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Camera-phone uses blood, saliva samples to diagnose disease

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed a "prototype camera-phone mounted with a microscope" that can "magnify and photograph blood or saliva samples" for diagnosing diseases, the Canadian Press/Google.com reports.

22 Jul 2009

Woman's placenta new source for harvesting stem cells

A groundbreaking study conducted by Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland is the first to reveal a new avenue for harvesting stem cells from a woman's placenta, or more specifically the discarded placentas of healthy newborns.

23 Jun 2009

Do omega-3 fatty acids prevent depression in coronary heart disease?

Depression is an established risk factor for the development of coronary heart disease (CHD) in healthy patients and for adverse cardiovascular outcomes in patients with existing CHD. Dietary factors resulting in lower levels of omega-3 fatty acids not only increase CHD risk, but may also be involved in the pathophysiology of depression.

9 Jun 2009

Hospital refuses admission to young adults with thalassemia and sickle cell disease

Young adults with thalassemia and sickle cell diease have been trying for up to 10 years to gain admission to the only adult hospital program in central and southwestern Toronto specialized to treat their blood disorders. Since 1999, the Toronto General Hospital (TGH) has restricted the inherited blood disorders program to 99 patients requiring blood transfusions. As a result, about 150 young adults with complex disorders receive blood transfusions at the Hospital for Sick Children but no adult services.

25 May 2009

Methylene blue in combo with new malaria drugs curbs the spread of malaria parasites

New combinations of agents based on the oldest synthetic malaria drug, the methylene blue stain, can curb the spread of malaria parasites and make a significant contribution to the long-term eradication called for by the international "Roll Back Malaria Initiative."

20 May 2009

Iron deficiency in womb may delay auditory nervous system in preemies

Iron plays a large role in brain development in the womb, and new University of Rochester Medical Center research shows an iron deficiency may delay the development of auditory nervous system in preemies. This delay could affect babies ability to process sound which is critical for later language development in early childhood.

4 May 2009

Variety of food or lack of puts autistic kids at risk for poor nutrition

The strong preference kids with autism have for certain foods places them at risk for nutritional deficiencies because their diets lack sufficient variety, according to research from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center at this year's Pediatric Academic Societies meeting in Baltimore.

4 May 2009

Researchers create chemicals that kill the most deadly malaria-causing parasite

Researchers at the University of Leeds have developed chemicals which kill the most deadly malaria-causing parasite, Plasmodium falciparum - including those resistant to existing drugs.

22 Apr 2009

Locking parasites in host cell could be new way to fight malaria

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have discovered that parasites hijack host-cell proteins to ensure their survival and proliferation, suggesting new ways to control the diseases they cause.

6 Apr 2009

What makes olive oil so healthy?

Scientists have pinned down the constituent of olive oil that gives greatest protection from heart attack and stroke.

1 Apr 2009

Anemia treatment improves heart structure and quality of life in kidney disease patients

In chronic kidney disease patients, different levels of anemia treatment have a beneficial effect on the heart and improve quality of life, according to a pair of studies appearing in the April 2009 issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN).

1 Apr 2009

Researchers decipher blood stem cell attachment, communication

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have deciphered a key sequence of events governing whether the stem cells that produce red and white blood cells remain anchored to the bone marrow, or migrate into the circulatory system.

25 Mar 2009

Jaundice an unreliable method of predicting the baby's risk of hyperbilirubinemia

For hundreds of years, doctors, nurses and midwives have visually examined newborn babies for the yellowish skin tones that signify jaundice, judging that more extensive jaundice carried a greater risk of illness.

23 Mar 2009

Injected luminol glows blue revealing immune cells' misdeeds

Detectives on television shows often spray crime scenes with a compound called luminol to make blood glow.

22 Mar 2009

Carbohydrate-based medicine

Scientists from Germany today reported a major advance toward opening the doors of a carbohydrate-based medicine chest for the 21st Century.

22 Mar 2009

New camera images blood circulation in real time

Burns or other disorders that disrupt the blood flow in tissues will soon be easier to assess thanks to a camera that is capable of imaging blood circulation in real time.

20 Mar 2009

Susceptibility to blood disorders may be inherited

Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) have shown for the first time that a tendency to develop some blood disorders may be inherited.

15 Mar 2009

Cellular discovery may lead to targeted treatment for rare form of anemia

University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers have identified the specific biological mechanisms believed to lead to a rare and incurable blood disease known as Diamond Blackfan anemia (DBA).

15 Mar 2009

Discovery of new mechanism the malaria parasite uses to enter human red blood cells

Virginia Commonwealth University Life Sciences researchers have discovered a new mechanism the malaria parasite uses to enter human red blood cells, which could lead to the development of a vaccine cocktail to fight the mosquito-borne disease.

11 Mar 2009

Synthetic biology extends anti-malaria drug artemisinin's effectiveness

In addition to providing a simple and much less expensive means of making artemisinin, the most powerful anti-malaria drug in use today, synthetic biology can also help to extend the effectiveness of this drug.

8 Mar 2009