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Flu vaccines more effective when sweetened

Scientists in Australia have discovered a simple way of making flu vaccines much more effective.

21 Aug 2007

New Cockayne syndrome discovery

Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) have shown that the genetic defect that causes Cockayne Syndrome affects a key function of the cell – the transcription of genes coding for ribosomal RNA.

21 Aug 2007

Natural protection provides possible new treatments for stroke

Two substances that occur naturally in the brain act to protect the brain during a stroke. This is the conclusion of a dissertation published at the Sahlgrenska Academy, and the discovery may lead to new treatments for stroke patients.

21 Aug 2007

Discovery of molecule in the intestine that can 'taste' the sugar content of the diet

Diabetes patients could benefit from new research at the University of Liverpool that has identified a molecule in the intestine that can 'taste' the sugar content of the diet.

21 Aug 2007

Being lonely as you age will wear you out!

Researchers have found that being lonely especially in later life can take a toll on a person's health.

21 Aug 2007

What's making you fat? - the answer could be a virus!

According to researchers in the U.S. a common virus (adenovirus-36), that causes throat and eye infections may play a part in obesity.

21 Aug 2007

Whiplash and jaw pain

One in three people exposed to whiplash trauma is at risk of developing delayed TMJ symptoms that may require treatment, according to research published in the August issue of The Journal of the American Dental Association.

17 Aug 2007

New model to predict the spread of a 'super-bug' in L.A. county jail

Researchers at UCLA have developed a mathematical model that mimics a particularly nasty and ongoing outbreak in the Los Angeles County Jail (LACJ) of the flesh eating bacteria Staphylococcus Aureus.

17 Aug 2007

Tumors use enzyme to recruit regulatory T-cells and suppress immune response

One way tumors fly under the radar of the immune system is by using IDO, an enzyme used by fetuses to help avoid rejection, to recruit powerful regulatory T cells that turn down the immune response, researchers say.

17 Aug 2007

Specific antagonism lowers blood pressure

High blood pressure (hypertension) is associated with an increased risk of heart attack and stroke, and the frequent use of drugs known as NSAIDs, for example to treat individuals with rheumatoid arthritis, can cause hypertension.

17 Aug 2007

Cannabis for allergic contact dermatitis

Administering a substance found in the cannabis plant can help the body's natural protective system alleviate an allergic skin disease (allergic contact dermatitis), an international group of researchers from Germany, Israel, Italy, Switzerland and the U.S. has found.

17 Aug 2007

Proteins involved in fragile X syndrome identified

The interplay of two proteins that bind to messenger RNA, a molecule that mediates translation of the information encoded in genes into proteins, triggers the appearance of fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FTAX), a late-life disorder associated with the gene that causes fragile X syndrome in children, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and Emory University School of Medicine in a report that appears today in the journal Neuron.

17 Aug 2007

New understanding of how HSV-1 attacks cells

A team of University of Kentucky researchers has identified the roles that herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) proteins play during the invasion of cells and the formation of skin lesions known as cold sores and fever blisters.

17 Aug 2007

Scientists discover new mechanism for viral replication

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have identified a new strategy that Kaposi's Sarcoma Associated Herpesvirus (KSHV) uses to dupe infected cells into replicating its viral genome.

17 Aug 2007

Obesity and aversion to exercise could enhance the risk of pancreatic cancer

Obesity and aversion to exercise have become hallmarks of modern society and a new study suggests that a blood protein linked to these lifestyle factors may be an indicator for an increased risk of developing pancreatic cancer.

17 Aug 2007

Nicotinic receptors may be important targets for treatment of multiple addictions

For years, scientists have known that some people are biologically more susceptible to drug addiction than others, but they have only been able to speculate why.

17 Aug 2007

New target for the development of anti-influenza drugs

Scientists at Cure Lab, Inc., a biotechnology company based in Canton, Massachusetts, in collaboration with researchers at Boston University and Harvard Medical School have discovered a potential new target for the development of anti-influenza (flu) drugs, including those that may be effective against potentially pandemic influenza strains like H5N1.

17 Aug 2007

New prion protein 'Shadoo' discovered - may offer insight into mad cow disease

Scientists have discovered a new protein that may offer fresh insights into brain function in mad cow disease.

17 Aug 2007

Memory storage molecule PKMzeta stores memories in neocortex

The memory storage molecule PKMzeta maintains long-term memories in the neocortex and its presence is continually required in order for the memory to endure, according to a finding by researchers at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, Israel and SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York.

17 Aug 2007

New method to detect infection in prosthetic joints

A team of Mayo Clinic researchers has discovered a new, more accurate diagnostic test to detect infection of prosthetic joints, potentially leading to better treatment options and patient outcomes.

17 Aug 2007