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New gene mutation linked to frontotemporal dementia

Researchers have identified a new gene mutation linked to frontotemporal dementia, according to a study published in the July 10, 2007, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

10 Jul 2007

Neutral genetic drift

Johns Hopkins researchers have added to the growing mound of evidence that many of the genetic bits and pieces that drive evolutionary changes do not confer any advantages or disadvantages to humans or other animals.

10 Jul 2007

Gene therapy offers promising approach to tackle pancreatic cancer

A molecularly engineered therapy selectively embeds a gene in pancreatic cancer that shrinks or eradicates tumors, inhibits metastasis, and prolongs survival with virtually no toxicity, researchers from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the July 9 edition of Cancer Cell.

10 Jul 2007

Debate on folic acid fortification

Since the institution of nationwide folic acid fortification of enriched grains in the mid 1990s, the number of infants born in the United States and Canada with neural tube defects has declined by 20 percent to 50 percent.

10 Jul 2007

More muscle for the argument to give up smoking

Researchers at The University of Nottingham have got more bad news for smokers. Not only does it cause cancer, heart attacks and strokes but smokers will also lose more muscle mass in old age than a non-smoker. The effect of this predisposes smokers to an accelerated decline in physical function and loss of independence.

9 Jul 2007

Modified herpes virus - a killer of cancer cells

Scientists have developed a virus specifically designed to target cancer tissue while not affecting normal healthy tissue.

9 Jul 2007

Why males show a higher rate of inflammation than females in the same diseases

Production of a protein that promotes inflammation appears to be linked to the higher incidence of liver cancer in men than in women, researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have determined in mouse studies.

9 Jul 2007

Simple bladder cancer test

University of Florida researchers have identified a set of proteins that appear to signal the presence of bladder cancer, a discovery they hope will lead to a simple, fast and noninvasive test that can detect the disease early.

9 Jul 2007

Potential new treatment pathway for Parkinson's

In the vast majority of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, the disorder arises not because of a genetic defect, but because some external insult triggers the death of dopamine-producing neurons.

9 Jul 2007

New method to detect vCJD infection

Scientists have made significant advances towards the development of a technique that could be used to confirm whether someone is infected with variant CJD.

9 Jul 2007

Should soft tissue sarcomas be treated at high volume centres?

Soft tissue sarcomas -rare tumours of the connective tissue- should be treated at the few centres which see most cases, in order to give patients the best chance of good outcomes, concludes an analysis of sarcoma management in Florida, published in the Annals of Surgery last month.

9 Jul 2007

Olive-pomace oil slows down AIDS

Olive oil has become part of the fight against the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) - the cause of AIDS - thanks to the research carried out by the Bionat team, from the University of Granada, headed by Prof. Andres Garcia-Granados, senior lecturer in Organic Chemistry.

9 Jul 2007

Researchers discover brain pathway of depression in rats

Scientists' hunt for the cause of depression has implicated so many suspects and found so many treatments with different mechanisms that the condition remains an enigma.

9 Jul 2007

Autophagy may accelerate decompensated heart failure

Autophagy, a normal process by which cells eat their own proteins to provide needed resources to the body in times of stress, may paradoxically cause harm to hearts already weakened by disease, researchers from UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

9 Jul 2007

Soil increases the oral transmissibility of deadly prions

The rogue proteins that cause chronic wasting disease (CWD) exhibit a dramatic increase in their infectious nature when bound to common soil particles, according to a new study.

9 Jul 2007

The brain predicts our perception of the outside world

The human brain anticipates our perception of the outside world. For example, it is capable of predicting if we are going to perceive tactile stimulation of weak intensity or, on the contrary, if a more intense stimulation will be perceived more or less painfully.

9 Jul 2007

Scientists discover first common bowel cancer gene

Cancer Research UK funded scientists have for the first time identified a common genetic variant that can increase a person's risk of developing bowel cancer. Their findings appear in two papers published online in Nature Genetics.

9 Jul 2007

New ulcerative colitis gene found

Researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), Mount Sinai Hospital and the University of Pittsburgh have identified a previously unsuspected gene found to be associated with ulcerative colitis.

9 Jul 2007

Researchers create flour enriched with varying levels of bran

Trying to get more fiber in your diet? Munching on cookies or tortillas probably doesn't come to mind.

9 Jul 2007

Protein CD36 may be important to future weight-loss strategies

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that a protein absorbs lipids in the upper part of the intestine, and they believe its key role in this process may provide a novel approach for obesity treatment in the future.

9 Jul 2007