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Community-level intervention program successfully delayed sexual debut and increased the use of condoms

A community-level intervention program aimed at young adolescents delays early intercourse, increases condom use and reduces the type of risky sexual behavior that can result in sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS, a Yale researcher reports in AIDS.

4 Oct 2005

Researchers identify gene defect in mice that causes cyclical hair loss and skin cancer

Researchers at Jefferson Medical College and at the Wadsworth Center in New York have identified a gene defect in mice resulting in a range of abnormalities, from cyclical hair loss and skin cancer to severe problems in normal skin development.

4 Oct 2005

Discovery of molecular roots of asthma, arthritis, and multiple sclerosis

The molecular roots of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases such as asthma, arthritis, and multiple sclerosis (MS) have been discovered by a team of researchers led by The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. They say their findings may point to ways to effectively treat these diseases - if not stop them before they start.

4 Oct 2005

First recordings from medial mammillary body cells in awake animals

It's often said that the key to Bill Bradley's basketball success was summed up in the title of the 1965 book by John McPhee, "A sense of where you are." Bradley always seemed to know where all nine other players were, where Bradley himself was in relation to the basket – and where the open spot was to be found for his stylized jump shot.

4 Oct 2005

Ischemic brain injury - another promising avenue for stem cell therapy

Adult stem cell therapy quickly and significantly improves recovery of motor function in an animal model for the ischemic brain injury that occurs in about 10 percent of babies with cerebral palsy, researchers report.

4 Oct 2005

Role of asymmetric dimethylarginine in damaged blood vessels

A substance found naturally in the blood vessel lining is thought to contribute towards diseases associated with the circulation system, such as heart failure, high blood pressure, stroke and kidney disease.

4 Oct 2005

Mechanism of X-chromosome dosage compensation in Drosophila

In Drosophila, like in humans, male cells have a single X chromosome, while female cells have two. Researchers have long debated over how X and autosomal chromosome gene expression is equalized between the sexes (generally regarding two different models, known as the activation model and the inverse model).

4 Oct 2005

Protein secreted by the dog hookworm may advance vaccine development in humans

A paper published in this week's PLoS Medicine shows that vaccination against a protein secreted by the dog hookworm can protect against blood loss and anaemia caused by the same hookworm in dogs.

4 Oct 2005

Gleevec's uses might expand even further

Gleevec (Imatinib) is a representative of the newest generation of cancer drugs. The substance conveys its potent anti-proliferative effect by selectively supressing the tyrosine kinase pathway. The Giessen lung researchers now issue a first report of this substance as a new target therapy for pulmonary hypertension

4 Oct 2005

Largest systematic analysis of duplicated gene function to date

When Mother Nature creates an identical copy of a gene in an organism's genome, the duplicated copy is usually deleted, inactivated, or otherwise rendered nonfunctional in order to prevent genetic redundancy and to preserve biological homeostasis. In some cases, however, gene duplicates are maintained in a functional state.

4 Oct 2005

Bacteria of different species can talk to each other using a common language

The interspecies crosstalk and misdirection could have important consequences for human health, said Bonnie L. Bassler, an HHMI investigator at Princeton University whose study was published in the September 29, 2005, issue of Nature.

4 Oct 2005

Mayo Clinic researchers find earliest sign of nerve change due to diabetes

Mayo Clinic researchers have found that subtle change in nerve conduction is the first reliable sign of nerve complications from diabetes and that this change can be measured long before other symptoms or signs of nerve damage develop.

3 Oct 2005

Discovery has implications for research on restoring mobility to people who have lost motor functions due to spinal cord injury

Yale School of Medicine researchers report in Science this week genetic evidence for the hypothesis that myelination, or formation of a protective sheath around a nerve fiber, consolidates neural circuitry by suppressing plasticity in the mature brain.

3 Oct 2005

Discovery of mechanisms causing portal hypertension

A physician-scientist at UT Southwestern Medical Center and his research team have identified mechanisms causing a potentially deadly type of hypertension that results from liver damage – findings that could lead to its prevention.

3 Oct 2005

Research on cartilage erosion and bone abnormalities

While characteristic of osteoarthritis (OA), a degenerative joint disease that affects some 20 million Americans, cartilage erosion and bone abnormalities are also associated with many rare hereditary conditions.

3 Oct 2005

Behavior-based means of cutting the risks of tobacco

Three researchers who study behavior-based means of cutting the risks of tobacco use have made a case for counseling patients about the health risks of exposure to secondhand smoke when they're asked about direct tobacco use.

3 Oct 2005

Body's own defenses may cause HIV-related dementia

Publishing in the Sept. 2005 issue of the Journal of Virology, the researchers show that HIV in the temporal lobe mutates at a rate 100 times faster than in other parts of the body, triggering white blood cells to continually swarm to attack the infection. The associated overcrowding and inflammation appear to cause the dementia.

3 Oct 2005

Protein found in the brain is genetically linked to alcoholism and anxiety

The researchers studied rats selectively bred for high alcohol preference (P rats), which were found to have high anxiety levels and consume greater amounts of alcohol than alcohol non-preferring (NP) rats.

3 Oct 2005

Chemical in cocoa beans can limit the development of fluids that cause diarrhea

A new study conducted by researchers at Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland is the first to discover that a chemical in cocoa beans can limit the development of fluids that cause diarrhea. Cocoa beans contain a large amount of chemicals called flavonoids.

3 Oct 2005

Researchers set out to determine the effectiveness of endomorphin 1, with a painkilling capacity equal to or greater than morphine

Nearly one third of the world's adult population suffers with the pain of arthritis. While NSAIDs and COX-2 inhibitors offer the promise of relief, these drugs also bring the risk of adverse effects, from stomach ulcers to heart attack.

3 Oct 2005