Medical Research News

RSS

Research illustrates BAG3 protein's importance in maintaining mature skeletal muscle

Muscle cells that should grow stronger with use instead self-destruct when a protein called BAG3 isn't around, researchers have shown.

30 Aug 2006

Rates of eczema and hay fever falling

After having risen year on year in recent decades, the rates of eczema and hay fever seem to have stabilised, and may even be falling, suggests research published ahead of print in Thorax.

30 Aug 2006

The public face of mental illness

Both the tabloid and the broadsheet press have consistently given disproportionate and sensationalized coverage to psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia, often linking them to serious crime.

30 Aug 2006

Human body is designed to strongly resist attempts to lose weight

Research confirming the human body is designed to strongly resist attempts to lose weight will be presented at an international gathering of obesity experts hosted by QUT this week.

30 Aug 2006

New organs can be grown in body

A novel technique enabling vital new organ tissue to be grown in a special bio-chamber in the body has been developed by scientists at the University of Melbourne and the Bernard O’Brien Institute of Microsurgery (BOBIM).

30 Aug 2006

Newly discovered molecular motor helps a cell determine which way is up

The sense of top and bottom is often lost in cells that become cancerous and may be an important factor in metastasis.

30 Aug 2006

Disabling carbohydrate trigger reduces obesity and appetite

Until about 15 years ago, insulin was believed primarily responsible for turning carbohydrates into fat. But then it became apparent that diet alone could stimulate glucose metabolism and fat synthesis, even when insulin levels were low or absent.

30 Aug 2006

Massachusetts Council adopts new regulations on embryonic stem cell research

The Massachusetts Public Health Council on Tuesday adopted new regulations on human embryonic stem cell research that Harvard University and several state research centers and hospitals say could expose scientists to criminal penalties for conducting certain research activities, the Boston Globe reports.

30 Aug 2006

Severe mental illness in Gulf Coast doubled after Katrina

The rate of severe mental illness in the Gulf Coast region about doubled in the six months after Hurricane Katrina, according to a report surveying a sample of the storm's survivors published on Monday in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization, USA Today reports (Sternberg, USA Today, 8/29).

30 Aug 2006

Los Angeles Times examines 'Hispanic epidemiological paradox'

The Los Angeles Times on Monday examined the "Hispanic epidemiological paradox," in which Latinos are healthier than expected based on their low levels of income and education.

30 Aug 2006

FDA looks at clinical emergency research when informed consent cannot be obtained

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is taking a close look at the implementation of its 1996 regulation, 21 CFR 50.24, which allows clinical emergency research when informed consent cannot be obtained.

29 Aug 2006

High blood pressure and long working hours, a deadly combo

Researchers in the U.S., say that people who work for more than 51 hours at the office each week are more likely to have high blood pressure than those who worked 39 hours or less.

29 Aug 2006

A cider a day may very well keep the doctor away

Scottish scientists say the good old west country beverage cider may offer health benefits to quaffers.

29 Aug 2006

Age-related hearing loss may be genetic

Researchers at the University of Antwerp have discovered that hearing loss is linked to flaws in a specific gene.

28 Aug 2006

Boosting enzyme may reverse Alzheimer's

New research by scientists at Columbia University suggests that boosting the function of a certain enzyme may provide a promising strategy for battling Alzheimer's disease, and possibly reversing its effects.

28 Aug 2006

Inflammation in brain tissue a possible clue to autism

According to new research the common medical belief that young children with autism have accelerated brain growth is not the case even though their brains may appear enlarged.

24 Aug 2006

BMI unreliable when assessing obesity and risk of heart disease

According to doctors in the United States the standard measure of obesity, the Body Mass Index (BMI), is badly flawed and may not be such an accurate indicator as it lumps muscle and fat into one category.

21 Aug 2006

$1M Myers Fellowship brings US research techniques to Melbourne

The Howard Florey Institute's inaugural Allan and Maria Myers Travel Fellowship has been awarded to world renowned neuroscientist, Prof Gerard Shaw, from the McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida College of Medicine.

20 Aug 2006