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Study focuses on calcium intake among U.S. population

Americans may not be getting enough calcium in their diets, according to a new study published in the May 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

28 Apr 2011

GSN receives NIH grant for non-invasive prenatal test trial in genetic abnormalities

Gene Security Network announced today that they have received a $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to conduct a clinical trial applying Parental Support technology for non-invasive prenatal diagnosis.

28 Apr 2011

New control point for suppressing cancer cell growth

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists have discovered new details of how cancer cells escape from tumor suppression mechanisms that normally prevent these damaged cells from multiplying. They also demonstrated a potential link between this cell proliferation control mechanism and the cognitive deficits caused by Down syndrome.

28 Apr 2011

Simple home genetic test can identify health risk factors in young athletes

It's a simple home genetic test, but the results it produces can make workouts more effective, children's sports choices more appropriate and trainers' awareness of potential risk factors more precise.

28 Apr 2011

Cotinine can reduce plaques linked with dementia and prevent memory loss

Cotinine, a compound derived from tobacco, reduced plaques associated with dementia and prevented memory loss in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease, a study led by researchers at Bay Pines VA Healthcare System and the University of South Florida found.

28 Apr 2011

Frailty increases exponentially with age throughout adult life span

The prevalence of frailty, which is linked to earlier death, increases throughout adulthood as people age and not just after age 65, found an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Relatively good fitness levels at all ages were predictive of lower mortality and less reliance on health care services.

28 Apr 2011

IL28B gene plays a key role in spontaneous HCV clearance in infants

New research shows that high maternal viral load and co-infection with human immunodeficiency virus are the only risk factors associated with vertical transmission of the hepatitis C virus.

28 Apr 2011

Seattle BioMed study to identify biomarkers for malaria vaccine design

In the first study of its type in the malaria field, Seattle BioMed has been awarded an $8.9 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to identify biomarkers that will allow malaria vaccine design based on robust predictors of protective immunity.

28 Apr 2011

Scientists weaken long-term memory

Could veterans of war, rape victims and other people who have seen horrific crimes someday have the traumatic memories that haunt them weakened in their brains? In a new study, UCLA life scientists report a discovery that may make the reduction of such memories a reality.

28 Apr 2011

Tsetse fly mapping distribution model may help solve sleeping sickness mystery

Since before the 1300s, people living in many parts of Africa have been dying from a disease known as sleeping sickness. Despite public health campaigns that explain ways to stop infection—primarily by killing the disease-spreading tsetse fly—successful eradication has remained out of reach. That's partly because epidemiologists can't predict where cases will emerge next.

28 Apr 2011

Blueberries can protect against heart disease and cancer

The first analysis of the healthful antioxidant content of blueberries that grow wild in Mexico, Central and South America concludes that some of these fruits have even more healthful antioxidants than the blueberries - already renowned as "super fruits" - sold throughout the United States.

28 Apr 2011

Scientists identify new risk gene variant for depression

Max Planck scientists uncover surprising genetic links. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry in Munich have compared the genomes of a total of 4,088 patients and 11,001 healthy control subjects from all over the world and identified a new risk gene variant for depression.

28 Apr 2011

NIH awards UH with $361,000 grant for chikungunya vaccine study

It is spread to humans by mosquito bites, causing arthritic symptoms so severe that some victims can't even walk. While rarely fatal, the effects of the chikungunya virus can last up to a year.

28 Apr 2011

Janssen, Beactica enter drug discovery agreement

Beactica, the leading Swedish fragment-based drug discovery company, today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Janssen Research & Development, a division of Janssen Pharmaceutica NV.

28 Apr 2011

New study sheds light on how sleep-deprived lifestyles might impair brain function

A new study in rats is shedding light on how sleep-deprived lifestyles might impair functioning without people realizing it.

28 Apr 2011

New screening marker can detect pancreatic cancer

Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a protein that shows distinct changes in structure between pancreatic cancer, non-cancerous diseases and normal blood serum. The protein also changes from early stage pancreatic cancer to advanced disease.

28 Apr 2011

Kava tea may cause kidney failure and muscle breakdown

When a 34-year-old bicyclist was found collapsed on a roadside and rushed to the University of Rochester Medical Center emergency room on the verge of kidney failure and muscle breakdown, doctors were surprised to discover that a trendy tea derived from the kava plant was the cause of his ills.

28 Apr 2011

MIT develops new software to predict complex 3-D DNA structures

While the primary job of DNA in cells is to carry genetic information from one generation to the next, some scientists also see the highly stable and programmable molecule as an ideal building material for nanoscale structures that could be used to deliver drugs, act as biosensors, perform artificial photosynthesis and more.

28 Apr 2011

New nanoparticle imaging agent can help diagnose heart disease, breast cancer

Scientists are reporting development of a process for producing large quantities of a much-needed new imaging agent for computed tomography scans in heart disease, breast cancer and other diseases, and the first evidence that the material is safe for clinical use.

28 Apr 2011

Grapefruit can help reduce weight in obese adults

One-hundred percent grapefruit juice – a dieter's friend? A new study, published in Nutrition & Metabolism, concluded that enjoying a pre-meal snack of grapefruit, grapefruit juice or water as part of a reduced-calorie diet can be part of an effective weight loss strategy for obese adults.

28 Apr 2011