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Neuroscientists watch memories form in real time

Our ability to form long-term memories depends on cells in the brain making strong connections with each other. Yet while it's not well understood how those connections are made, lost or changed, the process is known to involve the movement of the AMPA receptor protein to and from those neuronal connections.

10 Jun 2009

51 genes predict breast cancer survival

It may be possible in the future to use a specimen from the tumour to determine which patients with breast cancer have a good chance of overcoming the disease, and which patients should be given more intensive treatments.

10 Jun 2009

Newly discovered peptide promises hope for Alzheimer's disease

Researchers in Japan have detected a peptide in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that can show whether a person is developing Alzheimer's disease. Measuring the level of this peptide could show that the disease process has started, long before any serious damage is done to the brain.

10 Jun 2009

Discovery of biomarker that predicts the outcome of certain breast cancers

Scientists have found a new biomarker that can predict the outcome of breast cancers that have spread to the lymph nodes, reveal findings published in the British Journal of Cancer today (Wednesday).

10 Jun 2009

New report looks at cigarette smoking rates and policies throughout the U.S.

The United States is becoming a nation of haves and have-nots when it comes to tobacco control, according to a comprehensive publication on cigarette smoking prevalence and policies in the U.S. that was released today.

10 Jun 2009

Caffeine protects against increased risk-taking behavior during severe sleep deprivation

According to a research abstract that will be presented on Wednesday, June 10, at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, caffeine use prevents increased risk taking that occurs after several nights of total sleep deprivation.

10 Jun 2009

The relationship of sleep on academic performance in adolescents

According to a research abstract that will be presented on Wednesday, June 10, at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, getting more high-quality sleep is associated with better academic performance. The positive relationship is especially relevant to performance in math.

10 Jun 2009

Stable marriage brings good sleep

Being stably married or gaining a partner is associated with better sleep in women than being unmarried or losing a partner, according to a research abstract that will be presented on Wednesday, June 10, at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.

10 Jun 2009

Beware! Computers can seriously damage your health

According to researchers in the United States computers can damage the health and computer-related injuries are on the increase - with young children particularly at risk.

9 Jun 2009

High blood pressure among lower-status employees lingers well into retirement

Retirement from some occupations may not provide relief from the potentially devastating health effects of work-related hypertension, according to a new study from UC Davis.

9 Jun 2009

A new method for breast cancer biomarker discovery

Three researchers from the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech have developed and evaluated a new one-step bioanalytical approach that allows them to profile in detail complex cellular extracts of proteins. The method has allowed the scientists to look at how the levels of proteins change in breast cancer cells when they are treated with hormones or cancer drugs like tamoxifen.

9 Jun 2009

Discovery of new angiogenesis protein - possible cancer drug target

To grow and spread, tumors need new blood vessels, a process called angiogenesis. One growth factor that causes angiogenesis has been identified - vascular endothelial growth factor or VEGF - and drugs to inhibit VEGF are already in use. But not all tumors respond to the therapy initially or over the long term. Thus new growth factors need to be identified to aid in developing the next generation of angiogenesis inhibitors.

9 Jun 2009

Colorectal cancer increasing globally

A new study finds colorectal cancer incidence rates for both males and females increased in 27 of 51 countries worldwide between 1983 and 2002, and points to increasing Westernization as being a likely culprit.

9 Jun 2009

Study reveals mechanism that could combat congenital limb defects like Holt-Oram syndrome

Gregg Duester, Ph.D., professor of developmental biology at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham), along with Xianling Zhao, Ph.D., and colleagues, have clarified the role that retinoic acid plays in limb development.

9 Jun 2009

Stopping type 1 diabetes damage with vitamin C

Researchers at the Harold Hamm Oklahoma Diabetes Center have found a way to stop the damage caused by Type 1 diabetes with the combination of insulin and a common vitamin found in most medicine cabinets.

9 Jun 2009

Gene variation associated with resistance to chemotherapy drug in women with breast cancer

Researchers have found links between an individual's genetics and their response to treatment with chemotherapy. The findings, by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and colleagues, show how a genetic variant, located in the SOD2 gene, may affect how a person responds to the chemotherapy drug cyclophosphamide. Cyclophosphamide is used in the treatment of breast and other cancers.

9 Jun 2009

Expansion of Australia’s bowel cancer screening program could save 30 lives each week

New research has revealed that as many as 5 million Australians are missing out on bowel cancer screening tests that could save their lives and according to new data on bowel cancer screening released last week there is an urgent for all Australians over 50 to be screened.

9 Jun 2009

Obesity and junk food the culprits in increased bowel cancer rates in young adults

New research by scientists in the United States has found despite the overall declining rates of colorectal cancer among adults younger than age 50 years the rates are increasing.

9 Jun 2009

The effect of computer game play on sleepiness and sleep hygiene

Computer/console gamers who play for more than seven hours a week and who identify their gaming as an addiction sleep less during the weekdays and experience greater sleepiness than casual or non-gamers, according to research presented at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.

9 Jun 2009

Too much and too little sleep both linked to increased diabetes risk

According to a research abstract presented at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, both long and short sleepers are at greater risk for diabetes. Individuals sleeping for more than eight hours per night may be particularly vulnerable.

9 Jun 2009