Physiology News and Research

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Human physiology is the science of the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of humans in good health, their organs, and the cells of which they are composed. The principal level of focus of physiology is at the level of organs and systems. Most aspects of human physiology are closely homologous to corresponding aspects of animal physiology, and animal experimentation has provided much of the foundation of physiological knowledge. Anatomy and physiology are closely related fields of study: anatomy, the study of form, and physiology, the study of function, are intrinsically tied and are studied in tandem as part of a medical curriculum.

Vitamin D2 is as effective as vitamin D3 in maintaining concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found that vitamin D2 is equally as effective as vitamin D3 in maintaining 25-hydroxyvitamin D status.

3 Jan 2008

Effects of sleep deprivation reversed

Researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine have shown that the effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance can be reversed when the naturally occurring brain peptide, orexin-A, is administered in monkeys.

3 Jan 2008

Ensuring heart safety of non-heart drugs

Current regulatory policies should be strengthened to ensure acceptable cardiovascular safety of drugs developed primarily for non-cardiovascular medical problems, according to a recent presentation made by Dr. Jeffrey Borer, an authority in cardiovascular medicine and surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City.

2 Jan 2008

The smell of sound - researchers look at phenomenon synaesthesia

The research field has grown from grapheme-colour synaesthesia to include other forms of synaesthesia in which flavours are evoked by music or words (lexical-gustatory synaesthesia), space structures by time units, colours by music, etc.

28 Dec 2007

Sex education works for teenagers and delays sexual intercourse

According to the latest research sex education in schools is effective and makes it more likely that teenagers will delay having intercourse.

20 Dec 2007

Safer, more accurate, and more effective radiation therapy for pregnant women

Developing fetuses are extremely sensitive to radiation, which poses an impossible dilemma for expecting mothers in need of screening or treatment for cancer.

20 Dec 2007

Chronic fatigue syndrome - new research may help diagnosis

One of the most difficult things for people suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is that many believe the condition to be a psychological, not physical affliction.

20 Dec 2007

New understanding on alcohol's role in developing alcoholic chronic pancreatitis

Chronic, excessive alcohol consumption is a major risk factor for developing chronic pancreatitis (pancreatic inflammation).

18 Dec 2007

Elderly at risk for physical disabilities exercise, improve physical function

Elderly adults at risk for physical disabilities are able to adhere to a regular program of moderate exercise for one year, a recent study of 213 men and women suggests.

18 Dec 2007

New research alters concept of how circadian clock functions

Scientists from the University of Cambridge have identified a molecule that may govern how the circadian clock in plants responds to environmental changes.

14 Dec 2007

Telmisartan potent against stroke

Telmisartan, a drug widely used to help control blood pressure, may have uniquely potent activity in preventing stroke, according to a new study conducted in an animal model.

13 Dec 2007

International team gets new award to research the causes of bladder problems that affect one in six adults

An international research project which aims to solve why some people feel the constant need to urinate - a condition that affects one in every six adults - has received a prestigious new £420,000 award from the leading UK-based urology journal and charity BJU International.

10 Dec 2007

Researchers photograph cystic fibrosis protein interaction

New microscopic pictures show the first-ever physical evidence of interaction between two proteins involved in Cystic Fibrosis (CF) disease.

10 Dec 2007

Hydrogen sulfide provides clues to a longer life

Hydrogen sulfide, or H2S, the chemical that gives rotten eggs their sulfurous stench - and the same compound that researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center successfully have used to put mice into a state of reversible metabolic hibernation - has now been shown to significantly increase life span and heat tolerance in the nematode worm, or C. elegans.

4 Dec 2007

Napping more efficient than coffee in keeping young people awake

Coffee is an effective countermeasure to sleepiness for both young and middle-aged people.

3 Dec 2007

Neuromuscular consequences of reflexive covert orienting

The person you're speaking with may be looking at you, but are they really paying attention? Or has the person covertly shifted their attention, without moving their eyes? Dr. Brian Corneil, of the Centre for Brain and Mind at The University of Western Ontario in London, Canada has found a way of actually measuring covert attention.

2 Dec 2007