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Resistant gut bacteria will not go away by themselves

E. coli bacteria that have developed resistance to antibiotics will probably still be around even if we stop using antibiotics, as these strains have the same good chance as other bacteria of continuing to colonise the gut, according to a thesis at the Sahlgrenska Academy.

20 Jun 2007

Dutch research project designed to reduce maternal and child mortality

Top Institute Pharma, which carries out pioneering research projects with the support of the Dutch Ministry of Health in order to develop better and safer medicines, is starting a unique research project designed to reduce maternal and child mortality.

20 Jun 2007

New molecular mechanism discovered that may 'spontaneously' cause liver cancer

Adding more good news to last week's announcement that Nexavar (sorafenib) may be the first effective treatment for advanced liver cancer, researchers at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University have uncovered a new molecular mechanism that may 'spontaneously' cause liver cancer.

20 Jun 2007

New uderstanding of how enzymes work

In a publication selected as a "2007 Hot Article" by the journal Biochemistry , University at Buffalo chemists report the discovery of a central mechanism responsible for the action of the powerful biological catalysts known as enzymes.

20 Jun 2007

Low carb diets lower levels of good bacteria in gut

Scientists at Aberdeen's Rowett Research Institute have shown that a very low carbohydrate weight-loss diet results in a four-fold reduction in the numbers of certain types of bacteria in the gut of obese men.

20 Jun 2007

Two complementary commanders in charge of the brain

A probe of the upper echelons of the human brain's chain-of-command has found strong evidence that there are not one but two complementary commanders in charge of the brain, according to neuroscientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

20 Jun 2007

Novel therapeutic cancer strategy

Cancer sometimes involves processes that should only occur in the embryo being mistakenly reactivated in adult cells.

20 Jun 2007

Blackcurrants the best fruit of all

Researchers in the UK say when it comes to health giving properties the blackcurrant is more nutritious than any other fruit.

20 Jun 2007

Foie gras can speed amyloid development

University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine professor and researcher Alan Solomon, M.D., director of the Human Immunology and Cancer/Alzheimer's Disease and Amyloid-Related Disorders Research Program, led a team that discovered a link between foie gras prepared from goose or duck liver and the type of amyloid found in rheumatoid arthritis or tuberculosis.

19 Jun 2007

Researchers develop artificial blood vessels from muscle-derived stem cells and a biodegradable polymer

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine investigators have engineered artificial blood vessels from muscle-derived stem cells (MDSCs) and a biodegradable polymer that exhibit extensive remodeling and remain free of blockages when grafted into rats.

19 Jun 2007

Acquired DNA key to certain bacterial infection

Researchers announced this week the discovery of a mechanism by which Mycobacterium avium - a bacterium which can result in serious lung infections and is prevalent in emphysema and AIDS patients among others - infects tissue cells or macrophages and thus compromises the body's immunity.

19 Jun 2007

New target for therapies for retinopathy

A protein long thought to be one of the body's supporting players has quietly been taking a lead role in healthy eyesight, a discovery that could rapidly lead to treatments for babies born before their eyes are finished growing, University of Florida and Harvard Medical School researchers have found.

19 Jun 2007

People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have greater arterial stiffness

The researchers also found that those COPD patients with osteoporosis, a common complication of the respiratory disease, had even greater arterial stiffness. These premature signs of aging may explain why COPD patients are at greater risk for cardiovascular disease.

19 Jun 2007