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Hypertension all about what you eat and drink

Scientific research on human metabolism based on people from around the world has revealed compounds in urine indicate surprising differences affecting blood pressure.

20 Apr 2008

Surgery under hypnosis a pain-free event

A hypnotist in Britain has had surgery on his right hand without a general anaesthetic.

20 Apr 2008

Mistletoe therapy in oncology

For many people, mistletoe conjures up images of Christmas holidays, but in parts of Europe, mistletoe extract is widely used as a therapy for cancer patients. However, a new review of studies finds only weak evidence that the treatment provides any benefit.

17 Apr 2008

Scientists solve arsenic's cancer paradox

Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered how arsenic works as an effective treatment for leukaemia - according to a report in Nature Cell Biology.

15 Apr 2008

Cancer prevention

Tapping into a growing body of knowledge about the origins and progression of cancer, researchers are now developing and testing new preventive therapies to stop it in its tracks.

15 Apr 2008

Brain study may lead to improved epilepsy treatments

Using a rodent model of epilepsy, researchers found one of the body's own neurotransmitters released during seizures, glutamate, turns on a signaling pathway in the brain that increases production of a protein that could reduce medication entry into the brain.

15 Apr 2008

What we eat and drink affects our risk of cancer

A healthy diet and lifestyle protect against a wide range of diseases, and new research presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 2008 Annual Meeting, April 12-16, shows that cancer is no exception.

13 Apr 2008

Mosquito mating mechanism could lead to new attack on dengue and yellow fever

Cornell researchers have identified a mating mechanism that possibly could be adapted to prevent female mosquitoes from spreading the viruses that cause dengue fever, second only to malaria as the most virulent mosquito-borne disease in the tropical world.

11 Apr 2008

Researchers close in on origins of main ingredient of Alzheimer's plaques

The ability of brain cells to take in substances from their surface is essential to the production of a key ingredient in Alzheimer's brain plaques, neuroscientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have learned.

10 Apr 2008

Anticipation of laughter reduces levels of stress hormones

In 2006 researchers investigating the interaction between the brain, behavior, and the immune system found that simply anticipating a mirthful laughter experience boosted health-protecting hormones.

8 Apr 2008

Effective treatment of smell loss with theophylline

Despite the fact that millions of Americans are believed to have lost their sense of smell (hyposmia), no effective method exists to treat many of these people.

8 Apr 2008

New decontamination agent

A new decontamination agent devised by US chemists can deactivate toxic chemicals such as nerve agents and pesticides - leaving only non-toxic, easily disposable by-products, according to research in the New Journal of Chemistry.

8 Apr 2008

Synthetic molecules may be less expensive alternative to therapeutic antibodies

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have developed a simple and inexpensive method to screen small synthetic molecules and pull out a handful that might treat cancer and other diseases less expensively than current methods.

7 Apr 2008

Aripiprazole has potential for treating alcohol dependence

Aripiprazole is currently approved to treat bipolar disorder as well as schizophrenia. A new study has found that it significantly and dose-dependently increases the sedative effects of alcohol and, to a lesser degree, decreases the euphoric effects of alcohol. Future research will need to examine the beneficial versus the side effects of aripiprazole for treatment of alcohol dependence.

4 Apr 2008

From algae to parasites: new 'missing link' species found in Sydney Harbour

It's not often that brown algae is considered exciting or revolutionary, but Associate Professor Dee Carter from the School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences at the University of Sydney and her former PhD student, Robert Moore, have found a new species of single-celled brown algae that is an evolutionary missing link.

2 Apr 2008

Tai Chi improves control of type 2 diabetes

Tai Chi exercises can improve the control of type 2 diabetes, suggests a small study, published ahead of print in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

1 Apr 2008

Researcher discovers pathway plants use to fight back against pathogens

Plants are not only smart, but they also wage a good fight, according to a University of Missouri biochemist. Previous studies have shown that plants can sense attacks by pathogens and activate their defenses.

1 Apr 2008

Hairdressers at an increased risk for cancers

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), hair dyes and other chemicals place hairdressers at an increased risk for cancer.

31 Mar 2008

New brain cells implicated in machinery of cannabinoid signaling

The researchers said their findings could aid in development of treatments for cannabinoid drug abuse. Also, because so-called "endocannabinoids" produced by brain cells are involved in the neural machinery of pain perception and learning and memory, the findings could help in understanding those processes, said the researchers.

28 Mar 2008

Insulin-like growth factor found to have new role in development of brain's smell center

A human hormone known to stimulate the growth of cells throughout the body has a new role - helping to set up the proper nerve connections in the odor center of the brain, according to University of California, Berkeley, scientists.

28 Mar 2008