natural form of vitamin E called alpha-tocotrienol can trigger production of a protein in the brain that clears toxins from nerve cells, preventing those cells from dying after a stroke, new research shows.

6 Jul 2011

Never smokers' lung adenocarcinomas show greater genome instability

Lung adenocarcinomas in people who have never smoked show greater genome instability than those in smokers, supporting the theory that lung cancer in never smokers arises through different pathways, according to research presented at the 14th World Conference on Lung Cancer in Amsterdam, hosted by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer.

5 Jul 2011

LCMC finds 9.6% of lung cancer patients with ALK rearrangement

ALK rearrangement has been found in 9.6% of lung cancer patients tested in the Lung Cancer Mutation Consortium, and MET amplification in another 4.1%, reflecting how many patients might benefit from targeted therapies such as crizotinib, according to research presented at the 14th World Conference on Lung Cancer in Amsterdam, hosted by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer.

5 Jul 2011

Smart nanomaterials can disrupt blood supply to cancerous tumours

Scientists at the University of Southampton have developed smart nanomaterials, which can disrupt the blood supply to cancerous tumours.

5 Jul 2011

Autism Speaks announces significant findings from largest study of twins with ASD

Autism Speaks, the world's largest autism science and advocacy organization, joined in announcing significant findings from the largest known study of twins with autism spectrum disorder.

5 Jul 2011

Anti-depressants during early pregnancy linked to increased risk of autism

Exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors anti-depressants in early pregnancy may modestly increase risk of autism spectrum disorders, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published online in the current issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

5 Jul 2011

Fruit flies with poor posture help scientists understand human intellectual disability

Clumsy fruit flies with poor posture are helping an international team of scientists understand inherited intellectual disability in humans - and vice versa.

5 Jul 2011

Researchers discover crucial role of miR-206 in skeletal muscle development

Research led by the University of East Anglia has discovered the crucial role of a molecule in skeletal muscle development.

5 Jul 2011

Shared environment influences susceptibility to autism more than previously thought

The largest and most rigorous twin study of its kind to date has found that shared environment influences susceptibility to autism more than previously thought.

5 Jul 2011

Ways to protect children from X-ray radiation

The risk to children's health from X-ray radiation is easy to reduce without compromising diagnostic accuracy. Gerhard Alzen and Gabriele Benz-Bohm describe some ways to achieve this in the current edition of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International.

4 Jul 2011

Johns Hopkins team reconstitutes single stem cells' family tree

A Johns Hopkins team has discovered in young adult mice that a lone brain stem cell is capable not only of replacing itself and giving rise to specialized neurons and glia - important types of brain cells - but also of taking a wholly unexpected path: generating two new brain stem cells.

2 Jul 2011

U-M researchers a step closer to developing treatments for aging and chronic diseases

As our bodies first form, developing cells are a lot like children put on the school bus with their names and addresses pinned to their shirts. The notes identify one as a future heart cell, another as a liver cell, a third as a neuron. And that's what they each grow up to be. But once those cells reach adulthood, changes to those original marching orders caused by aging, disease and other stressors like smoking can precipitate a kind of identity crisis, researchers at the University of Michigan Health System have found.

2 Jul 2011

Antimicrobial copper surfaces reduce risk of acquiring hospital infection

Professor Bill Keevil, Head of the Microbiology Group and Director of the Environmental Healthcare Unit at the University of Southampton, has presented research into the mechanism by which copper exerts its antimicrobial effect on antibiotic-resistant organisms at the World Health Organization's first International Conference on Prevention and Infection Control.

2 Jul 2011

Transnational research group examines how viruses evade immune system

Understanding the tricks and survival strategies of viruses to effectively combat them: That is the goal of the virtual institute VISTRIE that received its funding commitment today.

2 Jul 2011

STSI receives NIH grant to conduct heart-based research

Researchers looking to find a root cause for heart attacks and coronary artery disease will soon begin using a novel investigative approach that borders on science fiction as they work toward the holy grail of American medicine: preventing the nation's No. 1 killer.

2 Jul 2011

'Genotype positive' individuals susceptible to increased periodontal tissue destruction after dental implants

The health of the surrounding tissue affects the success of a dental implant. Identifying and reducing risk factors is therefore a key step in the implant process. Now a combination of genes has been identified as a possible indicator of greater tissue destruction leading to negative outcomes for implants.

1 Jul 2011

Six new scientists to receive SWCRF grants for cancer research

This year, the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation awarded individual grants to six new researchers in addition to funding 18 collaborative grants and three ongoing individual grants. The Foundation expanded its scientific grants program to a total of more than $3.1 million.

1 Jul 2011

Small molecule treatment holds promise for Usher syndrome

New treatment approach shall soon be ready for use in Usher syndrome patients / Publication in "Human Gene Therapy".

1 Jul 2011

Two defective genes may cause telomere elongations in cancer cells: Study

Scientists at Johns Hopkins have provided more clues to one of the least understood phenomena in some cancers: why the "ends caps" of cellular DNA, called telomeres, lengthen instead of shorten.

1 Jul 2011