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Enteroviruses may play role in type 1 diabetes

A team of researchers from the Peninsula Medical School in the South West of England, the University of Brighton and the Department of Pathology at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, has found that a common family of viruses (enteroviruses) may play an important role in triggering the development of diabetes, particularly in children.

5 Mar 2009

History of major depression increases risk for heart disease more than genetics or environment

A history of major depression increases the risk of heart disease over and above any genetic risks common to depression and heart disease, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the VA.

4 Mar 2009

Camouflaging of viral DNA could be crucial step in progression of cancers

An estimated 15% of cancer cases can be linked to a viral infection, however the biological changes that cause some asymptomatic carriers of a virus to develop full-blown tumors are not well understood.

9 Feb 2009

Divorce, antidepressants, or weight gain/loss can add years to your face

Your mother's wrinkles - or lack there of, may not be the best predictor of how you'll age. In fact, a new study claims just the opposite.

3 Feb 2009

In developing countries young children have better survival chances if their mothers are taller

Each centimeter/inch counts for women in developing countries. This is the outcome of research by Christiaan Monden of Tilburg University and Jeroen Smits of Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands, which was recently published online in American Journal of Human Biology.

3 Feb 2009

Study finds genetic link between sleep disorders and depression in young children

A study in the Feb. 1 issue of the journal SLEEP was the first to use twin data to examine the longitudinal link between sleep problems and depression.

2 Feb 2009

Diabetics have a significantly greater risk of dementia

Diabetics have a significantly greater risk of dementia, both Alzheimer's disease - the most common form of dementia - and other dementia, reveals important new data from an ongoing study of twins.

29 Jan 2009

Can't help being the life of the party?

Maybe you were just born that way. Researchers from Harvard University and the University of California, San Diego have found that our place in a social network is influenced in part by our genes, according to new findings published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

27 Jan 2009

Epigenetics may account for some inherited traits and diseases

Embargoed Until January 18, 2009 at 18:00 Greenwich Mean Time / 13:00 Eastern Standard Time (TORONTO): Scientists at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) have detected evidence that DNA may not be the only carrier of heritable information; a secondary molecular mechanism called epigenetics may also account for some inherited traits and diseases.

19 Jan 2009

Study examines live birth rates following IVF

Thirty years ago last summer, the world's first "test-tube" baby was born, and since then more than 1 million infants have been successfully conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF), the technique in which a woman's eggs and man's sperm are fertilized in a laboratory and then implanted in the mother's womb.

15 Jan 2009

Borderline personality disorder more common than schizophrenia

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, borderline personality disorder (BPD) is more common than schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and is estimated to affect 2 percent of the population.

16 Dec 2008

Six new gene variations linked to increased BMI

A genetic study of more than 90,000 people has identified six new genetic variants that are associated with increased Body Mass Index (BMI), the most commonly used measure of obesity.

14 Dec 2008

Teen smokers are more likely to experience obesity as adults

Remember the cool girls, huddled together in high school restrooms, puffing their cigarettes?

12 Dec 2008

Serious health problems related to late preterm births

More than half a million babies are born preterm in the United States each year, and preterm births are on the rise.

12 Dec 2008

Overweight children may inherit faster eating behaviour

Overweight children may inherit faster eating behaviour according to a Cancer Research UK study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

10 Dec 2008

Twins born from 13-year-old frozen sperm

Reports from Taiwan say the sperm taken from a man with testicular cancer 13 years ago has been successfully used to impregnate his wife.

10 Nov 2008

Social factors increase risk of pre-eclampsia and pregnancy-induced hypertension

Several factors, such as older age and high weight gain, are known risk factors for pre-eclampsia and other pregnancy-related blood pressure disorders.

10 Nov 2008

Baby due as a result of first ever whole ovary transplant

In what is thought to be a world-first, a British woman who was given an ovary transplant is about to give birth to her first baby.

9 Nov 2008

Good genes behaving badly behind type 1 diabetes

Investigators combing the genome in the hope of finding genetic variants responsible for triggering early-onset diabetes may be looking in the wrong place, new research at the Stanford University School of Medicine suggests.

31 Oct 2008

Vaginal/Caesarean combo delivery of twins safe, UT Southwestern-led research finds

Doctors need not go straight to Caesarean section when delivering twins, but can start with vaginal delivery of the first twin in many cases, researchers have found in a study led by UT Southwestern Medical Center.

29 Oct 2008