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New research shows flu virus with D222G mutation can cause pneumonia

A variant of last year's pandemic influenza linked to fatal cases carried a mutation that enabled it to infect a different subset of cells lining the airway, according to new research. The study, due to be published next week in the Journal of Virology, suggests that the mutant virus could have impaired the lungs' ability to clear out germs.

25 Oct 2010

Intestinal microbiota can increase broccoli’s cancer-preventive power: Research

A University of Illinois study has shown for the first time that sulforaphane, the powerful cancer-fighting agent in broccoli, can be released from its parent compound by bacteria in the lower gut and absorbed into the body.

22 Oct 2010

Researchers use fruit fly for cancer research

SMALL and with a life cycle of just two weeks, fruit flies are seen by many as pests and a problem all year round. However, for nearly a century, the humble insect, officially known as Drosophila melanogaster, which measures no more than 3mm, has performed a vital role in genetics and developmental biology.Fruit flies are genetically diverse and easy to use in research, helping scientists in a variety of studies, from how the brain functions to how cancer develops.

22 Oct 2010

Researchers find gene mutation mechanism that cause mitochondrial diseases

Scientists have discovered a new cause of spastic ataxia, and believe this cause is also a trigger for other mitochondrial diseases neurological disorders that can lead to serious coordination, growth, visual, speech, and muscle defects.

22 Oct 2010

Scorpion’s toxins can reduce heart bypass failures: Research

A toxin found in the venom of the Central American bark scorpion (Centruroides margaritatus) could hold the key to reducing heart bypass failures, according to research from the University of Leeds.

22 Oct 2010

LifeGen Technologies awarded Phase I Small Business Innovative Research grant

LifeGen Technologies, LLC has been awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovative Research grant from the United States National Institute on Aging. The project is focused on identifying a robust panel of genes in adipose tissue (fat) that are regulated by a calorie restricted diet. According to Dr. Jamie Barger, Director of Operations at LifeGen, the technology developed under the NIH grant will allow LifeGen to screen for compounds that have beneficial effects on adipose tissue in a manner similar to that of a calorie restricted diet.

22 Oct 2010

Growing up with lots of sisters makes man less sexy: Research

Growing up with lots of sisters makes a man less sexy. For rats, anyway. A new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, finds that the sex ratio of a male rat's family when he's growing up influences both his own sexual behavior and how female rats respond to him.

22 Oct 2010

New findings provide new clues on pathogenetic mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease

Pathological protein deposits linked to Alzheimer's disease and cerebral amyloid angiopathy can be triggered not only by the administration of pathogenic misfolded protein fragments directly into the brain but also by peripheral administration outside the brain.

22 Oct 2010

Nurses in health care facilities may perform better through harm reduction strategies: Researchers

University of Maryland School of Nursing researchers say nurses in hospitals and other health care facilities may perform better by following the lead of airlines, trucking, and nuclear plants, by limiting hours of service, ensuring prompt and definite breaks during shifts, and other scheduling strategies.

22 Oct 2010

Researcher receives grant to conduct study on brain development of children who stutter

A Michigan State University researcher is hopeful that a recent National Institutes of Health grant she received will result in better treatment options and, ultimately, better lives for children who stutter.

22 Oct 2010

Social networks important for maintaining dialysis patients' health: Study

Dialysis patients with little social support from friends and family are more likely to ignore doctors' orders, experience a poorer quality of life, and die prematurely, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology. The results suggest strong social networks are important for maintaining dialysis patients' health.

22 Oct 2010

Scientists discover new cell that may limit inflammation in CNS

Scientists at Barrow Neurological Institute have recently made discoveries about a type of cell that may limit inflammation in the central nervous system - a finding that could have important implications in the treatment of brain disorders such as multiple sclerosis. The research, led by Barrow's Fu-Dong Shi, MD, PhD, was published in the August 2010 issue of The Journal of Experimental Medicine, and simultaneously highlighted in Nature.

22 Oct 2010

Injecting apoA-V protein may reduce high triglyceride levels: Research

Injecting a protein that helps break down triglycerides may someday help treat an inherited form of high triglycerides, according to a new study in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, an American Heart Association journal.

22 Oct 2010

CPIC awarded $2.6M grant to examine obesity, cancer risk within California Teachers Study

The National Cancer Institute has awarded a $2.6 million grant to the Cancer Prevention Institute of California. The award, which is part of a larger collaborative grant, supports CPIC's study of body size and cancer risk within the California Teachers Study, one of the largest longitudinal studies of women's health.

22 Oct 2010

New research center to study effects of BPA, phthalates on children

A new research center based at the University of Illinois will investigate whether regular exposure to bisphenol A and phthalates - chemicals widely used in plastics and other consumer products - can alter infant and adolescent development, cognition or behavior.

22 Oct 2010

CIHR, RX&D - HRF to fund research projects on mental illness, palliative care

Six research projects on co-existing heath problems associated with mental illness and one project on palliative care among First Nations received over $9 million in funding announced today. This amount is provided by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Rx&D Health Research Foundation.

22 Oct 2010

Researchers suggest gene therapy may treat patients with major depression

In a report published in the Oct. 20 issue of Science Translational Medicine, researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center say animal and human data suggest gene therapy to the brain may be able to treat patients with major depression who do not respond to traditional drug treatment.

22 Oct 2010

Parent-only treatments for childhood obesity work effectively: Researchers

A study led by a researcher at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine indicates that parent-only treatments for childhood obesity work equally as well as plans that include parents and child, while at the same time more cost effective and potentially easier for families. The results were published today in the advanced online edition of the journal Obesity.

22 Oct 2010

Study: apoA-V may reduce high triglyceride levels, coronary artery disease

An exciting new study conducted by Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute scientists identified that an injection of the protein apolipoprotein A-V may reduce high triglyceride levels in the blood and subsequently reduce coronary artery disease. Like cholesterol, elevated levels of triglyceride, a fat in the blood, is associated with the increased risk of heart disease—the number one cause of death in the United States.

22 Oct 2010

Biomarkers can improve ability to identify patients at high risk of CKD: Study

Measuring three biomarkers in a single blood sample may improve physicians' ability to identify patients at high risk of developing chronic kidney disease, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

22 Oct 2010