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microRNAs appear essential for retinal health

Retinas in newborn mice appear perfectly fine without any help from tiny bits of genetic material called microRNAs except for one thing - the retinas do not work.

7 May 2008

Quit smoking and the benefits soon appear

New research says that people who give up smoking begin to improve their health almost immediately, and the risk of death from all causes falls by 13% within 5 years and to no extra risk of death by 20 years.

7 May 2008

Superbug genome sequenced

The genome of a newly-emerging superbug, commonly known as Steno, has just been sequenced. The results reveal an organism with a remarkable capacity for drug resistance. The research was carried out by scientists at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute near Cambridge and the University of Bristol.

6 May 2008

Gene sequence that can make half of us fatter is discovered

A gene sequence linked to an expanding waist line, weight gain and a tendency to develop type 2 diabetes has been discovered as part of a study published today in the journal Nature Genetics.

6 May 2008

Sport and asthma, researchers follow European Olympic athletes to Beijing

The pan-European study will allow scientists to specify the prevalence of asthma, exercise induced asthma and other allergic diseases among European athletes qualified for the Beijing Olympics, while identifying the differences in prevalence between a wide range of sports and between the different European regions.

6 May 2008

Whole-organ genomic survey depicts journey from normal to malignant cell

Whole-organ maps that superimpose genetic information over the terrain of cancerous bladders chart the molecular journey from normal cell to invasive cancer, an international research team led by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports online at the journal Laboratory Investigation.

5 May 2008

New weapon against respiratory syncytial virus

University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston researchers have achieved promising results with a potential new weapon against respiratory syncytial virus, the most common cause of infant hospitalization in the United States.

5 May 2008

Strange barriers to physical activity may exist at child-care centers

At a time when over half of US children (aged 3-6) are in child care centers, and growing concern over childhood obesity has led physicians to focus on whether children are getting enough physical activity, a new study of outdoor physical activity at child care centers, conducted by researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, has identified some surprising reasons why the kids may be staying inside.

5 May 2008

Enterovirus 71 in China claims the lives of two more children

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that a virus that has killed 24 young children and infected more than 5,000 could continue to spread regardless of efforts to contain it.

5 May 2008

Increasing transmission of drug resistant tuberculosis in the UK

A changing population structure and ongoing migration have increased cases of drug resistant tuberculosis, according to a study published on bmj.com today.

1 May 2008

Obesity and heart failure risk

Heart specialists at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere report what is believed to be the first wide-scale evidence linking severe overweight to prolonged inflammation of heart tissue and the subsequent damage leading to failure of the body's blood-pumping organ.

1 May 2008

High blood pressure still sneaking past doctors, Stanford study shows

Despite the well-known dangers of high blood pressure, major shortfalls still exist in the screening, treatment and control of the disease even when patients are getting a doctor's care, according to a study from the Stanford University School of Medicine.

1 May 2008

Obesity can worsen the impact of asthma

Obesity can worsen the impact of asthma and may also mask its severity in standard tests, according to researchers in New Zealand, who studied lung function in asthmatic women with a range of body mass indexes (BMIs).

1 May 2008

AstraZeneca submits sNDA for SYMBICORT in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

AstraZeneca today announced that it submitted a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval of a new indication for SYMBICORT (budesonide/formoterol fumarate dihydrate) Inhalation Aerosol for the treatment of patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). SYMBICORT is currently approved for the long-term maintenance treatment of asthma in patients 12 years and older.

30 Apr 2008

Arsenic in baby rice puts children at risk

In what will be of great concern to many parents, scientists who have carried out a survey of arsenic levels in three common brands of rice-based baby foods say they have found that arsenic levels in the foods are too high.

30 Apr 2008

New less traumatic way of delivering surfactant to help preemies breathe could reduce chronic lung disease

A less traumatic way of delivering surfactant, a lung lubricant that premature babies need to help them breathe, could reduce the incidence of respiratory problems they'll have later, Medical College of Georgia physicians say.

29 Apr 2008

Medicare costs estimated at $21.1 billion for 5 years of care for elderly cancer patients

The cost of cancer care for elderly Medicare patients varies by tumor type, stage at diagnosis, phase of care, and survival, according to a new study published online April 29 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

29 Apr 2008

Factors affecting survival, disability of extremely premature infants identified

Gestational age has long been the factor most commonly used to predict whether an extremely low-birth-weight infant survives and thrives, but four additional factors that can help predict a preemie's outcome have been identified by the National Institutes of Health Neonatal Research Network, of which Yale is a member.

29 Apr 2008

Human protein may offer novel target for blocking HIV infection

A research group supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has uncovered a new route for attacking the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that may offer a way to circumvent problems with drug resistance. In findings published today in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers report that they have blocked HIV infection in the test tube by inactivating a human protein expressed in key immune cells.

29 Apr 2008