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Unlocking the mystery of skin renewal

Everyday we shed the outermost layer of our skin and replace it from within with new skin cells. Scientists from Cambridge have looked at the way that skin is renewed.

4 Mar 2007

Hepatitis B found in sweat of Olympic athletes

A researcher in Turkey says hepatitis B may be contracted by means of sweat during contact sports.

1 Mar 2007

Chemoimmunotherapy versus chemotherapy for metastatic malignant melanoma

The addition of immunotherapy to chemotherapy for malignant skin cancer that has spread does not improve survival rates, researchers have found, and patients have more serious side effects, such as anemia, when the two treatments are combined.

1 Mar 2007

New clues may explain why Graves' disease attacks muscle tissue behind eyes

UCLA researchers have uncovered new clues that may explain why Graves' disease (GD) attacks the muscle tissue behind the eyes, often causing them to bulge painfully from their sockets, as in the late actor Marty Feldman.

1 Mar 2007

New understanding of drug addiction

The reason why some individuals may be predisposed to drug addiction has been discovered by scientists from the universities of Bristol and Cambridge.

1 Mar 2007

New insight into brain disorders

The function of an enzyme in the brain - strongly linked to a number of major brain diseases such as Alzheimer's, schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder - has been identified for the first time by researchers at the University of Bristol.

1 Mar 2007

Researchers wake up viruses inside tumors to image and then destroy cancers

They say this strategy could offer a novel way of treating many cancers associated with Epstein-Barr, including at least four different types of lymphoma and nasopharyngeal and gastric cancers.

1 Mar 2007

Green tea and COX-2 inhibitors combine to slow growth of prostate cancer

Drinking a nice warm cup of green tea has long been touted for its healthful benefits, both real and anecdotal. But now researchers have found that a component of green tea, combined with low doses of a COX-2 inhibitor, could slow the spread of human prostate cancer.

1 Mar 2007

Exposure to diesel exhaust during commutes poses a serious public health risk

The Boston-based environmental research group reported today that even though we spend only a tiny portion of our day commuting, it's during the commute that we receive more than half our overall exposure to deadly fine particle pollution.

28 Feb 2007

Tangerine tomatoes boost disease-fighting antioxidants in blood

Deep red tomatoes get their rich color from lycopene, a disease-fighting antioxidant. A new study, however, suggests that a special variety of orange-colored tomatoes provide a different form of lycopene, one that our bodies may more readily use.

28 Feb 2007

MIT researchers develop technique to encourage the survival and growth of adult stem cells

Adult stem cells, found in many tissues in the body, are precursor cells for specific cell types. For example, stem cells found in the bone marrow develop into blood cells, bone cells and other connective tissues, and neural stem cells develop into brain tissue.

28 Feb 2007

Link between growth of blood vessels critical to spread of cancer and copper in our bodies

Growing new blood vessels from existing ones - a process called angiogenesis - is important in growth, development and wound healing. But it also enables the spread of tumors throughout the body, so researchers have been scrambling for ways to stop angiogenesis in the fight against cancer.

28 Feb 2007

California Appellate Court panel upholds constitutionality of State proposition promoting embryonic stem cell research

A three-judge panel of the California First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco on Monday ruled unanimously that California's Proposition 71 -- approved by voters in 2004 to provide $3 billion for human embryonic stem cell research -- is constitutional, the New York Times reports.

28 Feb 2007

Nicotine use is highly addictive in primates

Tobacco dependence is the leading cause of mortality in Canada. Although most smokers express a desire to stop smoking, only a small number are able to succeed.

27 Feb 2007

Key protein - claudin-1- for hepatitis C virus entry identified

For as many as 200 million people worldwide infected with hepatitis C, a leading cause of chronic liver disease, treatment options are only partially effective. But new research by Rockefeller University scientists points to a potential new target for better drugs: a key protein that resides in human liver cells that hepatitis C requires for entry.

27 Feb 2007

Task force recommends greater use of exercise testing in chronic disease

Exercise testing can be a powerful tool for diagnosing chronic heart and lung conditions and measuring responses to treatment, according to new research published in the European Respiratory Journal.

27 Feb 2007

Botox could be used to treat incontinence and cystitis

It has won an army of celebrity fans for banishing crow's feet and frown lines, but the use of Botox to combat bladder problems such as incontinence has been hailed as a 'major advance' by a urology expert.

From Sheffield Hallam University 27 Feb 2007

Memorial Hospital, IU Cancer Center join in fight against cancer

Memorial Hospital and Health Care Center and the Indiana University Cancer Center announced an affiliation agreement on Tuesday, Feb. 27. The agreement gives the Jasper hospital priority access to the resources and services of the IU Cancer Center, an IU School of Medicine and Clarian Health partnership.

27 Feb 2007

Research suggests a significant circadian rhythm in swim performance lasting 2-4 minutes

A new study investigating the potential of a circadian rhythm in athletic performance adds further confirmation that it exists. The finding is being published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, one of 11 peer reviewed scientific publications issued monthly by the American Physiological Society (APS).

27 Feb 2007

Usefulness of C-reactive protein test questioned

Researchers with Dartmouth Medical School and the Veterans Affairs Outcomes Group at the White River Junction (Vt.) VA Medical Center are questioning the usefulness of the C-Reactive Protein (CRP) test for guiding decisions about the use of cholesterol-lowering medication.

27 Feb 2007