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Vanderbilt researchers receives new $2.1M grant to develop microbrain bioreactor

Take a millionth of a human brain and squeeze it into a special chamber the size of a mustard seed. Link it to a second chamber filled with cerebral spinal fluid and thread both of them with artificial blood vessels in order to create a microenvironment that makes the neurons and other brain cells behave as if they were in a living brain. Then surround the chambers with a battery of sensors that monitor how the cells respond when exposed to minute quantities of dietary toxins, disease organisms or new drugs under development.

25 Jul 2012

Views on AIDS: The benefits of male circumcision; A more optimistic battle; The need to focus on high-impact prevention strategies

A selection of editorials and op-eds from around the country that focus on the campaign to eradicate HIV.

25 Jul 2012

Synthetic triterpenoids block development of Parkinson's disease

A new and powerful class of antioxidants could one day be a potent treatment for Parkinson's disease, researchers report.

23 Jul 2012

Low-lactose functional milk with ginseng may help improve cognitive function

American ginseng is reported to have neurocognitive effects, and research has shown benefits in aging, central nervous system disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases.

23 Jul 2012

Aging women show nonlinear declines in fitness, activity levels

Physical activity levels and cardiorespiratory fitness in women do not decline in a linear manner with age, research shows.

23 Jul 2012

Walking speeds the way to understanding elderly blood pressure

The first study to examine walking speed, mortality, and blood pressure has shown that frail, elderly adults who have high blood pressure may actually be at a decreased risk for mortality, write researchers in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

23 Jul 2012

Study identifies genetic markers that influence protein involved in regulating oestrogen, testosterone levels

A research study led by the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Exeter, and Boston University School of Medicine, in collaboration with a global consortium, has identified genetic markers that influence a protein involved in regulating oestrogen and testosterone levels in the bloodstream.

21 Jul 2012

Neuroscience 2012 annual meeting to take place from Oct. 13-17

Neuroscience 2012, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, is the world's largest source of emerging news on brain science and health. Learn how the brain works and new developments on a range of topics: aging, language, brain injury, parenting, and mental illness, among others. More than 16,000 new discoveries will be presented, with 30,000 attendees from around the world.

21 Jul 2012

Number of blind persons decline in Germany

The numbers of people in Germany who are blind or visually impaired is going down. Robert P. Finger and his co-authors present their findings in the current edition of Deutsches -rzteblatt International.

21 Jul 2012

Scientists uncover how internal mechanisms in nerve cells wire the brain

Scientists at the University of Manchester have uncovered how the internal mechanisms in nerve cells wire the brain. The findings open up new avenues in the investigation of neurodegenerative diseases by analysing the cellular processes underlying these conditions.

21 Jul 2012

Vitamin D might modify damaging effects of smoking on lung function

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with worse lung function and more rapid decline in lung function over time in smokers, suggesting that vitamin D may have a protective effect against the effects of smoking on lung function, according to a new study from researchers in Boston.

21 Jul 2012

Study identifies genetic markers that influence sex hormone-binding globulin

A research study led by Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, in collaboration with a global consortium, has identified genetic markers that influence a protein involved in regulating estrogen and testosterone levels in the bloodstream.

21 Jul 2012

Survey finds Medicare beneficiaries happier with coverage than younger people on private plans

The poll results, published in Health Affairs, found that 8 percent of seniors said their coverage was "fair" or "poor" while 20 percent of those with a plan offered through work said that.

20 Jul 2012

Elder abuse in low-income Latino communities goes largely unreported

A sobering new study by researchers from the University of Southern California Davis School of Gerontology finds that elder abuse in low-income Latino communities goes largely unreported. More than 40 percent of Latino elders told Spanish-speaking interviewers that they had been abused or neglected in the last year - yet only 1.5 percent of victims said they had ever reported the abuse to authorities.

20 Jul 2012

Study helps explain why leukemia occurs more frequently as people age

Hundreds of mutations exist in leukemia cells at the time of diagnosis, but nearly all occur randomly as a part of normal aging and are not related to cancer, new research shows.

20 Jul 2012

Vitamin D may modify damaging effects of smoking on lung function

20 Jul 2012

Glanbia Nutritionals, ChromaDex to distribute pTeroPure in North America

ChromaDex Corporation, an innovative natural products company that provides proprietary, science-based solutions and ingredients to the dietary supplement, food & beverage, animal health, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries, and marketer of its branded, patented pterostilbene, pTeroPure, announced today a distribution agreement for pTeroPure with Glanbia Nutritionals (NA), Inc., a global ingredient and micronutrient premix company.

19 Jul 2012

Dementia patients allowed to live at home thanks to new research program

A Johns Hopkins research program that brought resources and counselors to elderly Baltimore residents with memory disorders such as dementia significantly increased the chance they could continue to live successfully at home, a preference for most of them.

19 Jul 2012

Report: Even if economy recovers, health care and Medicaid costs will remain economic burden

Rising health care and Medicaid costs coupled with flat revenue are parts of a bevy of economic problems states face in the coming years even if the economy recovers, according to a new report from the State Budget Crisis Task Force -- led in part by a former Federal Reserve chairman.

19 Jul 2012

High ceramide levels may increase a person's risk of AD

Higher levels of a certain fat in the blood called ceramides may increase a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, according to a study published in the July 18, 2012, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

19 Jul 2012