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The link between intelligence and dementia

Scientists have turned to the brightest brains in Britain in a bid to understand the link between intelligence and dementia.

15 Feb 2005

Discovery may have implications for the treatment of hemophilia A and B

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers have made a discovery that may have implications for the treatment of liver-based genetic defects such as hemophilia A and B in humans.

15 Feb 2005

Genetically engineered potatoes offer new hope in the fight against the Hepatitis B

Genetically engineered potatoes offer new hope in the fight against the Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), an acute sometimes fatal form of viral hepatitis caused by a DNA virus that persists in the blood serum and is transmitted by sexual contact or by transfusion or by ingestion of contaminated blood or other bodily fluids.

14 Feb 2005

Patent-based regulation of genetic resources could undermine health in developing countries

The Australian APEC Study Centre has released a report showing how proposals for a patent-based regime to regulate access to genetic resources could inhibit efforts to protect biodiversity and undermine health in developing countries.

14 Feb 2005

Blips and AIDS therapy

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have concluded that sudden, temporary spikes in the amount of HIV in the body, commonly called blips, do not always mean the virus is developing resistance to AIDS drugs.

14 Feb 2005

Bionomics goes for aggressive strategy in 2005

Australian biotech, Bionomics gave an investor presentation in Melbourne on 2 February 2005 and outlined a bolder, more aggressive strategy. There are many Australian biotech companies with big aspirations.

13 Feb 2005

Two-step approach to transform HIV into a cancer-seeking machine

Camouflaging an impotent AIDS virus in new clothes enables it to hunt down metastasized melanoma cells in living mice, reports a UCLA AIDS Institute study in the Feb. 13 online edition of Nature Medicine.

13 Feb 2005

What influences your choice of valentine?

Scientists at the University of Liverpool have discovered why people are attracted to certain facial types when in pursuit of romance.

13 Feb 2005

Scientists show knocking out key signals will cause diabetes

Using a revolutionary technique to turn off chemical signals inside the cell, scientists at Joslin Diabetes Center have discovered that the different metabolic abnormalities present in type 2 diabetes can be caused by knocking out two key signals in liver cells.

11 Feb 2005

Sudden emotional stress can result in severe but reversible heart muscle weakness

Shocking news, such as learning of the unexpected death of a loved one, has been known to cause catastrophic events, such as a heart attack.

10 Feb 2005

First evidence of cardiac progenitor cells

The first evidence of cardiac progenitor cells – rare, specialized stem cells located in the newborn heart of rats, mice and humans – has been shown by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine. The cells are capable of differentiation into fully mature heart tissue.

10 Feb 2005

Patients with cancer have a 7-fold increased risk for blood clots in the legs or lungs

Studies that identify patients at highest risk of thrombosis are scarce, according to background information in the article. It is unclear what risks are for various types and stages of cancer.

9 Feb 2005

Screening for toxoplasmosis for all pregnant women and newborns is necessary

Physicians found that signs, symptoms and identifiable risk factors are absent in more than half of the mothers of infants with congenital toxoplasmosis in a national study of children with this disease.

9 Feb 2005

Research confirms how early-life events shape later physiology

Underscoring the value of good prenatal care, new research suggests that early infection may create a cognitive vulnerability that appears later during stress on the immune system.

8 Feb 2005

India trials investigational vaccine candidate designed to prevent HIV/AIDS

Announcing the trial, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, said: "Developing a vaccine to prevent AIDS is one of the most difficult scientific challenges of our time. It is also one of the most urgent health needs. Perseverance is the way forward, and India has a long- term commitment."

7 Feb 2005

Findings could lead to new asthma treatment based on individual genetic profiles

Children who suffer from acute asthma attacks share a genetic profile that appears to be unique to these children, according to a new study by researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. The discovery opens the door to the possibility of designing treatments specifically tailored to children who suffer from the severest forms of asthma.

7 Feb 2005

Mother’s depression linked with an increased risk of antisocial behavior in children

Significantly higher levels of antisocial behavior were found in seven-year-old children whose mothers were depressed during the child’s first five years of life, according to an article in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

7 Feb 2005

Origins of skin cancer melanoma

Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have found an important clue about the origins of the deadly skin cancer melanoma.

7 Feb 2005

Variation in a taste receptor gene influences taste sensitivity

Variation in a taste receptor gene influences taste sensitivity of children and adults, accounting for individual differences in taste preferences and food selection, report a team of researchers from the Monell Chemical Senses Center. In addition to genes, age and culture also contribute to taste preferences, at times overriding the influence of genetics.

7 Feb 2005

Gene therapy helps generate bone around dental implants

A University of Michigan research team has found that introducing a growth factor protein into a mouth wound using gene therapy helped generate bone around dental implants, according to a new paper in the February issue of the journal Molecular Therapy.

3 Feb 2005