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Genome research sheds light on Bardet-Biedl syndrome

By comparing the genomes of an alga, a weed and humans, a team of researchers has identified a new gene behind Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS), a complex condition marked by learning disabilities, vision loss and obesity.

21 May 2004

Nicotine remains one of the most addictive drugs ever used

Nicotine-the main ingredient in tobacco products-remains one of the most addictive drugs ever used. Still, nearly 72 million people have used nicotine in the United States, according to the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which is administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

21 May 2004

Health Canada to tackle human health impacts of air pollution

Health Minister Pierre Pettigrew today announced the Government of Canada is allocating $1 million over the next year to fund cutting-edge research on the human health impacts of air pollution in support of the Georgia Basin/Puget Sound International Airshed Strategy, one of three pilot projects under the Canada-United States Border Air Quality Strategy.

20 May 2004

Tumour suppressor gene family may be key to new colon cancer drugs

In the hunt for new cancer drug targets, scientists from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute have discovered mutations in a family of genes linked to more than a quarter of colon cancers, as well as several other common cancers including breast and lung.

20 May 2004

Researchers to study link between diabetes and early dementia

Understanding the link between diabetes and early dementia – as well as how diabetes relates to other causes of memory loss – is the focus of a new study at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) and approximately 40 other medical institutions nationwide.

20 May 2004

Public health groups strongly support bipartisan FDA tobacco legislation

Our public health organizations strongly support the bipartisan legislation introduced today in both the House and Senate to provide the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with effective authority to regulate tobacco products.

20 May 2004

Blood pressure control of people 80 years and older, especially women, must be made a national priority

Blood pressure control of people 80 years and older, especially women, must be made a national priority, urged a Northwestern University researcher at the American Society of Hypertension’s Nineteenth Annual Scientific Meeting.

19 May 2004

British cancer charities call for improved lung cancer care

Today, MPs are being urged to support cancer charities' call for the provision of modern equipment vital to the treatment of people living with lung cancer, six months after the Government first promised to produce a national framework.

17 May 2004

One person per week dies in British hospitality industry from passive smoking

New figures to be presented at a Royal College of Physicians (RCP) conference today will show that every week in the UK one hospitality industry employee dies from passive smoking at work. The new figures, calculated by Professor Konrad Jamrozik of Imperial College in London, will be presented at the RCP conference called ‘Environmental Tobacco Smoke and the Hospitality Industry’.

17 May 2004

Influenza vaccine does provide protection against influenza in most asthma patients taking inhaled steroids

The influenza vaccine protected asthma patients who use inhaled steroids against type A flu, although its protection against type B flu was significantly reduced in those taking high doses of inhaled steroids, said a researcher from Baylor College of Medicine in a recent publication.

15 May 2004

Genetically engineered viruses may create new class of cancer therapies

A genetically engineered virus can selectively kill cancerous cells in the lung and colon while leaving healthy cells intact, according to new research published today in Cancer Research by William Wold and colleagues at Saint Louis University School of Medicine.

15 May 2004

Women are not checking for colon cancer

Many women who regularly get checked for breast cancer and cervical cancer still don’t go for a test that could save them from another big killer -- colon cancer – according to new University of Michigan research. But perhaps their mammogram and Pap smear appointments could be used as “teachable moments” to help prompt them to get their colons checked, the researchers suggest.

15 May 2004

Particles in the air we breathe may pose genetic risks to humans

Particles in the air we breathe may pose genetic risks to humans and wildlife, according to new findings by researchers at McMaster University.

15 May 2004

Study of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for severe, treatment-resistant lupus

The study will include a basic research component to examine the roles of B and T cells, white blood cells in the immune system, in triggering lupus symptoms.

14 May 2004

Researchers identify new genes that control the formation of cilia found throughout the human body

Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have used a combination of brainpower and computer power to identify a multitude of new genes that control the formation of tiny, hair-like cilia that stipple the surfaces of many organs in a wide variety of creatures.

14 May 2004

Embryonic stem cells may hold the key to regenerating damaged heart muscle

Embryonic stem cells may hold the key to regenerating damaged heart muscle, when transplanted within a 3-dimensional scaffold into the infracted heart, according to a new study coming out in June in the Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation.

14 May 2004

Suprachiasmatic nucleus brain tissue sheds light on jet lag

New research led by a University of Washington biologist demonstrates that there are at least two circadian clocks in the mammal brain, one that sticks strictly to an internal schedule and another that can be altered by external influences such as light and dark.

12 May 2004

Cardiovascular disease in parents is a major predictor of offspring having a heart attack or stroke

A study published in the May 12 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association provides the strongest evidence yet that cardiovascular disease in parents -- particularly at an early age -- is a major predictor of their children having a heart attack or stroke in middle age.

12 May 2004

Researchers awarded $5 million to develop a pediatric heart assist device

Penn State researchers recently were awarded a $5 million contract from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health to develop a pediatric heart assist device.

11 May 2004

Critical link found between inflammation, heart disease and stroke

Until recently, the story on platelets was pretty simple: tiny blood cells, with limited sophistication because they had no nucleus, and their claim to fame was to be a first-responder to a wound site, to promote healthy clotting and prevent infection.

11 May 2004