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Boys show more preference to solve arithmetic problems than girls

In a University of Missouri study, girls and boys started grade school with different approaches to solving arithmetic problems, with girls favoring a slow and accurate approach and boys a faster but more error prone approach.

30 Jul 2012

UTMB researchers receives NIH grant to develop engineered lung tissue for biomedical studies

University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston researchers have been awarded a two-year, $1.25 million National Institutes of Health grant to develop a method of custom-growing human lung tissue to make a three-dimensional model for biomedical studies.

30 Jul 2012

Researchers describe new human tissue dendritic cell with cross-presenting function

Researchers in Newcastle and Singapore have identified a new type of white blood cell which activates a killing immune response to an external source - providing a new potential target for vaccines for conditions such as cancer or Hepatitis B.

30 Jul 2012

Scientists decipher molecular causes of life-threatening candida fungal infections

With infectious diseases, it is often not the pathogen itself, but rather an excessive inflammatory immune responses death, for instance as a result of organ damage. On intensive care units, sepsis is the second-most common cause of death worldwide. In patients with a severely compromised immune system specially, life-threatening candida fungal infections represent a high risk of sepsis.

30 Jul 2012

New assay method finds evidence of clonal evolution in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Using a new assay method to study tumor cells, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center have found evidence of clonal evolution in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

30 Jul 2012

New compound effective at blocking damage to the retina in diabetic retinopathy

Researchers at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center have identified a compound that could interrupt the chain of events that cause damage to the retina in diabetic retinopathy. The finding is significant because it could lead to a novel therapy that targets two mechanisms at the root of the disease: inflammation and the weakening of the blood barrier that protects the retina.

30 Jul 2012

Insight into neural basis of human consciousness

Which areas of the brain help us to perceive our world in a self-reflective manner is difficult to measure. During wakefulness, we are always conscious of ourselves. In sleep, however, we are not. But there are people, known as lucid dreamers, who can become aware of dreaming during sleep. Studies employing magnetic resonance tomography (MRT) have now been able to demonstrate that a specific cortical network consisting of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the frontopolar regions and the precuneus is activated when this lucid consciousness is attained.

30 Jul 2012

OX40 molecule responsible for airway inflammation in the lungs

A research team led by Xian Chang Li, MD, PhD, Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) Transplantation Research Center, has shed light on how a population of lymphocytes, called CD4+ T cells, mature into various subsets of adult T helper cells.

30 Jul 2012

Researchers discover gene mutations in patients with alternating hemiplegia of childhood

Alternating hemiplegia of childhood (AHC) is a very rare disorder that causes paralysis that freezes one side of the body and then the other in devastating bouts that arise at unpredictable intervals. Seizures, learning disabilities and difficulty walking are common among patients with this diagnosis.

30 Jul 2012

Researchers isolate elusive human gene that causes NMNAT1-related Leber congenital amaurosis

Researchers from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Loyola University Chicago Health Sciences Division and their collaborators have isolated an elusive human gene that causes a common form of Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), a relatively rare but devastating form of early-onset blindness. The new LCA gene is called NMNAT1.

30 Jul 2012

Ephrin-A5 blocks formation of new connections between neurons after stroke

Researchers at UCLA have identified a novel molecule in the brain that, after stroke, blocks the formation of new connections between neurons. As a result, it limits the brain's recovery. In a mouse model, the researchers showed that blocking this molecule-called ephrin-A5--induces axonal sprouting, that is, the growth of new connections between the brain's neurons, or cells, and as a result promotes functional recovery.

29 Jul 2012

New study sheds light on exactly how cigarette smoke causes osteoporosis

Almost 20 years after scientists first identified cigarette smoking as a risk factor for osteoporosis and bone fractures, a new study is shedding light on exactly how cigarette smoke weakens bones. The report, in ACS' Journal of Proteome Research, concludes that cigarette smoke makes people produce excessive amounts of two proteins that trigger a natural body process that breaks down bone.

