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Endorectal-body phased-array coil improves prostate cancer detection

The image quality for detecting prostate cancer is significantly better for MRI at 1.5 T using an endorectal-body phased-array coil as compared with the 3.0 T imaging using the torso phased-array coil, a recent study found.

28 Nov 2005

New door opens for anti-aging research in humans

A counterintuitive experiment has resulted in one of the longest recorded life-span extensions in any organism and opened a new door for anti-aging research in humans.

26 Nov 2005

South Korean cloning pioneer responds to accusations

South Korean cloning pioneer Hwang Woo-suk has defended himself in the media following allegations over ethics violations that have seen his groundbreaking work plunged into controversy.

24 Nov 2005

Accurate and rapid method of diagnosing bacterial meningitis

Several hundred serious cases of bacterial meningitis are diagnosed in Australians every year. Bacterial meningitis is a medical emergency that requires immediate diagnosis and treatment, however doctors have always faced difficulty in diagnosis, both in children and adults.

21 Nov 2005

Persistent amyloidosis following suppression of Ab production in a transgenic model of Alzheimer disease

Alzheimer Disease (AD) is characterized by hallmark lesions called amyloid plaques in the brain.

20 Nov 2005

Genetically modified allow scientists to examine the potential usefulness of new therapies for Alzheimer's disease

Researchers with the University of Florida and the California Institute of Technology have developed a new strain of genetically modified mice that allow scientists to examine the potential usefulness of new therapies for Alzheimer's disease.

20 Nov 2005

Biologically engineered blood vessels now an option in cardiac bypass

The first-ever human use of completely biologically engineered blood vessels grown from a person's own cells could be an option for people who have vessels too damaged for heart bypass, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2005.

16 Nov 2005

Seeing under the skin to reveal early signs of heart disease and stroke

A revolutionary diagnostic technique that sees under the skin sounds rooted in the realms of science fiction. But an invention akin to the Star Trek small handheld body scanner that shines light into the skin to detect early signs of heart disease and stroke could be on the market in less than two years.

14 Nov 2005

Early changes in the oxygenation of the skin may help predict foot disease in diabetes patients

Foot ulcerations are one of the most serious complications of diabetes, resulting in more than 80,000 lower-leg amputations each year in the U.S. alone.

14 Nov 2005

Biomedical device allows stem cells derived from adult bone marrow to be grown in sufficient quantities to permit far more research

Human stem cells offer tremendous hope for the development of revolutionary medical treatments for these and a variety of other human health problems.

14 Nov 2005

New plan to defeat Malaria in Africa

Achieving victory over malaria in Africa, a disease that each year kills millions and imposes costs that cripple entire economies, requires a new internationally funded effort dedicated to training and supporting a critical mass of African malaria researchers

14 Nov 2005

Fundamental flaws in many medical studies must be fixed in order to catch signs of harm

Only by analyzing results using a statistical method that considers several factors at once -- for instance, overall heart attack risk, rather than just individual risk factors such as age -- will researchers truly be able to see how the risks and benefits of a treatment vary from patient to patient, the study suggests.

14 Nov 2005

Meditation associated with increased cortical thickness

Meditation is known to alter resting brain patterns, suggesting long lasting brain changes, but a new study by researchers from Yale, Harvard, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology shows meditation also is associated with increased cortical thickness.

13 Nov 2005

Support for heart implants to be returned to manufacturers after death

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is throwing it's weight behind a policy that would mean implantable heart defibrillators would be returned to their manufacturers to be studied for possible defects after the patient dies.

9 Nov 2005

Nanogen issued patent relating to synthetic polymer hydrogels

Nanogen has announced it was issued Patent No. 6,960,298, "Mesoporous permeation layers for use on active electronic matrix devices" by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

8 Nov 2005

LGC licenses first DNA test for response to schizophrenia treatment from the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London

LGC, Europe's leading independent analytical laboratory providing advanced chemical, biochemical and forensic analysis, has announced an exclusive agreement with King’s College London to offer the first pharmacogenetic screening service which will predict whether a patient with schizophrenia will respond positively to the antipsychotic drug clozapine.

8 Nov 2005

Public health service to fund live liver transplants

An announcement that new organ transplant technology will now allow adult patients to receive liver transplants from a living relative for the first time on the NHS, marks a new era in public health services.

8 Nov 2005

New Flu Chip can determine the genetic make-up of types of flu virus in 11 hours

A novel "Flu Chip" developed at the University of Colorado at Boulder that can determine the genetic signatures of specific influenza strains from patient samples within hours may help world health officials combat coming epidemics and pandemics.

7 Nov 2005

Gene doping is a real danger - but anti-doping science is making progress

Gene therapy research has reached a critical phase. Already practised on humans as part of strictly controlled experiments, gene therapy promises to become a widely available form of treatment for injury and disease.

7 Nov 2005

Ultrasound to view heart's interior in three dimensions

Duke University engineers are developing technology that may enable physicians to someday use high frequency ultrasound waves both to visualize the heart's interior in three dimensions and then selectively destroy heart tissue with heat to correct arrhythmias.

7 Nov 2005