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Understanding genetic factors that affect Crohn's disease risk

A statistical model accounting for dozens of different genes in combination—and the interactions between them—is an important step forward in understanding the genetic factors affecting the risk of Crohn's disease, reports a study in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, official journal of the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America.

23 Aug 2013

Moffitt Cancer Center study could offer hope to melanoma sufferers

A new study at Moffitt Cancer Center could offer hope to people with melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Researchers are investigating whether an injectable known as PV-10 can shrink tumors and reduce the spread of cancer.

23 Aug 2013

ATF3 gene may be the crucial link between stress and breast cancer: Study

In an unexpected finding, scientists have linked the activation of a stress gene in immune-system cells to the spread of breast cancer to other parts of the body.

23 Aug 2013

Study: Gene variants linked with increased risk for kidney complications in patients with lupus

Variants in a particular gene are linked with an increased risk for kidney complications in patients with lupus, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. The findings could lead to better treatments to protect the kidney health of patients with the disease.

23 Aug 2013

Study shows how microbes cooperate with sex hormones to affect immune system

Females can mount more powerful immune responses than males, but the flip side of this enhanced protection against infections is a greater risk for autoimmune disorders. Shedding light on the underlying causes of the gender bias in autoimmune diseases, a study published by Cell Press August 22nd in the journal Immunity reveals that certain gut microbes prevalent in males can help protect them against type 1 diabetes.

23 Aug 2013

Scientists develop new way to detect threatening nanoparticles in food

Over the last few years, the use of nanomaterials for water treatment, food packaging, pesticides, cosmetics and other industries has increased. For example, farmers have used silver nanoparticles as a pesticide because of their capability to suppress the growth of harmful organisms. However, a growing concern is that these particles could pose a potential health risk to humans and the environment.

23 Aug 2013

Study confirms exposure to arsenic in drinking water can impair lung function

A new study confirms that exposure to low to moderate amounts of arsenic in drinking water can impair lung function. Doses of about 120 parts per billion of arsenic in well water-about 12 times the dose generally considered safe-produced lung damage comparable to decades of smoking tobacco. Smoking, especially by males, made arsenic-related damage even worse.

23 Aug 2013

Georgia State University receives $3.4M grant to investigate neurobiology behind evolution of emotions

The Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, led by Georgia State University, has received a $3.4 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation to investigate the neurobiology behind the evolution of positive emotions and prosocial behaviors, such as empathy, compassion and cooperation.

23 Aug 2013

MC1R mutation responsible for red hair phenotype also promotes cancer-causing pathway

A person's skin pigment, which determines hair color and skin tone, is influenced by the melanocortin-1 (MC1R) gene receptor. For the population's one to two percent of redheads, a mutation in MC1R accounts for their red hair color and typical light skin.

23 Aug 2013

Noninvasive urine test can accurately monitor risk of kidney rejection

Levels of a protein in the urine of kidney transplant recipients can distinguish those at low risk of developing kidney injury from those at high risk, a study suggests. The results also suggest that low levels of this protein, called CXCL9, can rule out rejection as a cause of kidney injury.

23 Aug 2013

Brain size can predispose person to develop eating disorders

New research indicates that teens with anorexia nervosa have bigger brains than teens that do not have the eating disorder. That is according to a study by researchers at the University of Colorado's School of Medicine that examined a group of adolescents with anorexia nervosa and a group without.

23 Aug 2013

Scientists identify molecular mechanism that contributes to pancreatic cancer

New research led by scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) and Baylor College of Medicine could aid efforts to diagnose and treat one of the most lethal and hard-to-treat types of cancer.

23 Aug 2013

Research findings may lead to treatments for disorders triggered by circadian clock dysfunction

Overnight flights across the Atlantic, graveyard shifts, stress-induced insomnia are all prime culprits in keeping us from getting a good night's sleep. Thanks to new research from McGill University and Concordia University, however, these common sleep disturbances may one day be put to bed.

22 Aug 2013

Scientists reveal why TB is a successful pathogen

By any measure, tuberculosis is a wildly successful pathogen. It infects as many as two billion people in every corner of the world, with a new infection of a human host estimated to occur every second.

22 Aug 2013

Researchers discover 100% genetic match for MERS in insect-eating bat in Saudi Arabia

A 100% genetic match for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) has been discovered in an insect-eating bat in close proximity to the first known case of the disease in Saudi Arabia. The discovery points to the likely animal origin for the disease, although researchers say that an intermediary animal is likely also involved.

22 Aug 2013

In dynamic mind-body interaction, brain recruits cells from immune system to promote anxiety

New research shows that in a dynamic mind-body interaction during the interpretation of prolonged stress, cells from the immune system are recruited to the brain and promote symptoms of anxiety.

22 Aug 2013

Medical investigators discover new aspect of gene-splicing process that produces mRNA

A rare, small RNA turns a gene-splicing machine into a switch that controls the expression of hundreds of human genes. Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and professor of Biochemistry Gideon Dreyfuss, PhD, and his team from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, discovered an entirely new aspect of the gene-splicing process that produces messenger RNA (mRNA).

22 Aug 2013

Study: Mother's mitochondrial DNA seems to influence our own aging

As we age, our cells change and become damaged. Now, researchers at Karolinska Institutet and the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Aging have shown that aging is determined not only by the accumulation of changes during our lifetime but also by the genes we acquire from our mothers.

22 Aug 2013

Research reveals that brain circuits can help reduce anxiety disorders

Anxiety disorders, which include posttraumatic stress disorder, social phobias and obsessive-compulsive disorder, affect 40 million American adults in a given year. Currently available treatments, such as antianxiety drugs, are not always effective and have unwanted side effects.

22 Aug 2013

Video games help brain to improve strategic thinking

Certain types of video games can help to train the brain to become more agile and improve strategic thinking, according to scientists from Queen Mary University of London and University College London (UCL).

22 Aug 2013