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Roche chooses partners to help make Tamiflu

The producer of sought after bird flu drug Tamiflu, drug giant Roche, has apparently chosen 12 possible partners to help it churn out enough of the drug.

12 Dec 2005

Getting old? Slowing down? Blame inefficient mitochondria

In mitochondria, the fuel is oxidised and builds up a pressure of hydrogen ions (protons). These force through molecular turbines and enable the cell to generate ATP, an energy unit that can be used throughout the cell.

6 Dec 2005

Fighting the flab? it could be that hormone!

Fighting the flab? well take heart it could all be down to your hormones - or it seems down to one in particular.

5 Dec 2005

Face transplant woman doing well

French surgeons say that the 38-year-old recipient of the world's first partial face transplant regained consciousness 24 hours after her operation and is doing well.

5 Dec 2005

Go-cart injuries in children - bad!

Researchers have used diagnostic images to conduct a study of go-cart injuries in children and the results are concerning, according to findings presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

30 Nov 2005

French woman has worlds' first face transplant

The operation apparently lasted several hours where tissues, muscles, arteries and veins were taken from a brain-dead donor and attached to the patient's lower face.

30 Nov 2005

New Scientist reports on nuclear accident responsiveness

Simulations of accidents involving nuclear weapons have revealed that the UK authorities were not fully prepared to protect people from being exposed to radioactivity, according to confidential reports obtained by New Scientist.

9 Nov 2005

MRI measurements of scar tissue accurately predict the risk of arrhythmia-related sudden death

Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the heart wall, researchers at Johns Hopkins have found that people whose muscle wall thickness contained more than 25 percent scar tissue were approximately nine times more likely to test positive for a fast and dangerous heart rhythm known as ventricular arrhythmia.

3 Nov 2005

Most communities woefully unprepared for outbreaks of killer flu

If health officials and media prognosticators are accurate, this coming winter may bring with it one of the most sweeping, deadly outbreaks of killer flu that the world has ever seen.

25 Oct 2005

New approaches to counteract platelet shortages

Availability of safe platelets is a fundamental blood transfusion challenge and can be especially problematic in times of emergency. Several studies presented at the annual American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) meeting today demonstrate new approaches to counteract platelet shortages by enhancing the safety of whole blood derived platelets, precluding the need to rely on only those obtained through apheresis.

17 Oct 2005

Greece and Croatia test for bird flu, while Europe gets more jittery

While authorities in Greece anxiously await test results on eight dead birds found in the northeastern Evros River delta, in another main migratory route, Croatia had also started testing dead birds found by citizens.

17 Oct 2005

Obesity associated with a threefold increase in SCD1 expression in obese muscle

The gene encoding an enzyme that hinders muscle from burning fat manufactures three times more enzyme in the muscle of obese people than lean people, researchers from Duke University Medical Center and Louisiana State University have found. This causes the obese muscle tissue to both store more fat and burn less fat, the researchers said.

11 Oct 2005

Sleletal muscle findings highlight the importance of exercise in obese people

The findings suggest that muscle bears a metabolic memory of obesity, which may help to explain why sustained weight loss can be difficult despite cutting calories, according to the researchers. Exercise might more successfully override the aberrant metabolic program in muscle, they suggest, thereby improving the long-term prognosis of those prone to obesity.

11 Oct 2005

Top 12 health issues facing Australian children

Alarming levels of poorer health within indigenous children and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds tops a new list of 12 major issues threatening the future health of Australia.

10 Oct 2005

Cells inside the hair follicle are true multipotent stem cells

Using an animal model, a research team led by Yann Barrandon at the EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne) and the CHUV (Lausanne University Hospital) has discovered that certain cells inside the hair follicle are true multipotent stem cells, capable of developing into the many different cell types needed for hair growth and follicle replacement.

5 Oct 2005

Researchers identify gene defect in mice that causes cyclical hair loss and skin cancer

Researchers at Jefferson Medical College and at the Wadsworth Center in New York have identified a gene defect in mice resulting in a range of abnormalities, from cyclical hair loss and skin cancer to severe problems in normal skin development.

4 Oct 2005

United States has a major weight problem and it will get worse

A large, community-based study -- considered the first study to assess the long-term risk of developing overweight and obesity in adults -- found that over 30 years, nine out of 10 men and seven out of 10 women were overweight or became overweight. In addition, more than one in three were obese or became obese.

4 Oct 2005

The biomedical and sociological effects of sleep restriction

In spring 2005 a large European research and training network was established to investigate the causes and implications of poor sleep from the medical as well as from the social point of view.

3 Oct 2005

100 year old technology to fight MRSA

A technique that has been around for more than one hundred years is being used in new research as a way of killing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) using light. The research to be reported today at the British Pharmaceutical Conference in Manchester, is being undertaken by researchers from Queen's University Belfast.

28 Sep 2005

Revolutionary new study into the psychology of disfigurement

The Centre for Appearance Research (CAR) at the University of the West of England, Bristol has been awarded a record-breaking half a million pounds by a new charity called the Healing Foundation to fund a new study into the psychology of disfigurement.

28 Sep 2005