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Experimental drug shows promise for cystic fibrosis

An experimental drug that has proven effective in treating muscular dystrophy also works for cystic fibrosis, according to researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

5 Feb 2008

Parental drinking and parenting practices influence adolescent drinking

Adolescence is a critical time of development on many different levels, but especially concerning the initiation and escalation of alcohol use. For example, the proportion of American adolescents who regularly drink alcohol roughly doubles during secondary-school years. New findings show that parental drinking both directly influences adolescent drinking, as well as indirectly through adolescent perceptions of parenting, especially monitoring and discipline received.

5 Feb 2008

Chemists track how amantadine drug changes, blocks flu virus

An anti-virus drug attacks influenza A by changing the motion and structure of a proton channel necessary for the virus to infect healthy cells, according to a recently published research paper by two Iowa State University chemists.

5 Feb 2008

Genetic mutations in the Toll-like receptor 4 gene increase risk of preterm birth

Genetic mutations in the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) gene appear to have significant association with inflammatory injury to the placenta and developing baby, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh's department of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences report at the 28th annual meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine.

5 Feb 2008

Gene ENPP1 is linked to preterm birth and low birth weight among Hispanic women

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have found that the gene ENPP1 is linked to preterm birth and low birth weight among Hispanic women.

5 Feb 2008

Gene in grain-producing plants guards against infection in animals and humans

Purdue University and USDA-Agricultural Research Service scientists have discovered that a type of gene in grain-producing plants halts infection by a disease-causing fungus that can destroy crops vital for human food supplies.

5 Feb 2008

Survey of rheumatic diseases in China

We like to complain about our aches and pains, but rheumatism is not only the preserve of western society.

5 Feb 2008

Changes in narcoleptics' skin, core body temperatures affect their vigilance and sleepiness

In healthy people, both sleepiness and vigilance show a relationship with core body temperature and skin temperature.

5 Feb 2008

Structure of important neurotransmitter regulator solved

Researchers from Virginia Tech and the Brookhaven National Laboratory have solved the structure of an enzyme that is critical in the regulation of the neurotransmitter system in the human brain.

4 Feb 2008

Lithium slows ALS progression

Daily doses of lithium, a drug used to treat bipolar disorder, have been found to delay progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in an Italian study of 44 people with the disease.

4 Feb 2008

Targeting astrocytes slows progression of Lou Gehrig's disease

In what the researchers say could be promising news in the quest to find a therapy to slow the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease, scientists at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have shown that targeting neuronal support cells called astrocytes sharply slows disease progression in mice.

4 Feb 2008

Gene expression in meningiomas may vary by hormone receptor status

An association between hormones and meningioma has long been postulated, but the specific nature of this relationship has remained unclear.

4 Feb 2008

Certain genetic variations protect against depression triggered by childhood stress

Certain variations in a gene that helps regulate response to stress tend to protect adults who were abused in childhood from developing depression, according to new research funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health.

4 Feb 2008

Scientists identify protein's crucial role in resistance to breast cancer treatment

Scientists at the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre at The Institute of Cancer Research in London have identified how some breast cancers may become resistant to hormone treatments like tamoxifen.

4 Feb 2008

New research shows that people with blue eyes have a single, common ancestor

A team at the University of Copenhagen have tracked down a genetic mutation which took place 6-10,000 years ago and is the cause of the eye colour of all blue-eyed humans alive on the planet today.

4 Feb 2008

Protein, macrophage migration inhibitory factor predicts heart attack response and cardiac damage

A protein has been found that influences the response of the heart to a lack of oxygen and blood flow, such as occurs during a heart attack, a team of Yale School of Medicine researchers report in Nature.

4 Feb 2008

Variation in the BCL11A gene linked to moderated symptoms of beta-thalassemia

Beta-thalassemia is a serious, potentially life-threatening disease that affects red blood cells, cells that carry oxygen via hemoglobin throughout the body.

4 Feb 2008

A possible H5N1 vaccine

A vaccine against the most common and deadliest strain of avian flu, H5N1, has been engineered and tested by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Vaccine Research and Novavax Inc.

4 Feb 2008

Neurogenesis plays an important role in the acquisition and storage of spatial memory

Boosted by physical and mental exercise, neural stem cells continue to sprout new neurons throughout life, but the exact function of these newcomers has been the topic of much debate.

4 Feb 2008

March of Dimes works to eliminate racial gaps in infant health

In recognition of Black History Month, the March of Dimes is drawing attention to the tremendous gap in premature birth and infant mortality rates that disproportionately affect black women in the United States and to the programs and research designed to reduce -- and one day eliminate -- these disparities.

4 Feb 2008