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Prenatal exposure to alcohol can change child's circadian rhythms

Altered sleeping and eating patterns, behavioral problems, attention deficits and depression in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders may indicate that their biological rhythms, which are controlled by circadian systems, have been affected by alcohol exposure during development.

25 Apr 2006

Doctors show concern over rising preterm births

Doctors in the BMJ have expressed concern over the apparent increase in preterm births. The concerns are based on research showing that preterm deliveries increased by 22% from 1995 to 2004. Even among low risk women aged 20-40, there was a 51% increase in early delivery.

25 Apr 2006

'Resonance' may be the reason for virologic failure in STI drug therapy

Researchers have been puzzled over why HIV-positive patients who have periodic, built in interruptions in their drug therapy reach a point where the therapy no longer reduces their viral loads, even in the absence of any evidence of acquired drug resistance.

25 Apr 2006

Alternative anti-inflammatory drugs promise less cardiovascular problems

New type of anti-inflammatory drugs may reduce COX-2 cardiovascular problems, says Queen's researcher

25 Apr 2006

New method allows heart beat triggers to be viewed and better understood

Researchers have developed unique chemical dyes that have made it possible to see what the naked eye has never seen before: action potentials, or voltage changes, of cardiac cells - including those deep inside the heart, which trigger and determine the pace of heartbeats.

25 Apr 2006

Greater suicide risk for alcoholics with personality disorders

Alcoholics with a borderline personality disorder are at greatest risk for suicidal behavior.

25 Apr 2006

Swedish ACI method of cartilage repair gives excellent durability

As the population ages, arthritis will become more prevalent. It would be helpful to know more about the causes and treatments of cartilage wear.

25 Apr 2006

Enzyme research points to better drugs and improved industrial processes

Groundbreaking enzyme research could revolutionise the way drugs are made and have major implications for the industrial sector, including brewing, food processing, domestic cleaning and paper manufacturing.

From The University of Manchester 25 Apr 2006

Groups better at solving problems than individuals

Study shows that the collective efforts of groups may be useful in boosting problem-solving skills. It found groups of three, four, or five perform better on complex problem solving than the best of an equivalent number of individuals.

24 Apr 2006

Direct link between childhood obesity and junk food advertising

A team of researchers from the Harvard School of Public health (HSPH) and the Children's Hospital in Boston have found that children who spend more time watching TV were more likely to eat more of the calorie-dense, low nutrient foods advertised on television.

24 Apr 2006

Vaginal gel zaps AIDS virus - gives women control

According to the researchers if current trials are satisfactory, a safe and effective gel which protects women from the AIDS virus may be available by 2010.

24 Apr 2006

25% of British school children are clinically obese

According to researchers over 25% of British school children are clinically obese and they lay the blame squarely on junk food and a lack of exercise.

24 Apr 2006

Kidney treatments may be improved with new understanding of cell death mechanism

Finding how two proteins conspire to get kidney cells to self-destruct when oxygen supplies are low may one day improve dismal mortality rates for ischemic renal failure, researchers say.

23 Apr 2006

Poor health related to inadequate housing for immigrant farmworkers in the USA

Many Hispanic farmworker families in North Carolina live in inadequate housing that puts them at higher risk of exposure to disease, toxins and overcrowding that can affect their psychological well-being, according to new research by Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

23 Apr 2006

Research into toxins points to development of better medicines

Researchers have combined magnetic resonance spectroscopy with special protein synthesis procedures to uncover how potassium channels and toxins combine and change in structure. This work could make it possible to develop medications for high blood pressure and many other diseases connected to potassium channel failure .

23 Apr 2006

Birth defects from rubella almost eradicated in the USA

Congenital rubella syndrome, a birth defect caused by the rubella virus (also known as German measles), has practically been eliminated in the U.S., according to a statement published in the April 2006 issue of Birth Defects Research Part A, the official journal of The Teratology Society.

23 Apr 2006

Penn researchers discover gene that creates "second skeleton" bone disorder

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have located the "skeleton key," a gene that, when damaged, causes the body's skeletal muscles and soft connective tissue to undergo a metamorphosis into bone, progressively locking joints in place and rendering movement impossible.

23 Apr 2006

Research sheds light on eating disorders, compulsive gambling and drug abuse

Researchers at Harvard Medical School (HMS) report in the April 23 issue of Nature that they have identified neurons that encode the values that subjects assign to different items. The activity of these neurons might facilitate the process of decision-making that occurs when someone chooses between different goods.

23 Apr 2006

Novel approach used to neutralize anthrax toxin

Researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the University of Toronto have designed a nanoscale assembly of molecules that successfully counteracts and inhibits anthrax toxin in animal and laboratory experiments.

23 Apr 2006

Scientists clarify role of phosphatase and tensin homolog tumor suppressor gene

Jiwang Zhang, Ph.D., formerly a Senior Research Associate at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, and Linheng Li, Ph.D., Associate Investigator, are credited as the first and last authors, respectively, on a paper highlighting several previously unknown functions of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), an important tumor suppressor gene.

23 Apr 2006