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Specialized skin cells use GPS like mapping system to identify where they belong in the body

Until now it's been a mystery as to how adult skin, which consists of basically the same components all over the body, knows to grow hair in some areas like the scalp, while manufacturing sweat glands, calluses and fingerprint whorls in others

2 Aug 2006

Researchers test possibility of growing kidneys for transplant

Bioengineers from the Medical University of South Carolina and Clemson University believe their research has the potential to save the lives of thousands of patients desperately waiting for a kidney while, at the same time, cutting costs associated with kidney disease.

2 Aug 2006

Genetics researchers identify second gene that gives rise to Alagille syndrome

In a finding that may have broader implications for understanding kidney disorders, genetics researchers at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia have identified a second gene that gives rise to Alagille syndrome.

2 Aug 2006

Speed accuracy tradeoff in olfaction

Researchers at the Monell Chemical Senses Center have found that taking as little as a hundred milliseconds longer to smell an odor results in more accurate identification of that odor.

2 Aug 2006

Novel environment sparks exploration and learning

Neurobiologists have known that a novel environment sparks exploration and learning, but very little is known about whether the brain really prefers novelty as such.

2 Aug 2006

Berberine has beneficial effects for people suffering from type 2 diabetes

Reports of a traditional Chinese medicine having beneficial effects for people suffering from type 2 diabetes now has some scientific evidence to back up the claims.

2 Aug 2006

How kidneys retain proteins, discard waste

New research may finally settle a decades-old debate about how the kidney keeps valuable blood proteins from harmfully slipping into the urine, a serious health symptom that often precedes kidney failure.

2 Aug 2006

Prognostic stratification of obese patients by Stress 99mTc-Tetrofosmin Myocardial Perfusion Imaging

Researchers identified an accurate method that may detect whether obese individuals have a low, intermediate or high risk of coronary artery disease, the leading cause of death in the United States, notes a report in the August issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

2 Aug 2006

Researchers determine why gene therapy treatment caused leukemia in some X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency patients

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have developed a mouse model of a severe disease of the immune system that helps explain why gene therapy used to treat children with this disease at an institution in Europe caused some of them to develop leukemia.

2 Aug 2006

Cell walls - an essential building block

Cancer cells, like houses, need building materials for their walls. And as with a house, the cell wall needs to be built at just the right moment to protect and allow the construction of internal components.

2 Aug 2006

Oral cancers - smoke and drink and up goes the risk!

Scientists in the UK have discovered that mouth cancer develops in two distinct ways which decides just how the serious the disease will be.

2 Aug 2006

Innovative approach for creating a cytomegalovirus vaccine

Each year, about 40,000 children are born infected with human cytomegalovirus, or CMV, and about 8,000 of these children suffer permanent disabilities due to the virus - almost one an hour.

2 Aug 2006

9/11 responsible for 12 years worth of lung damage for rescuers

Following the the collapse of the World Trade Centre in 2001 firefighters and other emergency crew workers inhaled vast amounts of 'dust'.

2 Aug 2006

Why reassurance fails in patients with unexplained symptoms

When patients are unconvinced by reassurance from their doctor that they have nothing to worry about, it may be because their emotional state makes it hard for them to remember all the information the doctor has given them, according to new research in PLoS Medicine.

2 Aug 2006