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Online remedies for STIs pose significant public health hazard

People with sexually transmitted infections are putting themselves at risk by buying treatments over the internet, according to new research by the University of East Anglia.

19 Nov 2007

Funds to boost UK methods research

A new programme to strengthen the UK's position as a leader in the methods that underpin health research has been announced by the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research.

19 Nov 2007

It's not just sugary sodas that are adding to the obesity crisis!

...it's fruit drinks, alcohol and a combination of other high-calorie beverages, say University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health researchers.

19 Nov 2007

People with migraines have differences in cortex area of the brain

People with migraines have differences in an area of the brain that helps process sensory information, including pain, according to a study published in the November 20, 2007, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

19 Nov 2007

Bacteria shed light on an important group of human proteins

A collaboration between researchers in Switzerland, the UK and France has led to the solution of the first crystal structure of a member of the Rhesus protein family and thereby shed new light on a group of proteins of great importance in human transfusion medicine.

19 Nov 2007

Pilot program helps boost seniors' activity levels, quality of life

Older adults often carry a deeply ingrained belief that inactive, sedentary lives are an inevitable part of aging.

19 Nov 2007

MIT researchers devised novel way to create tiny colonies of living human liver cells that model full-sized organs

Liver toxicity is one of the main reasons pharmaceutical companies pull drugs off the market. These dangerous drugs slip through approval processes due in part to the shortcomings of liver toxicity tests. Existing tests rely on liver cells from rats, which do not always respond to toxins the way human cells do. Or they rely on dying human cells that survive for only a few days in the lab.

19 Nov 2007

The immune system can stop the growth of a cancerous tumor without actually killing it

A multinational team of researchers has shown for the first time that the immune system can stop the growth of a cancerous tumor without actually killing it.

19 Nov 2007

Human health, agriculture and the environment to benefit from bioengineering project at the University of Kent

Martin Warren, Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Kent’s Department of Biosciences, has been awarded over £750,000 from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council for a study into biochemical pathways that could ultimately lead to improved health benefits for humans, as well as the development of important new technologies and products for agriculture and bioremediation (the use of plants or microorganisms to clean up pollution or contaminated material).

19 Nov 2007

Geisinger rheumatologists redesign osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis care

With the nation collectively spending about $18 billion per year on osteoporosis related bone fractures, Geisinger researchers found that streamlining the ordering process for osteoporosis bone density scans quadrupled the number of patients who received the exam.

19 Nov 2007

Blood clotting protein fibrin plays a role in rheumatoid arthritis

Researchers at Cincinnati Children's have issued the first study showing that a protein normally involved in blood clotting (fibrin), also plays an important role in the inflammatory response and development of rheumatoid arthritis.

19 Nov 2007

New insight into how cystatin C may lower the risk for Alzheimer's disease

For unknown reasons a protein called amyloid beta aggregates into toxic plaques in the brain, killing neurons.

19 Nov 2007

Rev-erb protein helps maintain the body's correct metabolism

It's well known that the body's energy levels cycle on a 24-hour, or circadian, schedule, and that this metabolic process is fueled by oxygen.

19 Nov 2007

University of Illinois at Chicago receives $2.2 million grant to develop drugs to suppress cocaine cravings

The University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy has received a $2.2 million federal grant to develop therapeutics to suppress the cravings of cocaine addicts.

19 Nov 2007

Some AIDS vaccines may damage the immune system

Researchers in the United States say some of the viruses being used in experimental AIDS vaccines may cause damage to the immune system.

19 Nov 2007

Winter and vitamin D

As the days grow shorter, the sun's warm rays aren't the only thing your body may be missing, warns Creighton University researcher Joan Lappe, Ph.D.

16 Nov 2007

Melatonin could actually be hurting you at night!

What do you do when a naturally occurring hormone in your body turns against you? What do you do when that same hormone - melatonin - is a popular supplement you take to help you sleep?

16 Nov 2007

New understanding of how brain processes memory

Scientists at The University of Arizona have added another piece of the puzzle of how the brain processes memory.

16 Nov 2007

Researchers identify compound that eliminates myotonia - a symptom of muscular dystrophy

Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) have identified a compound that eliminates myotonia - a symptom of muscular dystrophy - in mice. The research was published online in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

16 Nov 2007

Pre-malignant mammary lesions in dogs and humans display many of the same characteristics

...a discovery that could lead to better understanding of breast cancer progression and prevention for people and pets, said a Purdue University scientist from the School of Veterinary Medicine.

16 Nov 2007