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Obesity epidemic connected to the unhealthy surge in type 2 diabetes cases, cardiovascular disease and other associated disorders

Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) researchers will unveil research results that help explain why middle-aged women develop central body fat.

6 Jun 2005

Diversity of HLA genotypes in humans is shaped to a significant degree by pathogens

The great physical diversity that evolution has forged in human beings is in evidence wherever we look, but the genes exhibiting the greatest diversity at the DNA level happen to function in a wholly invisible process: immunity. Genes encoding the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) proteins are among the most diverse in the human genome, and scientists have proposed a number of hypotheses to explain why.

6 Jun 2005

New dopamine transporter gene findings may be relevant for substance abuse, tobacco smoking, and ADHD

Confirming findings in a previous study, Yale researchers observed an altered availability of the dopamine transporter in healthy persons with a genetic variation linked to substance abuse and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

6 Jun 2005

New process removes allergy potential from peanut products

Scientists say a special fermentation process may significantly reduce the potential for allergic reaction to peanut products.

6 Jun 2005

Verbal sexual content on TV more powerful than visual images

The attitudes and beliefs that young people have about sex may be more swayed by what they hear on television, rather than what they see, according to a University of Michigan researcher.

6 Jun 2005

Revolutionising medical imaging internationally

A team of RMIT University researchers has developed cutting-edge technology that has the potential to revolutionise medical imaging internationally.

6 Jun 2005

New series of human drug targets available to all researchers

The Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC), an Anglo-Canadian charitable consortium of public and private agencies including Oxford University, announced recently that it has delivered its first 50 human and malaria protein structures into the public domain on budget and two months ahead of schedule.

6 Jun 2005

Helmholtz Institute develops a new path to more effective antibiotics

Resistance to antibiotics has increased alarmingly in recent years. For example, in France the resistance of pneumococci has risen to 58% due to high rates of antibiotic prescription. Medical experts are sounding the alarm. Pharmacologists are seeking new antibiotically effective substances.

6 Jun 2005

Cranberry juice may be effective in treating a number of gastrointestinal viruses

Cranberry juice, long considered a home remedy for urinary tract infections, may also be effective against a number of gastrointestinal viruses according to researchers from St. Francis College in Brooklyn, New York. They report their findings today at the 105th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.

6 Jun 2005

Statisticians learn how to analyze huge quantities of genetic data

In a conceptual breakthrough, a team of researchers led by statisticians at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) has figured out how to analyze huge quantities of genetic data, surpassing the capabilities of traditional techniques and speeding the quest for understanding the genetic basis of complex diseases such as asthma and diabetes.

6 Jun 2005

Major advances in the global fight against eye disease

Now research offering a better understanding of the genetics controlling endemic eye diseases will be advanced by an international collaboration between Cardiff University’s School of Optometry and Vision Sciences and the Department of Opthalmology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Japan.

6 Jun 2005

Chocolate and exercise on the anti-obesity treadmill

Researchers at the University of South Australia are seeking volunteers for a new study into the potential health benefits of combining regular exercise with daily chocolate consumption.

6 Jun 2005

Researchers successfully image delivery and gene expression of DNA nanoparticles into lungs of CF mice

Researchers at the American Society of Gene Therapy Meeting in St. Louis announced that by using imaging technologies, they are able to successfully trace the delivery of DNA nanoparticles and the extent of gene transfer in the lungs of cystic fibrosis (CF) animals.

6 Jun 2005

Grandma was right an apple a day, if its a red one, keeps the doctor away

Scientists say there may be more truth in the old wives tale that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, than was initially credited.

6 Jun 2005

Early to bed okay, but early to rise might not make Jack a bright boy

Researchers in the U.S. say that an early start to school classes in the mornings means many teenagers lose much needed sleep and that makes them more likely to be moody and perform poorly in school.

6 Jun 2005

Test accurately predicts aggressiveness of breast cancer

A test that measures how quickly cells are dividing is an accurate way for doctors to predict the aggressiveness of breast cancer tumors, even among women with very early stages of the disease, researchers told the 2nd ESMO Scientific & Educational Conference (ESEC) in Budapest, Hungary.

6 Jun 2005

Gene linked to lower breast cancer risk

In a presentation at the 2nd ESMO Scientific & Educational Conference (ESEC) in Budapest, Hungary, Dr. Uwe Langsenlehner and colleagues from Medical University Graz in Austria showed that a specific genetic variation in a cytokine gene is associated with lower breast cancer risk.

6 Jun 2005

Dutch team shows cost effectiveness of heroin prescriptions

Researchers at the University of Amsterdam say there are strong reasons to support the practice of prescribing heroin to drug misusers.

6 Jun 2005

A promising animal model demonstrates course of epilepsy

A promising animal model of epilepsy became even more valuable with the demonstration that the course of the disorder closely parallels that of one of the most common forms of epilepsy in humans.

6 Jun 2005

Discovery will lead to more effective treatments for pulmonary arterial hypertension

A University of Alberta research team has discovered important new information they hope will lead to more effective treatments for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)--a deadly form of high blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries caused by uncontrolled cell growth.

5 Jun 2005