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New technique will enhance understanding of little-understood vision phenomenon

Look at something red in the room, and you'll be more likely to notice something red out of the corner of your eye, elsewhere in the room. Researchers have known that this "implicit attentional selection" is outside conscious control and that we are unaware of its functioning.

1 Jun 2005

Short term high pollution concentrations linked to dangerous heart arrhythmias

Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health and colleagues from Boston area medical institutions have linked short term high pollution concentrations with an increased incidence of irregular and very dangerous heart arrhythmias among a group of cardiac patients from the greater Boston area who had implanted cardioverter defibrillators (ICD).

1 Jun 2005

Harmful chemicals may reprogram gene response to estrogen

New research shows that exposure to harmful chemicals and drugs during critical developmental periods early in life may actually "reprogram" the way certain genes respond to the female hormone estrogen. This genetic reprogramming may determine whether people with a genetic predisposition for a disease actually develop the disease.

1 Jun 2005

Sniffing out a partner

Beneath the perfume, soap and deodorant, it seems that the old smelly rules of attraction still apply.

1 Jun 2005

Lafora disease can be caused by mutations in a gene that regulates the concentration of the protein laforin

Researchers at University of California, San Diego (UCSD) have found that Lafora disease, an inherited form of epilepsy that results in death by the age of 30, can be caused by mutations in a gene that regulates the concentration of the protein laforin. These findings are reported in the current issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

1 Jun 2005

Cancer treatments linked to decline in mental abilities later on in life

A study in the U.S. has found that cancer survivors who have undergone cancer treatment are twice as likely to develop cognitive problems than people who had never been treated for cancer, and they may be at risk of problems with mental abilities such as memory and learning.

1 Jun 2005

New study linking pain relievers and breast cancer fails to convince experts

Research in recent years has consistently linked the use of aspirin and other anti-inflammatory pain relievers with a lower risk of colon cancer, but findings about the drugs' effect on breast-cancer risk have been very mixed with some studies suggesting that the pain relievers protect against breast cancer, while others have found no link.

1 Jun 2005

Environment factors can interact with genetics to increase disease risk

31 May 2005

1980's brain surgery may have exposed 50 patients to Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

It has now been revealed that as many as 50 patients may have been exposed to Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) following brain surgery during the 1980s.

31 May 2005

Young adults forget their own life-support decisions

More than half of young adults soon unwittingly change their minds about decisions they make governing future life-saving medical treatment for themselves, a new study has found.

30 May 2005

New finding in studying dopamine transporter

Confirming findings in a previous study, Yale researchers observed an altered availability of the dopamine transporter in healthy persons with a genetic variation linked to substance abuse and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

30 May 2005

Chemicals in food packaging linked to breast cancer

Chemicals found in some food packaging materials have been shown in a new study to affect the development of breast tissue in mice, which suggests, say scientists, that women exposed to such chemicals, which mimic female hormones, may be at increased risk of breast cancer.

30 May 2005

New evidence for cause of dyslexia

Addressing a persistent debate in the field of dyslexia research, scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Southern California (USC) have disproved the popular theory that deficits in certain visual processes cause the spelling and reading woes commonly suffered by dyslexics.

29 May 2005

Allergies may be linked to irregular periods

New research is suggesting a there is possibly a link between allergic conditions such as asthma and hay fever and irregular periods.

29 May 2005

Exposure to pesticides linked to Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's Disease is an incurable degenerative neurological condition and researchers say they may have found a link between exposure to pesticides and an increased risk of developing the disease.

26 May 2005

Is winter flu worse because of exercise-induced 'window of susceptibility'?

When you exercise or work outside in winter, that dry feeling at the back of your throat indicates the cold air has irritated your throat. Racehorses share a similar experience: exercising in below-freezing air causes mild airway injury.

26 May 2005

Brain fatty acid levels linked to depression

A group of researchers from Israel has discovered that rats exhibiting the signs of depression have increased levels of the omega-6 fatty acid, arachidonic acid, in their brains. The details of their findings appear in the June issue of the Journal of Lipid Research, an American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology journal.

25 May 2005

Asthma and hay fever seem to be linked to irregular periods

The finding adds weight to the evidence, suggesting that female hormones might have a role in the development of asthma and allergies.

25 May 2005

Researchers find link between highways and breathing problems in kids

Children living close to a major road are significantly more likely to have asthma than children who live farther away, according to study findings presented today at the American Thoracic Society International Conference.

25 May 2005

Six deaths in transplant patients now linked to rodent virus

In the latest news on the subject, experts now believe they can link at least six deaths of organ transplant patients to a rodent virus, which raises questions about whether others may have gone undetected and whether the germ also could spread through blood transfusions.

24 May 2005