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Fat mice gain protection against diabetes

The world's fattest mice can overeat without developing insulin resistance or diabetes thanks to a glut of a key hormone, a dichotomy that helps explain why not all obese people are diabetic, a UT Southwestern Medical Center researcher has found.

24 Aug 2007

New technology for keeping liver cells alive inside bioartificial liver-assist devices

Such devices enable people who are suffering from acute liver failure to survive while their own liver cells regenerate, or until they receive a liver transplant. The person's blood or plasma circulates through the device. Inside, living cells -- usually pig or human liver cells -- perform normal liver functions.

24 Aug 2007

New clue to mechanisms of gene signaling and regulation

Scientists have discovered a pattern in the DNA sequence of the mouse genome that may play a fundamental part in the way DNA molecules regulate gene expression.

24 Aug 2007

Discovery on manipulating skin tone and color

In the timeless quest for healthier, younger looking skin, scientists from the University of Cincinnati and Tokyo Medical University have made an important discovery toward manipulating skin tone and color.

24 Aug 2007

New options in treating pigmentation disorders

Melanocytes are not the only cells responsible for differences in skin coloration. New research from the University of Cincinnati (UC) has shown that some of the most basic cells on the skin's surface influence pigment production and help regulate skin coloration.

24 Aug 2007

Potential new therapy for treatment of neurodegenerative diseases

Researchers have provided new information about how communication among neurons may be prevented from deteriorating in conditions such as Alzheimer's disease (AD).

24 Aug 2007

Breakthrough for Huntington's disease

A major breakthrough in the understanding and potential treatment of Huntington's disease has been made by scientists at the University of Leeds.

24 Aug 2007

Discovery of new gene family essential for embryonic development

The family controls the expression of genes crucial for stem cell maintenance and differentiation, and the results may contribute sig-nificantly to the understanding of the development of cancer.

24 Aug 2007

Proteomic analysis of human amniotic fluid

Researchers report in the August issue of Molecular & Cellular Proteomics the most complete list so far of proteins present in the human amniotic fluid, the liquid that surrounds a fetus during pregnancy.

24 Aug 2007

Insight into autism's origin in the brain

In the first study of its kind, researchers have discovered that in autistic individuals, connections between brain cells may be deficient within single regions, and not just between regions, as was previously believed.

23 Aug 2007

Cancer stem cell scientists get $1.7 million to develop new leukemia drugs

"Modern cancer treatments fail to get to the root of the cancer - the stem cells - which is why many cancers recur despite aggressive treatment."

23 Aug 2007

Good cholesterol may be a bad guy after all!

Scientists are warning that the good cholesterol (HDL) known for it's ability to protect against heart disease, can turn nasty.

22 Aug 2007

Migration of antibiotic resistance from animal feeding operations into groundwater

The routine use of antibiotics in swine production can have unintended consequences, with antibiotic resistance genes sometimes leaking from waste lagoons into groundwater.

22 Aug 2007

Benefits of vitamin D for cancer prevention

A new study looking at the relationship between vitamin D serum levels and the risk of colon and breast cancer across the globe has estimated the number of cases of cancer that could be prevented each year if vitamin D3 levels met the target proposed by researchers.

22 Aug 2007

Sewage reveals community-wide illegal drug use

Public health officials may soon be able to flush out more accurate estimates on illegal drug use in communities across the country thanks to screening test described at the 234 th national meeting of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society.

22 Aug 2007

Natural antimicrobial agents for food safety

Two items high on the list of public concerns are the need for greater food safety and a growing demand for natural or organic food products.

22 Aug 2007

Journey distances to hospital and relationship to mortality

The further seriously ill patients have to travel by ambulance to reach emergency care, the more likely they are to die, reveals research in Emergency Medicine Journal.

22 Aug 2007

Claims of sex-related differences in genetic association insufficiently documented or spurious

A review of previous research suggests that prominent claims of sex differences of gene-disease associations are often insufficiently documented and validated, according to an article in the August 22/29 issue of JAMA.

22 Aug 2007

Baby talk is universal

A major function of speech is the communication of intentions. In everyday conversation between adults, intentions are conveyed through multiple channels, including the syntax and semantics of the language, but also through nonverbal vocal cues such as pitch, loudness, and rate of speech.

22 Aug 2007

New understanding of neural basis for decision making, or free will

The area of the brain responsible for self-control, where the decision not to do something occurs after thinking about doing it, is separate from the area associated with taking action, scientists say in the August 22 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.

22 Aug 2007