X linked News and Research

RSS

Lifestyle factors and nutritional patterns reduce early causes of childhood allergy

Today, about one in four European children suffer from allergy, which makes this disease the non-infectious epidemic of the 21st century. Evidence suggests that lifestyle factors and nutritional patterns, such as breastfeeding, help to reduce the early symptoms of allergy.

15 Oct 2011

Penn scientist tracks attitudes and H1N1 vaccination rates on Twitter

A unique and innovative analysis of how social media can affect the spread of a disease has been designed and implemented by a scientist at Penn State University studying attitudes toward the H1N1 vaccine. Marcel Salath-, an assistant professor of biology, studied how users of Twitter -- a popular microblogging and social-networking service -- expressed their sentiments about a new vaccine.

14 Oct 2011

Researchers identify gut bacteria bile acids linked to effectiveness of statin drugs in lowering cholesterol

Statins can be effective at lowering cholesterol, but they have a perplexing tendency to work for some people and not others. Gut bacteria may be the reason.

14 Oct 2011

Different molecular mechanisms in suprachiasmatic nucleus linked to jet lag differences

It's no secret that long-distance, west-to-east air travel - Seattle to Paris, for example - can raise havoc with a person's sleep and waking patterns, and that the effects are substantially less pronounced when traveling in the opposite direction.

14 Oct 2011

ESCs express genes linked with early germ cell specification

Ordinarily, embryonic stem cells exist only a day or two as they begin the formation of the embryo itself. Then they are gone. In the laboratory dish, however, they act more like perpetual stem cells - renewing themselves and exhibiting the ability to form cells of almost any type, a status called totipotency.

14 Oct 2011

Tart cherries can help fight America's Fruit Fatigue

Just four fruits - oranges, bananas, apples and watermelons - account for nearly half of America's fruit intake. Eating a variety of rich-colored fruits is essential to an overall healthful diet, but most Americans are falling far short of the daily recommended consumption of fruit. Only one in five Americans is currently getting the recommended 1 to 2 cups of fruit each day. In fact, Americans only average 42 percent of the recommended fruit, so the gap is significant.

14 Oct 2011

Scientisits uncover evidence of powerful new cancer genetic networks

In findings with major implications for the genetics of cancer and human health, researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and two other science teams in New York City and Rome have uncovered evidence of powerful new genetic networks and showed how it may work to drive cancer and normal development.

14 Oct 2011

BHI warns consumers about inherent risks linked with hearing devices

The Better Hearing Institute (BHI) is warning consumers of the inherent risks associated with purchasing over-the-counter, one-size-fits-all hearing aids instead of consulting a hearing healthcare professional.

14 Oct 2011

Study explores link between BPA exposure and breast cancer

Chronic low-level exposure to a compound found in a variety of plastic household items could pose a threat to women who overproduce a protein linked with breast cancer, say researchers at University of Alabama at Birmingham.

13 Oct 2011

Pfizer, deCODE genetics collaborate to discover sequence variants linked with SLE

deCODE genetics today announced that it has entered into a research collaboration with Pfizer Inc., the objective of which is to discover sequence variants associated with specific clinical phenotypes related to Systemic Lupus Erythematosis by utilizing deCODE's expertise in gene discovery.

13 Oct 2011

Folic acid in early pregnancy leads to an early talking toddler: Study

According to a new Norwegian study, women who took folic acid supplements in the first two months of pregnancy were less likely to have kids with severe language delays.

12 Oct 2011

Restless legs syndrome linked to hypertension

Up to 15 percent of the population has restless legs syndrome. Restless legs syndrome is characterized by crawling sensations and repeated muscle twichings in one or both legs, and an uncontrollable urge to move them - which may compel a person to walk in circles for hours at night.

12 Oct 2011

Cholera epidemic in Africa: Largest yet

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has announced in a statement that the cholera epidemic in West and Central Africa is one of the worst the area has ever seen. So far this year more than 85,000 cases have been reported in the region, including 2,466 deaths.

12 Oct 2011

Vitamin E supplements linked with increased risk of prostate cancer

Men who took 400 international units (I.U.) of vitamin E daily had more prostate cancers compared to men who took a placebo, according to an updated review of data from the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention (SELECT) Trial.

12 Oct 2011

Smoking could cause 18M more cases of TB worldwide over next 40 years

Smoking could cause 18 million more cases of tuberculosis worldwide over the next 40 years and 40 million additional deaths.

12 Oct 2011

ASHG to honor U of U geneticist with William Allan Award

As a teenager just moved to Iowa from war-ravaged Germany in 1951, John M. Opitz, M.D., wanted to study developmental biology, but his "very Prussian" mother insisted he go to medical school instead.

12 Oct 2011

Multivitamin supplements no panacea for women: Study

According to the latest American study women who take multivitamin supplements don't live longer than those who get their nutrients from food alone. In fact, they appear to have slightly higher death rates, researchers found.

11 Oct 2011

Novel link between cell surface sugars, Darwinian sexual selection, and immune function

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine say that losing the ability to make a particular kind of sugar molecule boosted disease protection in early hominids, and may have directed the evolutionary emergence of our ancestors, the genus Homo.

11 Oct 2011

World class scientist presents fourth Environmental Microbiology Lecture

World class scientist Professor Willem M. de Vos will explain next Monday how the microbes that are closest to our hearts - gut microbes - could underpin a new way of thinking about human biology. As well as looking at our own genes, we can now include those of our microbes in studies of human health and disease. This is a significant shift in the way we approach human biology.

11 Oct 2011

Villanova University establishes MacDonald Center for Obesity Prevention and Education

Obesity rates in the United States have reached epidemic proportions. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese and 17 percent of children and teens (ages 2-19) are obese.

11 Oct 2011