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By manipulating oxygen, scientists coax bacteria into a wave

Bacteria know that they are too small to make an impact individually. So they wait, they multiply, and then they engage in behaviors that are only successful when all cells participate in unison. There are hundreds of behaviors that bacteria carry out in such communities. Now researchers at Rockefeller University have discovered one that has never been observed or described before in a living system.

13 Jul 2009

Happier, healthier, more productive hens on omega-3?

Most of us are aware of the potential health benefits of omega-3 found in fish oil and flax seed. Now researchers are looking at how omega-3 may help laying hens avoid bone damage.

13 Jul 2009

Controlling the fate of cells

A protein found in cells has been shown to play a pivotal role in determining whether a cell lives or dies.

13 Jul 2009

Pesticide levels in blood linked to Parkinson's disease

People with Parkinson's disease have significantly higher blood levels of a particular pesticide than healthy people or those with Alzheimer's disease, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

13 Jul 2009

Poor families often targets for child protection departments

A new report by Australian researchers has found that parents experiencing poverty and domestic violence are often targeted for intervention by child protection departments and the researchers say in such cases child protection departments remove children when counselling and resource allocation would suffice.

13 Jul 2009

Administration faces challenges from Democrats on health proposals

President Obama has asked Congress to deliver a bill by October that would "cut healthcare costs and provide medical coverage to most of the 46 million uninsured Americans," a goal that may no longer be realistic as members of the president's own party move to stall efforts, the Reuters/The Washington Post reports (Allen, 7/9).

12 Jul 2009

Results from trials of DHA in Alzheimer's and age-related cognitive decline

Results from two large studies using DHA, an omega 3 fatty acid, were reported today at the Alzheimer's Association 2009 International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease (ICAD 2009) in Vienna.

12 Jul 2009

Dramatic drop in deaths from most common cancers

The death toll from three of the UK's most common cancers has dropped to its lowest level for almost 40 years* - according to new figures released by Cancer Research UK.

12 Jul 2009

Studies provide clues to how Alzheimer’s disease develops and may be treated

The anti-inflammatory drug indomethacin could hold promise as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease, says a Saint Louis University doctor and researcher.

12 Jul 2009

Largest-ever study looks at safety of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS)

They are a group of drugs which millions of people rely on to keep pain at bay but they can have unwanted side-effects which are sometimes more serious than the original health problem. Now scientists at The University of Nottingham are taking part in the largest-ever study on the safety of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDS) that has ever been performed.

12 Jul 2009

New research reveals that swearing can actually increase pain tolerance

Researchers from Keele University's School of Psychology have determined that swearing can have a 'pain-lessening effect', according to new study published in the journal NeuroReport.

12 Jul 2009

Flavonoids offer dementia, Alzheimer's hope

A group of chemicals found in many fruits and vegetables, as well as tea, cocoa and red wine, could protect the brain from Alzheimer's disease, a dementia expert told scientists at a conference last Friday.

12 Jul 2009

FDA approves Effient (prasugrel) for heart attack in angioplasty patients

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the blood-thinning drug Effient tablets (prasugrel) to reduce the risk of blood clots from forming in patients who undergo angioplasty, a common procedure to unblock a clogged coronary artery.

12 Jul 2009

Research suggests core nuclear pore elements shared by all eukaryotes

For perhaps 1.8 billion years after life first emerged on Earth, a sort of evolutionary writer's block stalled the development of organisms more complicated than single cells. Then, a burst of experimental creativity about 1.7 billion years ago brought the cell nucleus onto the scene, stashing the cell's genetic material inside a protective inner membrane and setting the stage for the evolution of more sophisticated creatures from yeast, say, to plants and human beings.

12 Jul 2009

Stress and depression worsen childhood asthma

Young people with asthma have nearly twice the incidence of depression compared to their peers without asthma, and studies have shown that depression is associated with increased asthma symptoms and, in some cases, death.

12 Jul 2009

Topographical brain maps are new frontier to catch early schizophrenia

John Csernansky wants to take your measurements. Not the circumference of your chest, waist and hips. No, this doctor wants to stretch a tape measure around your hippocampus, thalamus and prefrontal cortex.

9 Jul 2009

Elevated insulin levels linked to increased breast cancer risk

Elevated insulin levels in the blood appear to raise the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women, according to researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. Their findings are published in the online version of the International Journal of Cancer.

9 Jul 2009

Humans may give swine flu to pigs

The strain of influenza, A/H1N1, that is currently pandemic in humans has been shown to be infectious to pigs and to spread rapidly in a trial pig population.

9 Jul 2009

Oral bacteria may contribute to the development of obesity

The world-wide explosion of overweight people has been called an epidemic. The inflammatory nature of obesity is widely recognized. Could it really be an epidemic involving an infectious agent? In this climate of concern over the increasing prevalence of overweight conditions in our society, investigators have focused on the possible role of oral bacteria as a potential direct contributor to obesity.

9 Jul 2009

Health care overhaul ignores illegal immigrants

"As Congress wrangles with overhauling the health care system, there is one population not being discussed. No proposal for a national health plan would cover the nation's estimated 11 million illegal immigrants," NPR reports.

9 Jul 2009