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Salad herb shows potential gastric anti-ulcer activity

Gastric ulcer is an illness that affects a considerable number of people worldwide. Although the introduction of proton-pump inhibitors to the classic anti-ulcer therapy has revolutionized treatment of peptic ulcers and other gastrointestinal disorders, there is still no complete cure for this disease.

7 May 2009

Countries move toward more sustainable ways to roll back malaria

The United Nations Environment Programme and the World Health Organization, in partnership with the Global Environment Facility, today announced a rejuvenated international effort to combat malaria with an incremental reduction of reliance on the synthetic pesticide DDT.

6 May 2009

oct3 protein key to Parkinson's, drug addiction

Scientists have identified a protein that appears not only to be central to the process that causes Parkinson's disease but could also play a role in muting the high from methamphetamine and other addictive drugs.

4 May 2009

New understanding on how DNA repair works

One can have a dream, two can make that dream so real, goes a popular song. Now a Weizmann Institute study has revealed that it takes two to perform an essential form of DNA repair.

4 May 2009

Discovery of gene associated with narcolepsy

Scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health have identified a gene associated with narcolepsy, a disorder that causes disabling daytime sleepiness, sleep attacks, irresistible bouts of sleep that can strike at any time, and disturbed sleep at night. The gene has a known role in the immune system, which strongly suggests that autoimmunity, in which the immune system turns against the body's own tissues, plays an important role in the disorder.

3 May 2009

Chemical found in medical devices impairs heart function

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have found that a chemical commonly used in the production of such medical plastic devices as intravenous (IV) bags and catheters can impair heart function in rats.

3 May 2009

A systems biology map of iron metabolism

Scientists at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom, and the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech have taken the first steps toward constructing a systems biology map of iron metabolism.

30 Apr 2009

Researchers investigate the effects of oxytocin on human couple interactions

Relationships are difficult and most of us probably think at some point that communicating positively with our partner when discussing stressful issues, like home finances, is an impossible task.

29 Apr 2009

Glutamate identified as predictor of disease progression in multiple sclerosis

UCSF researchers have identified a correlation between higher levels of glutamate, which occurs naturally in the brain as a byproduct of metabolism, and greater disease burden in multiple sclerosis patients.

29 Apr 2009

Green nanotechnology from tea

Researchers from the University of Missouri-Columbia report in the Journal of Materials Chemistry that chemicals in tea are the best yet discovered to make consistent, biologically safe gold nanoparticles. More importantly, these gold nanoparticles show promising anticancer properties.

27 Apr 2009

Nanostrings bring 'artificial noses' closer to reality

These days, chemical analysts are expected to track down even single molecules.

23 Apr 2009

Using combinatorial libraries to engineer genetic circuits advances synthetic biology

Streamlining the construction of synthetic gene networks has led a team of Boston University researchers to develop a technique that couples libraries of diversified components with computer modeling to guide predictable gene network construction without the back and forth tweaking.

22 Apr 2009

Scientists develop drugs to block skin cancer protein

Scientists have developed a potent group of potential drug candidates to treat skin cancer, according to a study in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry today (Thursday).

22 Apr 2009

Organic biosensor detects onset of acute myocardial ischemia

Engineering researchers at the University of Arkansas have fabricated and tested a unique biosensor that measures concentrations of potassium and hydrogen ions in the human heart with high specificity.

22 Apr 2009

Researchers create chemicals that kill the most deadly malaria-causing parasite

Researchers at the University of Leeds have developed chemicals which kill the most deadly malaria-causing parasite, Plasmodium falciparum - including those resistant to existing drugs.

22 Apr 2009

Grapes may prevent heart health risks beyond the simple blood pressure-lowering impact

Can a grape-enriched diet prevent the downhill sequence of heart failure after years of high blood pressure?

22 Apr 2009

New Dengue virus discovery could lead to development of anti-dengue drugs

Doctors have no specific drugs to treat dengue fever, a viral illness spread by mosquitoes that sickens 50 million to 100 million people worldwide each year. Instead, the only treatments they can recommend for this painful and sometimes fatal illness (20,000 deaths globally each year) are fluids, rest and non-aspirin pain and fever reducers.

22 Apr 2009