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Chromosomal microarray analysis accurately detects abnormalities in individual chromosomes

Two years and more than 2,000 samples after researchers at Baylor College of Medicine started to use a new gene-chip technology called chromosomal microarray analysis to look for potential genetic abnormalities in children, they find that it is remarkably sensitive in detecting abnormalities in individual chromosomes, according to a report that appears online today in the journal Public Library of Science ONE.

2 Apr 2007

Bacteria biosensor prototype

Common bacteria with an overt reaction to toxins that cause oxidative stress show promise as a biosensor to predict public health threats.

2 Apr 2007

How the brain processes pain location

Is that pain in your chest a heart attack or indigestion? New research from Wake Forest University School of Medicine reveals that more areas of the brain than previously thought are involved in determining the location of pain.

2 Apr 2007

Critical receptor in liver regeneration identified

In studies in mouse models, researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have found that a cellular receptor involved in triggering cell death is also a necessary component of tissue repair and regeneration immediately following liver injury.

2 Apr 2007

Health care providers should directly address issues surrounding death and dying with homeless patients

To study homeless persons' attitudes and experiences with death and end-of-life care, the researchers conducted focus groups through Twin Cities service providers who work with homeless persons.

2 Apr 2007

Xenotransplantation - what are the barriers?

Given the huge shortage of donor organs, researchers have been trying to find ways to transplant animal organs across different species (known as "xenotransplantation"), with the eventual aim of transplanting animal organs into humans.

2 Apr 2007

Synthetic molecule helps detect heart attack in the making

A new bright spot in heart disease research may soon allow physicians to peer directly into patients' blood vessels and find dangerous cholesterol-filled plaques before they rupture and cause a heart attack.

2 Apr 2007

Symphysiotomy could dramatically reduce maternal deaths

Teaching doctors in Africa a low-tech operation to cut the cartilage of the symphysis pubis could save the lives of women in obstructed labor and their babies, according to an Essay in the open access journal PLoS Medicine.

2 Apr 2007

Loperamide may play a useful part in the treatment of diarrhoea

The drug loperamide is widely used as a treatment for diarrhoea in adults, but most authorities, including the World Health Organization recommend that it should not be given to young children.

2 Apr 2007

Long-term low to moderate doses of aspirin beneficial for women

Women who take low to moderate doses of aspirin have a reduced risk of death from any cause, and especially heart disease related deaths, according to a report in the March 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

2 Apr 2007

Maternal beef consumption associated with lower sperm concentration

New research has shown that women who ate a lot of beef while pregnant had sons who were more likely to suffer from poor sperm quality as adults, and it suggests that the growth promoters used in cattle may play a role in these men's reduced fertility.

2 Apr 2007

Lack of Olig1 protein in lung tumors may increase risk of death

A study of human lung tumors indicates that lung cancer patients who lack a particular protein may do more poorly than those with normal levels of that same protein.

2 Apr 2007

Drug-eluting stents are disappointing in bypass grafts - sometimes!

While drug-eluting stents are effective in keeping open bypassed heart veins that aren?t too diffuse (filled with cholesterol plaque), a new study by cardiologists at Jefferson Medical College shows that they fare less well in keeping open bypassed veins with longer blockages.

2 Apr 2007

Immunity to cancer stem cells may help protect people with a precancerous condition from developing the full-blown disease

Although stem cells hold incredible promise in the fight against certain diseases, in cancer they're anything but helpful. In fact, mounting evidence is showing that a tumor's growth and spread may depend on "cancer stem cells," which comprise only a very small subset of the tumor.

2 Apr 2007

African Americans may be at higher risk of heart failure because of racial variations in heart muscle's pumping ability

Scientists have known for nearly a decade that African Americans have higher rates of hospitalization for heart failure than other major U.S. racial or ethnic groups, but until now they have had limited information other than socio-economic and demographic characteristics to explain why this is so.

2 Apr 2007

EU agrees to create embryonic stem cell line registry

The European Commission on Thursday agreed to spend about $1.3 million over three years to create a registry of human embryonic stem cell lines, Xinhuanet reports.

2 Apr 2007

President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief making significant contributions to the fight against HIV/AIDS pandemic

...but it needs to strengthen its prevention efforts and develop programs that ensure long-term sustainability in focus countries, according to a report released Friday by the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council, the Washington Post reports

2 Apr 2007