28 Jul 2012

New drug can aid in losing weight and keeping it off

A new drug could aid in losing weight and keeping it off. The drug, described in the journal Cell Metabolism on July 26, increases sensitivity to the hormone leptin, a natural appetite suppressant found in the body. Although so far the new drug has only been tested on mice, the findings have implications for the development of new treatments for obesity in humans.

28 Jul 2012

Roofers have higher PAH blood-levels after 6-hour shift

Roofers and road construction workers who use hot asphalt are exposed to high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published this week in the British Medical Journal Open shows that roofers have higher PAH blood-levels after a shift than before and that these high levels of PAHs are linked with increased rates of DNA damage, and potentially with higher cancer risk.

28 Jul 2012

Study investigates effects of stress management tool that can also appeal to younger generation

Can modern technology be the solution to the ever-increasing problem of overworked and overstressed college students? Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing (JHUSON) doctor of nursing practice (DNP) student Billinda Tebbenhoff sought to find out.

28 Jul 2012

Study shows how neurons in the brain select information needed to keep us in balance

If you have ever looked over the edge of a cliff and felt dizzy, you understand the challenges faced by people who suffer from symptoms of vestibular dysfunction such as vertigo and dizziness. There are over 70 million of them in North America. For people with vestibular loss, performing basic daily living activities that we take for granted (e.g. dressing, eating, getting in and out of bed, getting around inside as well as outside the home) becomes difficult since even small head movements are accompanied by dizziness and the risk of falling.

28 Jul 2012

Potential biomarker to predict lung cancer patients' response to chemotherapy

Patients with the most common type of lung cancer are notoriously insensitive to chemotherapy drugs, including cisplatin. New findings related to the cellular pathways that regulate responses to cisplatin have now been published by Cell Press on July 26th in the journal Cell Reports.

27 Jul 2012

PedBrain Tumor network publishes evaluation of first 125 genome analyses of medulloblastomas

Brain tumors are the primary cause of cancer mortality in children. Even if a cure is possible, young patients often suffer from the stressful treatment which can be harmful to the developing brain. The most common childhood brain tumors are medulloblastoma and pylocytic astrocytoma.

27 Jul 2012

MEG-MRI combined device for mapping the human brain

Researchers at Aalto University in Finland have developed the world's first device designed for mapping the human brain that combines whole-head magnetoencephalography (MEG) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology. MEG measures the electrical function and MRI visualizes the structure of the brain. The merging of these two technologies will produce unprecedented accuracy in locating brain electrical activity non-invasively.

27 Jul 2012

Viral evolution and host protein levels predict rapid disease progression in hepatitis C patients

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health have identified several factors in people infected with the hepatitis C virus that may predict whether the unusually rapid progression of disease from initial infection to severe liver conditions, such as cirrhosis, will occur. Knowing whether a patient's condition is likely to deteriorate quickly could help physicians decide on the best course of treatment.

27 Jul 2012

Medical Science News

Boys show more preference to solve arithmetic problems than girls

UTMB researchers receives NIH grant to develop engineered lung tissue for biomedical studies

Researchers describe new human tissue dendritic cell with cross-presenting function

Scientists decipher molecular causes of life-threatening candida fungal infections

New assay method finds evidence of clonal evolution in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

New compound effective at blocking damage to the retina in diabetic retinopathy

Insight into neural basis of human consciousness

OX40 molecule responsible for airway inflammation in the lungs

Researchers discover gene mutations in patients with alternating hemiplegia of childhood

Researchers isolate elusive human gene that causes NMNAT1-related Leber congenital amaurosis

Ephrin-A5 blocks formation of new connections between neurons after stroke

New study sheds light on exactly how cigarette smoke causes osteoporosis

New drug can aid in losing weight and keeping it off

Roofers have higher PAH blood-levels after 6-hour shift

Study investigates effects of stress management tool that can also appeal to younger generation

Study shows how neurons in the brain select information needed to keep us in balance

Potential biomarker to predict lung cancer patients' response to chemotherapy

PedBrain Tumor network publishes evaluation of first 125 genome analyses of medulloblastomas

MEG-MRI combined device for mapping the human brain

Viral evolution and host protein levels predict rapid disease progression in hepatitis C patients

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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