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Study sheds light on complexities of cancer genetics

30 Jul 2012

Antioxidants and pancreatic cancer risk: an interview with Dr Andrew Hart

The antioxidants that we mainly looked at were selenium, vitamin C and vitamin E. They are chemicals which inactivate pro-oxidants or free radicals. Smoking and normal metabolism can lead to the production of free radicals.

30 Jul 2012

UTMB researchers receives NIH grant to develop engineered lung tissue for biomedical studies

University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston researchers have been awarded a two-year, $1.25 million National Institutes of Health grant to develop a method of custom-growing human lung tissue to make a three-dimensional model for biomedical studies.

30 Jul 2012

Lack of physical activity and life expectancy: an interview with Dr I-Min Lee

With the approach of the Olympic Games, a group of researchers throughout the world thought that it would be a good time to draw the attention of the world to the health dangers of being physically inactive.

30 Jul 2012

Fruit flies help pinpoint genetic changes that spell cancer

By studying fruit flies, scientists at A*STAR's Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) have successfully devised a fast and cost-saving way to uncover genetic changes that have a higher potential to cause cancer. With this new approach, researchers will now be able to rapidly distinguish the range of genetic changes that are causally linked to cancer (i.e. "driver" mutations) versus those with limited impact on cancer progression.

30 Jul 2012

Insight into neural basis of human consciousness

Which areas of the brain help us to perceive our world in a self-reflective manner is difficult to measure. During wakefulness, we are always conscious of ourselves. In sleep, however, we are not. But there are people, known as lucid dreamers, who can become aware of dreaming during sleep. Studies employing magnetic resonance tomography (MRT) have now been able to demonstrate that a specific cortical network consisting of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the frontopolar regions and the precuneus is activated when this lucid consciousness is attained.

30 Jul 2012

Researchers isolate elusive human gene that causes NMNAT1-related Leber congenital amaurosis

Researchers from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Loyola University Chicago Health Sciences Division and their collaborators have isolated an elusive human gene that causes a common form of Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), a relatively rare but devastating form of early-onset blindness. The new LCA gene is called NMNAT1.

30 Jul 2012

Roofers have higher PAH blood-levels after 6-hour shift

Roofers and road construction workers who use hot asphalt are exposed to high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published this week in the British Medical Journal Open shows that roofers have higher PAH blood-levels after a shift than before and that these high levels of PAHs are linked with increased rates of DNA damage, and potentially with higher cancer risk.

28 Jul 2012

Watching sexual content in movies linked to adolescents' sexual behavior

Young people who watch more sexual content from movies also tend to engage in more sexual behavior and begin sexual activity at an earlier age, according to a University of Missouri researcher's study.

27 Jul 2012

Longer looks: Religious health care; 'The big lie' about expanding Medicaid

The Affordable Care Act has a section that exempts members of health care sharing ministries from purchasing insurance. The Amish, Mennonite, Christian Science and Indian tribe communities also are exempt from the penalty that will be incurred on Americans who fail to purchase health insurance by 2014.

27 Jul 2012

Molina Healthcare reports net loss of $37.3 million for second quarter 2012

Molina Healthcare, Inc. today reported its financial results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2012.

27 Jul 2012

Vitamin A insufficiency linked to hand, foot and mouth disease

Vitamin A status is associated with immunity to, and pathogenic condition of, hand, foot, and mouth disease in children, say researchers whose study results show that the majority of those with the infectious disease also had vitamin A insufficiency.

26 Jul 2012

Fatty acids normalize without help in girls with eating disorders

Omega-3 essential fatty acid supplementation is unnecessary for adolescent girls with eating disorders and weight-loss eating disorder, as levels normalize once they return to normal weight, say researchers.

26 Jul 2012

Illiteracy linked to schizophrenia risk

The risk for schizophrenia is significantly higher among illiterate than literate individuals in China, particularly among younger age groups, results from a population-based study show.

26 Jul 2012

Raising dopamine levels in frontal cortex reduces impulsivity in healthy adults

Raising levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the frontal cortex of the brain significantly decreased impulsivity in healthy adults, in a study conducted by researchers at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco.

26 Jul 2012

Recent release: HIV epidemic, family planning 'inextricably linked'

Noting "approximately 17 million women worldwide are currently living with HIV, with more than a million new infections in women of reproductive age each year," Suzanne Ehlers, president and CEO of Population Action International (PAI), and Charles Lyons, president and CEO of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF), write in this guest post in the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog that "family planning and HIV are inextricably linked, especially for HIV-positive women who are pregnant or may become pregnant."

26 Jul 2012

RADARS System Poison Center data can predict methadone overdose trends in the U.S.

A new report, published today in PLoS One shows that RADARS(R) System Poison Center data can be used to predict methadone overdose trends in the U.S.

26 Jul 2012

Consumption of alcohol mixed with energy drinks can lead to casual sex among college-age adults

A new study from the University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions (RIA) has found a link between the consumption of caffeinated energy drinks mixed with alcohol and casual -- often risky -- sex among college-age adults.

26 Jul 2012

Single event of brain trauma can lead to Alzheimer’s

A study, performed in mice and utilizing post-mortem samples of brains from patients with Alzheimer’s disease, found that a single event of a moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) can disrupt proteins that regulate an enzyme associated with Alzheimer’s. The paper, published in The Journal of Neuroscience, identifies the complex mechanisms that result in a rapid and robust post-injury elevation of the enzyme, BACE1, in the brain. These results may lead to the development of a drug treatment that targets this mechanism to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

25 Jul 2012

ANCA-associated vasculitis not a single clinical entity

Study findings show distinct subtypes of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis, distinguished by the target of autoantigen reactivity.

25 Jul 2012